Towing experiences with your 5th Generation
- Thread starter dsir56
- Start date
That is a lot of boat!
Have you actually weighed the whole setup?
Monitored tranny temps?
Dual axles doesn't actually help with tongue weight. (Although you should be able to be stable with less tongue weight for a dual axle trailer rather than a single axle trailer due to the increased rotational damping from 2 sets of tires)
Multi-axle leaf spring trailers have equalizer bars that allow the axle weights to stay the same regardless of hitch height.
The Micro Minnie comes with torsion axles, which are completely independent of each other. As you lower the hitch height, you begin to increase the load on the front axle, and decrease the load on the rear axle. Not necessarily a good thing, as you can overload the front axle if you let the hitch sag.
boater1217
New member
Putting a load equalizer hitch on the 4R.
boater1217
New member
Here is my new Micro Minnie
<a href="http://s1353.photobucket.com/user/boater12171/media/image.jpg4_zpsvdp3rxdq.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1353.photobucket.com/albums/q670/boater12171/image.jpg4_zpsvdp3rxdq.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo image.jpg4_zpsvdp3rxdq.jpg"/></a>
I put an equalizer hitch, sway bar and brake control on the 4R. Towed it about 130 miles and didn't have any problems. Used 4s and gas mileage was not great.
Trailer is small put plenty of room for wife, dog and me.
Bought it at S&S Apache in Jackson, MS, easy people to work with.
<a href="http://s1353.photobucket.com/user/boater12171/media/image.jpg4_zpsvdp3rxdq.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1353.photobucket.com/albums/q670/boater12171/image.jpg4_zpsvdp3rxdq.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo image.jpg4_zpsvdp3rxdq.jpg"/></a>
I put an equalizer hitch, sway bar and brake control on the 4R. Towed it about 130 miles and didn't have any problems. Used 4s and gas mileage was not great.
Trailer is small put plenty of room for wife, dog and me.
Bought it at S&S Apache in Jackson, MS, easy people to work with.
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tommyS4runner
New member
Panzerpatty
New member
Antman
Elite Member
hmmmmm. where ya goin? haha! :cheers:
jstim
New member
I am driving the 3rd gen to The Cove, but then I will have to drive it from NC to OK.:redbrick:
tommyS4runner
New member
2400 in 4th, tracks awesome, cant see a damn thing behind in either lane! eats gas though, but expected.
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Muddy Duck
New member
This setup above was just shy of 5k lbs. I run "E" load LTX M/S2's with Airlift airbags. Other than the 12 MPG's that I get, she has hauled everything well (not necessarily quickly) that I've asked her to.
Bimmer-Bob
New member
Try slip-on tow mirrors. I personally wouldn't tow without them.
Towed a 6x10 enclosed trailer with a gross weight of ~2250lbs from Huntsville to NE of Louisville, KY (~350 miles) and back. Had 4 guys and their stuff in the 4Runner.
Route wasn't too hilly. Spend most of the time in 5th with the TC locked. Averaged ~67 on the interstate.
55 degrees and mostly rain on the way up - 13.5 mpg
75 degrees and mostly sunny on the way back - 15.5 mpg.
Trans temps on the way back ran 175-190 in the pan and 175 to 215 (brief peaks during hills) in the converter.
Handled well. On the interstate, it would require steering input to correct as a semi or box truck went past.
Definitely some sag! This was before 4 dudes got in. I probably could have adjusted the contents to reduce tongue weight, but I didn't have scales for TW or total weight and we didn't have time to experiment, so we went with what we had.
Route wasn't too hilly. Spend most of the time in 5th with the TC locked. Averaged ~67 on the interstate.
55 degrees and mostly rain on the way up - 13.5 mpg
75 degrees and mostly sunny on the way back - 15.5 mpg.
Trans temps on the way back ran 175-190 in the pan and 175 to 215 (brief peaks during hills) in the converter.
Handled well. On the interstate, it would require steering input to correct as a semi or box truck went past.
Definitely some sag! This was before 4 dudes got in. I probably could have adjusted the contents to reduce tongue weight, but I didn't have scales for TW or total weight and we didn't have time to experiment, so we went with what we had.
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paddlenbike
Member
If your third gen is supercharged I would absolutely use it to tow the 5th. If not, then probably the otherway around.
Tommy--what do you think of the AR192? I've been looking at the AR190 (the non supercharged version) and comparing it to some of the new outboard runabout designs like the Larson LXH 190OB and Glastron 185OB. Just curious what you think of the jet drive. Maybe a PM is more appropriate so we don't take this thread off-topic.
Bimmer-Bob
New member
Towing close to 5000# I have not too much sag using an Equal-i-zer hitch & Firestone Coil-Rite air springs (sorry for the angled pic - I'll look to see if I have a better one from perpendicular). I don't know if you tow often or heavy enough for the investment to be worth it. The air springs at least aren't very expensive (~$100 IIRC).
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Friggin Idiot
Senior Member
Have played with both my boat trailer (2500lbs) and 12.5ft utility trailer during my recent move. The 4Runner seems more sensitive to tongue weight than any previous vehicle I've towed with. Properly loaded it goes fine in S4 (D is worthless except downhill). But load it anything more than my guess of 400lbs on the tongue and it likes to stick the front end up in the air. I'm definitely going to be looking into some air bags for in the springs to help fix this. I don't care for squirrelly steering when I've got more than 15ft of trailer wobbling around behind me. Anyone have suggestions?
Titanpat57
Senior Member
The Airlift 1000 bags are probably the single best mod you can do to your truck. Just check out where to run the fill stems in the hatch corners.
Bimmer-Bob
New member
Okay, this is with 500# on the tongue:
You can see the nose is pointed up a little, but it's not too bad IMO. Front wheel well ended up about 1/4 inch raised as compared to the uncoupled truck. The WD hitch put enough weight back over the front axle that I didn't feel there was any deterioration in steering ability.
You can see the nose is pointed up a little, but it's not too bad IMO. Front wheel well ended up about 1/4 inch raised as compared to the uncoupled truck. The WD hitch put enough weight back over the front axle that I didn't feel there was any deterioration in steering ability.
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Bimmer-Bob
New member
Tongue weight should be about 9-15% of your total load (I've heard some people say 12% is the "sweet spot"), so you were a little heavy for that. Just make sure you don't go too low on your tongue weight in an attempt to prevent sag, because low tongue weight is a major cause of trailer sway.
