Towing experiences with your 5th Generation

[Blue 4ever Runner]

In a couple of weeks I'll be towing a u-haul car trailer and a 1948 Willys from NY to NC. It will be about 4500 lbs. combined. I'll never tow that much again so I will not be installing a trans cooler, air bags or anything else just for this one trip. I'll be keeping it around 60 MPH and 4th gear. It's about 640 miles and I don't think there are any really big hills on 95 and 81 but I don't know that for sure. Hopefully I'll be OK, I'll let ya know when I get there.

 

[zcruiser]

Towing a Venture Sonic Lite 23’ trailer and loaded for a weekend I’m at 9600 lbs total on the CAT scales.

Front axle 2700
Drive axle 2960
Trailer axle 3940 (single axle)

Fastway e2 WDH and Tekonsha Voyager EBC. Just added a Derale 13504 transmission cooler to bring the transmission temps down a bit. Always drive in S4, sometimes manually downshift on a long incline if I’m dropping speed.

 

[4Runner&Airstream]

2013 Toyota 4Runner SR5 towing a 2005 Kodiak 160. The trailer is 2,680 lbs dry I think.

This is with a weight distribution hitch. Without it the rear end is too low.

 

[4Runner&Airstream]

I pull this with a Reese weight distribution hitch and Tekonsha RF brake controller

3800#
tongue weight 400#

How does it work out? Is your rear end low?

 

[Cymon]

Agree with everything just said. I just bought a 2021 Ibex at 3700 pounds dry. Use a WDH and brake controller. Was is S3 or S4 going over the Siskiyou pass, highest point on I-5 between Canada and Mexico, and was at 40-45 mph the whole time going up.

I’d like to run air bags but I don’t have the time or tools or garage space to install them and no one local really wants to mess with it. Possibly might swap out my dobinson springs back to my 3” Icon overland springs with a heavy weight rating.

Either way it only sags a little bit more than I’d like and tows fine, just wish it was a little more level.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Just FYI, swapping springs is the same procedure as installing the airbags, only difference is shoving the bags inside the springs before reinstalling. Pretty much same labor.

 

[Cymon]

Just finished a 7,149 mile 3 week road trip covering 17 states and 8 National Parks. South Florida to Yosemite and back. 4runner towed our 2,500lb Taxa Cricket like a dream. Our only modification is we swapped the ball hitch for a lock n roll a prior to delivery from our dealer (best $ upgrade!!!) Kept it in S4 almost the whole drive downshifting in mountains out West. Averaged 70 mph highway, 13.7 mpg for the trip. Also got over 300 miles off-road.

 

[rocketnuts]

900lb trailer with 4800lb tractor. would not recommend. truck did ok, but compared to other vehicles I've towed with, you can tell that's not the 4runners strength.

 

[Jetboy]

Just did another ~1,000 mile trip through Utah, Wyoming, Idaho, and Montana with the little teardrop. Really have no idea how much it weighs. But the towing is not great no matter what.

I really need to move up a size. Considering a pop top aussie style camper. But even then I'm realistically looking at moving up to a bigger vehicle with more power. Not super excited about any of the options at this point. Wish the 4R could pull a bit better.

Bright side - no tour buses in Yellowstone this year! And half the campgrounds are closed so it was great! Probably go back at least one more week this summer.

Been talking with the manufacturer of this trailer about importing one from China. Price is pretty reasonable if you do the import yourself. It's sold under a variety of different brands (usually for about 2-3 times the cost of direct purchase).

 

[AMLOR]

imo every gasoline engine powered vehicle sucks at towing long distances, especially if there are any hills/mountains involved. I've used my 4runner to tow a flat utility trailer to pick up a bunch of furniture. I'm guessing the trailer probably weighed 2,000 pounds empty and maybe another 500-800 with the furniture on it. The 4runner performed as i expected, 5th gear useless most of the time, gas mileage in the toilet. No swaying and no problem holding my speed on the highway.

this!!^^^^

 

[pag04]

2015 4Runner. I tow a Sea Pro 22’ boat and dual axel trailer for 5400 lbs. No problem at all. I tow it 200 miles round trip a couple of times a year. Only modification was I added an oil cooler to it.

 

[KyleB4279]

2020 4Runner + 2021 Jay Flight

Just took the first trip with our Jayco Jay Flight SLX 212QB travel trailer this weekend. Using a Fastway E2 weight distribution hitch with sway control and Firestone Coil-Rite bags in the rear springs on the 'Runner.

The Jayco weighs in at about 4,350 lbs on the CAT scale when loaded up. Surprisingly, this double axle and heavier model puts less weight (~100lbs less!) on the hitch and rear axle than our previous Jayco 174BH. The setup feels pretty planted on the road but with the 15 to 20mph winds still make it a bit twitchy - and drink fuel like a fish when traveling east to west here across Florida. I can probably go about 2.5 to 3 hours before having to stop and fill up from a quarter tank.

I will be adding a trans cooler next - and probably swap out the stock tires with LT's for a little more peace of mind.

 

[zcruiser]

I will be adding a trans cooler next - and probably swap out the stock tires with LT's for a little more peace of mind.

I added a Derale transmission cooler on my 2012 pulling 4100 lbs. Does a great job of keeping the temps lower and bringing them down faster.

I also run the Fastway e2... love it.

 

[shinscreen]

Hi KyleB4279, do you know what the hitch weight ended up being with your 212QB loaded. I'm thinking about pulling a 21' 2020 Keystone Hideout 176LHS to a campground 150 miles away over flat land. It's a single axle with the following specs.

Dry Weight 3,763 lbs.
Payload Capacity 737 lbs.
GVWR 4,500 lbs.
Hitch Weight 520 lbs.

I have a 2017 4Runner SR5. I've got the RedArc brake controller on order and am planning on a weight distribution hitch with sway control. Wondering if I can do it without the air bags. Did you install the air bags yourself? Did you use any mirror extensions?

Thanks!

Just took the first trip with our Jayco Jay Flight SLX 212QB travel trailer this weekend. Using a Fastway E2 weight distribution hitch with sway control and Firestone Coil-Rite bags in the rear springs on the 'Runner.

The Jayco weighs in at about 4,350 lbs on the CAT scale when loaded up. Surprisingly, this double axle and heavier model puts less weight (200lbs less!) on the hitch and rear axle than our previous Jayco 174BH. The setup feels pretty planted on the road but with the 15 to 20mph winds still make it a bit twitchy - and drink fuel like a fish when traveling east to west here across Florida. I can probably go about 2.5 to 3 hours before having to stop and fill up from a quarter tank.

I will be adding a trans cooler next - and probably swap out the stock tires with LT's for a little more peace of mind.

 

[SSPey]

What are people’s experience with best driving practices, uphill and downhill, to keep transmission temps under control? I know about using S4, but I have a few other specific questions.

I tow a 3500 lb boat through winding hills / mountains at 25-55 mph, 1-2 hr trips. My 2011 worked well, but did have black transmission fluid at 120K. I’m waiting on my new 2021 to arrive and will avoid an auxiliary transmission cooler during the initial 3 yr warranty. Until then, I need to ensure that I am using good driving practices. I know my towing route well and can shift manually if it’ll help.

My specific questions for keeping the transmission cool when towing are:

1) when going uphill needing 3rd gear, should I use S4 and let the transmission find 3rd, or should I use S3?

2) when going downhill, is it better to remain in S4 or better to coast in neutral? (for temps, not for braking)

I will likely get an OBD scanner of some sort, but am curious what folks have experienced on the 2 issues above. Thank you!

 

[meltdown]

What are people’s experience with best driving practices, uphill and downhill, to keep transmission temps under control? I know about using S4, but I have a few other specific questions.

I tow a 3500 lb boat through winding hills / mountains at 25-55 mph, 1-2 hr trips. My 2011 worked well, but did have black transmission fluid at 120K. I’m waiting on my new 2021 to arrive and will avoid an auxiliary transmission cooler during the initial 3 yr warranty. Until then, I need to ensure that I am using good driving practices. I know my towing route well and can shift manually if it’ll help.

My specific questions for keeping the transmission cool when towing are:

1) when going uphill needing 3rd gear, should I use S4 and let the transmission find 3rd, or should I use S3?

2) when going downhill, is it better to remain in S4 or better to coast in neutral? (for temps, not for braking)

I will likely get an OBD scanner of some sort, but am curious what folks have experienced on the 2 issues above. Thank you!

1) From my experience, just put it in S4 and let the truck do its thing. I would only consider S3 if the transmission was shifting back and forth between the two gears.

2) NO! If it’s a long downhill and you don’t need engine braking, consider shifting to S5. Coasting in neutral is a bad idea.

I don’t live in the mountains, but where I live is fairly hilly. Using S4, I’ve never had an issue with transmission temps. I use an old iphone with OBD Fusion app to monitor my temps when towing.

 

[SSPey]

Thanks for the reply. The answer to #2 seems simple enough!

I should give more info on #1.

Going uphill, the reason I selected S3 manually was to get into a good rpm band (~3200) just a few seconds early, at the hill bottom, to make going uphill easier. In contrast, when I stay in S4 and start the hill, there is an initial loss of speed and rpms (gravity!), then S4 downshifts to 3rd gear, and then the vehicle labors to get back up to 3200 rpm towing uphill.

Just by feel, it “feels” that the rig tows easier by getting into S3 immediately before the hill starts (just as one would shift for uphill using a manual transmission). However, I’m unsure from past threads if the torque converter will lock in S3 or if it will only lock in S4 mode.

 

[meltdown]

Understood. No problem with keeping it in the power band. I do that sometimes too. I was thinking strictly in the context of transmission temps.

In regards to the torque converter lock-up, my understanding is that S mode will eliminate flex lock-up, but I don’t have a good enough understanding of auto transmissions to know what that really means. I do know that flex lock-up will generate higher fluid temps.

 

[Simonpk]

if anyone is worrying about weights here are my scale ratings for the last 5 years or so. I have airbags, wdh, P3 controller, Bilstein 5100's, transmission cooler. all weights are pretty much with full tank of gas, 3 adults, 1 kid and a dog, plus all the food and stuff needed for a 7 to 10 day camp & 3 bikes.

never have figured out how to make the rear axle be under the spec...Did move a bunch of stuff behind the axle on the trailer but it felt bad at speed so gave up.

Desc. Toyota Max. Whidbey 2015 Astoria 2015 Astoria 2016 Leavenworth 2016 Leavenworth 2017 Astoria 2018 Astoria 2019 LW 2019
Front 2998 2601 2850 2646 2601 2557 2469 2447 2557
Rear 3439 3748 3600 3682 3527 3682 3571 3836 3549
Trailer 4700 4299 4450 4145 4101 4121 4387 4387 4277
GVWR 6100 6349 6450 6327 6128 6239 6040 6283 6108
GAWR 6437 6349 6450 6327 6128 6239 6040 6283 6106
GCWR 11307 10648 10900 10472 10229 10360 10427 10670 10383

sorry about formatting of the numbers but if you look carefully you can see weights for each of the 8 trips I scaled.

Always measure fuel consumption and it is a steady 12 to 14 mpg depending on winds & hills. Speedwise fine on highways at 60 to 65 mph - on smaller and hillier roads - truck makes a whole lot of noise at 4000rpm or so but never really felt like I was holding people back or feeling vulnerable myself for being slow.

 

[KyleB4279]

Hi KyleB4279, do you know what the hitch weight ended up being with your 212QB loaded. I'm thinking about pulling a 21' 2020 Keystone Hideout 176LHS to a campground 150 miles away over flat land. It's a single axle with the following specs.

Dry Weight 3,763 lbs.
Payload Capacity 737 lbs.
GVWR 4,500 lbs.
Hitch Weight 520 lbs.

I have a 2017 4Runner SR5. I've got the RedArc brake controller on order and am planning on a weight distribution hitch with sway control. Wondering if I can do it without the air bags. Did you install the air bags yourself? Did you use any mirror extensions?

Thanks!

Hey shinscreen:

I did the air bag install myself - Took about an hour or so, but I've got air tools and it made it a heck of a lot quicker to drop the rear axle enough to get the coil springs out and put the bags in them.

I'm still on the hunt for ideal mirror extensions - so far I've tried three and they've all been worthless. I'm hopeful that this recent pair of CIPA 11980 Universal Bar mirrors is a better experience.

I do not actually know my true hitch weight yet fully loaded. I have a feeling I'm teetering right on the max of 500lbs with two full 20lb propane tanks, battery, power tongue jack and all the gear in the front storage of the camper. I need to make it down to the CAT scale on a quiet day and put the trailer on to see.

When I picked up the 212 I did not have the air bags installed, just the Weight Distribution Hitch and it did fine without, though the rear end was a little low and close to the bump stops. I don't know how necessary the bags are, and I don't usually air them up to the max of 35 psi - usually between 10 and 15 psi.

 

[KyleB4279]

I added a Derale transmission cooler on my 2012 pulling 4100 lbs. Does a great job of keeping the temps lower and bringing them down faster.

I also run the Fastway e2... love it.

I've been monitoring my temps with the Torque Pro app, and I haven't seen temps too alarmingly hot yet - though we are just starting into summer here in central FL. I think it briefly maxed out a 215-220*F when I was accelerating on to the highway on my last outing, but then when it locked up it settled to around 185-190*F

I'll have to look into the Derale cooler - I like that it has a fan and I may be able to mount it remote away from the radiator.