Towing mods

IndyFastlane

IndyFastlane

New member
Having just bought our 18 ORP 4Runner this past fall.....we haven’t had an opportunity to tow a trailer yet. The 4Runner replaced a 17 Tacoma which did *ok* with the help of some Sumo springs to reduce sag. I know the rear of the 4Runner is rather soft, so sag will be an issue with a trailer attached.

I’m looking for advice from those who have towed smaller travel trailers or something similar. We are replacing our popup with a small-ish 17’ camper that weighs roughly 3000# and a tongue weight of roughly 450#.

We are considering a Weight Distribution Hitch with sway control (a Fastway e2) to use with the new camper.

Question: with this setup, do you see a need or benefit to also adding airbags to help reduce rear sag?.....or will the WDH alone be adequate?

Thanks all.
 
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BobsTrail said:
Not sure the built in receiver is for a weight distributing hitch with lift bars.
Airbags work well.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the feedback/advice, guys.

I’m relatively certain that the receiver on the 5th gen is approved for a WDH, but I will confirm that.

We will plan to go ahead and get the air bags to install.

Thank you!
 
if you have a vehicle for towing why not buy a tow worthy vehicle? idk..... sure it's rated for 5k? but id rather pull with a half ton truck. Just like any of my trailers that technically half tons can pull i still use my f250 :shrug:
 
I’ll throw in my .02 although I’ll admit I’m no expert and most of what I’ve learned is from this forum and other research.

First the 4runner can use a WD hitch. Where people get in to trouble is getting one that is overrated for the vehicle and tongue weight. Then with the overrated hitch the torsion bars are torqued too much causing damage.

I recently installed airbags (just last week) because I often have a very loaded vehicle and tow a m416 that is often loaded (I usually have a tongue weight between 200-275 lbs). I have been researching though because we are looking into the potential of getting a travel trailer that is about the same specs as the OP.

Here is what I would do, and please correct me more knowledgeable towers.

Install airbags to reduce squat.

Get a properly rated weight distribution hitch with sway control (sway for me is the bigger concern because of the wheelbase and weight of the 4runner).

When towing pump up the airbags to reduce the majority of the squat.

Set the weight distribution hitch with the least force I can on the torsion bars to help in stabilizing the trailer, switch a little weight to the front axle and reduce sway. With the least torque on the WDH bars there shouldn’t be any damage to hitch or frame.
 
Previously mentioned 1/2 ton truck for towing is a good idea.

SUV springs are soft. Read your owners manual. Follow the directions. Get comfortable using the transmission manual gear kick down. Compression braking keeps service brakes cold for maximum emergency braking. Get a trailer with electric brakes even if not required for your State Law.

I'm not crazy about airbags. They serve a purpose. My problem is they unload the suspension. Vehicle weight now running on two small bottles of air instead of full length metal springs.
 
wcjeep said:
Previously mentioned 1/2 ton truck for towing is a good idea.

SUV springs are soft. Read your owners manual. Follow the directions. Get comfortable using the transmission manual gear kick down. Compression braking keeps service brakes cold for maximum emergency braking. Get a trailer with electric brakes even if not required for your State Law.

I'm not crazy about airbags. They serve a purpose. My problem is they unload the suspension. Vehicle weight now running on two small bottles of air instead of full length metal springs.
Click to expand...

I don’t think they are suggesting replacing metsl springs with airbags (see Semitrucks). Just small airbags that install inside the coils and provide supplemental support to the metal coils. This brings the suspension geometry back into alignment and keeps headlights aimed properly. Probably works as a reasonable short term compromise/ solution for those not looking to tow at the limit all day everyday.
 
mo_mo said:
I don’t think they are suggesting replacing metsl springs with airbags (see Semitrucks). Just small airbags that install inside the coils and provide supplemental support to the metal coils. This brings the suspension geometry back into alignment and keeps headlights aimed properly. Probably works as a reasonable short term compromise/ solution for those not looking to tow at the limit all day everyday.
Click to expand...

This :thumb3:
 
Since this thread came back alive, I’ll follow up from my original post.

It was suggested above that I not tow with the 4runner and get a dedicated tow vehicle. Well, in a perfect world where I had unlimited funds and space to park another vehicle, that might be a practical suggestion.....but that isn’t the case. We will tow maybe 10-12 times a year and the 4runner will do fine for our use.

We did get the trailer I suggested above. It’s a 2018 flagstaff epro 17rk (2900 lbs dry and about 350 lbs tongue). We opted for a fastway e2 WD hitch (which also has sway control). I also installed firestone air bags for towing use, but also to assist when we have the back loaded for hauling (bags of mulch, for instance).

The 4runner does fine towing our camper. The WDH does a good job of leveling out the rig and keeping proper weight at the front of the truck. I do add just a bit of air to the bags (10 lbs roughly) and it helps some with rearend bounce.

The only issue we’ve encountered is the wind drag at higher speeds necessitating the use of s4.....the truck doesn’t like to stay in 5th gear (and/or the TC won’t stay locked), so we lock out 5th gear altogether and it works fine. Doing 65-70mph, rpms are in the 2500 range which is not terrible nor annoying. Mpg has been around 11-12 mpg which is on par with what other folks typically get towing these campers with a half ton truck.

Would I want to tow with this rig cross country for months at a time? No. But for our occasional use for regional trips to state parks, etc, it works great!

 
Last edited:
Did you get the Firestone airbags? How was the install? Videos online look easy enough but how was dining chunks of the bump stop?


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MyFirstRunner said:
Did you get the Firestone airbags? How was the install? Videos online look easy enough but how was dining chunks of the bump stop?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Click to expand...


The post your after is like a year an half old. But I’ll answer: it’s not a bad job. I did it last month to ours for towing a travel trailer. I opted to pull entire bump stop out and work on it on the bench. Way easier. Dropping springs out wasn’t hard. And I used a razor blade to cut the bump stop down as directed by the instructions.

Did it totally by myself on my garage floor with jack stands in about 2-3 hours. This includes running the hoses and messing with the KDSS stuff in the back which was trial and error to prevent unknowns. Anyway, I’d recommend it.

For the record, I did a Redarc brake controller (awesome), the B&M trans cooler (also awesome) Firestone airbags (again, awesome) and we’ve ran a Blueox WD/Sway control hitch (possibly the most awesome). Drive in S4 only. No reason to hear trans extra. Plus it gives quicker control to command a down shift for hills/decel.

3000# Coleman 21 footer. Totally comfortable tow.

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