Towing/Safety Concern

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chasingwindmills

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Hi all...excited to join the forums as I recently got a 2008 v6 SR5 w/ 23,000 miles. My wife and I (with two small kids) are moving to Oregon in a few weeks...our plan has been to hitch up a 6x12 UHaul trailer and tow our stuff (or at least what can fit).

While the the weight of everything will be within the 5,000 lb tow rating, I was hoping to get some feedback from some more experienced folks. Does this idea sound safe? Is there anything I should be thinking of? Am I putting my family at risk? Or my 4runner?

I ask because, if necessary, I could just ship the stuff and we could just make the road trip without the trailer...towing it myself is about a $3k difference, but not worth risking my family's safety.

thanks for all feedback
 
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First, welcome to the Forum!

I know you can't say with any certainty yet how much weight we're talking about here, but until you know that little piece of vital information it is difficult to answer your question.

A good rule of thumb is to avoid towing anything that exceeds 80% of your vehicle's recommended maximum towing limit.

It appears you are in New York, so to get to Oregon you will be crossing the Rockies in your coast-to-coast trip. That might stretch your V6 to its limits. I would recommend installing a transmission cooler.

This trip would be less unnerving if you were moving just 300 miles instead of 3,000 miles. With such a long journey, the odds of something going wrong are right up there. The 4Runner might be fine, but what will be the condition of the rented trailer, its tires and its wheel bearings? And you will be traveling in the heat of the summer, probably through the Chicago area, even more opportunities for things to go wrong.

And when they do, that $3,000 for shipping might look like a bargain.
 
Do those trailers have electric brakes? If so do they allow the use of a brake controller? Do you have an external tranny cooler?
 
You, your family, and your 4runner will be fine. Take it slow and easy. Allow yourself to take breaks along the drive (with kids and trailer you will be whether you want to or not). In hilly areas put the transmission in 4 or 3 to avoid excessive shifting. Most u-haul trailers have surge brakes so you shouldn't have to worry about a brake controller.

Like I said, take it slow, especially starting out. Most trailer tires are only rated for 65 mph max so try to keep it under that. If you encounter bad weather that makes you uncomfortable, try to stop and wait it out.

BTW, congrats on finding such a low mileage 4th gen. They really are awesome vehicles. I currently have over 100k more miles than you.
 
gm350reratliff said:
You, your family, and your 4runner will be fine. Take it slow and easy. Allow yourself to take breaks along the drive (with kids and trailer you will be whether you want to or not). In hilly areas put the transmission in 4 or 3 to avoid excessive shifting. Most u-haul trailers have surge brakes so you shouldn't have to worry about a brake controller.

Like I said, take it slow, especially starting out. Most trailer tires are only rated for 65 mph max so try to keep it under that. If you encounter bad weather that makes you uncomfortable, try to stop and wait it out.

BTW, congrats on finding such a low mileage 4th gen. They really are awesome vehicles. I currently have over 100k more miles than you.
Click to expand...

^^This. Also, when packing your trailer make sure to put the heaviest things over the area that is above the axle. The overall weight of the trailer should be a 60/40ish split with more weight being towards the front of the trailer. This is to keep positive downward pressure on the hitch. The weight distribution is important in that you don't want to either over-stress the ball/tongue connection with too much weight up front, or risk an accidental uncoupling with too much weight in the rear.

I've towed the exact same trailer loaded to the hilt using a 97 SR5. I did not have any tranny/oil coolers installed, I experienced moderate temperature increases while ascending grades. Depending on the length/grade you may have to pull over to help cool the engine, although with the newer engines having more power and better design I would think this unlikely. Granted, that was only a 300 mile trip for me.
 
Wow, what cool forums...thanks all for the helpful and prompt responses.

I'm going to keep my weight limit at 2000lbs, which would bring the total weight to about 3800. We will definitely be taking our time, and won't be on the road more than 5-6 hours at a time (with breaks in that given the kids).

Do I need an external tranny cooler (I think Toyota's official position on this is that it is not recommended)?

The other tips (such as how to distribute the weight, using the 4 or 3 positions on hills, etc) are really hellpful, as I don't have experience towing something like this.
 
chasingwindmills said:
Hi all...excited to join the forums as I recently got a 2008 v6 SR5 w/ 23,000 miles. My wife and I (with two small kids) are moving to Oregon in a few weeks...our plan has been to hitch up a 6x12 UHaul trailer and tow our stuff (or at least what can fit).

While the the weight of everything will be within the 5,000 lb tow rating, I was hoping to get some feedback from some more experienced folks. Does this idea sound safe? Is there anything I should be thinking of? Am I putting my family at risk? Or my 4runner?

I ask because, if necessary, I could just ship the stuff and we could just make the road trip without the trailer...towing it myself is about a $3k difference, but not worth risking my family's safety.

thanks for all feedback
Click to expand...


I have one piece of advice spend the hundred dollars on rear firestone air bags. the fit right inside the rear springs

I was in ST.louis and a 4runner trail version had a uhaul on their truck and there was so much weight on the back that the rear suspension was compress as far as it could go and the fronts were decompressed. Looked like the truck was doing a wheelie. How did they even see the road at night no light was on the road

I can't even imagine how they had made it from N.C. to Missouri without issues but I am sure they will have bigger issues on the way to utah after driving in the mountains like that.
 
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chasingwindmills said:
Do I need an external tranny cooler (I think Toyota's official position on this is that it is not recommended)?



.
Click to expand...


I would suggest spending the $75 for one. I installed mine in about 45 min. Cheaper that overheating the tranny fluid.

As someone else mentioned since the trailer has surge brakes plan ahead accordingly. I have never been impressed with surge brakes ( my dual axle boat trailer has them).

Also look at the rear air bags. $100 to help level the rear end under load.
 
I drove my 2005 V8 LTD from Massachusetts to Oregon 7 years ago. Towed a small boat with two canoes on the roof and heavy stuff packed floor to ceiling inside. No wife and no kids with me. The 4runner did fine except with some high winds in Wyoming and Idaho which required retying the canoes and going slower. I did 500+ miles a day and it was a job. My stuff would have been expensive for a commercial mover to handle. Two later trips in other vehicles, one with the dog and one with the wife, were more fun. I'm sure your 4runner can handle the trip but you should ask if the family can. It is a worthwhile experience if you can do it without stressing the vehicle or the family.
 
- what are firestone rear air bags? I take it not the airbags I'm thinking of...
- also thanks Oquassa...the good news is we have a full 12 days to make the trip, so we should be able to take lots of breaks and have some fun along the way
 
The 6x12 (double axle) would be just too big for me. They have their own brakes and are plenty popular so no doubt they are safe.

Thought about, and really wanted the space in the 6x12 given the things I wanted to move, since I had a previous 600 mi trip experience with a heavily loaded 5x8 that towed just fine except for the major mileage hit.

I just last week moved everything I own over 1,000 miles and used the 5x8 (single axle), to hold all my super valuables that I did not trust the moving van with. The 5x8 was easy to tow with the V8 4Runner but mileage dropped to under 11 mpg if I tried to keep up with 75mph traffic.

The big problem was finding a proper place to park at the motels and restaurants along the way and picking safe and easy places to gas up. Backing up is to be avoided at all costs especially with the giant 6x12. Be sure to get at least one towing mirror, driver's side.
Be extra careful getting up the freeway ramp, acceleration takes a very big hit, and that's with a V8 and a much smaller trailer than a 6x12.
 
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