Towing Travel Trailer

[blue blob]

Hey all,

I did a quick search on the forum and noticed there is a good number of you that tow a travel trailer with your 4R's. I (its my wife's, i drive an FJ) have a stock 2008 Limited v8 with 105k on it. We purchased this vehicle specifically to tow a TT. I just purchased a 24 ft Passport travel trailer that has a dry weight of 3800 and max weight of 5400 lbs. I am having a centerline WD hitch put on at pick up in a few weeks and I have an older Prodigy EBC that my brother doesn't use anymore that I'm going to install as soon as I get the toyota wires. I have looked at the numbers and it is well below the 7K towing capacity of the T4R, but I have few questions. Is there anything you all did to your rigs in addition prior to towing? Any concerns on the wheel base of the 4R and the length of the trailer? Have any of you had your setups weighed at a station to determine tongue weight etc?

A little input would be appreciated and any advice on towing in general would be helpful as well!

Thanks

J

 

[txclimber]

Can't answer any of your specific questions, but can offer a little peace of mind.

You should be just fine. I tow my (smaller than yours) travel trailer all over the place with zero problems. Don't even notice it back there.

Also, I tow a 20 foot flatbed trailer loaded with as much stuff as I can fit on it (weight unknown) all over the place as well.

Mind you I do all of this WITHOUT a brake controller or trailer brakes. If you are going to have them, you should be just fine.

Maybe others can chime in with more specific answers for you.....

 

[Martinjmpr]

I would recommend a Scangauge II. That will let you monitor transmission temp.

 

[ARunner]

Check out the etrailer website and/or Google it. They have some clever ways to measure the tongue weight at home. With that said, the manufacturer of your travel trailer should be able to publisht he tongue weight. They aren't like utility trailers where you can massively overload the tongue.

I suspect your biggest issues will be wind and sagging in the rear. By having a weight distributing hitch you should be able to combat the sag as well as the sway, depending on what kind of hitch hookup you have. Otherwise, just take it easy on windy days to keep yourself safe. From a power and braking standpoint, sounds like you are in good shape. I have towed at the upper limits of the 4Runner without a weight distributing hitch and it isn't a comfortable experience. But, the truck remained stable and did the job admirably. At the 5k-5.5k lb range, even without a weight distributing hitch adapter, it does an admirable job with no concerns.