Towing w/ a 4R

[MtnDewd]

Good morning-

I have been trying to find a clean low miles 2000-02 Limited or Sport Edition and have a few questions.
I know the towing capacity is 5,000, but was curious how 4R's do pulling a load. -I have a 12' trailer and will be pulling a couple of ATV's or 2 Harley's and don't want to be going down the highway at 50 MPH with the tach pegged.
-Do any of these come with a factory supercharger or are they all aftermarket adds?

Many thanks!
Bret

 

[S@nt0s]

you will do fine, ive towed at max capacity with a stock tranny cooler with cars loaed up hills and everything, i just suggest adding a new upgraded trans cooler.

 

[MtnDewd]

Thanks...

 

[HCurphy]

Welcome to the forum.

Do a quick google search "towing with 3rd gen" and include "site:toyota-4runner.org" at the beginning. If you don't get what your looking for try "site:yotatech.com/f2".

Point being there is a lot of stuff out there on this topic, even some pictures of people towing rediculous things with their 4runner.

You will be fine, but won't win any races.

Be Safe, and good luck.

edit: Tranny coolers still probably not a bad idea though.

 

[runnyrunnerton]

They tow alright. I have a 12' HD lawn trailer and tow about 3,000 ibs on it with my rhino, cooler, decoys, etc. I get 11mpg but i can run at highway speeds when i need to. Airbags on these things or 891 springs are a good choice if you intend on towing every other weekend. I also have a tranny cooler installed, if you tow with anything for more than a 50 miles, get a tranny cooler, cheap insurance.

 

[Qyota]

I agree. They do alright. My "new" vintage travel trailer is about 16-feet including the tongue, and probably on the order of 2000 pounds, and you can certainly tell it's back there. But the truck doesn't feel like it's going through wet concrete or anything...fuel efficiency takes a large hit, though.

 

[HCurphy]

yep. gas mileage really tanks with o/d off and ect on, as well. to be expected though.

 

[MtnDewd]

Thanks for all of your input...Now I just need to find the right T4R!
Cheers...:beer:

 

[ICD]

Thanks for all of your input...Now I just need to find the right T4R!
Cheers...:beer:

We are on the same boat my friend.

Have/had the same question and probably the best thing I did was image search (visual person) just to get an idea of what 3-5k lb looks like.

 

[ID_DTD]

the previous owner of my runner used it mainly to pull his pop up camper. I wouldn't know he towed so much and so often with it if he didn't tell me, if that makes sense.

 

[Whackmaster]

I tow my 19' BayStealth all over the Gulf Coast..On the freeway cruise at 70 mph no problem..

~original[/IMG]

 

[ICD]

Looks like it tows easy with no sag

 

[Whackmaster]

Looks like it tows easy with no sag

Rides great with the boat or a load with the 891's..It is a little rough without a load but not to bad.

 

[LittleCaesar]

The three items to tow IMHO using a 3rd gen 4runner:
1. Tranny cooler
2. New rear springs (OME or other)
3. Tundra brake upgrade

 

[Kung]

What LC says above. I've got #1, have the Highlander edition of my T4R so didn't need #2 (then) and I'm now doing #3 above because I was silly enough not to do so last year...and they're warped as all heck. LOL

 

[JakeH]

I know I'm a bit late on this but what about the ones with the 5 speed manual? Anything I need to do? I have only pulled my utility trailer with ATV's or a UTV so far.

But I'm kinda thinking this thing is a dog for towing. It does the job but not real well. Then again I usually use my Super Duty with a modded and tuned diesel to tow so that might have jaded me. Ha Ha

 

[Kung]

Depends upon what you're pulling. I've got a 12' trailer, and that with a few things on it (e.g., a riding lawn mower) are alright. As someone else mentioned, it won't win any races, but let's be honest - the N/A 4Runner, even with the 3.4, isn't going to win any races. LOL

One thing I personally noticed, however, is that (and this is JUST me - YMMV) my T4R took nowhere NEAR the mileage hit that other vehicles I've owned do when I'm towing. I pulled the previously mentioned 12' trailer with a mattress and various and sundry other things on it last year, from Missouri to Virginia and back, via Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky and West Virginia.

The *worst* mileage I got going through the mountains of WV was like 18MPG - you could have knocked me over with a feather.

I think that were I to buy a T4R and use it for towing a lot, I'd probably have gone with a 4th Gen; but for what it is, it does alright.