Towing with 5th Gen?

[KSWAY]

Anyone tow (3500-4000#'s) regularly with their 5th Gen? Looking to pick up a 5th Gen in the near future for towing a Bass boat. Yes I know I can just pick up a sequoia/Tundra, But this will be a daily driver for the wife and tow rig for me when ever I need it. I know around town towing will be no issues, My only concern is how it will handle towing on the hwy, How much will I have to push the engine towing up hill?

 

[4x4pilgrim]

Bump for info. Coming from 3rd gen 4runner, then 2014 Taco 4d TRD OR. Got a kid on the way; thinking about the 2015 4runner Trail. Wanna know if a trailer can replace the bed.

 

[Hellamatic]

Anyone tow (3500-4000#'s) regularly with their 5th Gen? Looking to pick up a 5th Gen in the near future for towing a Bass boat. Yes I know I can just pick up a sequoia/Tundra, But this will be a daily driver for the wife and tow rig for me when ever I need it. I know around town towing will be no issues, My only concern is how it will handle towing on the hwy, How much will I have to push the engine towing up hill?

It's not fun. I used to have a 4500lb 14' holiday trailer - it rarely shifted into 5th gear and it kind of just settled in at 90km/h on the highway.

 

[G8RB8_12SR5]

I tow a 4950lb travel trailer (scale verified) that I live in for a few months a year. I'm actually looking to go to a full size truck soon because of towing in the hills and mountains and get rid of the 4Runner. The 4Runner does not tow well up hill with that much weight. Even 4000lbs into the mountains I think would be a struggle. If you do decide to go this route though, you absolutely must put airbags in the rear suspension or you will blow the shocks. I towed mine the 800 miles from Seattle to Alameda once and now just tow it 9 miles from storage to rv park living spot so I don't worry about it. I'll tow it back north with a full size truck later. Towing that 800 miles though wasn't scary just didn't have the power you may be looking for going uphill (did no more than 40mph up Siskiyou pass), but I didn't have any sway issues or brake issues. Also need a brake controller and weight distribution hitch. You'll be fine otherwise. Just adjust your expectations on power availability when going up inclines. And expect to get about 10mpg towing too.

 

[4x4pilgrim]

Sorry for the dumb question, but I'm a towing amateur. Can you provide some examples of what you were towing to reach 4000+ lbs? I'm thinking about a small trailer with household stuff (couch, dresser, etc). Doable?

Thanks!

 

[Diver Deuce]

Here's my weigh ticket from my move earlier this year the weight is distributed. Check out my build thread for more info.

When towing over 4000# take your time, and keep it in 4th, the tranny heats up more in 5th. There's tons of towing info on here.

 

[1engineer]

The 4Runner does just fine pulling a 3500-5000 lb trailer - a few times a year. More than that? No. Buy something made to tow. The 4Runner is many things but not a dedicated tow vehicle.

Oh, I tow this weight range a half dozen times a year. It works. A diesel 2500 series Chevy or Ford would work much better and no, that's not overkill.

 

[J-Rock]

I use my enclosed trailer 3 to 5 times a week for work. It's 3000-3500 lb some times more, on flat roads it's easy, keep it in 4 sport mode you will be fine. Speed is a big issue if want to go fast 60+ mph you will hit a wall from the lack of power just be patient you can't rush. lol

 

[Jetboy]

It might be worth looking at a used GX460. Same base vehicle. Nice used GX460's can be found in the same price range as a new 4runner. Should tow a whole lot better.

The 6th gen might be better as well. If we assume a small hp bump, but also the 6 speed automatic and possibly 4.10 diff gears would go a long way toward making a better tow vehicle.

 

[Londonmitch]

Anyone tow (3500-4000#'s) regularly with their 5th Gen? Looking to pick up a 5th Gen in the near future for towing a Bass boat. Yes I know I can just pick up a sequoia/Tundra, But this will be a daily driver for the wife and tow rig for me when ever I need it��. I know around town towing will be no issues, My only concern is how it will handle towing on the hwy, How much will I have to push the engine towing up hill?

What bass boat do you have? 3500-4000 seems pretty high for almost any bass boat. I tow a 20ft Ranger Bay center console and have no issues around town or on the freeway. It's got a dry weight of 1800 but I've never weighed it fully loaded, seems to me like it's around 2500 and at most 3000.

 

[4RunnerAU]

My 4Runner struggles more with my 5x8 trailer than my 2dr Jeep Wrangler ever did. I'm not sure why.

 

[Bevo]

My 4Runner struggles more with my 5x8 trailer than my 2dr Jeep Wrangler ever did. I'm not sure why.

Gearing.

 

[KSWAY]

What bass boat do you have? 3500-4000 seems pretty high for almost any bass boat. I tow a 20ft Ranger Bay center console and have no issues around town or on the freeway. It's got a dry weight of 1800 but I've never weighed it fully loaded, seems to me like it's around 2500 and at most 3000.

You'd be surprised at how much a Ranger 520/521 Dual console fully rigged weighs.
Hull 1800 plus
5 batteries 200 plus
36v Trolling motor 60 plus
50+ Gallons of gas 300 plus
Fishing tackle/gear 100 plus
Tandem axle trailer+spares 1400 plus
Power poles 120 plus

Give or take a couple #'s

 

[KSWAY]

Thanks everyone for your feedbacks. I will most likely end up with a 5th gen as 80℅ of the towing will not involve inclines, So I'm sure a 5th gen can suck it up and be the little engine that could for the 20% lol

 

[4RunnerAU]

Gearing.

Yeah, that's probably about right. Here's a comparison (4Runner in left column, Jeep in right):

1st 3.52 4.46
2nd 2.04 2.61
3rd 1.40 1.72
4th 1.00 1.25
5th 0.72 1.00
6th N/A 0.797


Never thought about that. Thanks!

 

[Londonmitch]

You'd be surprised at how much a Ranger 520/521 Dual console fully rigged weighs.
Hull 1800 plus
5 batteries 200 plus
36v Trolling motor 60 plus
50+ Gallons of gas 300 plus
Fishing tackle/gear 100 plus
Tandem axle trailer+spares 1400 plus
Power poles 120 plus

Give or take a couple #'s

That's a pretty fair breakdown and seems about right. I guess the dry weight for my boat doesn't include trailer etc, seems like our rigs are about the same except I've got a single axle. I think you'll be comfortable towing it.

 

[Bevo]

Yeah, that's probably about right. Here's a comparison (4Runner in left column, Jeep in right):

1st 3.52 4.46
2nd 2.04 2.61
3rd 1.40 1.72
4th 1.00 1.25
5th 0.72 1.00
6th N/A 0.797


Never thought about that. Thanks!

Yep, and the rear end may have been a lower ratio as well.

 

[DesertCanyons]

Yeah, that's probably about right. Here's a comparison (4Runner in left column, Jeep in right):

1st 3.52 4.46
2nd 2.04 2.61
3rd 1.40 1.72
4th 1.00 1.25
5th 0.72 1.00
6th N/A 0.797


Never thought about that. Thanks!

Thanks for the comparison, but to be more accurate, the Jeep column is for a 6 speed manual transmission. Most Jeep Wranglers sold here in So Cal come with the 5 speed automatic transmission and a higher gear ratio.

It's hard to find a 6 speed manual around here and you probably have to order it to get one in the model and color you want. Last fall I was trying to decide between buying a new T4R TE and the Jeep Wrangler Unlimited (4 door) Rubicon and had to test drive a used model to see how the 6 speed manual drove.

For towing 3500 to 4000# I would get a GMC Yukon or Tahoe, a Ford F-150, Dodge Ram or Tundra.

 

[4RunnerAU]

Thanks for the comparison, but to be more accurate, the Jeep column is for a 6 speed manual transmission. Most Jeep Wranglers sold here in So Cal come with the 5 speed automatic transmission and a higher gear ratio.

It's hard to find a 6 speed manual around here and you probably have to order it to get one in the model and color you want. Last fall I was trying to decide between buying a new T4R TE and the Jeep Wrangler Unlimited (4 door) Rubicon and had to test drive a used model to see how the 6 speed manual drove.

For towing 3500 to 4000# I would get a GMC Yukon or Tahoe, a Ford F-150, Dodge Ram or Tundra.

That's a good point, but mine was a 6-spd manual transmission, so that's what I was comparing it to. Here's the Jeep 5spd automatic transmission:

1st: 3.59
2nd: 2.19
3rd: 1.41
4th: 1
5th: 0.83


You can see that the difference between the autos in the 4runner and Jeep isn't that much. The manual allowed me to get much more power out of the engine. Regardless, the Wrangler is an awful vehicle for towing. I think the 2dr had something like a 2000lb max towing weight and the unlimited was like 3,500 lbs. The 4Runner has 4,700lbs.

It's too bad there isn't a 6spd option for the 4runner. That's the thing I miss the absolute most about my Jeep.

 

[Jetboy]

Yeah, that's probably about right. Here's a comparison (4Runner in left column, Jeep in right):

1st 3.52 4.46
2nd 2.04 2.61
3rd 1.40 1.72
4th 1.00 1.25
5th 0.72 1.00
6th N/A 0.797


Never thought about that. Thanks!

To add a comparison if Toyota would give us the 8 speed:

1st 4.596:1
2nd 2.724:1
3rd 1.864:1
4th 1.464:1
5th 1.231:1
6th 1.000:1
7th 0.824:1
8th 0.685:1