Towing with Electric Brakes vs Hydraulic Surge Brakes

[PanicDog]

My wife and I just bought a 2006 Limited 4WD V8. We purchased the 4Runner because we are planning on moving from Seattle, WA to Wilmington, NC with our new baby and needed something that could haul our household belongings. We don't know anything about towing really, so we have been frantically trying to get up to speed before we embark (May 1st). We were planning on buying a 6'x10' single-axle cargo trailer without any brakes. Here in Seattle that runs around $2500. However, after doing a little research, I realized I could rent a 6'x12' tandem-axle trailer with hydraulic surge brakes from UHaul for the first leg of our trip (Seattle to Boulder, CO) for only $300.

Is there any reason not to tow a trailer with surge brakes with our 4Runner? We have the V8 and the factory hitch. I'm not sure if that means we have the "towing package" but I assume it does. We are going to have to cross the Rocky Mountains and the Appalachians so I assume surge-brakes would be the way to go. Is that correct?

Thanks!

 

[Bamaskeet]

Surge brakes work great, your truck will tow a trailer with no problem, just take it easy and give your self more room to stop.

 

[PanicDog]

Thanks. I've got a couple more questions.

1. I read on the UHaul site that weight-distributing hitches and sway bars are not required for UHaul trailers. Does that seem reasonable?

2. Our manual and posters on this forum have said to tow in 4, not D. This may be a stupid question, but what does that mean for getting up to speed? Do I start out in D and then once I get up to speed on the highway, shift to 4? Or do I start out in L, then go to 2 -> 3 -> 4 as I get up to speed?

 

[tonyxcom]

When you put it in 4 as opposed to D all you are doing is keeping the tranny from shifting into its final gear or overdrive which isn't ideal when towing.

So just put it in 4 and leave it in 4.

 

[M1911]

When you put it in 4 as opposed to D all you are doing is keeping the tranny from shifting into its final gear or overdrive which isn't ideal when towing.

So just put it in 4 and leave it in 4.

What he said.

 

[PanicDog]

Cool, thanks for the info on D vs. 4.

Is there any reason to prefer electric brakes vs. surge brakes for a trip like ours? I read online that electric brakes have replaced surge brakes for private trailers. I assume UHaul is still using them to bypass the need for an electric hook up.

It looks like buying a tandem-axle trailer with electric brakes would cost at least $3500 and then we would still need brake wiring in our 4Runner as well. We could try to sell that trailer at the end of our trip, but unless there is some compelling reason to use electric brakes, it looks like UHaul will be the way to go for us.

 

[DaBoostCreep]

The 4th gen is prewired for a brake controller.