Towing with your 5th gens?

the drivers door jamb yellow sticker is the final say so, it trumps the owners manual.

Actually, my previous post was wrong - the door jamb sticker only lists GVWR & GAWR. Is there supposed to be another sticker? I'm thinking not, because the manual says to get GVWR & GAWR from the certification label (no problem) and the GCWR & TWR from a table in said manual (#11,100 & #5000, respectively).
 
Wow, these towing w/ a 5th gen threads are driving me crazy!!!! These are body on frame vehicles and are good for up to 5k. As stated before, rear suspension air bags and trailer brakes are a good idea. Also, tires that can be inflated to 44 psi or more when cold are a good idea too. I've seen a 5th gen tow a Bob Cat mini bull dozer before.
 
Wow, these towing w/ a 5th gen threads are driving me crazy!!!! These are body on frame vehicles and are good for up to 5k. As stated before, rear suspension air bags and trailer brakes are a good idea. Also, tires that can be inflated to 44 psi or more when cold are a good idea too. I've seen a 5th gen tow a Bob Cat mini bull dozer before.

completely agree! I even once towed a grand cherokee on a dolly, which gave me approx. 5500 LBS, and obviously no trailer brakes, or anti-sway system. I knew the truck would do fine, because for god's sake, it's a TRUCK! not some car disguised in a SUV. Well, all in all, had lots of grades, going in and out of highways, and everything went fine (over 1H drive), you just have to be cautious and keep your distances. Power and braking was enough, and AT temps did stay in a safe range.
 
completely agree! I even once towed a grand cherokee on a dolly, which gave me approx. 5500 LBS, and obviously no trailer brakes, or anti-sway system. I knew the truck would do fine, because for god's sake, it's a TRUCK! not some car disguised in a SUV. Well, all in all, had lots of grades, going in and out of highways, and everything went fine (over 1H drive), you just have to be cautious and keep your distances. Power and braking was enough, and AT temps did stay in a safe range.
While I am personally guilty of pulling far over 5K across the continent with a 4runner, please don't do that again. Pulling more than 1000lb (arbitrary number, but somewhere around there), you NEED trailer brakes and a brake controller. Under ideal conditions, you'll have no problem stopping just about any trailer, but in an emergency, things are very different. The harder and faster you apply the brakes, the trailer applies increasing tongue weight to the vehicle, effectively lifting the main braking axle of the tow vehicle, reducing its traction and braking force.
 
While I am personally guilty of pulling far over 5K across the continent with a 4runner, please don't do that again. Pulling more than 1000lb (arbitrary number, but somewhere around there), you NEED trailer brakes and a brake controller. Under ideal conditions, you'll have no problem stopping just about any trailer, but in an emergency, things are very different. The harder and faster you apply the brakes, the trailer applies increasing tongue weight to the vehicle, effectively lifting the main braking axle of the tow vehicle, reducing its traction and braking force.

Never seen a car dolly with brakes. Done this a quite a few times actually, most of the times with light cars, no problem whatsoever, caution is key. Nearly everyone renting a tow dolly at your local u-haul is doing the same.
 
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Towing is a lot more complex than some words written on a sticker, manual or an internet blog. Factor in terrain first, traffic conditions second and something you may have no control over, such as wind direction & wind speed.

Keeping the RPM's below 3,500 on a decent grade while towing 5,000 lbs. will net about 25 mph. That's ok unless everyone else around you is driving large & fast trucks like they do in Arizona. Throw in a 50 mph headwind while pulling a travel trailer and good luck maintaining 40 mph.

When someone tells you to buy the same rig they own, listen, they might be right. When they tell you to buy a different rig then they own, really pay attention, they probably know something you don't.

“No one should impose their own perception of fulfillment on anyone else.”
Do whatever you want or can afford.
 
The 4,700 value is the new SAE standards value, which only Toyota does with tow vehicles and it has to pass a number of tests and trials to get this endorsement. It means you should be reasonably able to tow this amount under most conditions, with decent performance.
 
If you look at the image of the manual page posted in this thread, you'll see that the manual says 5,000 lbs in accordance with the new SAE standard.
You are quite correct of course. But the spec sheet provided by Toyota to journalists says 4,700 is the SAE value. We're talking about 300 lbs., so I think you're fine w/5,000. One value may be taking into account two 150-lb. occupants while the other is not. It seems to me it's been 5,000 for over a decade, but when they adopted the SAE standards it dropped to 4,700. Go figure.
 
Towing is a lot more complex than some words written on a sticker, manual or an internet blog. Factor in terrain first, traffic conditions second and something you may have no control over, such as wind direction & wind speed.

Keeping the RPM's below 3,500 on a decent grade while towing 5,000 lbs. will net about 25 mph. That's ok unless everyone else around you is driving large & fast trucks like they do in Arizona. Throw in a 50 mph headwind while pulling a travel trailer and good luck maintaining 40 mph.

When someone tells you to buy the same rig they own, listen, they might be right. When they tell you to buy a different rig then they own, really pay attention, they probably know something you don't.

“No one should impose their own perception of fulfillment on anyone else.”
Do whatever you want or can afford.

What gear were you in that you could only go 25mph under 3500 RPM? I towed up Siskiyou Pass (8% grade for 6.5 miles, which is also the steepest, longest consistent grade on that stretch of I-5) with my 4800lb loaded travel trailer when I moved it to California and in 3rd gear at 3400 RPM I was going about 48mph, occasionally it would drop to second and just a little over 4k RPM but would quickly shift back down to third with a little pedal control and speed control once I got the feel for it. 48mph seemed to be that sweet spot. Still passed 18 wheeler and still got passed by regular vehicles. I'm not trying to start an argument on it just curious how you ended up with that result, when I ended up with a completely different one. (Terrain could have been steeper or I'm sure other factors).
 
Got a new yellow tow capacity sticker for 6500 and it tows much better now.
 

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That boat ^^ is sweeet.

Starting from a stop on 2 lane state road in 2nd gear. True, that getting a "run" at a hill is helpful. I'm all about towing with a 4runner in the 5,000 lb. range. The OP lives in TN where his family will likely encounter steep grades on a regular basis.
 

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