Travel Trailer Towing Questions

[webby]

I have a 2008 SE 4WD V8, so rated towing capacity is 7000 lbs. I have the factory frame hitch, and the SE has the larger brakes. I just ordered a P3 Prodigy brake controller and will be installing it.

I am thinking about purchasing a travel trailer. What I have found in my research is that a lot of these travel trailers call themselves superlite, ultralite, and so on, but when you look at the dry weights, few are really very light. Some of them have slide-outs, but the slide-outs only extend say 12-14", so they add space, but only marginally.

We have done a lot of shopping, and here is the one that we like the most. It's a Lance 2285. It has a deep slide-out. The box itself measures 22', and the distance from the tip of the back bumper to the tip of the tongue is 26 to 26 1/2'. The dry weight is 4200 lbs, and the hitch dry weight is 450 lbs. I posted a link below to the mfg page on the model plus a pic of the layout below.

I know very well that dry weights are only the starting point. My wife and I weigh in at a total of 270, plus 60 lbs for the dog, so we have 330 lbs in warm bodies. We can fill with water at the campsite, so water tank travels dry, but add propane, camping gear and food, and obviously, we would be at or above 5000 lbs, but the vehicle is rated for 7000 lbs. I would use a quality weight distributing hitch with a sway bar.

Weight-wise, I believe there is enough cushion. I have noticed on this forum that there are at least a couple of members who tow 24 and 25' travel trailers with V8 4Runners, but the length of the trailer compared to the wheelbase of the 4Runner is still a bit of a concern to me.

Plus, here is another concern: Our travel route situation here from home to a couple of different campsites we like to go to during the intense heat of the summer is probably somewhat unique. We live in Phoenix, AZ, where the elevation is 1117'. The two different places we go camping are both at 7000' elevation, and the distance from our house is either campsite is only 117 miles! So we are talking about a rise of about 5880' in 117 miles.

There are both long gradual rises and shorter steep rises on both routes, and some up and down mixed in as well. The roads are excellent, all paved -- almost all interstate divided highway to one location, and the other location, mostly interstate, some state highways, but all excellent. Travel to these two campsites without a trailer takes us only 2 1/4 hours. Obviously it would take longer towing a trailer. So my concern is whether the V8 4Runner has both the requisite power and the requisite wheelbase for this job. Any input would be welcome.

Lance 2285 light weight travel trailer - Lance 2285

 

[jetboy1975]

Opinions will vary considerably based on comfort levels and towing experience. I am one of the ones who towed a larger sized trailer with a T4R. My current trailer is a 26' bunkhouse (30' tip to tail) and wieghs 5500lbs loaded to camp with 640lbs on the tongue. From my experience, it can be done safely but weight and length will be more of a concern than power.

I never felt a lack of power with my '04 V8. Yours with the VVTi will fare even better. Highway speeds and hills were never a problem, sometimes strong headwinds held it back a bit. Make sure you keep it in 4th while towing to reduce wear and heat in the tranny. It will drop occasionally to 3rd in the hills but can hold speed or even accelerate. Fuel mileage will suck regardless, but you gotta pay to play!

The T4R is rated for 7000lbs, as you say, but you'll never comfortably reach that limit without exceeding payload or rear axel weight. Around 5000lbs max is where you should try to keep it. You'll find the tongue weight will climb quickly above 450lbs. I'm assuming the storage area is at the front under the bed similar to mine. We packed light up front, but with propane and battery it easily added 200lbs to the tongue. We were maxed on payload, slightly over on RAWR, but had the rear air suspension which helped tremendously. Even with a good WDH you may want to consider adding it.

The last concern is the legth and sway control. As you mention, the short wheelbase and long trailer combo is not ideal. I had an Equil-i-zer hitch to start, which did ok, but eventually bought a Hensley for comfort. Forget the sway bar setup. Get built in sway control like the Equil-i-zer or Reese dual cam. We tended to get pushed by large trucks (any vehicle will) but worse were the gusty crosswinds. Even with the Hensley, the T4R would wiggle on the road and could be a 2 hands on the wheel drive which was not fun. I could attribute a large part of that to the 2" lift on the truck and the over sized AT tires with soft sidewalls. If you still have the stock "p" rated tires, you're going to want to change them for something with a higher rating and stiffer sidewall. (D range etc).

We tow about 4-5000 miles a summer and plan longer trips as the kids get older so in the end I recently sold my T4R and bought a Tundra Crewmax to be more comfortable. Now I can pack whatever I want without worry, even fill the tanks, take fire wood and dirty stuff in the bed etc. Now I sometimes forget the trailer is behind me :biggrin2:

All that being said, IMHO you'll be fine with the trailer you're looking at. Make sure it's loaded properly, get it weighed, buy the best hitch you can afford, consider new tires and airbags, but most of all take your time.

 

[teampwr2]

Opinions will vary considerably based on comfort levels and towing experience. I am one of the ones who towed a larger sized trailer with a T4R. My current trailer is a 26' bunkhouse (30' tip to tail) and wieghs 5500lbs loaded to camp with 640lbs on the tongue. From my experience, it can be done safely but weight and length will be more of a concern than power.

I never felt a lack of power with my '04 V8. Yours with the VVTi will fare even better. Highway speeds and hills were never a problem, sometimes strong headwinds held it back a bit. Make sure you keep it in 4th while towing to reduce wear and heat in the tranny. It will drop occasionally to 3rd in the hills but can hold speed or even accelerate. Fuel mileage will suck regardless, but you gotta pay to play!

The T4R is rated for 7000lbs, as you say, but you'll never comfortably reach that limit without exceeding payload or rear axel weight. Around 5000lbs max is where you should try to keep it. You'll find the tongue weight will climb quickly above 450lbs. I'm assuming the storage area is at the front under the bed similar to mine. We packed light up front, but with propane and battery it easily added 200lbs to the tongue. We were maxed on payload, slightly over on RAWR, but had the rear air suspension which helped tremendously. Even with a good WDH you may want to consider adding it.

The last concern is the legth and sway control. As you mention, the short wheelbase and long trailer combo is not ideal. I had an Equil-i-zer hitch to start, which did ok, but eventually bought a Hensley for comfort. Forget the sway bar setup. Get built in sway control like the Equil-i-zer or Reese dual cam. We tended to get pushed by large trucks (any vehicle will) but worse were the gusty crosswinds. Even with the Hensley, the T4R would wiggle on the road and could be a 2 hands on the wheel drive which was not fun. I could attribute a large part of that to the 2" lift on the truck and the over sized AT tires with soft sidewalls. If you still have the stock "p" rated tires, you're going to want to change them for something with a higher rating and stiffer sidewall. (D range etc).

We tow about 4-5000 miles a summer and plan longer trips as the kids get older so in the end I recently sold my T4R and bought a Tundra Crewmax to be more comfortable. Now I can pack whatever I want without worry, even fill the tanks, take fire wood and dirty stuff in the bed etc. Now I sometimes forget the trailer is behind me :biggrin2:

All that being said, IMHO you'll be fine with the trailer you're looking at. Make sure it's loaded properly, get it weighed, buy the best hitch you can afford, consider new tires and airbags, but most of all take your time.

XLNT Advise ...especially the last 7 words !1

 

[webby]

Opinions will vary considerably based on comfort levels and towing experience. I am one of the ones who towed a larger sized trailer with a T4R. My current trailer is a 26' bunkhouse (30' tip to tail) and wieghs 5500lbs loaded to camp with 640lbs on the tongue. From my experience, it can be done safely but weight and length will be more of a concern than power.

I never felt a lack of power with my '04 V8. Yours with the VVTi will fare even better. Highway speeds and hills were never a problem, sometimes strong headwinds held it back a bit. Make sure you keep it in 4th while towing to reduce wear and heat in the tranny. It will drop occasionally to 3rd in the hills but can hold speed or even accelerate. Fuel mileage will suck regardless, but you gotta pay to play!

The T4R is rated for 7000lbs, as you say, but you'll never comfortably reach that limit without exceeding payload or rear axel weight. Around 5000lbs max is where you should try to keep it. You'll find the tongue weight will climb quickly above 450lbs. I'm assuming the storage area is at the front under the bed similar to mine. We packed light up front, but with propane and battery it easily added 200lbs to the tongue. We were maxed on payload, slightly over on RAWR, but had the rear air suspension which helped tremendously. Even with a good WDH you may want to consider adding it.

The last concern is the legth and sway control. As you mention, the short wheelbase and long trailer combo is not ideal. I had an Equil-i-zer hitch to start, which did ok, but eventually bought a Hensley for comfort. Forget the sway bar setup. Get built in sway control like the Equil-i-zer or Reese dual cam. We tended to get pushed by large trucks (any vehicle will) but worse were the gusty crosswinds. Even with the Hensley, the T4R would wiggle on the road and could be a 2 hands on the wheel drive which was not fun. I could attribute a large part of that to the 2" lift on the truck and the over sized AT tires with soft sidewalls. If you still have the stock "p" rated tires, you're going to want to change them for something with a higher rating and stiffer sidewall. (D range etc).

We tow about 4-5000 miles a summer and plan longer trips as the kids get older so in the end I recently sold my T4R and bought a Tundra Crewmax to be more comfortable. Now I can pack whatever I want without worry, even fill the tanks, take fire wood and dirty stuff in the bed etc. Now I sometimes forget the trailer is behind me :biggrin2:

All that being said, IMHO you'll be fine with the trailer you're looking at. Make sure it's loaded properly, get it weighed, buy the best hitch you can afford, consider new tires and airbags, but most of all take your time.

Thanks for that -- a lot of excellent info. Much appreciated. It's very interesting to me that even with the benefit of a Hensley hitch added to your T4R and TT rig, you still experienced some of the symptoms of a short wheelbase tow vehicle.

Although the trailer I am contemplating buying is a bit shorter than yours, and a bit lighter, still, I am concerned that if I pull the trigger on the trailer, in the long run, I might find that I want a longer wheelbase towing vehicle. I really prefer the size of the T4R for general usage, but I suppose I could consider moving up to a Sequoia or Tundra Crewmax for the added towing beef, though my preference is for an SUV as opposed to a pickup.

The 2008 and up re-designed Sequoia, which offered the 5.7L V-8, in 4WD version has only a 7100 lb rated towing capacity, and in 2WD version, 7400 lb capacity. Whereas the 2WD Tundra Crewmax with the same 5.7 squirrel cage has a 9900 lb rated capacity, and the 4WD version of the same truck has a 9000 lb rated capacity (all figures per Toyota.com) I'm not sure why the figures for the Tundra Crewmax are so much higher than the Sequoia with the same engine. The only reasons I can think for the higher rating on the Tundra are perhaps the Sequoia is heavier, and maybe the Tundra has a longer wheelbase.

 

[KPINKY7]

Very interesting im going to buy 2007 keystone outback 23rs next week
dry weight 5010!! :hatsoff:

 

[DC runner]

Thanks for that -- a lot of excellent info. Much appreciated. It's very interesting to me that even with the benefit of a Hensley hitch added to your T4R and TT rig, you still experienced some of the symptoms of a short wheelbase tow vehicle.

Although the trailer I am contemplating buying is a bit shorter than yours, and a bit lighter, still, I am concerned that if I pull the trigger on the trailer, in the long run, I might find that I want a longer wheelbase towing vehicle. I really prefer the size of the T4R for general usage, but I suppose I could consider moving up to a Sequoia or Tundra Crewmax for the added towing beef, though my preference is for an SUV as opposed to a pickup.

The 2008 and up re-designed Sequoia, which offered the 5.7L V-8, in 4WD version has only a 7100 lb rated towing capacity, and in 2WD version, 7400 lb capacity. Whereas the 2WD Tundra Crewmax with the same 5.7 squirrel cage has a 9900 lb rated capacity, and the 4WD version of the same truck has a 9000 lb rated capacity (all figures per Toyota.com) I'm not sure why the figures for the Tundra Crewmax are so much higher than the Sequoia with the same engine. The only reasons I can think for the higher rating on the Tundra are perhaps the Sequoia is heavier, and maybe the Tundra has a longer wheelbase.

Nope. Probably gearing. Gearing is as important as engine size honestly. Heavy military machinery in WWII and Korea were essentially powered by I4's with very low gearing. Like a lever, give me the right one and I can move the world.

A truck is designed differently than a SUV. They assume the average truck owner is going to be towing, pulling, trucking.. and they give it a lower gear set. The SUV, on the other hand, Highway driving. Soccer trips. Kids. Mall. It gets a higher gearing for better highway mileage.