2012 Toyota Sequia

Old-Biscuit wrote:
Well that SUV has a MAX tow rating of 6900# and a MAX payload rating of 1330#
**When adequately equipped, which may require engine and/or other drivetrain upgrades.

Well, obviously you do not own a Sequoia, you pulled that off the internet somewhere. What you posted is the low limit for specific Sequoias.

One must ultimately use the owners manual to find the actual limits of the Sequoia. My 2010 4WD Limited with standard tow package is 9100lbs, per the manual. And this is the adjusted number from the very high limits initially released in 2008.

Payload does need to be watched, but its not critical. If you think you're close, watch rear axle weight instead and dont load up the back of the SUV. You'll be in fine shape.

Anyway..to the OP. Use your owners manual to find your max towing numbers. Not the internet.

And for trailers, you have a very wide range of options. DO NOT SHOP BY GVR, you'll end up with a very small trailer.

Shop by shipped weight, or add 1k to stated dry weights for a rough estimate. And if you think you'll pack the heck out it, add 1k to the shipped weight to get your loaded number.

The Gen2 Sequoia does have rear coil springs, unlike the Tundra. So you will sag the rear with 400+ lbs. You will need a good WDH regardless of all things, and you may want to consider air bags to help out too. I will be adding them very soon.

We tow 4300lbs of TT, and it pulls it with very little effort. We were pulling with a 2012 Honda Pilot, which did fine for in state trips, but we like family travel with TT so much, we changed our plans are we are going National in 2014. So we bought a Sequoia.

Very happy with my 2008 towing a 18' tongue to tail #4500 dry trailer. We have had the trailer up to #6000 for cross country trips, but usually around #5500 here in Colorado for weekend trips. We always travel with a full water tank and dump at home after the trip. We have been through the Cascades of Washington, the Rockies in Colorado, the plains of Kansas and the Appalachians out to DC. Even driving into 50mph headwinds in Wyoming, the truck never had an issue, other than mpg dropping under 6. We have a Hensley arrow and have never had any tail wagging the dog issues despite some panic stops and many miles of curvy mountain roads. I wouldn't want to pull much more trailer than I do now, however, because I like the fact that it doesn't appear to be too taxed by my set-up. We are under all ratings at the scales.

Currently have 60K on the engine. Blackstone tests come back below universal averages every time for wear indicators and 40K of that is towing miles.

I would definitely stay away from the 4.6 ( if they still offer it ) and get the towing package.

You should be able to find enough different styles/floorplans in a TT with a dry weight around 4500lbs to tow with your Sequoia. Keep the dry weight in that range and you should be good to go.

bmanning wrote:

Excellent point; I'm more an axle/tire rating guy than a GVW guy but receiver rating is not something that I personally would be comfortable going over.

I agree with that. Tires/axles/receiver priority over GVWR.

Been towing with my '08 Sequoia since summer of '09. Plenty of power. Our TT tips the scale at just under 6K loaded & ready to roll, so when I load up I use my tongue scale to verify tongue weight. It's just DW & me anymore so I know how much margin I have left in my GVW.

APT wrote:

bmanning wrote:

Two schools out there: if you go by GVW as some do, you'll be quite limited towing with the Sequoia...if you subscribe more to following axle and tire ratings, your margin goes up considerably.

There is also receiver rating at 900-ish pounds. That's about a 7k loaded RV.

Excellent point; I'm more an axle/tire rating guy than a GVW guy but receiver rating is not something that I personally would be comfortable going over.

bmanning wrote:

Two schools out there: if you go by GVW as some do, you'll be quite limited towing with the Sequoia...if you subscribe more to following axle and tire ratings, your margin goes up considerably.

There is also receiver rating at 900-ish pounds. That's about a 7k loaded RV.

Old-Biscuit wrote:
Well that SUV has a MAX tow rating of 6900# and a MAX payload rating of 1330#
**When adequately equipped, which may require engine and/or other drivetrain upgrades.

If this is correct they've been seriously de-rated somewhere along the line; IIRC when the new (current) gen Sequoia came out they were rated at 8500-9000lb or something along those lines.

As has been stated, your limitation is payload; the 5.7L V8/6speed auto drivetrain is extremely capable.

Two schools out there: if you go by GVW as some do, you'll be quite limited towing with the Sequoia...if you subscribe more to following axle and tire ratings, your margin goes up considerably.

The Sequoia suffers from payload issues, like all the competitor half ton SUVs. Check the driver's door for this sticker with as equipped payload. Note what they have where my TV has 2051:



Is 1300 pounds enough? 1100? 1500? Family, cargo, and trailer tongue weight are considered part of payload.

The 5.7L is sweet and everyone towing with it loves the power.

I'll put a plug in for my TV. 2008+ Suburban or Yukon XL 2500. All have 6.0L, 6-spd, 3.73 axle, LT tires, integrated brake controller and at least 2000 pounds of payload. We enjoy all the luxuries of 4 heated captain chairs, NAV, backupcam, sunroof, 3 zone climate control, Bluetooth, etc, all the while towing our TT and kids sleeping.

H2oSprt wrote:
Thinking about buying one of these and moving to a 25' trailer instead of a truck camper. What are people towing with these? Any issues?

Thanks!

Yes, the Sequoia is a fine tow vehicle if the trailer you select is within it's limits. SUVs generally have lower tow ratings than pickups because they are heavier. I've got the pickup version of the Sequoia, ie, the Tundra and have been very satisfied. I would also recommend you consider the 5.7 V8 only and not any of the smaller engines as the gas mileage is not much different. The 5.7 with the 6 speed trans is a great combo. Do your research and make sure the trailer you pick is withing the payload rating and you'll be fine. Make sure you have a good quality WD hitch too.