Towing a 10' Popup with a Toyota Camry
About 10 years ago I came to this forum and asked about towing a 10’ Colman popup with a Toyota Camry 4 Cylinder.
One member, who fortunately lives in my region and had towed with a Camry, suggested I contact a local RV dealer about having a custom hitch put on, which I did. I had a class III hitch with equalizing bars installed.
After 270,000 Km (168,000 Miles) on the car, two trips across the continent (through the Rockies and Black mountains) and many local camping trips I just sold the car. I did do in the transmission after 10 years and all those miles (reverse was slipping under a load). Even if I had replaced the transmission at $3,000.00 dollars it was still cheaper than buying a larger towing vehicle which was $10,000.00 more than the Camry. Plus I saved a lot on gas!
The Camry was much more comfortable for the family on long trips.
A few things I learned while towing were;
Don’t use the cruse control while towing, it was great on the highways until I hit a grade that caused the transmission to kick down two gears at once trying to maintain the same speed.
Someone suggested I never tow with the overdrive on. I now disagree with this, especially on the highway. The automatic transmission shifts as needed as long as you do not force the engine, as a cruse control will do to maintain a steady speed. Let the vehicle slow down going up inclines.
Never force the trailer up a hill in reverse!! That’s what finally did in the transmission, backing the trailer up into camp sites I should never have tried to get into.
I have always wanted a pickup, but with two kids and long road trips, it was not an option for me, as I could not afford one large enough for the kids to be comfortable. Now that they are grown, I have replaced the Camry with a Tacoma pickup.
I would have purchased another Camry if the pickup was still not an option.:)
One member, who fortunately lives in my region and had towed with a Camry, suggested I contact a local RV dealer about having a custom hitch put on, which I did. I had a class III hitch with equalizing bars installed.
After 270,000 Km (168,000 Miles) on the car, two trips across the continent (through the Rockies and Black mountains) and many local camping trips I just sold the car. I did do in the transmission after 10 years and all those miles (reverse was slipping under a load). Even if I had replaced the transmission at $3,000.00 dollars it was still cheaper than buying a larger towing vehicle which was $10,000.00 more than the Camry. Plus I saved a lot on gas!
The Camry was much more comfortable for the family on long trips.
A few things I learned while towing were;
Don’t use the cruse control while towing, it was great on the highways until I hit a grade that caused the transmission to kick down two gears at once trying to maintain the same speed.
Someone suggested I never tow with the overdrive on. I now disagree with this, especially on the highway. The automatic transmission shifts as needed as long as you do not force the engine, as a cruse control will do to maintain a steady speed. Let the vehicle slow down going up inclines.
Never force the trailer up a hill in reverse!! That’s what finally did in the transmission, backing the trailer up into camp sites I should never have tried to get into.
I have always wanted a pickup, but with two kids and long road trips, it was not an option for me, as I could not afford one large enough for the kids to be comfortable. Now that they are grown, I have replaced the Camry with a Tacoma pickup.
I would have purchased another Camry if the pickup was still not an option.:)
