Toyota 4Runner

Realistically, if you limit your selection list to travel trailers or hybrids with a dry weight of less than 3500 lbs and dry hitch weight under 350 lbs, and overall length of no more than about 22' or 23', once loaded with liquids and gear your trailer should be quite manageable. The 4Runner might be able to handle a heavier or longer trailer than that, but why push it? Especially if this is your first trailer and you're just learning, no sense in going whole hog. Get something just big enough to house your family and go make some memories. ;)

BTW, I just bought a Lexus GX 470 earlier this month, and I took a 2800 mile trip towing an Aliner popup. Piece of cake!

dryheat1 wrote:
Brand newbie. Just purchased 2013 Toyota 4Runner with intention of towing TT. Tow limit is 5000# and know nothing about other weight limits. Suspecting we're very limited to a hybrid?

Your tow weight is probably based on the vehichle weight more than anything else. More than 5K will push the back of it around if you don't have trailer brakes.

We have a 2008 4 Runner with the 215 hp v6 and the same 5000 pound tow rating. Used to have a 95 4 runner with the underpowered 3.0 and it was also 5K rated.

We pulled a 2007 Airstream Bambi (19 ft) CCD Series with a 2012 4Runner with 6 cyl. Hitch weight 510lbs GVWR 4500lbs We had sway control but no weight distribution.
If you check I think you will find that your TV is not to be used with weight Distribution. You can change out the receiver for one made for a Lexus and with that one you can use WD.
Not a bad combination. With the short wheel base choose a shorter trailer to keep sway under control. We towed mostly in the south and in the Smoky Mt area. Just hold your added weight down and drive 60MPH or less and you should be OK.

Thank you - we will further educate ourselves!

There are quite a number of folks on the Jayco user forum that tow hybrids with Tacomas, which I believe are the same platform. They all seem pretty happy with their setups. But even a hybrid can be fairly heavy, mine is over 4500#. A few of the Tocoma owners are towing right up to thier limits. I've done that and while it works, far better to have some margin in your numbers.

That said it's all about weights, in particular available payload in the Tacoma and tongue weight limits. There are small travel lightweight trailers like Rpods that even have slide outs. They are surprisingly nice, and roomy inside.

Since you don't know about the "other" weights, let me see if I can help.

Say your payload is 1400# (found on the sticker in the driver door piller). If your weight distribution hitch weighs 100#, and your trailer tongue weighs 700#. You have 600# of available payload left. Normally payload is calculated to include the driver, so add up the weight of everything in the truck, wife, kids, dog, bikes, etc. Say a family with 2 kids weighs 280#. Now you have 220# left. Add bikes, a grill, anything else you bring, you just ran it all out. Not good.

my ascend 17 footer weighs 3542 IIRC lbs. and I tow it with my Highlander which is rated for 5,000 lbs.


a word of warning since you are new here, somebody will want you to use a F-550 to tow it.
bumpy