Towing with a 4Runner or Explorer---experiences, please!

[coolmom42]

Those 2 vehicles are on my short list of desired tow vehicles for a small travel trailer. I'm aware of the tow ratings, limitations, etc. No need to belabor those points. Just wanting someone's personal, practical experiences.

What kind of sway control/WD system do you use?
Specific problems/issues you've had?
Things you really like?
How well does the tranny cooler work?

That sort of thing, and any other helpful details, will be greatly appreciated.

[BenK]

Crazy, but that is the way of it...

Closed a couple of my small controls firms back in the day...

One was industrial controls (segment was in people movers) and had over 70% of the USA Ski Lift controllers in the 70's...till too many lawsuits with HUGE awards...on old, old equipment and saying it should meet 'current' safety standards...even though some of the stuff was over 10 years old.

YAN took up that vacated market and is doing well from what I can see

[camp-n-family]

BenK wrote:
Bryan...very sage advice and suggest anyone thinking of that...ask their welder or shop if they would stand behind something like this...ditto if their insurance will...

carringb wrote:

camp-n-family wrote:
You can easily have a custom hitch made for a couple hundred bucks.

Maybe in Canada. There's not many shops willing to put their name on a custom fabricated hitch in the US. To many $ at risk if something goes wrong.

I hadn't thought about the American aspec of it, the land where everybody sues for everything and anything. It's not that way in Canada. Many shops here will custom fabricate. I've had it done several times. I guess that's why people come from all over the US to CanAm RV for custom work.

[BenK]

Bryan...very sage advice and suggest anyone thinking of that...ask their welder or shop if they would stand behind something like this...ditto if their insurance will...

carringb wrote:

camp-n-family wrote:
You can easily have a custom hitch made for a couple hundred bucks.

Maybe in Canada. There's not many shops willing to put their name on a custom fabricated hitch in the US. To many $ at risk if something goes wrong.

[SweetLou]

Madmartigan wrote:

SweetLou wrote:
I didn't read all 4 pages of reports so if I repeat I'm sorry. Short wheel base should be understood. Balance your loads and don't speed. Whipping a trailer with a short wheel base vehicle will be lets say exciting.

We started out towing a 19ft Fleetwood with a 2000 Jeep Grand Cherokee V8 Limited with an Equalizer hitch. I installed HD rear coils, an a/m tru-cool tranny cooler, heavy duty rear sway bar and all things considered it towed like a champ. Tranny took everything I threw at it and motor and tranny never over-heated even during high altitude heavy pulls. No, it wasn't racing up the hills, but for what it was I was pleased.
Then one day we were flying along a highway in WY and the trailer blew a tire. It whipped the Jeep around like a rag doll and we were inches from laying the whole rig on its side. My parents were towing behind us and saw the whole thing. That was the last year we towed with the Jeep and I went and bought a 3/4 ton truck. Speaking from experience, wheel base was the biggest issue with those smaller tow vehicles.

Case and point. All the Mods made come standard for towing with a full size truck usually and the longer wheelbase just might save you and your family's lives.

[Madmartigan]

SweetLou wrote:
I didn't read all 4 pages of reports so if I repeat I'm sorry. Short wheel base should be understood. Balance your loads and don't speed. Whipping a trailer with a short wheel base vehicle will be lets say exciting.

We started out towing a 19ft Fleetwood with a 2000 Jeep Grand Cherokee V8 Limited with an Equalizer hitch. I installed HD rear coils, an a/m tru-cool tranny cooler, heavy duty rear sway bar and all things considered it towed like a champ. Tranny took everything I threw at it and motor and tranny never over-heated even during high altitude heavy pulls. No, it wasn't racing up the hills, but for what it was I was pleased.
Then one day we were flying along a highway in WY and the trailer blew a tire. It whipped the Jeep around like a rag doll and we were inches from laying the whole rig on its side. My parents were towing behind us and saw the whole thing. That was the last year we towed with the Jeep and I went and bought a 3/4 ton truck. Speaking from experience, wheel base was the biggest issue with those smaller tow vehicles.

[carringb]

camp-n-family wrote:
You can easily have a custom hitch made for a couple hundred bucks.

Maybe in Canada. There's not many shops willing to put their name on a custom fabricated hitch in the US. To many $ at risk if something goes wrong.

[camp-n-family]

Go to any hitch shop and get one modified or custom made. I did a little searching on the t4r.org forum and found some that were able to use a hitch off the Lexus460, slightly modified. I wouldn't do anything drastic like trading before trying it first. You can easily have a custom hitch made for a couple hundred bucks.

[SpeakEasy]

Well this really sucks.

Turns out that there are NO after-market hitches for the 2010 4runner. So I can't replace the factory hitch with one that is more robust for weight-distribution.

And - I got an authoritative answer from Toyota that they do not recommend weight distribution with the 2010 4Runner.

So now I have to trade in my 4Runner for a truck. I'm thinking a Ford F150. I'll open a new thread for that discussion.

I traded my Highlander which was rated for 3500 lb for the 4Runner which is rated for 5000 lb thinking I was doing the right thing. Now I find out that I was barking up the wrong tree.

-Speak

[SweetLou]

I didn't read all 4 pages of reports so if I repeat I'm sorry. Short wheel base should be understood. Balance your loads and don't speed. Whipping a trailer with a short wheel base vehicle will be lets say exciting.

[coolmom42]

MFL wrote:
For your application (smaller light wt trailer), I would take a close look at the F150 with 5.0 V8. It will get about the same mileage as the 3.5 Eco, towing or daily driving. It will be cheaper to purchase, with good availability in used market.

The short bed 150s are very car like, but still truck advantage, with things like stronger hitch, integrated brake controller, and anti-sway control.

Jerry

Worth checking into, thanks.

My significant other has a F150 with the Ecoboost, and is very pleased with it for towing and general use.

I do NOT like the big console from the 40/20/40 seat fold down. It's very clunky and in the way. But apparently they can be swapped out for a regular console, not cheap though. That's really the only thing I don't like about the truck.

[MFL]

For your application (smaller light wt trailer), I would take a close look at the F150 with 5.0 V8. It will get about the same mileage as the 3.5 Eco, towing or daily driving. It will be cheaper to purchase, with good availability in used market.

The short bed 150s are very car like, but still truck advantage, with things like stronger hitch, integrated brake controller, and anti-sway control.

Jerry

[coolmom42]

camp-n-family wrote:

coolmom42 wrote:
I had a Sequoia and really liked it, but the gas mileage was atrocious, even not towing and being easy on the gas pedal. Looks like it's still about the same at 15-16 mpg overall rating.

The gas mileage issue, along with the WD issue, is pushing me towards a Ford. My first choice would be an Explorer but I need to investigate the WD issue with them, too. That leave an Expedition or F-150 as the next logical steps.

Tow mileage isn't going to be good in any vehicle and I don't think the non towing mileage is going to be that much greater with an Explorer. Posts from owners of the ecoboost report worse than expected/advertised MPG.

I wouldn't consider the WD hitch a major "issue" either and certainly wouldn't let it deter me from a Toyota. An aftermarket hitch and install is a cheap and easy fix. The Curt hitch I bought for my old T4R was good quality and was under $120. Installed myself in 20 minutes.

Oh I know not to expect tow mileage to average more than 10 mpg, regardless.

This vehicle will also be my daily driver, so gas-guzzling is a concern.

I know several people with the Ford V6 Ecoboost in F-150s, and their mpg as calculated by the vehicle computer runs 17-24, averaging around 20-22, depending on driving habits.

[SpeakEasy]

coolmom42 wrote:

SpeakEasy wrote:
I have a 2010 4Runner - SR5 - not the trail model. It's the V6, 4.0L, 270 HP model and is rated for 5000 lb towing.

I'm using it with WD hitch, and the TT weighs in at 4300 lb.

This whole discussion of the use of a WD hitch with the factory receiver is pretty confusing to me and pretty concerning. I'll discuss that in a minute. First I'll respond to coolmom's original question.

I have had this setup for one season - the 2016 camping season. We took a few short trips around our part of NYS, and we took a longer trip through the Appalachians (West Virginia) and then another trip through Vermont. We probably towed more than 3000 miles total. Lots of it was in mountains. On our first trip I was watching the transmission temperature like a hawk. Based on what I saw, I decided to install a supplemental transmission cooler. Excellent decision! After that, our temps were fine in all conditions. On the steeper hills of WV we knew the trailer was there, for sure, but I never felt we were under powered. I didn't experience what some folks call white knuckle driving. The whole setup seemed pretty stable to me, even though I knew the trailer was there. I don't have any concerns about my towing experience.

I am short of cargo capacity, however. With the tongue weight and the weight of myself and one passenger, I'm at or a bit over capacity. Therefore, I put virtually no cargo in the SUV. It all goes into the trailer. It works for us, because it is just the two of us, and we do pack light. If you have more people and more gear, it will be a problem for you.

Now as to the WD hitch issue. That is a HUGE concern to me, and I wish I had known about this before I bought this vehicle. However, having read the entire thread here and most of the thread over on the 4runner forum, it looks as if Toyota may have revised their restriction. Apparently there was a time when they were putting a clause in the owners manual telling people not to use a WD hitch with this vehicle. That clause is NOT in my owners manual. There is no restriction, no warning, no caution, not a word about WD hitches. But I checked, and the receiver I have is, in fact, the small square one that is bolted to a cross member. It is not the extensive kind with arms that lead forward up to the side frame members. I am very disappointed to discover this, and I am not sure what to do about it. I will contact Toyota and ask them for some clarification.

-Speak

Don't you have an auxiliary tranny cooler factory installed? Are you saying that wasn't enough in tough situations?

I don't know if there is a factory-installed auxiliary tranny cooler or not. I do know that after I installed a supplemental one my temps were running at least 20 degrees cooler all the time.

-Speak

[camp-n-family]

coolmom42 wrote:
I had a Sequoia and really liked it, but the gas mileage was atrocious, even not towing and being easy on the gas pedal. Looks like it's still about the same at 15-16 mpg overall rating.

The gas mileage issue, along with the WD issue, is pushing me towards a Ford. My first choice would be an Explorer but I need to investigate the WD issue with them, too. That leave an Expedition or F-150 as the next logical steps.

Tow mileage isn't going to be good in any vehicle and I don't think the non towing mileage is going to be that much greater with an Explorer. Posts from owners of the ecoboost report worse than expected/advertised MPG.

I wouldn't consider the WD hitch a major "issue" either and certainly wouldn't let it deter me from a Toyota. An aftermarket hitch and install is a cheap and easy fix. The Curt hitch I bought for my old T4R was good quality and was under $120. Installed myself in 20 minutes.