Towing w/ 2005 4Runner

Hi,

I am thinking about buying a 4x4 2005 4Runner with the 270hp V-8
engine. The specifications for this model say that I can tow upto
7000lbs with it. I am new to towing and I want to know how well this
4Runner will tow a 6000lb trailer?
Any thoughts or experiences?


Thanks,
Robert.

towing is hard on any vehicle, esp if you go to the max rating.

Make sure you order a tow kit from the factory. usually thius comes
with bigger brakes, radiator, tranny cooler and such....

For regular towing I would want to be not so close to the max tow
rating.

Matt

I dunno but from my limited experience there are some considerations ...
Background: I tow a 3000 lb boat/trailer (no brakes) with a 3100 lb '96
Cherokee spec to tow 5000 lbs, 4 sp auto, command-trac, 4.0 litre ... lets
say about 200 lbs
torque at about my normal 1800 rpm (100 km/hr), bolt on transmission cooler.
I have absolutely no problems pulling the boat out of the drink (4 L), no
problems at up to about 110 km/hr in 4th (overdrive) since I'm up basically
idling along at about 1800 rpm in the 200 lbs or so torque range. The only
potential problem I have is that the trailer does not have brakes ... so I
drive watchfully, looking a few cars ahead as it were.

So, a 4x4 (5000 lbs?), (5 spd auto?), (300 lbs torque at I dunno 3K rpm?),
pulling 6000 lbs ... daily? once in a while?. From my limited experience, I
would do it pulling a boat which is maybe 20 times/year but would: look into
the appropriateness of the rear axle ratio, would for sure add a
transmission cooler,
would for sure get trailer brakes, would for sure double up on the oil
change frequency ... that's about it ... my 2 cents worth.

Now ... I'm retiring in a year or 2 ... I'm gonna get a bigger boat at 7000
lbs plus and trailer it all over the frikken place (bonus: saves about
$2K/yr on marina fees) ... and I'm gonna be towing it with a 4x4 dodge 2500
cummins ... that's the plan.





"robert" > wrote in message
oups.com...
> Hi,
>
> I am thinking about buying a 4x4 2005 4Runner with the 270hp V-8
> engine. The specifications for this model say that I can tow upto
> 7000lbs with it. I am new to towing and I want to know how well this
> 4Runner will tow a 6000lb trailer?
> Any thoughts or experiences?
>
>
> Thanks,
> Robert.
>

I am sure that in US speak towing must mean being able to drive as if there
is nothing on the back of the vehicle. It seems that a chev sububan is a
minimum requirement for moving a few bags of cement.

I have a LR discovery (300tdi) that has a theoretical tow mass of 4000kg
(approx 8800lbs). I find that moving even its own unladen bulk up a hill
requires some fair old welly. However if you are the patient sort and are
quite familiar with low range then I see no reason why towing 4000kgs would
present a problem. In my older landy (a serIII) I did, on occassion, pull a
trailer loaded with sand (total mass about 3500kgs). Of course I would
decend hills in second gear and leave big following distances. In fact it is
said of towing, that one should decend in the same gear that one would use
to acend the same slope.

As far as toyotas go, much as it galls me to say so, they generally are very
tough and should not give too many problems in the gearbox dept. The above
not withstanding, if I was in the US I would surely have the biggest,
red-neckest dodge ram with cummins turbodiesel, and towpack capable of
towing small shopping centers. Alas in South Africa, it would cost half our
GDP to by and the other half to run.

Regards
Stephen

Were this me, I'd go with a 3/4 ton truck (Dodge 2500, GM 2500, F-250)
rather than a Toyota 4Runner. My Dodge 2500 is rated about 13K towing,
huge brakes, factory towing package... Tows well, it is meant to work.
The 4Runner could do the job occasionally, but for distance or
frequent towing I'd be reluctant to push it--realize you are towing
much more than the actual vehicle weight (which is about 4000 lb) and
that makes a situation where the tail is wagging the dog... <g> Even
3/4 ton trucks are not (usually) 6000 lb net, but they are heaver than
that Toyota.

I strongly recommend if towing use an automatic, they are much better
at keeping you in the engine's power range, don't have a clutch to
wear out (especially if you are not an experienced driver of heavy
loaded vehicles...) and are just as reliable. No, automatics are not
'sissy', many of today's big rigs (semi's) are equipped with
automatics for these vary reasons. If you tow a lot, do a
transmission flush *every* year...

On 28 Jan 2005 22:01:53 -0800, "robert" > wrote:

>Hi,
>
>I am thinking about buying a 4x4 2005 4Runner with the 270hp V-8
>engine. The specifications for this model say that I can tow upto
>7000lbs with it. I am new to towing and I want to know how well this
>4Runner will tow a 6000lb trailer?
>Any thoughts or experiences?
>
>
>Thanks,
>Robert.

> I strongly recommend if towing use an automatic, they are much better
> at keeping you in the engine's power range, don't have a clutch to
> wear out (especially if you are not an experienced driver of heavy
> loaded vehicles...) and are just as reliable. No, automatics are not
> 'sissy', many of today's big rigs (semi's) are equipped with
> automatics for these vary reasons. If you tow a lot, do a
> transmission flush *every* year...
Actually automatic trannies do have clutches that wear out

Matt

That's true, but they wear out based on usage, not crappy driving
habits! <bg> I've seen very few drivers who can clutch heavy loads
correctly that are not big rig drivers... And the clutches in must
small SUVs are just not made to take that kind of usage.

But, worse than clutches on automatics is fluid breakdown, and
overheating. Most automatics die because owners abused them (towing
without selecting towing mode if there is one, towing too fast, too
hard...; and failing to change the tranny fluid on a regular basis.)

On 29 Jan 2005 11:13:54 -0800, wrote:

>
>Actually automatic trannies do have clutches that wear out
>
>Matt

Peter D. Hipson wrote:
> That's true, but they wear out based on usage, not crappy driving
> habits! <bg> I've seen very few drivers who can clutch heavy loads
> correctly that are not big rig drivers... And the clutches in must
> small SUVs are just not made to take that kind of usage.

Yes true the manual clutch will wear faster, altough you can destroy an
auto fairly quickly if you beat on it with a powerful motor and a
trailer.

What is the best way to get going with a standard in terms of clutch
friendly?


> But, worse than clutches on automatics is fluid breakdown, and
> overheating. Most automatics die because owners abused them (towing
> without selecting towing mode if there is one, towing too fast, too
> hard...; and failing to change the tranny fluid on a regular basis.)
Yep very true. #1 auto tranny killer is heat

Matt

I really wish I could describe it in an email, but basically you want
to minimize slipage on startup as much as possible... This does
require a transmission with a low first gear, if possible.


Heck, I've seen drivers who slip the clutch each shift (hit the
accelerator then let up the clutch slowly--clutch death!)


On 30 Jan 2005 11:05:09 -0800, wrote:

>
>
>What is the best way to get going with a standard in terms of clutch
>friendly?
>

Is that 6000lbs the trailer by itself or is that when it's loaded?

If thats loaded then a 4Runner would be fine for towing every now and
then, depending on the distance you plan to tow it.

If that 6000lbs is an empty weight, once you load that trailer you will
need a 3/4 ton pickup, 2 0r 4 wheel drive with a standard transmission
no question.

Take my opinion for what it's worth, but I have been towing trailers
ever scince I was old enough to drive. I am now 32yrs old.