Good point... trailer balance is critical when you have a light tow rig. It took me a lot of experimenting to get it right with my Taco. In the end I had about a 3" window of where I could park the Runner on the trailer. Too far forward and the butt end squatted and I couldn't steer and too far back and the trailer would sway really bad. In the right place it was really stable though and easy to tow. Towing the same load after I bought my Tundra and an Auto is a night and day difference.

 

Tow rating is likely only with a WD hitch - read the manual.

Towing with a manual is better/easier than an auto.

I don't care about the rating - I care about your brakes. And they are NOT... let me repeat... NOT up to the task of towing a car trailer of this weight. Heck, my Tundra is not up to the task of towing my 4Runner on a trailer. The brakes just aren't enough.

Add to that rear vision. You're going to have horrible line of site out of your side mirrors due to width.

I've towed an 85 4Runner back from CO w/ a 94 4Runner (5-speed). Dumbest thing I've ever done. Put a lot of lives in danger. Was it "up to the task?" Sure... got it up to speed just fine, even with the 3.0. But it was NOT up to the task of stopping OR handling side winds...

 

That's why they make trailer brakes! With my Brake Controller in the boost mode and brakes on both axles of my car hauler it'll stop with no problem. Sounds like he has a similiar set up.

 

Irrelevant. Trailer brakes are not enough. Put a 1-ton next to a Tacoma with the same trailer load and tell me which one stops better. Trailer brakes do not overcome the entire load and are NOT a substitute for appropriate tow rig brakes.

 

I think toyota has made the brakes to tow this appropriately. They would not rate the 6yl 4runners for 5000lb if they had not.

 

Don't drive like an idiot and you'll be fine. Your rotors will likely get hot and warp, but as long as you don't overheat the fluid it won't hinder stopping distances.

 

in this case your right, but side by side a 1 ton with a 15,000lbs trailer load and a Toyota v-6 with a 5000lbs trailer load, which they are both rated for, I bet Toyota would stop in less distance.

Yes, a 1 ton, 3/4 ton or full size 1/2 ton would do a better job of pulling the trailer, they are a larger and heaver truck. They also have a larger towing rating, because they are a heavier truck. Anytime you add a large load to a truck, even just in bed of the truck, you increase the stop distance of that truck. So you have to adjust how you drive for what you have. If you get caught in a high cross wind area, you slow down a speed that let you control the truck, coming down a mountain, you slow down and let the engine do some breaking, get into some traffic, leave extra room in front of you.

 

Thought I'd put in my two cents.

I just got done towing my pop-up camper from Denver to Yellowstone and back which is about a 12 hour trip. Now, I was towing much less weight (only about 2000-2200lb), but my 4x4 Manual 5spd 3rd Gen 4Runner did it very well. It goes slow up some of the steeper hills, but it will pull it. Twice what I pulled seems quite a lot now that I've been towing my pop-up, but I'm sure it could do it on flatter lands. I wouldn't expect the 4Runner to pull very fast at all up hills. I do believe the manual is a better transmission to tow with, however! More control over your speed and power.

I've also upgraded my brakes to the bigger 231mm Tundra brakes which helped immensly when stopping. I wouldn't tow with our 3rd Gen 4Runners without enough braking power! My pop-up doesn't have brakes of its own, and braking when coming down hills was pretty scary not knowing when I was going to be able to stop before the upgrade. I agree with an earlier poster that you should make sure you have the braking power for what you need!

 

That's really not a fair comparison. It's apples and oranges, to be honest.


Very key point.

It's not just the planning for how to drive, it's being ABLE, if needed, to make a panic stop. I can tell you that having towed with a 4Runner, two Tundras and a CTD... there's simply no comparison when it comes time to stopping a loaded trailer (brakes or not).

Is it "possible" to tow that much with the 4runner. Sure. Is it wise? No.

 

I would agree with the last post that toyota would make sure the brakes were good enough for 5000 lbs. However keep in mind that is if your brakes are in perfect condition.

Food for thought... I have some friends who towed 4000 lbs with a a Landrover Discovery. They were traveling down the road at 95 km/hr when a semi passed them. The driver flinched a bit over a bump and the trailer picked the rear wheels off the ground. He hit the brakes and the whole thing jack knifed at that speed! The truck cartwheeled several times in the ditch and then the trailer plowed into it. Luckily the worst injuries were some bad bruises and a 6 months of sore backs.

So yes, Toyota rates it, but go slow you never know what can happen.

I've hauled 36 ton in a 28 ton truck before as well. It's ok, if you don't have to stop fast or go fast.

 

Just realize in your trip planning that your not going to be able to travel 70mph on the highway. With that kind of load on your 4runner you will not be able to use 5 gear/overdrive and you will be limited by RPM of what your 4th gear gives you.

I think you will be fine as long as you don't drive crazy, keep the appropriate gear for the speed and grade your traveling. Also when you get to a steep grade don't beat the hell out of the engine trying to keep up with traffic, just keep downshifting till you get to a point where the engine feels like it has power and is at a reasonable RPM 2700-3200 and travel at the speed it gives you.


FOG

 

but it is a fair comparison to show that each type of truck is able to pull up to a load that the manufacture has designed that truck to pull.


The part about panic stops is true with any vehicle, that is where the driver can make the difference. I pulled an 20ft boat through New Mexico mountains for 2 years with an 87 4x4 turbo and no trailer brakes with out any problems, because I adjusted to what I had, just as I would adjust to the 18 wheeler I was driving or a different pickup with or without trailer brakes. And I would hope the person doing this would adjust also.


Wise, yes and no. No - if he tries to drive the truck & tailer like he drives every day. YES - if takes his time and leaves extra room in front of him and doesn't push the trip.

 

car dolly?

 

Go up to U-Haul.com and "pretend" to be interested in renting their auto transport. put in what you are towing with and the vehicle being towed. If it allows you to continue, you are probably pretty safe. There system is pretty conservative. (and also has some glitches like a ford explorer is not able to tow anything!) It isn't apples to apples since the trailer you described has electric brakes and the u-hauls use a load actuated system that works off of the tongue.

Generally the toyota tow ratings seem to be on the concervative side compared to domestics. If your rig is rated for 5k I would think you are OK. Like everyone has said, drive smart and you should be alright, but don't be surprised if your clutch gets a bit less overall mileage before it's time for a new one. Oh and if you don't have decent towing experience overall, don't risk it and just rent a rig for the task.

Good luck with the trip!

What car are you picking up out of curiosity. 2700 pounds sounds like a Delorean to me?

 

I've towed U-Haul's biggest trailer 700 miles, and it was very soon after I got my 4Runner. I wish I had read up on how to actually tow, because I made a number of mistakes:
1.) I left O/D on, which ended up DESTROYING my transmission (Auto) and costing me over two grand to fix. I did this because I was worried about my engine, which was stupid, but all my cars previously had been standard.
2.) I didn't slow down. Luckily, I was going down I20 in the middle of the week, and never had to make any panic stops. However, I can tell you first hand that the stock brakes are severely underpowered. They will stop it, but it will take a LONG time, and you will experience a LOT of fade. Just give yourself plenty of room to stop, and be thinking very far ahead. With a manual you'll be able to use engine braking though, which will be a much safer bet and help to save your brakes.

Just do like everyone else has said: Go slow, and if you don't feel comfortable at a given speed, go slower.

 

Bushpig good luck with getting this done.

 

doesn't sound like a glitch to me....

 

You're good! I pulled 4000lb-(Have the weight tickets to prove it!) from WA state all the way to PA and then down to NC with my '00 taco (manual trans 5speed) going 70mph; averaged 17-18 mpg with the 3.4 and the only issue was I needed a brake job up front (which I didn't take care of for over a year and the brakes worked fine) just a small chatter at exactly 55mph sometimes. This was long before the SC too

I had to slip the clutch a tad to get it going even from 1st gear, not the recommended technique but my clutch is still bombproof even after a SC install! can't believe it's held up to all the abuse so far... amazing. Even pulled fine up over the rockies, had to drop it into low range for about a 3 mile stretch on a really steep pass but she did fine. Oh yeah, did this in under 4 days, something like 3700 miles total. Toyotas rock

 

I know, I wouldn't be caught in that exploder junk either, but if you put in Mercury Mountaineer instead of explorer, it will let you tow with that. They are identical hardware-wise, just look different. I think it has something to do with the Firestone tire incident.

 

Well all I can add this ONLYif you have electric trailer breaks & sway control they are a must DO NOT USE SURGE BREAKS!! A trailer with surge breaks wont cut it!! Standard or A/T doesn't matter your driving skills and experience do realy mater! Jut because the truck is rated to pull 5,000 doesn't mean all drivers know how to handle it.
I had to pick up my kids jeep scrambler that was loaded with crap with my 2001 4Runner A/T with V6 with 110, plus and do a 8+ hr haul that turned in to a 12 + hr trip! The trip down was only 4 1/2 hrs w/o trailer the trailer was balanced perfect trailer&jeep 4,500+ should have been cake pulled great on the flat & up hills but pushed like a herd of rhinos on a down hill stroke which would have been fine if I had electric trailer breaks. Oh yeah on short notice I could only get a trailer with surge breaks. Just so you know I have 20+yrs driving big trucks & of all kinds heavy equipment and this was one of the hairest halls I've ever had!