Towing with a Highlander

[datadr]

Hi all,

Been reading a lot on this forum and need some towing weight-related advice. We have a 2009 Toyota Highlander Sport with the tow prep pkg. This allows for 5000lb tow max, and a 11,000lb GCWR (combined weight). The HL is 4200lbs curb weight.

The Rockwood 2306 loaded (using pg_rider's numbers here: http://www.forestriverforums.com/for...ale-21287.html) is about 4300lbs. We are creeping close to the 5000lb limit and wanted some feedback.

In researching TTs, one thing that has resonated is everyone says to buy your second RV first, and the 2306 has what we need in terms of space. We are well aware of weight, so we plan to tow with no water, packing very light, etc. Is this doable? I can't find any examples of many towing with a Highlander specifically, but I have found some towing similar TTs with Siennas (same platform as the HL), and pg_rider is towing with a Ridgeline, which is based on the Oddessy platform.

I spoke to the service dept at the dealer, and he was cautious but said as long as it's kept light, it's doable. I am guessing that within a year or two we will upgrade our TV to something stronger... regardless of whether we kill the HL with this or not. :-)

Thoughts?

Thanks!

[bikendan]

personally, i would never tow that close to max, but i live in the West and have numerous mountain ranges to get over. that's why i chose something with more than 5000lbs. tow capacity.

you don't say where you live, so if you live in some place flat, like Florida or Nebraska, then you might be fine for awhile.

[Triguy]

I see lots of people on here with the 2306 so must be nice.

You're technically under everything, it appears. Check out the Changingears.com towing calculator to verify the details for your axles, payload, etc.

I agree with Dan that where you live and camp will make a world of difference in towing.

[datadr]

Thanks guys. We live in NJ and will be camping in the area and maybe 100 miles into pa or ny. Moderate hills, but certainly not Montana-level stuff.

We have in the back of our mind that we may need to trade up to a bigger TV. Strange how quickly the RV bug can bite and the things you will do for it.

For the trial runs we are considering a chaser vehicle just in case we need to unload some weight to an alternate.

[miatared]

I have an 09 Highlander too and pull a hybrid Shamrock 19 - same as Roo 19. The 2306 is very close with specs, except the extra 3 feet ( not 4 ??)

I stuck to a 19 - as the wheelbase is not long enough for a 23ft trailer I think. I also wanted a hybrid for the extra space.

I have the OEM hitch with a genuine Equal-I-zer 600/6000- it makes for a safe pull, that is a must: a good WDH. A friend has the 1000/10000 and it's very bouncy.

You'll have to run another pair of wires from front to back and change the 4-pin to a 7-pin connector for the brake controller. I did it myself, pretty easy, well documented on ToyotaNation's site.

It works, not great, but it works. Milleage sucks and gas tank is tiny., making for very frequents stops. Sport shifting is what I use and stay in 3rd & 4th most times, the 5th gear is useless except on long, long descents. I change oil every 3,500 mi and baby it well.

I've done close to 16,000 milles in 2 years, Toronto to Florida and Myrtle Beach a few times. WV and TN mountains and all. I could do no better than 30 mph on some, but I was right behind big rigs, so no embarassments.

That Toyota V6 is a real workhorse and take the beating quite well. Pulling a square box at 60MPH on the highway is a daunting task, the wind resistance is incredible, hard to explain and you can only understand once you've towed.

My next tow vehicle will be a pickup for sure, no doubt. Probably a V6 again, turbo boost style engine like in the F150. Eventually others will offer similar. As gas inches up in price, we should see more of these.

My 2 cents.

[miatared]

Oh, and I also have a good set of McKesh mirrors - got them slightly used on Craigslist.

That is also important

[datadr]

Thanks, Dennis (and everyone else too).

Everyone seems to call out specifically the Equal-I-zer WDH. I would assume that is the best choice... I see a lot of posts from different people with comparable vehicles and some have the 600/6000 and some have the 1000/10000. I would tend to stick with the "right sized' unit - I would also assume that going to big is not a good idea?

We will be doing local trips first with the HL to get a feel for the white knuckle experience. If it's too much, we've already discussed the possibility of needing a bigger TV. We're hoping it isn't too bad. I'm almost setting myself up for the worst and hopefully it won't be as bad as I think. :-)

[RoadDog66]

Here's some food for thought. I have a Roo 19 and posed the 600/6K vs 1K/10K question to the Equalizer folks and etrailer.com folks and provided all the projected trailer weights & tongue weights and they both said to go with the 1K/10K. They said being that close to the line either would work, but the 1K/10K allows you to grow into larger TT in the future.

[MtnGuy]

Hmmm, I went to the Eqaul-i-zer site website and put in these numbers:

4700 lb. trailer gross weight
450 lb. tongue weight
100 lb. behind the rear axle.

It showed a 1000 lb. system. To me that is overkill for a trailer with a listed tongue weight of 318 lbs. Granted, that weight is going to increase when loaded, so that is why I plugged in 450 lbs. You gotta go with the recommendation of the manufacturer.....but still.....

Reduce the tongue weight input to 400 lbs., and Equal-i-zer shows a 600 lb. system......but that trailer is gonna probably be way over that amount.

[datadr]

Just wanted to say thanks for all the assistance here. We picked it up last weekend. Was there for about 6 hours... watched the video, which I knew most of from trolling online. They put a Reese WD hitch on with sway control. While we were there, the wife was like a kid in a candy store with all of the accessories they sell. They set it up so the HL sits nice and level. Ended up having them install the power tongue jack before we left.

From the dealer, we went straight to a local stadium parking lot and spent a few hours practicing navigating the trailer, backing up, etc. 2 hours trip home was much easier than I had built it up to be. From reading online, I expected a complete white knuckler, but it was fairly uneventful. Even trucks going by didn't rattle it much. I was surprised.

Averaged about 11 MPG on the way home. Trailer had a full load of everything we bought there and a full tank of water (36 gal). Gave a good idea of fairly loaded. Even pushing it up the driveway in reverse wasn't so bad and the HL handled it all in stride.

Looking forward to our first trip - few weeks out!

[Terier]

Glad everything went well for you. Thumbs up for deciding to have the electric tongue jack installed - well worth the investment.