Tow pkg

[Mike Magee]

Originally Posted by Iowa Dave

Hi Gordon
Thanks for the summary, I’m a man of many words. We have a shop in my home town that specializes in automotive electronics.
I called them up before I bought the Highlander and asked them about wiring in the 7pin and the brake controller. He said “we tried to install them in a new Tundra for a buddy of ours and we could not make it work.” He said he was leery of voiding a warranty on a new vehicle. When somebody will not take my money I usually find them to be telling the truth. The car salesman didn’t have much of an idea on the procedure but the head service guy said they’d done some and the parts guy had a folder of Printed cut sheets that allowed him to assemble the “kit” needed. The tech started on it on a Thursday morning and worked on it till quitting time on Friday. Then he took all the paperwork home and studied it on the weekend and finished up on Monday morning when he was sure of the connections he’d made. This was at Toyota of Iowa City Iowa. Maybe I’m lucky but these guys in the service department have always done well for me.
Iowa Dave

No doubt that particular tech could now do another such wiring job much more quickly, probably within the allotted 2 hours. Now, if only all the HL purchasers lived near that dealership!

[Osos1]

Did not see anywhere the benefit of a factory installed hitch mentioned. The benefit is that it sits higher than after market ones, giving better clearance going into gas stations, etc. You can do that afterwards and buy the bumper fitment if you already have a Highlander without the factory hitch.

I disagree that a Highlander is a good tow vehicle for a 4000-5000# trailer. It can do it , however you will struggle in the Mountains and you're not doing it any favors by pushing it to it's limits.

[Iowa Dave]

Originally Posted by Osos1

Did not see anywhere the benefit of a factory installed hitch mentioned. The benefit is that it sits higher than after market ones, giving better clearance going into gas stations, etc. You can do that afterwards and buy the bumper fitment if you already have a Highlander without the factory hitch.

I disagree that a Highlander is a good tow vehicle for a 4000-5000# trailer. It can do it , however you will struggle in the Mountains and you're not doing it any favors by pushing it to it's limits.

It’s a piece of machinery not a 15 year old boy throwing his arm out mastering a curve ball. 55 miles an hour over Stevens pass, Wolf Creek pass, Pipestone pass at well under 5,000 RPM with an engine that redlines at 6,800 and an 8 speed transmission that doesn’t throw a heat code keeps me seeing the sights I want to see. If she won’t do what I need her to do, I’ll trade for something else. But 181,000 miles on our 2012 and 37,900 on our 15 month old 2018 indicate to this owner that the Highlander will do the job. I’ve done a lot of favors for a lot of people in my 71 years but they are human beings, doing a favor for a machine, not so much. Unless they have programmed in a audio “thank you” when I get the oil changed and I haven’t found that button.
Iowa Dave

[Osos1]

Yeah, well no one is going to pretend to change your mind I.D. Have fun with those screaming RPM's; been there, done that and didn't like it.

Am hoping the all new 2020 Explorer rear wheel drive platform with 3.0 EcoBoost is the game changer it is touted to be.

[trainman]

After reading the above post it's pretty clear that people with tow vehicles pick and choose the vehicle that they think will work for them, even if it's not the best choice, what else can you say.

trainman

[Jon in AZ]

Often that’s because towing is just one of multiple tasks we ask a vehicle to do. Choosing a tow vehicle involves compromises. “Best” is elusive and “good enough” often suffices.

For me towing represents 5-10% of my annual miles, and climbing long grades a small fraction of that. For less than 200 miles out of 25,000 driven in a year, I can slow down, gear down, and let my engine work a little harder than usual. As long as It’s within manufacturer ratings, temperatures remain within acceptable ranges, and fluids are changed regularly, no great harm is done.

[Defenestrator]

The Highlander comes partially-prewired for a 4-pin brake controller. There's a factory harness that finishes that off and is pretty easy to install.

You'll need a custom wiring job to get a 7-pin connector, including wires run from the battery (optionally with a relay so they're only connected when the vehicle's running) and a brake controller installed. The newer Highlanders have electronics that will freak out about the brake controller, so you'll need a diode: https://www.etrailer.com/p-RM-690.html

You'll also need a tow hitch. I spent the extra for the Toyota one and was glad I did - it's pretty close to the ground as is, so reducing clearance even further isn't ideal.

I had a Toyota shop install the tow hitch, but an independent trailer shop did the brake controller and wiring (2015, so without the extra complexity of the diode).