towing with 4Runner

[Cathi]

Hi, there!
Is anyone towing 3800 lbs. Or thereabouts with a 2011 or 2010 4Runner?
(They were redesigned in 2010 and I am not sure what that means as far as towing.) Any problems?
Thank you.
Cathy

[Greg H]

I don't know about that, but I have two mid 90's 4runners and the towing capacity is 3,500 lbs.

[JohnF]

My 2003 V8 4Runner has a 7,000 lbs towing capacity.

Originally Posted by Greg H

I don't know about that, but I have two mid 90's 4runners and the towing capacity is 3,500 lbs.

[Cathi]

Greg and John, the present model is a V6 with 5,000 lbs. capacity. There are no longer any 4s or s8. I just wonder how someone is doing towing with this (5th generation) model and whether they use a WDH or what. The V6 has 270 hp and 278 torque. I understand that the HP is greater than what was in the V8.
Thanks.

Originally Posted by JohnF

My 2003 V8 4Runner has a 7,000 lbs towing capacity.

[Orcus79]

I have a 2007 FJ cruiser with the same (ish) engine, its 4wd with the manual tranny so full time 4wd at that. I towed a 2500Lb best guess popup this summer it did pretty good, had some issues with some steeper hills, but that it to be expected. I'm not used to towing with a manual, let alone V6.

Best thing I suggest is unless you are towing on flat interstate with out too much head wind, don't use OD. I would also suggest getting an AUX tranny cooler intalled and possibly even see about getting an oil cooler added as well.

With the 4-runner you should be fine at 3800Lbs, just take it easy and expect to take a hit with MPG.

[BCDave]

[QUOTE=Orcus79;273209

With the 4-runner you should be fine at 3800Lbs, just take it easy and expect to take a hit with MPG.[/QUOTE]

If I have to take a hit on MPG, I won't get to the end of the street before I'm empty! My ("new to me") '97 V6 Auto 4X4 (3rd Gen) 4Runner only gets 15.2 mpg when it's NOT towing! My big old '92 GMC one-ton does way better than that!

The 4Runner may not "live at this address" much longer.

Mine has a 5,000# tow rating, but I've never towed with it, as I like the big truck way better for hauling stuff. If the "big guy" was a 4X4, it could go up to ski hills in snow and I'd have no need for the 4Runner at all!

[Cathi]

Hi, Dave, the present 4Runner is rated 17 and 22/23 and is a 4x4. (They claim to have a 4x2 but you would never find one.) The present model, by the way, is bigger than yours so I assume it weighs more (4400 lbs.) than yours but does better on the MPG. It has a few new features, too, including an "ECO" mode to help save gas.

Originally Posted by BCDave

If I have to take a hit on MPG, I won't get to the end of the street before I'm empty! My ("new to me") '97 V6 Auto 4X4 (3rd Gen) 4Runner only gets 15.2 mpg when it's NOT towing! My big old '92 GMC one-ton does way better than that!

The 4Runner may not "live at this address" much longer.

Mine has a 5,000# tow rating, but I've never towed with it, as I like the big truck way better for hauling stuff. If the "big guy" was a 4X4, it could go up to ski hills in snow and I'd have no need for the 4Runner at all!

[Ron F]

Cathy,
I had a 2010 4Runner, towing my 2000# (probably more like 2500# w/gear) EggCamper. The weight of the 4Runner and the 4.0 liter V6 was ok for my trailer, but I suspect that you'd want a few more horses to tow 7800#. Before the 4Runner, my tug was a 2002 Sienna (3 liter V6). I wound up trading the 2010 4Runner after a year for a 2011 Sienna (3.5 liter V6). The height of the 4Runner and access to cargo was a problem, so I went back to the mini-van. (I've gone for years without 4x4 and I live in NH on top of a mountain.) If you really an SUV with 4x4, look at the Nissan Pathfinder. I believe they still offer the V8.

The 4Runner came with a tow package standard, wired for lights and brake controller and included a 2-inch hitch receiver. I think the engine had an oil cooler. I'm not sure about the tranny cooler. The Sienna came with a tow package too, but no wiring and no receiver (duh), just the oil cooler. I added the rest of the package after market. (Beware! The tranny is a sealed unit these days and adding a tranny cooler requires topping off the fluid, now a dealer service at approximately $100)

As for MPG; you're gonna take a hit regardless of what you drive. The mini-van was advertised to get 24 mpg. With care, I get up to 26, but drops to 16-17 mpg with the trailer. The 4Runner never exceeded the advertised mpg and likewise dropped to about 16 when towing.

BTW, both vehicles had the ECO feature, which only saves fuel if you keep your foot out of it. The ECO is a dashboard light that stays lit when not accelerating and goes out when you exceed a certain level of acceleration. I use it but not religously.

If I ever need a bigger tv, I'm going to seriously consider a Sprinter, the mini-van on steroids. I'd look like Fed-Ex, but I'm too old to care.

Ron

[Cathi]

Sean, the FJ is still basically the same as the 4Runner but the 4Runner is normally in 2W. Have to shift into 4x4. I stopped going on Interstates a while back and enjoy the country scenery. Toyota tells you not to tow over 45 MPH even though everyone does, it seems. 45 is fine with me, probably helps the MPG.
Ron, I'd like one of those Sprinters too but I want to save on gas! Think the Navion has a Sprinter.
Thank you for all the info.
Cathy

[Greg H]

Originally Posted by JohnF

My 2003 V8 4Runner has a 7,000 lbs towing capacity.

Yeah mine are a '94 and a '95, both have the boat anchor 3.0 v6, one is 2wd auto trans and the other 4wd 5 speed. The later 3.4 v6 was a better engine and I'm sure the v8 is even better. I really think my 22re four banger would out pull both of my 3.0's. Oh yeah, the may have 5,000 tow capacity instead of 3,500 lbs, but they are both in Texas and I can't look at the manuals.

[mcbrew]

Off topic a bit... I bought a Sprinter about 9 years ago. It has been a pretty good vehicle. I used to drive it from MD to OH and back in a day, three times a month. This was to pick up supplies for my business. Since then, my business has grown to the point where I can't pick up enough stuff in the Sprinter, so I use motor freight now. It paid for itself, though. It now has a bit over 100,000 miles on it and is only used for occasional runs to Home Depot and loaning out to family members for picking up furniture.

I installed a hitch with a 6,000 pound rating, and wired it for trailer lights. I have towed small cargo trailers, cars on tow dollies, and my boat, which is around 5,000 pounds. It tows wonderfully... even though it "only" has a 2.7 liter engine with 154 horsepower. It does have a ton of torque available over a wide range of RPMs. I took it to a CAT scale once, and it was well over 12,000 pounds. Yep, way over the GVWR. It still handled well in the mountains... fully capable of going 80+ MPH, and got about 24 MPG.

She has been in for two semi-serious service calls. One was for an EGR valve, which was covered under the 100,000 mile emissions warranty. The other was for some part of the turbo charger system. Not the turbo itself, though. I had a number of other issues addressed at that time, and it ran me about $1,600. That was right around 90,000 miles. She runs strong and has been thoroughly abused. She has also run MANY miles on pure, homemade biodiesel.

I would use it to tow more often if there were more than two seats. I have the cargo version with a windowed partition. Longest wheel base and high roof.

Originally Posted by Ron F

Cathy,
I had a 2010 4Runner, towing my 2000# (probably more like 2500# w/gear) EggCamper. The weight of the 4Runner and the 4.0 liter V6 was ok for my trailer, but I suspect that you'd want a few more horses to tow 7800#. Before the 4Runner, my tug was a 2002 Sienna (3 liter V6). I wound up trading the 2010 4Runner after a year for a 2011 Sienna (3.5 liter V6). The height of the 4Runner and access to cargo was a problem, so I went back to the mini-van. (I've gone for years without 4x4 and I live in NH on top of a mountain.) If you really an SUV with 4x4, look at the Nissan Pathfinder. I believe they still offer the V8.

The 4Runner came with a tow package standard, wired for lights and brake controller and included a 2-inch hitch receiver. I think the engine had an oil cooler. I'm not sure about the tranny cooler. The Sienna came with a tow package too, but no wiring and no receiver (duh), just the oil cooler. I added the rest of the package after market. (Beware! The tranny is a sealed unit these days and adding a tranny cooler requires topping off the fluid, now a dealer service at approximately $100)

As for MPG; you're gonna take a hit regardless of what you drive. The mini-van was advertised to get 24 mpg. With care, I get up to 26, but drops to 16-17 mpg with the trailer. The 4Runner never exceeded the advertised mpg and likewise dropped to about 16 when towing.

BTW, both vehicles had the ECO feature, which only saves fuel if you keep your foot out of it. The ECO is a dashboard light that stays lit when not accelerating and goes out when you exceed a certain level of acceleration. I use it but not religously.

If I ever need a bigger tv, I'm going to seriously consider a Sprinter, the mini-van on steroids. I'd look like Fed-Ex, but I'm too old to care.

Ron

[mcbrew]

Speaking of Sprinters... I had the privilege of riding in a Sprinter bus in the Czech Republic about two years ago. It was the 2.2 liter four-cylinder model. It was a manual shift, too. I believe it was a 22 passenger bus. It was just about full, and I don't think the driver ever revved it up to more than 2,000 RPM. Unbelievable!

[Ed Harris]

I have the Baby Sprinter 118" wheelbase short roof,window model and it is a beast to say the least.
I get great mileage around town loaded for work and it stays great towing too.
Mine feels like the sports model compared to a friends 144" High Roof window model and towing it has enough guts to tow the Casita so far but I have yet to take a long trip with it.

I have had virtually zero issues since I have had it and it has around 150k on it now. I have seen them go 500k before and they are just a more serious commercial vehicle in many ways.

The New 4runner has the same drivetrain as the new Tacoma I think and people are insane with Taco love everywhere I have ever been?

I had a Tundra V6 3.4L longbed that I towed the Casita with all over the place through terrible weather and mountains too. It had no problems at all but was not the fastest tow I have ever seen either.
It did have enough torque and power to do the job and the mileage didn't even drop too much doing it somehow?

Now I have the same year and model Tundra essentially but with the 4.7L V8 and it is a huge step forward in comfort and easier to drive with the extra power. Interesting is that it gets about the same mileage as the V6 did? Go Figure.

I have no regrets about having had the V6 though and would gladly get another if I needed to.
My understanding is that the newer 4L V6 is a much more powerful and capable engine and from what I have read tows even better than mine did.

Out trailers are just not that tough to tow. The long wheelbase vehicle however makes ot a lot more comfortable from my experience.

Ed

[DavidSo]

I have a Tacoma with the 4.0 V6 and 6 speed manual. I do alot of towing! Most of mine is the western states where steep grades, high altitudes, and headwinds are everyday occurances. My trailer weighs about 2,600 pounds total (2350 on the axle) and I carry maybe another 500 in the bed. My trucks gets the job done well enough, but I sure wouldn't tow anymore with it. It is working pretty hard on some stretches. They come rated for 6,500lbs I think, but that is just across town, not open road. I take about 2-3 MPG hit on gas when towing. I have a friend with the big Tundra and he gets much better gas mileage towing even heavier loads.
I should say that pulling grades in 2nd gear is not my idea of "towing". 4th is as far down as I go, and 50-55mph.
David