Anyone towing with Toyota Highlander?

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flabeachcomber

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Dec 25, 2003
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C Dory Year
2001
C Dory Model
22 Cruiser
Vessel Name
Kestrel
We have a 22' C-Dory and a 2001 V6 Toyota Highlander SUV.

Info on boat weight, etc and info on car towing capacity (3500 lbs) seem to indicate that Highlander would be adequate to tow C-Dory.

Anyone using a Highlander? If so, would appreciate comments on their experience regarding handling, etc.
Pete in FL
 
Hi Pete,

We have a Highlander. (Great rig, isn't it?)

We just towed our 22' angler 650 miles from Haines AK to Fairbanks. We used the 1/2 ton Dodge pick-up and I'm glad we did. There are about 300 miles of rough road on the Alaska Highway that would have kept us just creeping along at about 20 mph with the Highlander. Even with the pick-up we had to really slow down. We towed at about 50-55 mph on the best sections and much slower over the bumps. I don't think we would have gone even that fast with the Toyota.

Now, we were pulling a single-axle EZ Loader with no brakes. If you have a tandem axle with brakes under your boat, that would make a difference. But it could still be putting a lot of stress on your transmission, etc.

Pat
 
Hi Pete, I tow my 22 cruiser with a 98 Toyota Tacoma 4WD V-6 that has 140K miles on it. It does just fine. Have not taken it on extended road trips. Mostly no more than 125 miles one way at a time.
 
I see this thread is almost 8 years old, but thought I would update it. I am towing my 2007 C-Dory 22 cruiser on a EZ loader tandem axle bunk trailer. Total weight is about 4400 lbs I believe. I just recently purchased a 2010 Toyota Highlander with the V6, and mostly happy with how it has towed the boat. I believe this Highlander is set up for 5,000 or 5,500 lbs towing capacity. Has no problem with power, but I do get a pretty good drop on the rear end with 300 lbs of tongue weight. I did not like the surge brakes on my trailer, so I just recently converted to electric brakes. I did have to run my own wiring harness for a seven-pin connector, as the Highlander is only prewired for the 4-pin harness with the towing package. Wasn't to hard to do. I even used a relay to tap into the rear backup lights to include backup lights on my trailer. The ride can get a little rough on rough roads, but the Highlander seems to do just fine towing the C-dory. I've been getting about 23-24 mpg without towing, and anywhere between 11-13 with towing. Tow mileage isn't great, but all things considered, not bad either. Colby
 
Colby, I used to tow my 22 with an Isuzu Trooper rated at 5000lbs. I also had a bit of a drop on the rear end of the vehicle due to the tongue weight but added air shocks to take care of that. I'd suggest you do the same.
At the time I had my Trooper done, I had Les Schwab install them. I added air shocks to my Tundra a little over a year ago to handle the tongue weight of the Tomcat. I did the install myself. It was pretty easy (only took a couple of hours and I could do it in one now). The total cost was around $225 for the air shocks. They make a big difference when towing.
 
Thanks. I'll look into that. Colby
 
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