Towing with a Toyota Highlander?

I think the problem with the folks in the story brought to us above, on the Highlander, is folks that really didn't know what they were doing in the first place, and put their trust completely in to sales. Regarding electric brakes. No, the Highlander does not come prewired, nor is there even a helluva lot of room to install a controller. None the less, I was able to install a very good system, including the wiring. It's really not rocket science, but it does require some mechanical ability. Towing a flat faced trailer behind any vehicle is going to add a lot of wind resistance. It's one thing to pull a rather somewhat aerodynamically shaped boat, quite another a large travel trailer of the same weight. And many times trailers weigh over specs, once they are "wet" & loaded. I don't tow any faster than conditions allow, or top speed of 60 mph, although I've pushed it to 75 passing, or even 65 locally on the highway. I've never felt that the boat was pushing the Highlander, even in panic stops. I'm not going to pretend here that the Highlander can tow anything up to 5000 lbs. But at this point in my life, I don't need to pull anything else than my CD-22 or a small utility trailer. I've been considering a 3/4 ton truck (with camper), or a small motorhome, simply for the reason I miss the "motorhome" lifestyle I had some time ago. However, the very reason I downsized to the Highlander involved gas & maintenance costs, a downsize in boat (from the SeaRay 268), and a change in lifestyle (no longer "camping/land traveling" as much). With retirement, I'm inclined to travel more again, however for the cost of a small motorhome or large truck, numerous hotels and motorhome rentals can be had...with out the cost of ownership. Thus for me, the Highlander remains to be the best choice at this time, and again, is very capable of the job at hand that I use it for.
I too enjoy and appreciate the comments and experience shared here on C-Brats. I can get a little defended, and maybe offensive too, but in the end I think that's just an effect of any kind of social media. Colby
 
One of the problems I have with buying a new vehicle is the safety of parking it in marina lots for extended periods.... seems like the new pickups are always getting broken into.... they pass on my 2001 Chev. stepside to go for some high dollar rig.... kinda scares me away from new...

My V8 automatic shortbed gets 20-24 highway and 15 towing so I am not upset...and it is paid for... it tows the 22 fine but would not handle a 25.

Joel
SEA3PO
 
SEA3PO":1t1bicig said:
One of the problems I have with buying a new vehicle is the safety of parking it in marina lots for extended periods.... seems like the new pickups are always getting broken into.... they pass on my 2001 Chev. stepside to go for some high dollar rig.... kinda scares me away from new...

My V8 automatic shortbed gets 20-24 highway and 15 towing so I am not upset...and it is paid for... it tows the 22 fine but would not handle a 25.

Joel
SEA3PO
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Oh my gosh?? Really? I would never go near a marina or boat ramp that has a bad reputation or documented theft. That sucks though. I CANT STAND THIEVES.
 
Sea3pro,
We had a 2001 1/2 ton Chevy with the 5.3 V8 4 x 4. Put a 100 k on it. The engine handled pulling the boat fine but the transmission did not seem happy on steeper grades. Downshifts seemed to me to be particularly ugly. The diesel with the Allison transmission made a night and day difference. We never saw fuel mileage figures anywhere near what you stated on our 2001 Chevy. I must have a heavier foot or you are only going down hill. Even on the relatively flat 1100 mile pull bringing the empty boat home from Wefing's in Eastpoint Florida. Keeping a truck because you are afraid of someone breaking into a newer model seems like you need an upgrade your choice of Marina's. Maybe move to a new safer hood. We have towed our boat quite a bit and never had an issue with the truck and trailer at marina storage areas we chose. In Jersey City, N.J. we opted for a gated mini storage because the other options in the area looked shaky. We never leave anything of value in plain sight. In the cab or in our lockable cap that covers our trucks bed. We cover anything we want to keep i.e. generator, dink motor, coolers, etc. What they can't see is out of sight and out of mind. We only have a few more payments left on our 09 truck.:mrgreen:
D.D.
 
Aside from my xterra I have a similar (1999) chevy half ton. The tranny and front end are a nightmare at 120k miles. I use it occasionally, but the xterra is preferred, as counter-intuitive as that sounds. The truck has spent it's life towing over its rating at low speeds, so the tranny and front end issues are to be expected. It's fine for around town, but if I were to take a trip I'd use the little truck.
 
Sunbeam":3d4wfl2z said:
Colby,
I ended up with a longer wheelbase than a typical SUV (full-sized van, 136" wheelbase), and never even tried towing with one. Since you've done a lot of towing/hauling, I was wondering what you've experienced in this department? (2016 Toyota Highlander has ~109" wheelbase; not sure if yours is the same.)
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I think thats an excellent question Sunbeam and maybe be the key consideration here. My Jeep Liberty diesel weighs in at 4312 lbs and that's a consideration too. Just think- if your 22' Dory,trailer and kit weighs in at 4200lbs on a single axial trailer - you don't want to end up the tail of the dog here. I would go to a factory tow rigged heavy half ton in a heart beat if I had a 22' to tow. For my Jeep, my maxed weight consideration would be a 19' Dory which - I believe- is about 500 lbs lighter than the 22. Find me a well priced 19 footer in BC and I will be a potential buyer.
 
I think the/a longer wheelbase probably does make for a steadier tow on the highway, but I've never towed with a "short" wheelbase to compare (except for very light/small trailers).

OTOH, I'm not so sure that having a load heavier than the tow rig is a problem, presuming the tow is rated for it. I mean, think of a 3/4 ton truck. They must only weigh around 6,000# or so (?) and yet some are rated to tow over 10,000#. Hence I don't think that tow heavier than tow rig necessarily means tail wags dog. Not if you have the right dog anyway.
 
Sunbeam":2o1yluhf said:
I think the/a longer wheelbase probably does make for a steadier tow on the highway, but I've never towed with a "short" wheelbase to compare (except for very light/small trailers).

OTOH, I'm not so sure that having a load heavier than the tow rig is a problem, presuming the tow is rated for it. I mean, think of a 3/4 ton truck. They must only weigh around 6,000# or so (?) and yet some are rated to tow over 10,000#. Hence I don't think that tow heavier than tow rig necessarily means tail wags dog. Not if you have the right dog anyway.
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Well yes you make a point re; 3/4 ton tow ratings being far in excess of the weight of the tow vehicle. We could get mathematical and vector the forces too. But in the end if your on loose gravel, sand, sea snot on a ramp, ice or snow and I have been on all of them, the weight behind the hitch can have a large effect in the outcome of an emergency situation.
 
On snow or ice in an emergency situation, you are pretty much screwed, regardless of the weight of your tow, or not even towing anything at all! In regards to tow vs. trailer weight, Semi's tow trailers 3 to 4x their weight, so that's not really a valid argument either. IT really does come down to set up of the tow vehicle, and ability of the driver. Road conditions and speed are major factors as well. Colby
 
Be careful when using the manufacturer's towing weight capacity as a guide. I have seen several times that the stated capacity is only with a special tow package or if the trailer is equipped with brakes. My Santa Fe was sold with a 3,500# tow package, but I later found the fine print that said that it was only rated at 2,000# if the trailer didn't have brakes. Many boat trailer manufacturer's have 2,500 and 3,000# boat trailers that don't come with brakes or even brake flanges, so there is no way to put brakes on those trailers. Just happens that I'm under 2,000.

The majority of states require brakes on trailers over 3,000# and I'm not sure if vehicle manufacturers take that into consideration when stating capacity. If your vehicle has a stated towing capacity of 6,000#, one can only guess if that capacity is based on the trailer having brakes.

A couple of states allow monster trailers without brakes, some states apparently have no requirement regardless of weight, and a couple states require brakes on under 2,000# (Do those people get brakes on the little trailers or does everybody ignore the requirement?). A few states have stopping distance requirements instead of weight requirements. I've seen a road side sobriety test, but a road side emergency stop test?

Here is a quick reference for trailer brake requirements. Keep in mind that this might not be just a state licensing requirement for the trailer and may effect you if you're travelling through. It's one of those little things that nobody hears about until somebody needs a scapegoat.

http://www.brakebuddy.com/towing-laws

Mark
 
Marco Flamingo":axs2fnei said:
Be careful when using the manufacturer's towing weight capacity as a guide. I have seen several times that the stated capacity is only with a special tow package or if the trailer is equipped with brakes.
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Yep, even on "ample" vehicles (like my former 3/4 ton full-sized van), it's folly to just take "towing capacity" at face value. I had to consider many other factors, and then adjust to the "lowest number" of the bunch. In my case it was FAWR, RAWR, GVWR, and GCWR, plus ratings of hitch and towbar. The "tow rating" was not reachable, without severe overloading of the other ratings -- unless maybe I gutted the van. That said, even with the fully loaded, already-heavy camper van, I still had an easy 5,500# left over for towing. But the "tow rating" (which I think was 7,500#) was NOT the "weakest link" lowest number. In my case it was rear axle weight that was reached first, followed by front axle weight, then gross vehicle weight. I still had ample capacity, but just not how "they" expressed it. Had I just gone by "towing capacity," and tossed a 7,500# trailer on the back, I would have been vastly overloaded. On many vehicles passengers and gear in the vehicle take away much of the GVWR.

That said, when I say "towing to ratings," I mean ALL the ratings, not just a supposed "tow rating." I take them all, weigh the rig, and find my weakest link, then don't go above that, whatever it might be. If a vehicle meets the parameters, then it can be considered, taking the intended towing situations in mind.

Regardless of state law, I myself wouldn't tow a 22 far without trailer brakes. With them, the van stopped just about the same (or maybe slightly better) towing than not towing. I liked that.
 
A few states have stopping distance requirements instead of weight requirements. I've seen a road side sobriety test, but a road side emergency stop test?
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There have been reports of Florida Highway Patrol or DOT doing weights on boat trailers. Part of this would be to check on the weight of the trailer, and brakes on both axles. Many states do require brakes on both axels or even triple axles if so fitted.
 
Sunbeam is right about knowing your axle ratings along with your GCWR. Just because your specs say you can tow 10,000 lbs, that may not be the case. When I purchased a 1988 Searay 268 Sundancer, weighing in at 9600 lbs, I figured my Dodge Ram 1500 Quad Cab with specs higher than that for towed vehicles, could handle it. However, when I got to working the numbers, I found out that when one looked at the weight of the truck and the GCWR (Which inlcuded the weight of the tow), there was no way to reach that full tow capacity. (Don't confuse GCWR with GVWR). I found as I started looking at GCWR, GVWR, & GAWR, sometimes the numbers didn't always add up. And one needs to be knowledgeable about what their vehicle and tow actually weigh as well. Changing the load range of a tire may have effect on those ratings as well. If one is using a monster truck to tow a small boat, you will probably be well within all these ratings. And perhaps some of you prefer to do that then worry about closing in on those limits. But for those of us that prefer the smaller tow vehicles, it does make sense to know and understand all these numbers. Colby
 
Bob,

It is interesting that my trailer is built in Florida (Majic-Tilt) with a GVW of 4660# and only has breaks on the front axle. I read the Florida law and my trailer does not meet the Florida requirements. I have been to Florida with it several times and was planning on going to the St. John's gathering this March, but now realizing I don't meet the Florida requirements I am not sure what to do. I have maintained the breaks and they have always performed well over many thousands of miles. Does Florida grandfather in other state requirements for trailers registered in those states?
 
So, just thinking out loud, if you had a single axle trailer, it would be ok? That's just weird. I believe it, but gosh. It wouldn't stop me from going. I wonder, and I know the odds are incredibly small of this, how much the ticket would cost when pulled over - probably not enough to cancel a trip or even worry about it.

Just curious, and because I can't resist, is it ok to tow (or even drive) with highlander in Florida at all? I mean I can see their concern with the mountains, high plateaus, and deep glacier carved valleys......and the fact the laws of physics that apply in other states don't apply there.....LOL....Of course I'm kidding!
 
Rcbeach":3jo1bea1 said:
It is interesting that my trailer is built in Florida (Majic-Tilt) with a GVW of 4660# and only has breaks on the front axle. I read the Florida law and my trailer does not meet the Florida requirements.
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Sounds like you may have the same trailer I do (or maybe not since I just noticed your boat is a 2012). Anyway, my Magic Tilt tandem also was delivered with brakes on only one axle (drum brakes) (in 2002). Perhaps requirements were different then. One good thing is that my second axle (and so probably yours) already had the square brake-mounting plate on it. When I got the trailer I converted it to disc brakes and added brakes to the second axle.

I can't remember if you have to comply with the rules of the state you are in, or your home state. If your home state, and it doesn't require brakes on both axles, it may not matter. I could see an argument either way (rules of home state or rules of state visited apply). I'm sure it can be looked up.

If it were me, and I were perfectly happy with how the trailer was performing, I would probably just go as is. On the other hand, I am *really* happy with my trailer with disc brakes (Kodiak) on both axles. I never drove it before the mod, so can't compare though.
 
I'm pretty sure you have to abide by the laws of the state you are in. But I also think the state trooper would be pretty hard up to ticket you for only having brakes on one axle. It's silly that trailer manufacturers do that, but I suspect it is quite common for them to only brake one axle. My EZ-Loader came with surge brakes on only the front axle, however had the mounting flange available on the rear axle. I changed the front and added rear, going to all electric.
 
I kind of wish I'd been able to try out my trailer with just the drum brakes on one axle, just so I could compare to how it is now, but it wasn't possible (surge coupler was broken, and I replaced it at the same time as I overhauled the rest of the trailer and added the disc brakes to both axles).
 
Kind of like stopping your car with just front brakes. (Which before they placed disc all around, was pretty much what was happening with front disc and rear drum.) Colby
 
All, thanks for the replays. My trailer is a 2012 and has surge disk brakes. The trailer brake performance has been excellent. Braking when trailering dose not seem to require any significant additional pedal pressure even for hard stops. I do have the plates on the trailer rear axle for mounting brakes, however I feel very comfortable with the current configuration. Traffic tickets are not as much of a concern as is liability if I was involved in an accident even though it may not be my fault. If I find out that Florida does not recognize Maryland trailer requirements I will probably pay the price and add the brakes on the rear axle. It just seems odd to me that Majic-Tilt manufactures trailers in Florida than may not be able to be used on Florida highways.
 
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