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long story short: Girlfriend needs space, says I gotta move out... so I'm going to give it to her. Moving from Chicago to California with what ever I can take in the 4Runner.
1988 4Runner SR5
Old Man Emu Heavy Duty Suspension
32" Goodyear MT/R
Soft Top
Factory hitch (I assume).
Rear end currently sits about 2" higher than the front (was going to buy a bumper)
The Old Man Emu 2" HD lift includes:
F&R Shocks, Front Torsion bars, Rear springs,
Bushings, and Steering Dampener
I want to transport my old Honda NX650, mountain bike, and road bike.
I'm thinking of buying the VersaHaul Sport Motorcycle carrier which has a max load of 600lbs. Then, plug a hitch mounted bicycle hauler into it.
Everything together weighs about 518 lbs
90 - hauler
340 - motorcycle (dry)
35 - mountain bike
23 - road bike
30 - bike hauler
I could take the wheels of the bikes to reduce that a little bit.
Going to haul a spare tire/wheel, computers, clothes, bed frame, tv, camping gear.
I can try put the spare and any other heavy items right behind the front seat to distribute the load.
Is this doable?
I've been searching the web for answers and didn't find it in the manual.
There are no sticker with info on my truck or hitch.
I can probably break down the bikes and put them in the truck but then that will eat up a lot of my limited cargo space as I have to take the computers (work) and really want a full size spare on that long of a drive.
More importantly what type of hitch do u have class v? It is 500 pound 'tongue' capacity
you really need to inspect it and mainly the bolts condition. Is any missing or rusted to crap? If so replace with atleast grade 8.8 or better yet 10.9 grade bolts and you should be fine. They factor in a safety margin but if it's all rusted I wouldn't trust even standing on it- speaking of which why not get a few buddies to stand on it like 600 pounds worth and see how it looks.
Check out some trailers on CL can find them pretty cheap then sell it when u get to Cali... Less stress on the 4Runner (and you!)
Last edited by 4RunnerFreak12; 08-18-2016 at 12:21 PM.
Ok cool wasn't sure if Chicago is in the salt belt.
Yes unless it's a class 5 already (most are with 2" receiver) just look at bolts and if needed you could replace them with new ones. Class 5 has 500 pound tongue capacity so your good you already have some good ideas to shave alittle weight.
OR take it to uhaul they will inspect it for free (I used to work at one and did it all the time) just say u plan to rent a trailer next week but wanna make sure everything is good.
This sounds like a nightmare about to come to life .
Have you looked at the cost of a rental truck and Tow Dolly for the 4 Runner
It is Amazing how fast things start to add up . weight and space wise .
It is the warm Part of the year 3.0 ( Head Gaskets ) you have a few hills to go up which is interesting getting down even more so.
It is not so much the bolts it is what the bolts go through . I replaced quite a few Grade 2 bolts over the years that worked just fine They were still tight when the Hitch and back of the frame fell off
I actually have 3 cars... trying to sell one of them and store the 2nd.
My original plan was to sell/store one car, have a buddy drive the 4Runner and I'd rent a truck & dolly/trailer to take the 3rd car... until I looked into the cost.
A U-Haul rental truck and dolly/trailer is expensive and I would much rather spend the money on my truck: brakes, fluids, tune up, spare tire...
The rental price of a truck with:
Dolly: $2324
Trailer: $2580
I was thinking about taking the long way, down around New Mexico... to visit a female friend on the way.
What transmission do you have. And I would definitely check your gear ratio.
the hitch would not be my main concern because even a class III can surpass the towing capacity of a 2nd gen 4Runner with tow package. And that brings me to my second point. If you are blessed with the factory tow prep package (upgraded cooling system, oil cooler, brake/load valve, etc) the max towing capacity is 3500lbs. With out it your legal limit is going to be considerably less.
Maybe try looking around for a used motorcycle trailer, something like this? Load up the Honda and your bicycles on it, and toss the rest into the back of your truck. Then like others have suggested, sell it when you get to Cali.
He wants tongue capacity not towing capacity so really not gonna get away with a class 3 hitch with 500 pounds on it, I believe there like a 3-400 tongue limit.
as long as your frames not rusted to crap just load it up and see how it looks, it will squat obviously but just make sure it's not on the bump stops.
do what u gotta do really but safest option will be get a trailer!
Take it slow and easy, watch your gauges and just use some common sense
I wouldn't recommend (definatly NO common sense used here) it but I once towed a late 80s camaro on a (2250 ib empty) auto transport trailer behind my 4 cylinder 4Runner and had no issues (failures) Granted I went very slow and stopped early (hardest part was stopping, trailer wanted to push truck even with surge brakes-hence why tow limits are set and why uhaul makes you tell them what your towing and what ur towing with, tow vehicle must be so much (?) percent heavier) Also took back roads the whole way. Again do not recommend it- point of story tow limits are there for a reason but sometimes you just gotta do what you gotta do! But don't exceed weight ratings! I was extremely lucky it was perfect conditions (dry day but not hot, no hills, planned course with all back roads, never exceeded 35 mphs, etc) Would I do it again? NO, obviously I was young and dumb and it was my only option at the time.
Load it up (have 500 pounds worth of buddies stand on hitch, don't forget weight in cargo area cause that will be loaded for your trip) and use your best judgement
If you go with the no trailer option maybe consider a set of air bags or helper springs to help with the squat you do not wanna br on your bumpstops at all and really would suck to have limited suspension travel on a long road trip will be very uncomfortable and worse you could break a spring not good especially on the highway.
You can get trailers cheap around here atleast I paid $50 for mine! Seriously! Cost me more to title/register it! I had to replace the wood on it (was held together by a strap lol) but was able to use it a couple times before rebuilding it.
Oh and if u do get a trailer be sure to repack wheel bearings with fresh grease! The "box store" trailers typically come with cheap grease and will overheat the bearings easily.
Class 3 hitch is rated to 5K, with a 500 lb tongue weight (tongue weight recommended no more that 10% of trailer weight.
i wouldn't tow more than 3500 pounds with a 1st gen 4runner, especially if the trailer doesn;t have any brakes at all. some states require brakes on any trailer with more than 2K load capacity...
having a motorcyle and a few bikes hanging off the back is gonna make that rear end squat pretty good.
make sure your motorcycle and bikes don't block your brake lights, if they do get some trailer lights to add to the motorcycle rack..
K think I was gettin mixed up for some reason thought the little ones were class 3. Prob cause the 500 tongue and 5000 trailer calling it class 5 somehow seemed fitting lol
Thanks for the clarification Dropzone btw did u get my PM?
I found the HD Versahaul with trailer lights and straps for half price so jumped on it. I've been driving it around town the past 2 days with the bike loaded and 2 sets of wheels/tires in the back. So far so good.
The rear is sitting just below level at this weight with the OME HD suspension... it sit's about 2" higher than the front when empty. Suspension feels fine, brakes and steering feel good.
I got a full tune up, new front pads and calipers, trans and diff fluids changed, OME steering stabilizer installed, and the front tires balanced.
After a bit more testing, if all goes well, I'm gonna run it to CA via Albuquerque. If it doesn't seem safe, I'll throw it in a U-Haul trailer along with the bike.
08-18-2016, 10:38 AM
