markandersen

Howdy all. Looking for some advice related to towing a camper with a 1989 4Runner, 22re, 4WD, automatic--basically all stock. The camper I'm looking at is an older (1979) 13' Chalet. I believe the weight to be somewhere between 1,500 and 2,000 lbs. I don't have an owner's manual for the truck, but read on one of the forums here that the towing limit is 2,000 for my truck. Most of my travels would be in and around the mountains w/in 20-100 miles of my home, but I would like to be able to take it on vacation trips of 500-1000 miles, too.

So, a couple of questions:

1) Will I blow my truck up (burn valves, etc.) if I take that trailer on short (<50 mile) trips, or if I take it farther? I have kept the maintenance up to date, with new timing chain, valve job, front end work, and many other things fairly recently, so it is running good and I think it will last me quite a few more years if I treat it right, so I really don't want to abuse it. Anyone have much experience towing something of this size with a similar 4runner? I towed a Uhaul from Kansas to the mountains of Wyoming (probably around 1,500 lbs.) with no apparent problems or damage, except that it was slow-going up the hills.

2) What additions could I make that would be low-cost and would provide some insurance against damage to the engine or transmission? On other forums, people have suggested an AT oil cooler. This seems easy and cheap, except that my AC condenser doesn't really leave room for one of those units. I see others have mounted them directly to the skid plate, so maybe that is an option? A/C is currently non-functional, so I suppose I could remove the condenser, but may elect to fix the compressor and get that running again, if I can find a reasonably affordable way to do so.

3) I will definitely need a brake controller. Anyone have suggestions on a good, low-cost unit? I don't have plans to tow anything bigger than that camper, and the weight shouldn't vary much, so I don't feel like I need anything too fancy. Money is tight at the moment.

4) Anything else I should consider?

Thanks!

wardriver

Does a tent count?

We had an older camper and those things are tanks...Even with a frame hitch (not bumper hitch) I'm guessing you'll get a lot of squat in the rear making steering a serious problem. How's your rear end sag and which type of hitch do you have?

abecedarian

1) No.

2) an external AT cooler is a very good idea.

3) get a good quality brake controller from an RV / trailer dealer that can control 4 wheels' brakes- do not get the cheapest one out there, but you also won't need the most expensive. also avoid the cheap auto parts store models, except for Napa's brands which are quite decent units. I won't mention any brand names because there are really only a few. also, have the dealer explain in detail how to calibrate / adjust it, and re-adjust it everytime you hook up the trailer because you'll won't have it and the truck loaded the exact same way every time.

4) you'll want a frame mounted trailer hitch. then place the trailer tongue on the hitch and see how far the rear drops. if it drops more than an inch or so, you should look into a load distributing drawbar setup (not cheap but will save you some fatigue on your rear springs). you may need a wiring adapter to convert the 4runner's separate turn / brake lights to the common turn / brake light configuration most trailers here have. carry as much in the 4runner as possible. keep the holding tanks on the trailer empty until you are as close as possible to your destination. keep a full set of brake shoes and magnets in your trailer. wire a charge line from your battery, through a circuit breaker, to the trailer light plug so you can keep the emergency break-away battery charged- side benefit is if the trailer has storage battery, you can charge it while towing as well.

Cwaters1184

frame hitch for sure.. pulling 2K off the bumper is generally never a good idea over the distance you want to cover.

Matt16

If I were you, I'd invest in 4.88 gears (if you have 225/75 tires) or 5.29 gears with 31" tires if you're going to tow. It'll cost you less than $500 and the engine will have to work a lot less hard. You're truck came with 4.30 gears.

coolthew

x2 on frame hitch.

load distribution bars will really help.

apart from that, you'll just wind up having to go slow... but i guess most of us are used to that by now.

CoedNaked

1) Get a transmission cooler if you don't have one.

2) All your maintenance is up to date plugs, air filters, etc.

3) High quality synthetic fluids, EVERYWHERE. I recommend Amsoil 10w30 synthetic oil, Amsoil Universal Automatic transmission fluid in your transmission & transfer case, and Amsoil Severe Gear 75w90 for your front & rear ends. Also make sure your drive shaft and other parts are properly and regularly greased. These will keep things running smoother and cooler and put the odds a little more in favour of protecting your drive train & engine. Also - hows your brake fluid? Is it cooked or burned?
And towing can be a little harder on steering components - hows your power steering fluid?

4) If you're doing this somewhat regularly, gears would be the way to go. Would make a big difference in the engines job being a bit easier, and protecting the transmission as well.

Cwaters1184

normally i wouldnt argue this considering i used Amsoil in my supercharged 3.4 the whole time i had it, but in a 20 year old truck thats probably got alot of miles on it, i would stick to conventional

Matt16

There are some good conventials out there. If you use a really thick gear oil in the rear end (ie: a 80W140) conventional will work just fine. You're mileage might drop imperceptibly.

I still think you should regear to lower gears.

Snotrocket

The gears aren't going to help a whole lot except when taking off. I tow a small trailer to the dump and for moving stuff once in awhile that weighs less than 500lbs.

My advice would be to buy a different vehicle to tow with.

CoedNaked

I disagree, STRONGLY.

First off - I'd rather burn/leak a bit more synthetic oil (if my engine's seals are old and that's the result) if it means protecting the overall life of my engine. Most of the seals that may leak because they are old can be externally repaired/replaced with some work. But throwing a bearing can not.

Also - instead of an 80w140 conventional, why not a 75w110 Severe Gear or 75w140 Severe Gear. Keep your diff's running cooler and give them every advantage you can get.

Also, remember thicker is not neccessarily better. Remember at higher operating temps sometimes you also want more flow too, which when an oil or lube thins out is what it does.

If you HAVE to tow with your 22RE then yeah go with it, but the best case scenario is you find a different tow vehicle, but if you have to, going to synthetic fluids puts the ball in your favour a little more than if you don't. It's just a suggestion though - take it or leave it.

markandersen

I've always used synthetic oil. The hitch is a frame hitch (Class III).

At this point, anything that costs me more than $400 is a deal killer. I'm stuck with this truck until we've paid off my wife's car. The maintenance is basically up-to-date. 165k on the truck. Valve job just about 5k ago, lots of front end work, brakes are in good shape, etc. I am working my way through the systems making sure all the fluids are in good shape, and will replace what I remove with synthetics. The fenders, doors, etc., are rusting apart, so eventually it will probably just be a seat on top of the transmission, but I bet it will still run like a champ!

I towed the trailer out to get it weighed the other day. It was 1,900 lbs. Towed just fine in town--no problem taking off from a stoplight, whatsoever. In fact, I was surprised at how little the trailer impacted the acceleration. Slow-going on the highway (50-55 tops), but less because of the weight, and more because of the non-aerodynamics of the trailer, I think.

I anticipate towing the trailer about 10 times/year. 9 of those would be trips of less than 100-200 miles, round trip. 1 might be a longer jaunt of 400-500 miles. Outside of that, I'm putting under 1,000 miles/year on the truck right now, since I bike to work and only drive the truck once/week on average to fish or hunt on the weekend. It will probably take me 10 more years to break 200k!

Was looking for air bags or assists for the rear end (since that sags with NO weight on the truck), but doesn't look like they're available for first generations (1989). Anyone else find something that works?

abecedarian

air shocks are always an option.

Jay351

Well, me thinks you need to sell some crap you don't need or get a few extra bucks to make this work...well.

1. A/T oil cooler, defantly something you need to invest in, those autotragics are not something you wanna abuse...

2. I would really advise you to gear up your truck. Used (factory) 4.88 diffs can be had for under 250 bucks. You can sell your stocker diffs for around 100 bucks.. It really comes out cheap in the end.

3. Personally I would upgrade the leaf springs, but you could probibly get away with a long style AAL and some cheap airbags (non adjustable ones)...

I also agree on the synthetic fluids.. I will never go back to conventional...

Matt16

Toyota auto are pretty damn tough, I used to haul around a tonne (literally) in the back of my 1989 2wd 22R auto. Never slipped, never overheated, never changed the fluid.

Squeebs

i thought that all auto trannies were tied into the radiator for cooling?

Matt16

As far as I know, no water-based coolant ever goes through an automatic transmission, regardless of the manufacturer Sometimes, they have their own little radiator sitting piggyback to that engine radiator that trans. fluid is pumped through, then back into the trans. This keeps temperatures down.

Squeebs

When i was working at a lube shop, we always tied into the cooler lines to flush the tranny.


The tranny oil is usually sent to the bottom of the radiator to cool and there is a return line.

4runnerx3

Turn off OD when towing anything.

markandersen

Yes--the problem with the AC is a burnt-out compressor. Have found one at a salvage yard for $100, but will cost me closer to $500, I imagine, to have it installed and have the system flushed & refilled. I am not planning to do it in the short term, but maybe next summer, so I don't want to use the AC condenser for an AT cooler.

There is an AT cooler inside the radiator (near the bottom), but for towing the recommendation is to add an auxiliary cooler. The hard part seems to be finding a spot on my truck. The AC condenser takes up quite a bit of room in front of the radiator, so don't want to add something else that will be in the way. I saw another post where the person had put it behind the skid plate (with some fairly light steel mesh between). That doesn't seem like too bad an idea, except if you bash that skid plate into a big rock and smash the cooler (not likely, but possible). Anyone put an AT cooler in a first gen. 4Runner before?

My shop wants $350 to install a medium sized AT cooler, do a flush, clean the filters, and put synthetic in (or just $150 for the flush, cleaning, & replacement--in other words, 200-225 for the cooler, installed). I was thinking of installing the cooler myself, because it'd save me about 100-150 bucks, but I'm tempted to let them do it so I'm sure it's done well and so I can do more important things (like fishing) some Saturday. Does $350 sound like a fair price? I thought it was pretty reasonable.