Not worth the risk. Your rig just isn't heavy enough.

 

My friend towed 10,000Lbs with his 4Runner a short distance but totally would never do it again, he had to tow this vehicle to sell it. The only reason why he would attempt such a thing was the timeline involved. And he had a 5spd...he said he would never had attempted it with an auto. Rent a 1-ton and save yourself some hassel or a potential accident.

 

It truly is amazing the difference how the weight is distributed makes. Who knows how well the weight is distributed on that boat. I wouldn't worry about the wear and tear on your truck as much as I would worry about how the trailer will react when you try to stop, or start going down hill.

Don't Risk it, rent a bigger truck. You'll be stacking the odds in your favor that you'll make it there safely.

Have fun on the new boat, get it there safe and opperate it safe.

 

don't even consider it. I wouldn't tow that with my Tahoe which is rated at 7500.
dry weight of the boat is 4500? what does the trailer weigh? I am surprised the trailer does not have surge brakes.

If you do tow it with your 4Runner I hope you have good liability insurance. If you end up like the truck in post #18 and you exceeded your tow rating etc they may not have to pay...I would not risk it. (have been driving for 27 years and towing assorted trailers over that time)
Looks like the boat is at a Marina. IMO it would be worth it from the liability standpoint to pay them to deliver it for you for the $3/per loaded mile or whatever it is, or like others have mentioned, rent the proper tow vehicle.

edit: that trailer looks to be galvinized and not aluminum...

 

Let me tell you this real story, maybe yours is different, but it was happened to me not long ago.

I moved from CA to IN in Dec., I shipped 1800 pounds of my stuff via trucking company at 55 cents a pound. I had some "important cargo" I thought it's too risky to get lost by the carrier, and since I was driving, I just put them in the back of the 4Runner. I don't know how heavy, what I do know is the rear coils compressed 4 and half inches when all loaded up. I made the 2100 mile through the Rocky's, in 48 hours. 5 days after my arrival, the transmission started to act up. 2 months later I had a $1500 bill handed over to me for a complete transmission rebuilt caused by a broken output gear bearing, all bearings and syncro rings were replaced with brand new OEM parts.

If I have to do it all over again, you bet I'd say $0.55 a pound isn't a bad deal at all.

I've towed a 26' Bayliner 2603 Flybridge once with a 1st gen Tundra single cab. long bed, boy I could have peed my pants every time it made a turn. For a stern drive boat, most of the weight is certainly at the back of the boat being the motor(Mercruier V8 probably??) and trans are at the stern, and 50 gal. gas tank. Boats with outboard motors are lighter in the stern.

Rent a truck, have you family drive the 4Runner, have a good time.

Congrats. wish I could afford that thing.

 

Definitely rent a truck...worth your piece of mind and hassle!

 

ok thanks guys , i came to my senses, I am not going to tow or buy the boat. I am looking for a smaller bowrider now so i can do watersports. I could probably borrow a better tow vehicle but then i still have to go to the ramp and back every time i go out and this big of a boat is too much hassle... I was considering this boat basically as a party boat to take out on the lake. I am now on the look again lol

 

I was searching "towing" for 4runner. The truth is, bumper pull hitches and conventional weight distributing hitches are limited. People buy really large trucks to pull relatively skimpy loads in hopes of evening the physics odds given a conventional bumper pull hitch. This is why people go to a fifth wheel -which creates bigger issues with wind.

Weight isn't always your enemy, sometimes it is your friend. In some cases, a lightweight trailer is a bad thing.

If you really want to bumper pull a trailer the right way, go with a weight distributing hitch.

Just know that the high weight will eat parts faster on your rig. Who cares? There are 1 million runners out there with parts galore. Have fun, and get a hensely Arrow hitch.

 

Dood, thats like asking a great dane to hump a chihuahua.
It can be done, but u might have some probs later...

 

man definitely look at renting try uhaul or ryder they rent nice diesel pickups. and for about 39 bucks save the wear and tear on ur runner.

 

not to be rude but since u asked for advice-get a bigger truck or see if u can get someone with bigger truck to pull for ya. never pull anything with the power unit to small or to light.

 

The fact that it was a U-Haul trailer could have contributed too. They have extremely poor to no maintenance! Trust me, you are risking your life towing or driving anything they rent!

 

where are you located?


i would NOT tow it with the 4runner.. find a buddy with a full size, or rent one. Hell post something on Craigslist. pay someone to tow it for you. there are ALOT of out of work construction guys with full size trucks searching to make a quick buck.

 

i pulled a 23 ft cobia with my 22re 5 speed pickup the only problem i had was getting the boat out of the ramp. that thing would scream like a raped ape commin out. people around got a kick out of it

 

Well, please note the trailer is largely intact. Uhaul trailers are usually pretty good. They can be easily overloaded. The interesting thing is, they have pretty good surge brakes. One stomp on the brake and that trailer is stopping-like now. I towed that sort of trailer quite a bit. I learned how to get the trailer to stop both vehicles.

If a trailer like that starts to swing, just get on the brakes. Otherwise, prepare to flip.

 

I wouldn't rent a truck, I would pay someone to deliver it, let them have the hassle, and don't put the wear on your 4runner.

 

The article he posted confirms what I said...that trailer had no working brakes and was not properly inspected...the trailer swaying caused the accident...the springs were extremely worn and I would be suprised if the tires were even legal. U-Haul has a horrible track record with their trailer safety due to poor maintenance and lack of client education. Just because the trailer box survived doesn't mean it was mechanically sound.

One other thing...the article clearly states the last thing you do in a swaying situation is "get on the brakes"...and that is where the most mistakes are made. The physics of getting on the brakes shifts the weight of the vehicle to the front taking the traction off the back wheels and making it easier for the "Tail" to further "wag the dog". Since the trailer is swaying violently as in this case, the force does not go wholly to the surge brakes, but to one side or the other. However in this case it didn't matter as the brakes were inoperable.

 

I agree if you had a trailer controller. Hit that and the trailer will straighten out. In the absence of a controller, all you have is the trailer brakes.

I guess my assumption is that most people inspect the trailer, get the surge brakes to engage...etc.

That trailer is pretty heavy, without a payload. Add in some books into the nose and your done.

Getting on the brakes if you get swing works-with this type of trailer (and the brakes work). I can't say exactly why, but it does.

 

You have a tow capacity of 5,000 lbs. Tow it. I just finished towing my buddies boat up to the lake and back which is about 300 miles round trip. His boat was a monster too. It's not something I would do every day but 1 time isn't going to kill your truck. You will have trouble stopping that thing though and you should probably not go over about 60 mph with it in tow. Turn your overdrive off too.

I tow anything that is below the capacity stated in the owner's manual. I don't tow boats that large very often, but I have successfully. The tongue weight should be checked on that boat. I think my 4Runner is not suggested to tow anything with a tongue weight over 500lbs. Just my $.02.

 

Towing a 5000 lead block and towing a 5,000 super tall boat is two different things. The hitch is the key.