I have a 99 4runner, SR5 V6. I'm towing a uhaul trailer with dual axles across Canada (close to 3000 miles.) I have an external tranny cooler, done the tundra brake upgrade and plan to drive with O/D off and ECT button on.

Here's where my concern is. I weighed the car with the trailer fully loaded (went to a garbage drop off and they were nice enough to let me use the scale) and after subtracting the weight of the car, I'm towing about 4200 lbs. The trailer is rated for 4800 so I'm ok there but I'm concerned that this is a lot overall, especially going that distance.

There will be no cargo in the truck itself, other than me and a passenger.

What do you think? Should be ok or not?

 

What is the truck rated at towing? It should say in the manual if you have that.
I think most 3rd gen 4Runners are 5,000 lbs

 

I've towed that much with my 4Runner and it isn't that much fun. Acceleration is poor and maintaining speed on hills, and even on the freeways is just about impossible. IIRC the double axle Uhauls have surge breaks, so you should be okay stopping (assuming they're working).

As long as you're careful and take your time, I'm sure you're Runner will make it. The question is do you want to put that much wear and tear on your engine, tranny, and driveline. If it were me I'd find another tow vehicle. BTW, my 2000 4Runner is supposedly rated at 5000 lbs. Who knows how they arrive at that figure. These aren't designed for towing heavy loads.

 

What did they (Toyota) do different from the 91 to the 99? I am only rated to 3500lbs and it's a SR5 V6.

 

New motor, driveline, all that jazz.

 

Thanks for the reply. As to the question whether I want to put this much wear on my car... not really but I don't have much of a choice. Not going to go out and buy a new vehicle.

The trailer does have surge brakes and the stopping i've been doing seems fine and pretty easy. I actually don't notice too much difference. It's a little sluggish from a stop but even that isn't bad at all.

 

I would have recommended renting a uhaul box truck but I'm not sure how much more that is. You should be fine with the cooler(if its a decent size) and brakes if you have no other options. OD off, keep an eye on your temps, drive careful, and check the weather before you leave!

 

You should be fine. Just take it easy on her. I have an 84 with an early 22r. Towed a toyota tercel on a Uhaul double axle about 500 miles it went just fine.

 

id get a full size truck

 

actually surprised U-haul let you take a car hauler out of the lot hooked up to your 4runner...good luck

 

Uhaul truck was $3500. Trailer was $350. Truck couldn't really be justified.

 

You'll be fine. I took the same trailer from Seattle to Ohio in my 94 4 cyl. I did have a 5 spd tranny though. Acceleration was poor but once I got up to speed the trailer pushed me as much as I pulled it. It was taller wider and longer than the truck and looked hilarious coming up those mountain passes. The only bit of wisdom I could share is don't try this trip with out cruise control.

 

Sounds like you've already made up your mind. I would just make sure to keep a good eye on weather. Rain, snow, ice, wind all make towing large loads pretty bad. Just yesterday I say a big rig at the bottom of a 40' cliff off the side of the freeway. I think your 4runner will be okay, just stop and check everything once in a while.

 

Just because something is doable and/or possible does not qualify it as a good idea.

This falls into that category.

:wabbit2:

 

Thanks man. Sounds like I have a engine swap in the near future.

 

Are you taking the Trans Canada Hwy? If so, not so bad. There are a lot of big hills (not big enough to be called mountains) from Kenora to Wawa in northern Ontario. I don't know if you have driven this route before, it's a nice drive but I won't recommend doing it from Dec to Feb.

 

ive towed some stuff that was pretty close to 4,000lbs with a 91 chevy 4wd dually and it pushed me around a little i just cant think of how unsafe it be with a 4runner

 

Take it easy and don't get in a hurry and you'll be ok. I'd change my fluids before leaving and after. Esp the trans, transfer, and rear diff. I've hauled 5-6000 lbs several times with my 4runner, although not that far, and not becoming a speed demon it does ok. Does make the tail squat some though.

 

Thanks, we're driving from Toronto to Vancouver in a couple days. I'm mostly worried about the rockies but if there's a lot of snow/ice, we'll just stop and wait it out. We're not in a hurry so we can take our time.

 

I towed a Uhaul dual axle about 700 miles in early summer in Texas. Truck performed fine, except I was an idiot and didn't turn O/D off so ended up doing $2k of damage to my tranny. Just take it slow and you'll be fine.