I own a 2001 V6 SR5 4WD 4Runner. I am in the market to purchase a boat. I am wondering if anyone has met or exceeded the towing capacity rating of 5000lbs. I am currently looking at at boat of about 3900lb dry weight and an 900lb trailer. This should bring me right up to the limit with any gas/cargo in the boat. Has anyone towed this, and what was your experience. Any recommendations for towing this weight (i.e. transmission cooler)?

 

i towed a 4200 dry weight boat and i dont know how much the trailer weighed, it bent the hitch a little, but the car was able to handle it no problem, used 4wd to back in so i didnt skid down the ramp. abs doesnt work very well in reverse. also had hydraulic surge brakes on the trailer. and i only towed it maybe 4 miles around the lake from a house on the lake to the ramp. got up to 50mph

 

oh, i have the old 3500lb hitch though, i didnt know it at the time.

 

Thanks, how steep was the ramp you were going down? Did you have any problems when you had to come back up?

 

really steep, it gets steeper as you go in too, you must have 4wd to get out. i used both 4 hi and 4 low and it pulled out no problem. i was really impressed with the way it handled the load too. but i did not have to make any abrupt lane changes or anyhting, so i dont know how it would react.

 

Bump...I'm curious too. I may buy a camper that will put me around 5k once it is loaded. Also, anyone use a weight distribution setup on their 4R? How did that work out?

 

Towing close to you're max you'll want to make sure you have a weight distributing hitch. It will keep the touge weight down and you should be fine. Trailer brakes should be considered as well. Anythign that heavy would probably be a struggle on long hauls, but I think for towing to and from the lake, I assume thats under 100 miles that shouldnt be too bad. If you're gonna be goin on long trips towing you might want to look at a tundra or landcruiser.

 

The hitch that comes stock with the 4Runner, is that a weight distrubution hitch?

 

No, you will have to buy a different reciever.

 

 

Thanks! Who sell's it?

 

well Im not sure what the max tongue weights are, but it really isn't necessary at first because you may be fine depending on the height of everythign as it attaches to your ball mount.

You should consider a weight distributor if things aint pretty (too tall or short) for long hauling; but for short stunts i wouldn't worry to much about it. However hydraulic brakes are a must over 4k or so. I would not feel safe at all in my runner having that much weight behind me without them. I have only towed maybe 2k in my Runner once: but in my 98 Taco I towed ~4k and it did very well (had trailer brakes).

 

Thanks I am still working on the trailer aspect of the purchase, but it will definately have brakes.

 

I routinely tow 3800lbs and 4600lbs with my 99, depending on which car is on the trailer. Some things I've noticed:

Your front rotors will warp. Replace them with Brembos.

Even though the 4Runner is rated for 5000lbs, anything over 2000lbs is EXTREMELY UNSAFE with the factory suspension. By the time 400lbs of tongue weight is on the hitch, the rear springs squish and unweight the front axle. Headlights aim to the stars, steering and brakes are severly compromised due to a very light front axle. It handles like a shopping cart.

I have Bilstein shocks up front and Monroe Max-Air air shocks in the rear, inflated to 120psi. Towing is somewhat acceptable, although the rear is still weaker than I would prefer.

The trailer needs brakes. Mine are electric, on the rear axle, and controlled by a Reese Brakeman Digital.

The trailer needs to be level or slightly tongue high. If it is tongue low, then it tows like a shopping cart, and the rear axle brakes don't work due to being too light.

 

www.trailerhitches.com You can get them anywhere (drawtite,reese,ect....) but I have never seen one on a boat trailer.

 

Exactly, If you don't have a very stiff suspension, you should proabably get a weight distributor. If not you better have a HUGE rise on you're hitch. Most things you tow don't really allow for you to take a ton of tounge weight and move it towards the rear. I also suggest a little more tire pressure when towing. On the trailer and the truck.

 

I have a nitro 17ft bass boat,2,800lbs.Before trailer brakes it was like stopping a train.Its a 2002 Tacoma 3.4 4x4.It may be rated for 5000lbs.I wouldnt want to be driving it.Go up steep hills you have to take out of over drive to maintain speed and it realy strains.I also had tracker aluminum bass boat 2200lbs it pulled it fairly well up the same hills.I still have the taco but I got a full size truck to pull the boat.Cant hardly tell its back there with the v8.I think they may have rated it for 5000lb.On a flat surface but going up hills its a joke.Without trailer brakes its plain stupid.It even says in the manual over 2000lbs requires trailer brakes.My taco is ok.Gets good milage and hauls a decent amount of stuff but the brakes just are not up to that kind of load.It will cause a lot of premature wear,brakes,trans, suspension.It may look good on paper but towing it is another thing.If you dont tow often just once in blue moon it may not be too bad. To the lake evey weekend I would consider a used full size truck with a v8.I only use mine to haul junk with and pull the boat so gas milage aint that big a deal.

 

I have towed 5000+ lbs with mine (trailer had no brakes and 500-600 lb tongue weight) and let me tell you it is scary don't try it!!!! It did exactly as Unhappy99 describes and it is downright dangerous (loss of steering and braking power due to to the front being totally unweighted). If you are going to tow large weights like that with stock springs you should have airbags, airshocks or preferably both to level out the suspension (and it will ride like a rock). If you were going to do it on a regular basis I might even use the OME 890s and stock front springs and you should level out when towing with a semi decent ride. The stock rear springs are just not designed for heavy towing at all.

 

Thanks for the information. What about power to pull this load off a ramp, what's your opinion on that? Also, Would you have a toyota dealer install these items or go with someone private?

 

the hitch is just a diffrent reciver. nothing really to install. Id pull it out in 4low, youll have all the power you want then. Lots of control, lots of torque and lots of traction so you dont look like an idiot pulling it out.

Springs arnt that hard to put on the rear. I put them on mine for towning my heavy camper. Id go with a set of adjustable shocks also. Allows you to soften them up when your not towing.