2008 - 2010 200 Series Towing Capability (1 Viewer)

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San Diego
Last fall I purchased and moved onto a 34 foot Airstream travel trailer. I currently have a 97 FZJ, which I love however, it's not suited to pulling this rig. In the past year, I have only moved it 4 times between campgrounds (about 4-6 miles) and don't currently have any plans on traveling with it. I like the idea of having the flexibility to move when I need, or when opportunities for better spots open, which I don't have now. If I have to give up the 80, it would only be for another LC, and the specs on the 2008-2010 200's are about right, on paper. My Airstream is 7700lbs dry with a 820lb hitch weight. I'd guess the loaded weight to be another 6-700lbs (assuming empty holding tanks) but probably not too much on the hitch since most of the weight is in the kitchen which is over a triple axle.

I'd appreciate hearing your experiences towing with the 200 and thoughts on whether it would be a suitable tow vehicle for my AS.

Thanks

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Wow, she's a beaut. Triple axle goodness.

What year is she? I'm guessing a late 90s excella, which makes it a 8.5' widebody?

I think you might know that formally, she's outside of the factory tow specs of the 200-series. The weight is marginal and the length is a larger concern against a relatively short wheelbase 200 series (which has the exact same wheelbase as an 80-series). It sounds to me like you're full timing which makes her on the high side of heavy?

In my experience towing on the higher end or just over capacity, towing a 27FB @8k lbs and 1200lb hitch, I think towing that 34 would be marginal. If it's only a handful of times a year, it might be worthwhile to rent a commercial 3/4-ton pickup when the need arises. If it's shorter trips on local roads, I might brave it. An LC is going to need some help particularly airbags to help with load.

Though every one of my mods isn't exactly conducive to towing and the 200-series tow with aplomb.
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Wow, she's a beaut. Triple axle goodness.

What year is she? I'm guessing a late 90s excella, which makes it a 8.5' widebody?

I think you might know that formally, she's outside of the factory tow specs of the 200-series. The weight is marginal and the length is a larger concern against a relatively short wheelbase 200 series (which has the exact same wheelbase as an 80-series). It sounds to me like you're full timing which makes her on the high side of heavy?

In my experience towing on the higher end or just over capacity, towing a 27FB @8k lbs and 1200lb hitch, I think towing that 34 would be marginal. If it's only a handful of times a year, it might be worthwhile to rent a commercial 3/4-ton pickup when the need arises. If it's shorter trips on local roads, I might brave it. An LC is going to need some help particularly airbags to help with load.

Though every one of my mods isn't exactly conducive to towing and the 200-series tow with aplomb.
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Thanks! She's a '97 Excella 1000, same year as my 80. Not a wide body. You are right that I am full-timing it. Will be a year in a couple weeks. Overall, I love the lifestyle, but there have been some real challenges. I live by the beach in San Diego and there are 4 campgrounds within about 5 miles of each other. Most of the moving I have been doing, however, is within the same campground. The ones I spend most of my time in are on public land, who require extended stay guests leave the campground for 24 hours, every 90 days. I drag my rig into their storage for the night and stay with a friend, and then drag it back in the morning. Another issue is that these campgrounds book out quite far and have forgiving cancellation policies. This means that booking long-term is challenging but there are frequent cancellations. Advantage goes to those who can move on short, or no, notice.

I understand the stability concerns of short wheel based TVs and would never consider it for towing more than short distances. Everything you said make a lot of sense though, so thanks for taking the time. That's a really nice set-up you have there too. What year are your LC and AS?
 
Never thought about it until you asked, but my 200-series and AS are pretty close in years too. 2009 LX570 and 2007 AS 27FB.

For towing a few miles if it's generally slower local roads, I would have no qualms. It's the freeway speeds into unknown grades and weather that I was more concerned about.

I've towed a 11k dump trailer once. Wasn't the brightest idea, but she did the deed.
 
Can you do it? Yes. Should you? No.

I'm sorry but 7700 dry is too much weight for the LC. In my experience you're always going to end up closer to GVWR once you put stuff in the trailer. 34' is also quite long.

If you need to occasionally move it a few miles (once or twice a year), keep the 80 and rent a uhaul truck to do it. If you need to move it regularly for long distances get a Sequoia or Tundra. Even with those the weight is going to be an issue though they are better for the length of the trailer at least.
 
I think for your stated moves (a few miles, local low speeds) you'd be ok. I would not even think about it for any distance. Just a note, Enterprise Rent a Truck rents 3/4 ton trucks for towing. A buddy manages a Rally team with 2 cars and an enclosed trailer that will hold both and all of their stuff, and he rents a truck from them for all of his non local moves. Locally he can move the trailer with his suburban, but he likes the rent a truck option for long distance.

EDIT: I looked, and a 3/4 ton truck here is $90/day 600 miles included from Enterprise. It'd be pretty hard to justify buying anything for big towing at that rate unless you did it pretty often.
 
I like posting this video any time these discussions come up.




I had a family member tow a 34ft like this with a 2000ish tahoe. They towed it for years. Now that trailer is being towed by an f150.
 
Moving around the yard or up the street is ok with a big trailer. I beg/borrow/rent a 3/4-ton or bigger for the 5-mile, 15mph tow to the ramp in the spring. I really think the 200 could do it just fine, but I'm not playing the odds. I think I could pull this 10,000-lb boat up the ramp with my 200, just to get it out for servicing if needed. I've pulled it around the industrial neighborhood here just to see how it pulled and braked. Kinda spooky, nope on road towing. No problem for pulling it through gravel and grass when putting it up for winter.

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Moving around the yard or up the street is ok with a big trailer. I beg/borrow/rent a 3/4-ton or bigger for the 5-mile, 15mph tow to the ramp in the spring. I really think the 200 could do it just fine, but I'm not playing the odds. I think I could pull this 10,000-lb boat up the ramp with my 200, just to get it out for servicing if needed. I've pulled it around the industrial neighborhood here just to see how it pulled and braked. Kinda spooky, nope on road towing. No problem for pulling it through gravel and grass when putting it up for winter.

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If it’s just the ramp, put it in 4L. 10k lbs is a lot to pull in the street though
 
I would not trust Toyota towing specs on pre-2011 LC/LX.

Look at towing specs of 2011 and up LC/LX to know the real towing specs.
 

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