Anybody have / tow a Travel Trailer?

[sonoranfun]

As I type I'm picturing cdan beating a dead horse and saying 5000 pounds 500 toung weight.... Anyway, I've searched, read and educated myself and I see a lot of posts about what people wanna tow, I'm wondering what has been safely done within reason..

I'm looking to buy a Travel Trailer and was looking in the 19-23 foot range, I think a 27 footer would just be too much.. I wanna be safe, load it up and still be at the 5k mark without any troubles.. So, do any of you have one, what size models have you pulled and been okay with?

I'm also open to any buying advice as I'm just starting to look for one now and haven't owned anything other then a motor home in the past..

 

[Romer]

I have a Pop Up and its fine except on the mountain passes, probably about 2500 pounds. You have to decide were you would take it.

 

[sonoranfun]

Well, a pop up isn't gonna cut it as we have 3 kiddos.. I know a 21 foot travel trailer is okay on the weight but I wanna make sure I'm not too long with that.. I saw some posts of the 100s pulling them but nothing on the 80s.. A ew pictures would be killer as well!

 

[Cube Dweller]

PM rusty_tlc or cross post this in the trailer section. He's an experience RV'r.

 

[Kasprzak]

Do you have a supercharger? If not I think you would be a danger to impede traffic pulling a 5000lb trailer. At least that is how I felt the first time I attempted a simple car hauling task with my Lx450. Do yourself a favor and buy a motorhome and tow the 80 behind it. I just do not see this as a tow rig. The 100 series would be up to the task as my old Tundra pulled just fine. I know mine is stock but even the most beefed up airbagged supercharged 80 series out there still is limited to 5000 lbs and most trailers will quickly get above that in the length you are attempting to get at. IMHO.

 

[sonoranfun]

No supercharger here... So what you're telling me is that the FZJ80 is has been rated too high and is unable to even tow at it's 5,000 pound rating?

The Trailers I've been looking at have a dry weight of 4,000 pounds and under with a GVWR of 5,000 to 6,000 pounds something I clearly wouldn't exceed the 5,000 pound limit of...

Dry weight is the weight of the trailer off the line, this includes the fridge, stove and so on but not the propain in the tanks, water in the tanks and of course the crap you add or bring on later.. I think with a 3,500 Dry Weight I should be about right on..

 

[woody]

I put 9500 miles of towing on with my 80 last year....~5500 pounds of car trailer/FJ40...and have around 4000 on this year so far....

air bags in the rear suspension or a weight dist hitch (trying that this weekend, see how I like it versus the bags) 3rd gear on all the hills, if yer lucky, or 2nd gear at about 45 mph and it holds well. Not gonna get 4th other than downhills...max your tire pressure....make sure the trailer has GOOD brakes too.

IMO, wind resistance is major...I keep the windshield folded down on the 40 and that helps a ton...the CJ7 I'm towing this weekend won't have that option, so it may suck some....

figger 8-10 mpg towing, if you get 15 on the highway now...rig setup is in my sig....

 

[NeverFinis]

I tow a 5000lb+ 30ft ultralight trailer. I have towed it from Florida to Maine and through the hills of Pennsylvania. I use a very good weight distibuting hitch and dual cam sway controls. Stock springs, no air bags, procomp shocks. Lexus sits nearly level with this setup.

The lx450 tows great due to the weight of it and the weight over the rear axle. The tongue weight is transfered to the front axle due to the wieght distributing hitch, but having a rear end that is heavy to begin with is a bonus. (ask my wife! I never feel sway from passing trucks, like some people who tow with pickups. You won't be able to mainain 65 on the steepest hills. The slowest I have gone up a hill is 45 and that was because I like to keep the RPM below 3000. I am not super charged.

I use a very good brake controller that starts out with a surge of trailer brake when I first stab the brakes. I have had to emergency brake twice and I was extremely impressed both times. One was a quick red light that I had to stop quickly. I stopped so quickly that a pickup behind me had to swerve into the next lane to avoid hitting me. The second time was a pickup stalled as it tried to turn in front of me and I again was extremely impressed with the braking performance (the ABS was activated).

I have hit 70-75 towing but I suggest keep to the speed limit and it doesn't matter if you only can do 45mph up a hill. If you go below 45, you do need to put your hazard lights on, but that has never happened to me.

Last week, while towing in Maine, they had a new electronic sign that measured your weight before crossing a bridge. It put the LX450 and the camper at 11,800lbs and we were fully loaded.

(editing due to typos when I submitted on my Nokia 770 this morning)

 

[Romer]

Hills and flat lands shouldn't be a big problem, my point earlier was moun tain passes. Specifically Vail and Eisenhower on I-70 in Colorado would not be fun with a 5000 lb trailer. My Pop up pulls fine every where but ther. I still get up the pass, just real slooooooowwwwww.

 

[Dansan]

I towed a dual axle U Haul trailer from Chicago to LA. Max weight for that setup is 4500lbs and I was a little under it.

Going west out of Denver on I 70, I was doing 25 -30mph. Same on the rest of the hills. On the flat, it could easily hold 65-70 and the handling was very good.

It is an unnerving feeling though to know that as you approcah the really steep grades, you can get passed by semis.

I'd tow again, but I think I'd want to stay well under the 5K limit, if big hills are involved.

 

[woody]

that pic was taken May 13th on Hwy 129 just S of Knoxville...the backside of the trip to the top of that area included some 12% grades and hairpin turns...beautiful ride, but I took an easier way home...lol The airlift bags in that pic are at 25ish psi, tires are maxed at 65psi, load is pretty balanced.

You DO learn the draft when you travel...hooking snug to a semi does wonders for the mileage, and I had to actually back off the throttle on some of the monster hills in KY and TN...

people DID think I was nuts to wheel the 80 at GSMTR tho, especially when I was out Sat morning with the FJCTT, then hooked the trailer at 2pm and started my 850-mile return trip...lol

 

[ginericLC]

Elevation also comes into play when you start towing big loads. But probably not as much as the grade. I feel great towing my pop up. We also have a 16 foot horse trailer I occasionally tow. It basically sucks towing it. And it is streamline. It is narrower than the Cruiser and not much taller. Loaded it runs about 4600 lbs. When the Cruiser was stock I could tow it at about 68 mph. Now with the 315s and other add ons I bet I only run about 54mph. Power is an issue when you put that big of a load on it. But the other issue is wheelbase. If the the trailer starts bouncing or swaying it can really toss the Cruiser around. Being that Idaho is fairly mountainous I would not even consider what you are talking about doing.

 

[NeverFinis]

Please use a weight distributing hitch with a sway control device...especially if you are towing over 3500lbs.

You can't complain about a crusier getting tossed around if you aren't using the proper tow gear.

This is what similiar to what my hitch setup looks like:

 

[MoGas]

Well, a pop up isn't gonna cut it as we have 3 kiddos..QUOTE]

Well, you will find that most pop-ups are designed to sleep six where alot of trailers sleep four. It's up to you though. I'm going to go with a pop-up. Ease of towing being the greatest plus. We also have 3 kids.

I'd like to get one of these


Dave

 

[wileetoyote]

Check out these pics...

http://community.webshots.com/photo/58092058/1058092513028774797CpMUtA

http://community.webshots.com/photo/58092058/1058092763028774797YlyVjg

Between the 19.5' popup (1st pic) w/dual battery, dual propane, AC unit, 4kw portable generator, etc and the 4'x8' Con-ferr (2nd pic) fully loaded, LC interior ladened with a 44 qt ice chest, 21 gallons of water (40+ gal total with trailer), tool box, etc, I figure I'm hauling ~4300lbs.

Running 285/75's, it hauls just fine except when i hit very steep grades. I try to get a running start around 75mph and end up around 45mph in 2nd gear at which point i've got my hazards on. On steep grades like these, theres no semi's passing me cause they're only able to do ~35mph. I can see how towing beyond 5k up steep grades could be an issue though. As far as maintaining 4-5k at speed on fairly level ground, that shouldn't be an issue. I've got trailer brakes and a steering stablizer so none of that stuff has been a factor doing 70mph but a travel trailer may be a different story if your driving on a very windy day.

I see folks are using or considering weight dist. units although Toyota recommends not to use them. This has been debated in length...search the archives.

Good Luck

WET

 

[txtortoise]

Regularly pull 3500lb Casita fiberglass...looks like small airstream. Sway bar and inertial brake controller. 10mpg at 60-70 on the 500 mile incline from San Antonio to El Paso, 45 up any kind of hill...Raton pass was probably 25mph and the run up to the Basin in Big Bend NP was 10mph in 1st. Travel with a friend with a big toy box and draft him...does wonders, as Woody noted.

Bottomline is you can pull it, it just won't be much fun. Over 3500lbs wt distributing hitch would be very good insurance.

 

[IdahoDoug]

The 80 is rated for 7700lbs all over the world except the US due to litigation concerns. I tow 6000lbs of boat all over the Pacific NW. Get good highway oriented tires with a higher load rating, overmaintain critical systems like brakes, cooling and engine tuneups, get AirLift rear springs ($100) and you're off.

Trailer wise, I have many friends with some high zoot trailers and some basics, but I was in a Coleman 21 footer at our 24hr mtn bike race and was blown away. It has popouts at each end for sleeping capacity, a modest slider for the dining area, and the kids sleep in stacked bunks with their own windows. It seemed well laid out and the owner is picky and spent a lot of time deciding. It has been very reliable and has other things that show attention to details like oversized tanks, etc.

DougM