Lx570 Towing Help (pass some knowledge to a young guy)

[beerman1]

I agree with everything you've said except this. Boy is this bad advice and might be the single most important life saving piece of knowledge for anyone towing.

He's going to be towing over 5500 lbs. Yes, the LX has some grade logic. But it is not tow logic and isn't aggressive enough for the Rockies and weight load he's carrying. Fortunately he's got good intuition having driven manuals.

Honestly I already do this driving in my wife’s GX460, we live in a spot with enough elevation to need this when we go places that I already manually shift the auto gearbox to engine brake. I don’t like driving manuals down hill and riding the brakes, it makes no sense to me and it feels terrible. The amount of control that engine braking gives makes it my go to technique. I will say I was impressed with the GX460 because it tries to do this on its own, but I can plan gearing selection better with my eyes and brain than these gearboxes can. And I think it’s always a big pro to save your brakes for emergency stops, and it’s hard to do that if they’re on fire lol.

 

[Sandroad]

This is not going to be a 4000lb load. The new Uhaul trailer is 3155lbs empty and a Ford Focus ST is 3223lbs minimum. So it is going to be an about 6500lbs still in range for the 200 series but it will be a decent load. Just be very smart about things. Work up to speed it might comfortable at 50mph it might be 75mph.

I had no idea the new U-Haul trailer was that heavy! I’m used to towing heavy duty but relatively lighter aluminum trailers. That thing must be all steel and rugged to weigh over 1.5 tons empty.

 

[urinalcake]

Literally hitch up and go. The LX will make super easy work of it and require nothing special.

If you want to optimize that tiny bit more
- Bump rear tire pressures to ~35PSI
- Use a trailer ball hitch that will keep the ball close and tight to the bumper. Since the rear won't sag, it's easy to know how much hitch drop you need. Top of ball should be at ~18.5" from ground
- Load your Focus engine forward. Contrary to beginner logic, tongue weight is good for stability so load the car all the way forward against the stops as designed.
- Usual recommendation is to not use overdrive, and use sport shift mode. This sounds like super easy work, I'm not sure I'd bother, or use S5.

Uhaul trailers are super robust and stable. Built in surge brakes so nothing to bother with in regards to brake controller. They even have a new model out (that I have yet to try). Doesn't matter, it'll tow great.

On long downhills, downshifting is critical. Downshift enough so the rig holds speed and doesn't continue to accelerate. Doesn't matter if that means 5000rpm in 2nd gear (I doubt you'll experience those sort of grades and the load isn't particularly heavy).

^+1000 on all these comments. And some photos from my use of the U-Haul trailer. They are so well built, easy to hook up, and tow so well. Put AHC in H mode to lift the rear bumper and lower the rear of the trailer to improve the loading ramp angle for the low car. AHC keeps the truck level. Here are some motivational photos.

When I bought my truck, I hauled my 4000 lb Volvo home. easy peasy. 4" drop on my hitch and trailer wasn't quite level. I'd suggest a 6" drop hitch. No issues (scraping) loading/unloading my low wagon.

Hauling my friend's XJ Cherokee.

Hauling by brother's Tundra.

Hauling my Passat. Back of my truck is a little low because I hadn't started it yet to activate the AHC.

 

[urinalcake]

This is not going to be a 4000lb load. The new Uhaul trailer is 3155lbs empty and a Ford Focus ST is 3223lbs minimum. So it is going to be a about 6500lbs still in range for the 200 series but it will be a decent load. Just be very smart about things. Work up to speed it might comfortable at 50mph it might be 75mph.

U-Haul website indicates the transport trailer is 2210 lbs empty.

 

[scottryana]

U-Haul website indicates the transport trailer is 2210 lbs empty.
View attachment 4153779

Yeah I have only used the new heavier one since I towed an 80 which is above the 5290lb weight limit of the lightweight trailer

 

[marques]

It will tow just fine. I’ve done it dozens of times. You will need a hitch with about 4.5” drop and a 2” ball. And a 4-pin adapter for the trailer wiring. You should already have a standard 7-pin connector pre-wired under the right rear corner. Bump up the air pressures a little and set the shocks to medium or firm (not comfort/soft).

I don’t bother with the PWR transmission switch and generally stay in S6 unless i’m downshifting when coming to a stop or going down a hill. Look way ahead and give yourself more time to adjust to changing traffic conditions with no sudden or jerky movements. Slow and steady hands do the trick

 

[beerman1]

^+1000 on all these comments. And some photos from my use of the U-Haul trailer. They are so well built, easy to hook up, and tow so well. Put AHC in H mode to lift the rear bumper and lower the rear of the trailer to improve the loading ramp angle for the low car. AHC keeps the truck level. Here are some motivational photos.

When I bought my truck, I hauled my 4000 lb Volvo home. easy peasy. 4" drop on my hitch and trailer wasn't quite level. I'd suggest a 6" drop hitch. No issues (scraping) loading/unloading my low wagon.
View attachment 4153753

Hauling my friend's XJ Cherokee.
View attachment 4153754

Hauling by brother's Tundra.
View attachment 4153755

Hauling my Passat. Back of my truck is a little low because I hadn't started it yet to activate the AHC.
View attachment 4153774

I see that you’re using a standard 4 inch drop. I was reading through the manual and it recommended a weight distribution hitch if you have a gross trailer weight over 5000 pounds. It sounds like you didn’t have any problems with a standard hitch even though it looks like you’re over 5000.
You would recommend a standard hitch still?

 

[afgman786]

I see that you’re using a standard 4 inch drop. I was reading through the manual and it recommended a weight distribution hitch if you have a gross trailer weight over 5000 pounds. It sounds like you didn’t have any problems with a standard hitch even though it looks like you’re over 5000.
You would recommend a standard hitch still?

How often are you towing? If you're towing frequent and have your own trailer it's nicer towing with the WD hitch. If you're not towing regularly or don't have your own trailer you'll be fine with the regular hitch.

 

[TeCKis300]

I see that you’re using a standard 4 inch drop. I was reading through the manual and it recommended a weight distribution hitch if you have a gross trailer weight over 5000 pounds. It sounds like you didn’t have any problems with a standard hitch even though it looks like you’re over 5000.
You would recommend a standard hitch still?

You won't need a WD hitch and it'll be fine. With the U-Haul trailer and integrated surge brakes, you can't run a WD hitch anyways. U-Haul trailers tend to be configured with longer tongues to reduce tongue weights and give the tow vehicle more leverage and control, making this reasonable.

The best you can do is to make sure you get a drop hitch that keeps the ball as close and tight to the bumper as possible to minimize trailer leverage on the tow vehicle.

 

[TomEf]

You may need more drop on your hitch than expected since the receiver is up at bumper height (instead of below) and the UHaul trailer tongue isn't very high. Someone probably has a good measurement of how high the tongue is when the trailer is level.

 

[beerman1]

Awesome thanks for the advice everybody. I’m just telling that U-Haul trailer one way once so doesn’t sound like I need the weight distribution hitch and it won’t even fit on a U-Haul trailer so no worries there. I did go ahead and pick up a 6 inch drop hitch like someone mentioned above with all the photos of them. Pulling a U-Haul car trailer. Sounds like it’s gonna go swimmingly. Thank you everybody!

 

[bloc]

If you go more than the standard amount of drop on the hitch just try to find one that stops straight down instead of going diagonally down, which also means backward too.

This goes to Teckis’ point about keeping the hitch adapter as short as possible. The less horizontal distance between the ball and the rear axle, the better. This applies to how the tongue weight impacts vehicle suspension dynamics, as well as trailer sway, even ease of backing. And even a couple extra inches here can make a big difference. (Phrasing, I know)

 

[beerman1]

If you go more than the standard amount of drop on the hitch just try to find one that stops straight down instead of going diagonally down, which also means backward too.

This goes to Teckis’ point about keeping the hitch adapter as short as possible. The less horizontal distance between the ball and the rear axle, the better. This applies to how the tongue weight impacts vehicle suspension dynamics, as well as trailer sway, even ease of backing. And even a couple extra inches here can make a big difference. (Phrasing, I know)

Amazing phrasing lol. I bought a hitch that has exactly what you described, the diagonal drop instead of the of vertical one. I’ll get a picture of it when I get home, but is it a big enough deal to return it and buy a different one? I’m due to set out a week from today.

 

[beerman1]

 

[bloc]

Amazing phrasing lol. I bought a hitch that has exactly what you described, the diagonal drop instead of the of vertical one. I’ll get a picture of it when I get home, but is it a big enough deal to return it and buy a different one? I’m due to set out a week from today.

I'd see what I could find, but maybe not return that yet in case you cant find anything better.

Also for the record the relevant horizontal distance will be from the pin hole center to the ball hole center.

 

[beerman1]

I'd see what I could find, but maybe not return that yet in case you cant find anything better.

Also for the record the relevant horizontal distance will be from the pin hole center to the ball hole center.

Ah that makes sense. I’ve seen the nice vertical drop hitches everywhere, just wasn’t sure if the price was worth it.

 

[bloc]

Ah that makes sense. I’ve seen the nice vertical drop hitches everywhere, just wasn’t sure if the price was worth it.

Are you referring to the adjustable ones?

 

[TomEf]

I use a B&W Tow & Stow adjustable. It's expensive, but I think it's worth it, especially if you tow different trailers. Mine is the 7" drop version.

 

[beerman1]

Are you referring to the adjustable ones?

Yes, the only ones I’ve seen that don’t have the slope are the adjustable ones like the B and W

 

[beerman1]

Update 12/27/26:

Drove 450 miles from Arkansas to the middle of Kansas. I49 to 400, I135 to I70. Towed liked a dream, and brakes better than I expected. Would be interested to compare to the 16+ models with bigger brakes. It was mostly flat and I’m guessing 11-12 mpg, I’ll add up the fuel when we reach our destination. Pics for fun.