New 200 series owner & travel trailer owner (1 Viewer)

[Chipmaker]

Hi,

Michelle and I (Steve) are brand new to four wheeling and RVing. We fell in liked RVing so much in July we decided to buy a Land Cruiser and Travel Trailer this last month. Land Cruiser is a 200 series 2018 with All-Terrains. Travel trailer is 30 feet long and uptown 7400# loaded.

Any advice anyone can provide regarding the following questions would be greatly appreciated. Trying to be safe and prepared.

1) Towing - LC has 8100 lb tow capability. The travel trailer is 30', 5700# dry, and 6500-7400 loaded. Installing a Curt 17062 Weight Distribution & sway bar unit and Curt Echo bluetooth brake controller.

2) Do we need extra wide mirrors? Recommendation on type? is there a camera system that can be mounted that works like the new Ford or Chevy for virtual 360 viewing?

3) Driving to Chicago from Seattle in Nov/Dec. How risky is it pulling this trailer if it snows?

Thank you in advance, Steve

 

[sbsurfer]

Congrats on the new ride. At that trailer weight you'll want to look into some airbags for the rear end.

Air bag suspension for TOYOTA LAND CRUISER 200 Series UZJ200, URJ202 &

airbagman.com.au

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[cboyd]

I went with heavy progressive springs in the rear to minimize the hassle of the airbags, but I’ll be going to them with a slightly lighter spring soon.the ride is slightly harsh without load and has a bit more rake than I like.

I plan to get the airbag man bags, the WirelessONE inflation controller from AirLift and plumb it into my ARB dual compressor. EricSargent did something similar in one of his customer builds. It’ll be nice to be able to inflate a little more suspension in the rear even with kids in then 3rd row.

 

[cboyd]

I’m sure you’ve seen the threads on the redarc towpro elite controller? It’s very nice a discreet. Don’t need Bluetooth - set it and forget it!

 

[sbsurfer]

I had the ICON progressive springs on my 200 but the ass still sagged pretty hard when I’d hook up my opus trailer. I decided to just go with 2723 OME springs bc I plan on a drawer system and heavier goodies being added to the rear. If that wasn’t the plan I woulda kept the ICONS and added Airbagman bags to the rear.

+1 on the Redarc brake control. Installed mine last week and love how discreet it is. Got the plug blank too so it look factory.

 

[Chipmaker]

Congrats on the new ride. At that trailer weight you'll want to look into some airbags for the rear end.

Air bag suspension for TOYOTA LAND CRUISER 200 Series UZJ200, URJ202 &

airbagman.com.au

Web Hosting by InMotion Hosting

Thank you

 

[Chipmaker]

I went with heavy progressive springs in the rear to minimize the hassle of the airbags, but I’ll be going to them with a slightly lighter spring soon.the ride is slightly harsh without load and has a bit more rake than I like.

I plan to get the airbag man bags, the WirelessONE inflation controller from AirLift and plumb it into my ARB dual compressor. EricSargent did something similar in one of his customer builds. It’ll be nice to be able to inflate a little more suspension in the rear even with kids in then 3rd row.

Thank you. I appreciate it.

 

[Chipmaker]

I had the ICON progressive springs on my 200 but the ass still sagged pretty hard when I’d hook up my opus trailer. I decided to just go with 2723 OME springs bc I plan on a drawer system and heavier goodies being added to the rear. If that wasn’t the plan I woulda kept the ICONS and added Airbagman bags to the rear.

+1 on the Redarc brake control. Installed mine last week and love how discreet it is. Got the plug blank too so it look factory.

Thank you. I will look into it. The Curt Echo seems big and potentially obtrusive, as you noted in discreetness of the Redarc.

 

[tbisaacs]

Hey I see you are in Maple Valley - be sure to keep your eye on the Seattle planning thread!.

 

[cboyd]

Oh, yea, one other thing. If you’re towing a lot of weight and don’t want to stop every 2 hrs, the LRA gas tanks are a popular addition. Another reason for airbags... 10 mpg gets old when youre trying to get somewhere!

 

[TheBigB]

What a sweet looking SUV. Congrats!

 

[firstlc]

Congrats on your new rig! I have had both the Curt Echo Bluetooth Brake Controller and the Curt Spectrum integrated Proportional Trailer break Controller. The Echo Bluetooth met its end on a rock in Moab, the actual controller attaches between the 7 pin cord from the trailer and the 7 pin connector - leaving it super exposed. Afterwords I replaced it with the Spectrum controller - it is a good controller, but takes up a lot of space, is super finicky and hard to set up. A couple months ago I replaced it with the Redarc towpro elite. Night and day difference. So easy to use and so discrete.

I would also echo @cboyd's comment about the LRA gas tanks. I have towed my boat and my offroad trailer cross county and generally get between 8 and 10 mpg. You can double your range with the aux tank.

Finally, I think airbags are the ticket. I am running OME 2724 springs in the rear - which is great when towing and I have about 200 lbs of tounge weight - but is a bit stiff for everyday driving and leaves me with a pretty hefty rake even with a heavy Slee rear bumper in the rear.

 

[TeCKis300]

Yes to airbags.

Note that airbags and WD bars do two different things. Be aware of the interaction between airbags and WD bars.

Namely WD bars transfer weight back to the front axle and trailer axles. Airbags increase rear spring rate for added stability and support. They both also have the side effect of leveling the tow vehicle which may be confusing as one shouldn't be used necessarily in place of other.

WD bar tension should be set after finalizing airbag pressure. Done the other way around, airbags will have the effect of reducing WD tension, which would reduce weight transfer back to the front axle and reduce sway stability. Much like how jacking the tongue via the tongue jack relieves WD pressures.

 

[Sandroad]

Here’s one of many threads on towing and towing heavy.

Towing with a 200-series Toyota Land Cruiser

I posted this on my personal blog at Towing with a 200-series Toyota Land Cruiser but wanted to share it here directly so it would be indexed. I've read a number of different thoughts and opinions about towing with the 200-series Toyota Land Cruiser. One popular opinion which seems to come...

forum.ih8mud.com

You‘ll get lots of ideas on all the latest cameras for towing from RV forums. One good source is the Trailer Life magazine site.

 

[tdcruiser406080100]

Hi,

Michelle and I (Steve) are brand new to four wheeling and RVing. We fell in liked RVing so much in July we decided to buy a Land Cruiser and Travel Trailer this last month. Land Cruiser is a 200 series 2018 with All-Terrains. Travel trailer is 30 feet long and uptown 7400# loaded.

Any advice anyone can provide regarding the following questions would be greatly appreciated. Trying to be safe and prepared.

1) Towing - LC has 8100 lb tow capability. The travel trailer is 30', 5700# dry, and 6500-7400 loaded. Installing a Curt 17062 Weight Distribution & sway bar unit and Curt Echo bluetooth brake controller.

2) Do we need extra wide mirrors? Recommendation on type? is there a camera system that can be mounted that works like the new Ford or Chevy for virtual 360 viewing?

3) Driving to Chicago from Seattle in Nov/Dec. How risky is it pulling this trailer if it snows?

Thank you in advance, Steve

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I pull a 7400lb (loaded) trailer with my 2020 Heritage.. Stock suspension. With a good WDH of course. I posted here:

Towing with a 200 Series

I'm going to look at a 200 Series later today as a possible new to me DD. I've never drove or even sat in one before. I need more towing prowess than my current DD ('14 Tacoma) can provide. The LC in question is a low mile (35k) 2010. How well do these tow 5-7k lbs?

forum.ih8mud.com

Heritage Edition suspension.. reduced carrying capacity.

Just finished a trip pulling a 7400lb (loaded) trailer. Heritage Edition with stock suspension and tires. Cruiser was loaded up pretty good. Trailering was great with a WD hitch. I posted here. https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/towing-with-a-200-series.1136448/post-13318506 I noticed an...

forum.ih8mud.com

After towing about 2,500 miles I am happy I did not try to initially fix something that didn’t need fixing. I seriously considered air bags but for my situation I don’t believe they are needed. I never felt I was running out of suspension. The WD hitch is why. There is a process of setting the hitch up for height and angle... which changes the amount of weight transfer to the front wheels. The measurements all seemed good. Test drive and trips have been no issues. And the cruiser tows great! Very stable.

I normal carry a pretty good load in the back and so far I like the stock suspension. I already have a Rhino Evo front bumper squirreled away for when I jump into winch, suspension, tires, UCAs... etc..etc.. For now I’m just going to drive this beautiful gas sucking machine...

Nice trailer BTW.. what model Imagine is that?

 

[rscoleman]

Take a Saturday hook up everything like you were going on a trip fill up all the tanks so it is close to load. Go for a nice trip staying about 25 to 50 miles from home. Practice pulling into gas station to get gas. Find big empty parking lot practice backing up. Do a few quick stops to get feel of how trailer brakes help. Main goal being to get comfortable with trailer. Do this till you feel you have a good comfort level and you will be ready and in better state of mind for your first big trip.
Congratulations on new rig and trailer.

 

[Chipmaker]

I pull a 7400lb (loaded) trailer with my 2020 Heritage.. Stock suspension. With a good WDH of course. I posted here:

Towing with a 200 Series

I'm going to look at a 200 Series later today as a possible new to me DD. I've never drove or even sat in one before. I need more towing prowess than my current DD ('14 Tacoma) can provide. The LC in question is a low mile (35k) 2010. How well do these tow 5-7k lbs?

forum.ih8mud.com

Heritage Edition suspension.. reduced carrying capacity.

Just finished a trip pulling a 7400lb (loaded) trailer. Heritage Edition with stock suspension and tires. Cruiser was loaded up pretty good. Trailering was great with a WD hitch. I posted here. https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/towing-with-a-200-series.1136448/post-13318506 I noticed an...

forum.ih8mud.com

After towing about 2,500 miles I am happy I did not try to initially fix something that didn’t need fixing. I seriously considered air bags but for my situation I don’t believe they are needed. I never felt I was running out of suspension. The WD hitch is why. There is a process of setting the hitch up for height and angle... which changes the amount of weight transfer to the front wheels. The measurements all seemed good. Test drive and trips have been no issues. And the cruiser tows great! Very stable.

I normal carry a pretty good load in the back and so far I like the stock suspension. I already have a Rhino Evo front bumper squirreled away for when I jump into winch, suspension, tires, UCAs... etc..etc.. For now I’m just going to drive this beautiful gas sucking machine...

Nice trailer BTW.. what model Imagine is that?

Thank you. Trailer is a Grand Design Imagine 2600 RB. Thank you for the overview of your towing experience. From everything I read I thought that that was going to be the experience. Just for the heck of it I’m gonna spend the extra $300 and get the airbags. And then hitch it up and go.

 

[Chipmaker]

Take a Saturday hook up everything like you were going on a trip fill up all the tanks so it is close to load. Go for a nice trip staying about 25 to 50 miles from home. Practice pulling into gas station to get gas. Find big empty parking lot practice backing up. Do a few quick stops to get feel of how trailer brakes help. Main goal being to get comfortable with trailer. Do this till you feel you have a good comfort level and you will be ready and in better state of mind for your first big trip.
Congratulations on new rig and trailer.

Thank You!

 

[ForrestGrump]

@Chipmaker what WD hitch did you end up going with for your set up. I have a similar size Grand Design (247bh) and don't really like how the Andersen No-Sway 3350 handles. I'm experiencing some sway once I get up over 60. It tows a ton different than my previous airstream. Debating if a hensley or propride is the way to go for these higher profile trailers.

 

[TeCKis300]

@Chipmaker what WD hitch did you end up going with for your set up. I have a similar size Grand Design (247bh) and don't really like how the Andersen No-Sway 3350 handles. I'm experiencing some sway once I get up over 60. It tows a ton different than my previous airstream. Debating if a hensley or propride is the way to go for these higher profile trailers.

Maybe I can help answer as I've used an Anderson WD hitch before on a shorter 23' Airstream. It worked great in that application. The Anderson is a descent hitch but because of it's unique geometry, doesn't have the ability to transfer enough weight to the front axle with larger travel trailers. At least without an inordinate amount of tension on the chains and compromising the red bushings and possibly the ball coupler. Looks like your Grand Design is about 29', which is certainly on the larger end.

I would recommend any of the traditional spring bar based WD hitches on the market. You'll want something in the 1000lb WD bar range.

Equalizer WD hitch is almost the defacto on the market and works great in my use with my 28' Airstream. It does get some criticism for bars being too stiff, but IMO that's only an issue if one sets it up with too much tension (aiming over 50% FALR) to begin with. Or when used with an unforgiving long wheelbase HD truck. Our cruisers have pretty compliant suspension so, its a good match. It's also easy to setup, hitch-up, and use. I don't have to use any tools or tensioning bars other than the hitch jack.

Some other often mentioned good ones are Blue Ox, Reese, EAZ LIFT, and Huskys. They're all pretty similar in type with minor tweaks. Some brands have cheaper variants to their higher end models.

If you want overkill, as you are towing on the upper end, several have had good experience with Pivot Point Projection (PPP) type hitches including ProPride and Hensley.

Good luck!