Travel Trailer ideas - towing with an LC/LX ...

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cwmoser

cwmoser

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I'm looking for comments on towing with your LC or LX.
I have a 2002 LX470 and thinking about purchasing an R-Pod or something larger but under 4,000 lbs dry.
Just can't pull the trigger. Very concerned about the towing capability of my LX470.

So what Travel Trailers have you pulled with your LC or LX and what are your impressions?
 
I think there is another long thread or several on this topic, please search. A few are running around pulling a 21 foot campers, so I think you will be fine with an R-POD. However for me the R-POD has no rear bumper which is a no go for me...
 
We just bought an Rpod a couple weeks ago. They wouldn't let me test tow it prior to purchase so I rolled the dice. I figured if people are towing them with crossover suv's I should be fine. We got a 179, which I think is the heaviest model. After our first trip last weekend I can breathe easier knowing that it tows it pretty good. Our trip was only 110 miles each way from Grand Junction to Moab. I kept it to 65 and I could manage the hills at speed with the OD off. As of now I'm still on stock suspension, but the 350ish pound tongue weight squats my '99 LC pretty bad. I'm considering which set up to run, but I know I'm adding airbags no matter what. Trailer sway wasn't an issue at all, it felt planted and secure towing it down the interstate and twisty roads. I could use a little more power, but I'm happy with the 4.7. I imagine a vvti/5speed cruiser being perfect. One thing that really surprised me was how heavy the trailer felt with a full 25 gallons of water. I'd recommend towing it empty, I dumped it prior to the return trip and it was a huge improvement. I will say that the extra ground clearance on the Hood River Edition really came in handy. Never scraped anything and I went through some good ruts and dips getting to camp. It's still a 3500 lb and 18 feet long trailer so I wouldn't exactly call it "agile". I wouldn't call a 100 series the perfect towing rig, but the ability to tow and then unhook and go explore some trails is a great balance. Good luck with trailer shopping, if you've got kids it could be one of the best purchase ever. My three little girls were beyond excited and last weekend confirmed that it was good money spent. Feel free to contact me on any Rpod questions, we're very happy with ours!
 
Go rent something at your local R/V retailer and use it for the weekend, see how it pulls etc. That might help you get an idea.
 
Don't forget there's an entire sub forum on Mud for trailering. I looked at R-Pods and others and decided on a Livin Lite Camplite. I've towed it with my LC for 2 years over 1000s of miles and with the addition of Airlift bags to the rear LC springs, everything has worked wonderful. The camper is about 3500 lbs loaded weight.
 
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I have towed a 21 foot 2900 lb dry weight in Colorado with a 5speed. Lightly loaded and with full tanks the 100 towed it horribly and struggled. With the trailer dry it did great even in the mountains. Personally, i would never consider 4900 lbs with a 100. A weight distribution hitch is a must.
 
Looks like I need to keep my Travel Trailer search to those under 3,000 lbs
 
Not quite the same but I pull my boat that's pushing 4700 lbs with my '04 LC. The lake is close to my house so I don't really go that far for normal towing. Stability is never an issue but it's definitely down on power. When I bought it I made a 100 mile hwy drive from middle Ga to north Atlanta on the Interstate and it did not like hills at all once you are cruising above 50mph. It lost speed quick and downshifted a couple gears and wouldn't really accelerate until it leveled out. It managed fine but if I was doing that on a regular basis I would get a real truck (or maybe a 200). With a lighter load load and bigger wallet for gas it would probably work out OK. The 100 really is a nice place to be in and I could make do to avoid being in a pickup.

Like another mentioned, borrow a trailer of similar weight or rent a uhaul trailer, load it up, and just go cruise around for day to see how it works for you.

Just my 2 cents.
 
I think the key here like most have said is to test it out. I tow a 20ft travel trailer with a 400lbs tongue weight and don't have much issue. With the stock suspension I was running the airlift 1000 and never had an issue. I just recently upgraded the suspension to OME medium and have test towed without the bags and it is very stable. I plan to add a weight dist. hitch soon but for the time being It tows just fine. Don't try to keep up with the diesels doing 70 and just stay safe and you should be fine with whatever option you go with.
 
Like Plaidwagon, I too rolled the dice and purchased an R-Pod 180. Would not let me do a test tow.
Picking it up next Tuesday - it will have a WDH/Sway hitch.
Towing it with my 2002 LX470, 4-speed automatic.
Thanks for the advice to not tow with full water.
Really wanted a larger heavier Coachmen 192RBS (4,000 lbs dry and 8 foot wide), but the cold water splash of reality set
in and we went with the Rpod. Spent an afternoon looking at something between the R-Pod
and the Coachmen but kept coming back to the Rpod.
The pros for the Rpod is its weight, 6.5 foot wide box, aerodynamics, low maintenance, and quality. I don't think I will need towing mirrors - that is yet to be proven though.

Need to figure out how we are going to do with 2 bicycles.
Rpod offers a rear end bicycle rack and the rear receiver looks to be attached to the frame rather than the bumper.

We're new to camping, so been spending some time on Amazon.com figuring out what I need to purchase for my R-Pod.
 
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that camper trailer is baby weight for the 100 series. make sure to get a good brake controller. I tow a 6000-7000 trailer with my lx. heres a picture

IMG_2326.webp
 
I'm towing my 19' hybrid (3600lbs dry), so likely around 4Klbs + loaded. I don't have airbags but I have the 2.5" OME medium kit and a EZ weight distribution hitch and a P3 brake controller. Stability wise there are no issues, and no reason for airbags with the right hitch. Mileage isn't great but it's not worse than any other gas tow vehicle. My last trip pulling hard through the mountains was 9.5mpg, it was slow up the hills (it's no diesel). I imagine it would be better (10-11) on more hwy speeds. That's very respectable IMO and comparable to the expeditions/yukons/F150's out there.

B58F38BC-9241-444E-BFD2-D19F879F71F5_zpsqsfadctd.jpg
 
duggy said:
Aren't you overloading the 100 series' towing capacity?
Click to expand...
not really because they rated to almost 8000 pounds for markets outside of the united states. I think in holland they are permitted and rated to 19000 pounds and come with a air brake system to work on a farm. I would agree that I'm overloading if it was sketchy to tow, but its not. it has no trouble pulling grades or going down hills and doesn't sway.
 
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SICARIO said:
I'm towing my 19' hybrid (3600lbs dry), so likely around 4Klbs + loaded. I don't have airbags but I have the 2.5" OME medium kit and a EZ weight distribution hitch and a P3 brake controller. Stability wise there are no issues, and no reason for airbags with the right hitch. Mileage isn't great but it's not worse than any other gas tow vehicle. My last trip pulling hard through the mountains was 9.5mpg, it was slow up the hills (it's no diesel). I imagine it would be better (10-11) on more hwy speeds. That's very respectable IMO and comparable to the expeditions/yukons/F150's out there.

B58F38BC-9241-444E-BFD2-D19F879F71F5_zpsqsfadctd.jpg
Click to expand...

Nice. Some questions - I'm a nube on towing capability:
What year is that LC?
How wide is that Jay Feather?
Do you use Towing Mirrors?
 
cwmoser said:
Nice. Some questions - I'm a nube on towing capability:
What year is that LC?
How wide is that Jay Feather?
Do you use Towing Mirrors?
Click to expand...

2003 LX470.

width of the jay feather is 96"

I used CIPA 11980 clip on tow mirrors (clipped to the bottom of the mirror). It's not a slick as a custom extended mirror, but those don't exist as far as I know. These got reasonable reviews on amazon so I figured I'd give them a try, so far so good.
 
CruiserDog said:
not really because they rated to almost 8000 pounds for markets outside of the united states. I think in holland they are permitted and rated to 19000 pounds and come with a air brake system to work on a farm. I would agree that I'm overloading if it was sketchy to tow, but its not. it has no trouble pulling grades or going down hills and doesn't sway.
Click to expand...


19,000lbs on a UZJ100 is a joke! :rofl:
 
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