brand new here! question about towing

[R2DTube]

Hi All! I'm Andy, new here on the forums and recently bitten by the AS bug, looking for our first trailer. I'm so happy to have found this place and all of the great advice! My question is about our 2001 Toyota 4Runner SR5. Am I crazy to think that I can pull up to 19 feet of trailer?? We started looking at the 16' DWR, love the windows but hate the price! And after reading lots of posts on here and other sites (AZBambi/TBRich, you guys rock!!), I'm thinking that a pre-owned 19' Bambi or similar is the way to go. Does anyone have any experience towing with a similar set up? Thanks in advance for any advice.

[Silvertwinkie]

19 footer, newer Airstream weighs in at about 4500lbs, then you have fuel, passengers and cargo in the truck.

The truck is rated at 5000lbs. It's gonna be close, not crazy, but definitely beyond the high water mark.

[Road Ruler]

Good day Olson...

Unfortunately the tow rating of any vehicle has noting to do with how well it will handle a trailer.

You will want to read this post #13 by Andrew T....

http://www.airforums.com/forums/f463...tml#post568122

[Minnie's Mate]

Welcome to the Forums Olson and good luck with your quest for the perfect for you Airstream. I'd think you are cutting it too close on the tow vehicle. If it is rated at 5,000 LBS as stated above, you want to keep fully loaded weight of trailer under 80% of the load rating. That would mean a trailer, fully loaded, under 4,000 LBS. Pick your trailer first and tow vehicle to fit it. You will trade tow vehicles many times before you wear your Airstream out. Also, make sure the 19 FT trailer is adequate. Most people that start out with a 19 and wish they had bought larger. Almost no one starts with a 25 and wishes they had bought smaller. There is also a 22 FT available in a used model, but there are disadvantages (I believe it had a wet bath or a combination black/gray tank, can't remember which).

Good luck and again, welcome.

[purman]

I have a 2001 sr5 4 runner. We towed are pop up with it just fine. But in a strong wind it was a 50-55 mph pull. I don't think you will be happy pulling a 19 ft with it. especially up in the mountains it will really struggle. And if there is any wind, well, you will be going slow. Plus you will max out your towing load. We waited to get our AS until we got our Sequoia.

I did hook up the AS to the SR5 just to see how it would do. Well it managed about 45 up hill max, and even with the sway control it was a little dodgey.

You may be able to tow something smaller, but 19 ft will be a slow ride, with a lot of stress on the engine up hills.

[TBRich]

Originally Posted by olson66

Hi All! I'm Andy, new here on the forums and recently bitten by the AS bug, looking for our first trailer. I'm so happy to have found this place and all of the great advice! My question is about our 2001 Toyota 4Runner SR5. Am I crazy to think that I can pull up to 19 feet of trailer?? We started looking at the 16' DWR, love the windows but hate the price! And after reading lots of posts on here and other sites (AZBambi/TBRich, you guys rock!!), I'm thinking that a pre-owned 19' Bambi or similar is the way to go. Does anyone have any experience towing with a similar set up? Thanks in advance for any advice.

Welcome to the forums, Andy! We're glad to see you here. You're in the best place for anything having to do with Airstreams. Thanks, too, for checking out our travel log, etc... Glad you enjoyed it!

As far as your 4Runner goes...as you may know, we tow our 19' Bambi with an 07 Tacoma double cab with a factory tow package rated at #6500 and get along fine (this was the first year of the new generation beefed up Tacoma), but anything larger in a trailer and we'd want a larger truck. I have to agree with others here, that a Forerunner might be a little light weight, even for a 19'.

Check your numbers and figure your options and and you'll be fine...and we hope to see you down the road sometime! And check out the 4CUnit of WBCCI...we have several CA members...

[R2DTube]

Thank you all for the good advice! I knew I came to the right place... So, now I know I need to rethink the 4Runner. Hmmm, maybe a trade in is in order. Should we discuss Tacoma vs Tundra vs ??? Thanks again, everyone! It's great to be here.