Towing ?

[dkottum]

Steve, isn't a bit of a stretch to say a 1/2 ton P/U suffered severe wear from the weight of a 23' Airstream, and that's good reason to get a 3/4 ton? There's perhaps a million 1/2 tons that have not seen this, and they usually carry their loads without benefit of weight distribution.

Can-An is demonstrating to a reluctant audience that Airstreams pull a lot easier and more safely than we want to believe. They even have a video of an Airstream pulled by a guy on a bicycle, they tested that too. Really.

doug k

[SteveH]

Originally Posted by dkottum

Steve, isn't a bit of a stretch to say a 1/2 ton P/U suffered severe wear from the weight of a 23' Airstream, and that's good reason to get a 3/4 ton? There's perhaps a million 1/2 tons that have not seen this, and they usually carry their loads without benefit of weight distribution.

Can-An is demonstrating to a reluctant audience that Airstreams pull a lot easier and more safely than we want to believe. They even have a video of an Airstream pulled by a guy on a bicycle, they tested that too. Really.

doug k

Doug, I'm telling you what the mechanic showed me. I was under the truck with him. I felt the bad pinion bearing, and saw the worn tires (20 inchers I might add) If you like, I can give you his name and telephone number. He runs a differential shop here in San Antonio.

That was only part of the reason I bought a 3/4 ton, the other part was I wanted a Diesel because I knew I would soon be getting a larger trailer. I also towed a 25' with that 1/2 ton, but only one summer and not near the miles that I towed the 23'. Basically it was one trip to Southern Utah and back.

[Paul Ouellette]

Al U. Minum : As they say, a picture is worth 1000 words...

[Al U. Minum]

Originally Posted by Paul Ouellette

Al U. Minum : As they say, a picture is worth 1000 words...

Holy Wha...

[dkottum]

How does this work for you Paul?

[Al U. Minum]

Originally Posted by Paul Ouellette

Al U. Minum : As they say, a picture is worth 1000 words...

Thank you for sharing. Also curious on your set up? Type of hitch? Modified or re-enforced? Transmission cooler? Again... Any info is appreciated.

[SteveH]

Al, I will give you one last bit of information about this, and that's it. I also tow with a vehicle simular to yours, well the drive train is the same. A Toyota FJ Cruiser, with the same V6, and I tow a 17' Casita. It does good with the Casita, but I would not dream of towing a 25' Airstream with it.

Good luck with whatever you decide to do.

[mutcth]

Al, what were you planning to get in a few years as a "proper" tow vehicle?

I'm a client of CanAm. They did a great job setting up my previous tow vehicle. They would make that 4runner as safe and successful as it would be.

But the 4 runner has strong resale. If its going to be nagging you in the back of your mind that you're unhappy with your rig, then upgrade sooner than later. Be happy with what you get.

As for the durability question - there are plenty of stories of HD trucks having early expensive problems too - and you pay a premium to buy them upfront. I'd rather drive what I want and be willing to pay the price for some repairs if need be down the road.

Tom

[Uzzah]

Originally Posted by Paul Ouellette

Al U. Minum : As they say, a picture is worth 1000 words...

I'm sure that that is a great set up, and has plenty of power to get up the mountains, I'm just not sure that I'd be brave enough run that set up. Have you towed many miles with it? Does the unibody transfer much noise from the trailer up to the cabin of the TV?

I have to be honest, that pic has me totally dumbfounded. The owners Manuel that came with my 1976 31 footer would speechless too, but cars are much different now days (of course I don't own a nice new advanced car).

I Find that I really want to drive that set up around a bit an take it up steven's pass a couple of time and see how it compares to my old TV.

[Len n Jeanne]

We bought our Bambi at Can-Am in London, Ontario, and found them extremely helpful. London isn't that far from Detroit, Michigan.

We had our tow vehicle already purchased, a Toyota Tacoma (for a 3500 lb trailer) but were complete and utter newbies about towing and RVing.

I think Can-Am experimented with different vehicles towing different trailers and found that a big ol' Chrysler sedan or somesuch actually had the best performance. Probably the one in the photo.

But a lot of the choice of a tow vehicle also depends upon its other uses. With a small trailer, we store a lot of our gear in the back of the truck. We also wanted a high-clearance vehicle with good dirt road capabilities.

Also, your thoughts about camping destinations may evolve over time. It would be nice to have a tow vehicle that can handle the mountains, should you decide to come out West.

[Paul Ouellette]

Uzzah : The Edge has 4 wheel independent suspension & the real axle is quite close to the ball of the trailer...this together with the Hensley-Arrow hitch & a correctly installed coupling system to distribute the weight properly (installed by Can-Am of course..) works just fine.

Call Can-Am & speak to Andy (the owner) or better yet, come out to Alumapalooza in June where you can get to speak to him in person after his towing presentation.

[Road Ruler]

Originally Posted by Uzzah

Does the unibody transfer much noise from the trailer up to the cabin of the TV?

Something new every day. In all my years of reading posts on RV forums this is the first time someone has posted the above question.

Since both our TV's have been unibodies I can answer your question with a NO. Modern vehicles including unibodies are quiet. The higher end vehicles are very quiet.

[Uzzah]

Cool. My only experience with towing with a unibody vehicle, was an 05 jeep grand cherokee. Was towing a utility trailer, and it was so noisy in the cabin, you could hardly think. Obviously an AS is quite different than a utility trailer. Same trailer, but used my suburban, and there was no noise, so I just figured it was the unibody telescoping the sound up.

I'm getting to the point where a newer lower mileage TV is in my near future, and I don't want to be too narrow minded about the type of vehicle. Which is where the Airforum comes in handy.

[MrUKToad]

At one of Andrew T's seminars, he used the 4Runner as an example of a poor tow vehicle. It wasn't that it wouldn't tow he said, but were better options available. As I remember, he made particular reference to the factory hitch not being up to snuff. Anyhoo, as others have said, speak to the man himself and he'll advise you.

Loving Paul's Edge pictured at Can Am. I could post a picture of my Sienna and 28' International in pretty much the same place but I don't want to upset the traditionalists too much

[pickerdd]

Originally Posted by Al U. Minum

Newbie... So be gentle... TV - 2010 Toyota 4Runner V6, tow pkg. Want to tow 2008 25' Int'l Ocean Breeze w/ Hensley hitch. No long trips until get proper TV. Northern Michigan terrain, no more than 4-5 hour destinations... for now. Thoughts, advice? Thank you.

I tow with a similar (but different) vehicle to yours. I use a 2008 V8, 4WD 4Runner with a Propride 3P hitch and I pull a 4000 pound 1971 tandem axle Safari. 7000 pounds towing capacity. Towing from here to Kansas and back is fine, but I would not tow through the Rocky mountains with my 4Runner. I would if I had a vintage Bambi or a Globe Trotter... There's an idea...

Anyway, IIRC the standard receiver in the V6 4Runner is not the heavy duty WD hitch that is attached to the frame. It is attached to the rear bumper area, not the fully boxed frame. It may have changed with the 5th gen 4Runner (2010+), so that is something you should investigate and replace if necessary.

Also, do you have a transmission cooler? If not, get one before towing the AS. You don't want to damage your tranny.

I spoke with Andy at Can-Am Rv and he was OK with my setup with the ProPride hitch. He suggested reinforcing the hitch receiver and changing out the tires to a set that aren't as soft. I'll try to make it up to his shop and have him reinforce my hitch receiver.

Take care and safe towing.

[Garfield]

I understand the 4-runner needs a lot of work to achieve its maximum potential as a TV, in many ways it's not much different than our old Yukon....decent power but high centre of gravity and short wheel base creates stability issues. You are right to be looking at a Hensley or equivalent. We've had one since our first trailer I will never tow without it.

Anyway, we recently traded our V8 Yukon for a V6 Traverse (2000 lb tow capacity w/o tow package which ours did not have) and had Can-Am RV set it up to tow our 2001 25 foot Safari (6000 lbs gross weight). You can read all about it here...
http://www.airforums.com/forums/f238...rse-91344.html

BTW our unibody Traverse handles and tows better than our old Yukon ever did. It was a great trade. And if anyone is wondering why I didn't go with a truck, I just don't want to own a truck.

Cheers!

[pteck]

Having grown up on many a Toyota/Lexus SUV, including a 2005 V8 4Runner 4x4 Limited...

I will say that it won't do the job of pulling a 25' to most anyone's satisfaction. Note that I am more bullish than most, and very aware and willing to make modifications to something to do the job.

The primary issues are twofold:

1) Suspension and structure. The 4Runner is a very very durable vehicle. More durable than most as it's a world renowned "Land Cruiser Prado". Several things work against it though for towing. It's primarily setup for articulation to handle bad roads. Which means its suspension is built to flex. (specifically spring rates are soft). As opposed to most trucks that have firm load bearing springs for hauling. Unibody SUVs/sedans also tend to have firmer springs on account of "sport" and limited suspension travel - which happens to bode well for towing. One can retrofit a 4Runner with firmer springs (plenty exist) and/or air bags for better control when laden, yet maintain the duality of the vehicle for off-road articulation. Then there's the relatively short wheelbase/rear overhang which is not really optimal.

2) Power. The V6, while a great motor, just won't have the torque to motivate the combined mass of a 4Runner and 25' Airstream with much authority. Rated at 270hp/278tq, it's great output when unhitched, but a touch tepid for the combined rig (considering it's also 4x4 with transfer case and large tires) as most of it's power and torque are found in the upper powerband. You'll find yourself revving a lo make the most of the output as it doesn't truly have enough low end torque to ride that alone (like the earlier optional 4.7 V8 could), so it'll be wearing and fuel inefficient to operate. You could re-gear or use lower profile tires to help make more torque at the wheels. A 22' or smaller is much more within this rated output. Not saying that a diesel is necessary (hardly), but at this size/weight of trailer, people tend to want 300+hp/300+tq to keep up with traffic on the open roads/hills.

In regards to the hitch, in 2006, 4Runners had 2 OEM htiches available. A weight carrying hitch and a beefier WD hitch that had larger moment arms to support WD torque loads. V6's were fitted with the former, V8's fitted with the latter. Unsure if there's still WD OEM hitches available for the later gens as they got rid of the V8.

If you want to stay in the Toyota family, as mentioned prior, there are some great alternative options in the Sequoia and Tundra. Don't forget about the Land Cruiser and sister LX570s as these are the spiritual big sisters to the 4Runners. Yes they are expensive, but they can be had reasonably in the used market. Most importantly, would handle a 25' with aplomb.