Can a 2014 Toyota Highlander pull a 16' bambi?

[jennysievers]

Wondering if anyone has experience towing a 16' bambi with their Toyota Highlander where the hitch was installed after market as opposed to at the factory. I have been told the stated 5000 pound towing capacity is only when the tow package is factory installed and without it being factory installed the car can only pull 2000 pounds. We have a 2014 Highlander (front wheel drive, V-6) and wanted to purchase a bambi - but only if our car can pull it safely

[terryV]

There's a lot more to making a vehicle tow a certain weight than just the hitch.

If it didn't come with the tow "package" you don't have the transmission cooling, extra engine cooling, and probably the right gear ratios. There's probably other stuff that you get in the tow pkg that I haven't touched on, also.

So, your answer is no, it won't tow a 5,000 lb Bambi. (IMHO, anyway.)

[AlbertF]

Originally Posted by jennysievers

Wondering if anyone has experience towing a 16' bambi with their Toyota Highlander where the hitch was installed after market as opposed to at the factory. I have been told the stated 5000 pound towing capacity is only when the tow package is factory installed and without it being factory installed the car can only pull 2000 pounds. We have a 2014 Highlander (front wheel drive, V-6) and wanted to purchase a bambi - but only if our car can pull it safely

From what I can tell, there is no Highlander "tow package". The transmission is supposed to have an auxiliary cooler as standard equipment, and the 5,000 lb towing recommendation applies across the board.

I don't believe that Highlanders actually come from the factory with receivers installed. These are accessory catalogue items that are dealer-installed, and I would say that they are overpriced. I see from the Toyota Canada website that the dealer price is over $900 Cdn for a Class III receiver and just a flat four pin wiring connector - which is insufficient for towing any trailer with brakes. This is far more than it should be, even with a couple of hours of labour factored in.

There are various options for Class III receivers online (Curt, Hidden Hitch, Draw-Tite, etc.) advertised online for less than $200, which bolt to the factory mounting points. The designs look pretty good to me, and are rated for loads in excess of the 5000 lb trailer/750 lb tongue weight limits (with a weight distributing hitch) recommended by Toyota. An aftermarket flat four pin wiring harness is less than $50. Of course, you will also need a trailer brake controller and a charging line for the trailer battery.

The 3.5 litre V6 is lots of engine for towing a Bambi. From my perspective, the car is ideal for what you want to do with it; just be sure to get a suitably rated weight distributing hitch (WDH) to move half the tongue weight to the front tires, and keep everything stable.

I have my own thoughts about the best WDH, but I'm sure others will weigh in!

Let us know how this turns out!

[Road Ruler]

Yes the Highlander will work fine as a TV for the Bambi.

The secret is to get the setup correct. Refer back to Albert's post for the good advice.

PS... we tow our 23' with a 3.5 V6. More power than we need but not complaining.

[jennysievers]

Thanks for the feedback. It's actually a 2015 highlander (my mistake). Owners manual says it will pull 5000 pounds but only with factory installed tow package which includes a heavy duty radiator with engine oil cooler, 200 watt fan for coupling, transmission oil cooler, 150-amp., alternator and pre wired harness. According to the owners manual without the tow package it only tows up to 2000 pounds. Wondering if I need to make modifications to engine or transmission if I put on an aftermarket hitch to pull the Bambi?

[SteveH]

Originally Posted by jennysievers

Thanks for the feedback. It's actually a 2015 highlander (my mistake). Owners manual says it will pull 5000 pounds but only with factory installed tow package which includes a heavy duty radiator with engine oil cooler, 200 watt fan for coupling, transmission oil cooler, 150-amp., alternator and pre wired harness. According to the owners manual without the tow package it only tows up to 2000 pounds. Wondering if I need to make modifications to engine or transmission if I put on an aftermarket hitch to pull the Bambi?

If you want to keep the engine and transmission from overheating, yes you need to make those changes. Toyota knows what they are doing when they engineer a package, and when they post a rating on a vehicle.

However, if you always towed in the North country where it rarely gets over 75 degrees, you might get by with it. But, you are in California, and if you would like to visit Southern California, Death Valley, or Arizona, well you know where I'm going with this.

And, there's also your new vehicle's warranty to consider.

[m.hony]

When we were at the Mother Ship in September, a lady had just bought a Sport 16' and had a Lexus RX300 outfitted to tow it. When she got home to Auburn, AL she started shopping for a Tahoe...

[Road Ruler]

Jenny... Post #43 below is a must read for you. The poster is a very well known towing specialist and forum member.... QUOTE:We have several customers with the same Highlander that you own as well as a large number with the Lexus version and Sienna's which use the same drive train. Most are towing 25-30' "

http://www.airforums.com/forums/f463...r-91496-4.html

[m.hony]

That is the same car the lady in Jackson Center was towing her 16' Sport with. The trailer pictured looks like a 23'.
The new Higlander should have a bigger engine/more power than the Lexus RX300. Even a new RX330/RX350 has a bigger engine/more power.

[CruizinDux]

This is my first time so I hope all goes well

My wife and I are about a year behind Jenny but have decided on the FC20. We're still doing homework on the TV's but have focused on the Durango and two Highlander models.

Looking at the 2015 Highlander Brochure it appears that two models (LE/LE Plus) are only rated at 2K as they do not have the tow pkg. as OEM. However the XLE/Limited models have the two pkg. (HD Rad, oil cooler etc.) as OEM with a tow rating of 5K. Personally it doesn't make sense to aftermarket the tow package. I'd prefer to pay a few shekles more & buy the model with the tow pkg. as OEM so I have the rated lbs. and its warranty

Bob

[tjdonahoe]

From the looks of the picture, that tail will wag the dog!!!!

[smlbob]

My 2013 Highlander towed my Flying Cloud 20 really well. Now, it was the 4WD version, and the tow package came with it. I did have to install a trailer braking system after market.

[cory_can]

Originally Posted by tjdonahoe

From the looks of the picture, that tail will wag the dog!!!!

Here we go....

[SteveH]

Excerpt From:
Stability and Control Considerations of

Vehicle-Trailer Combination

Aleksander Hac, Daniel Fulk and Hsien Chen

Delphi Corporation

http://delphi.com/pdf/techpapers/2008-01-1228.pdf

"In contrast, stability with respect to the

snaking motion depends on the parameters of both the

towing vehicle and the trailer. More specifically, the system

becomes unstable beyond a certain speed. This speed

decreases, thus rendering the system less stable, as: 1)

the mass of the trailer (relative to the vehicle’s mass)

increases,"i.e., the heavier the trailer reference the tow vehicle, the less stability. conversely, the heavier the tow vehicle reference the trailer, the more stable.

[cory_can]

I'm not surprised that you would pull one little nugget out of paper to give evidence to your beliefs, without considering any other variable. With all being equal, yes physics is what it is....a large mass being towed by a smaller mass will be less stable past some calculated speed. However, we know that everything isn't equal. Interesting that you don't mention impact of TV CoG on stability or emergency avoidance, TV steering compliance, the effect of TV mass on understeer gradient, the impact of suspension design, tire compounds, TV/TT tire stiffness, length between hitch point and rear axle, weight distribution across the entire combination, trailer weight distribution....not to mention braking power/TV weight ratios.

"Even for a specific vehicle-trailer combination, most of these parameters can be greatly altered by changing parameters that are in control of the user, such as weight distribution or tire type and tire pressure. Hence, stability of the vehicle-trailer combination cannot be guaranteed by selecting the passive design parameters, thus necessitating an active control approach."

OP, a Highlander with the tow package will be a great combination. Without it, you may need some assistance with cooling. It also has a decent payload (~1500lbs) for SUV/CUV compared to some 1/2 tonne pickups. A family member used a Highlander to successfully tow a large Hybrid trailer that was horribly balanced with the worst aerodynamics imaginable.

[m.hony]

To answer the OP's original question simply: Yes, a 2015 Toyota Highlander Limited will tow a 16' Sport.

[Dave-Nancy]

We tow our FC-19 with our 2013 Highlander Limited with the OEM Tow Package. We have an Equalizer hitch.
Some of our favorite places to go involve long, uphill tows, as we live in the Willamette Valley. This arrangement tows like a dream. I have had people question it, upon arrival at a campground... Mostly people with big pick-up rigs. They are shocked that we hardly notice we are towing the FC on the flat, and rarely even slow down on the hills (less than 5-degrees or so). Even on the steepest grades, it climbs well and we have not had any overheating. Braking on the downhill is equally effective.
Before we purchased the SUV, we questioned if we could tow the FC with it. We had a 2008 Highlander that had an aftermarket receiver, but a "pre-tow" package, before this one (we love Highlanders). When we went to the 2013, the Toyota dealer was very positive regarding the setup. The brake controller system was installed when we picked it up.
To answer your question, I would consider going to the dealer to see if you can make a swap to another Highlander with the OEM system, since your car is still a 2015. That is probably what you do not want to do, but seriously recommend it. We are so happy with ours that paying a bit more would certainly beat going with a pickup, or gas guzzling bigger SUV, if you don't otherwise need one. Ours is great, with 3-rows of seating (convertible) and tons of inside storage. We averaged 16 mpg on our last trip from Eugene to Monterey and back, towing the FC. We normally average between 19-25 Mpg without the trailer. Ours is a 3.5 V-6.

[Road Ruler]

Originally Posted by SteveH

"i.e., the heavier the trailer reference the tow vehicle, the less stability. conversely, the heavier the tow vehicle reference the trailer, the more stable.

[/LEFT]

Of course science, technology, etc has progressed past this overly simplistic analogy.

But..... if everything about a combination is wrong or out of wack the quote would probably apply.

[jennysievers]

Thank you all so much! Cruizindux knows more than the Toyota dealership! Turns out the Toyota Highlander XLE model, which is the one we have, comes standard with the towing package (larger radiator and transmission cooler) and can pull up to 5000 pounds once a hitch is installed. Our owner's manual and the sales person at Toyota were unclear about that. All's well that ends well - we are now off to purchase our first Bambi!!

[rostam]

Best of luck to the OP. Highlander is a great vehicle.

Also, the quote about the relation between relative tow vehicle/trailer weight and stability is 100% accurate. Any mechanical engineer could explain that to you easily.