So I'm picking up my new to me 2007 HL Friday (19,000 miles) I was wondering how accurate the tow capacities are for these 4 cyls. non hybrid 1500/3000 lbs depending on tow pasckage or without. I have a small (12 ft) vintage camping trailer probably @ 1000 lbs I'm hoping to pull. Will probably add a transmission cooler when I install the hitch.
Question is in real life experiences. What have you towed with your 4 cylinder HL and how did it handle? Thanks for any responses.
Last edited by TotallyMisunderstood; 12-18-2008 at 07:32 PM.
Hellooooooooo..................................... ...... Anybody home. Surely there are some who have done some towing with their 4 cylinder HL. Don't be shy, just wanting some reasurance that this will handle the loads it states. Thanks in advance. Dave
Hellooooooooo..................................... ...... Anybody home. Surely there are some who have done some towing with their 4 cylinder HL. Don't be shy, just wanting some reasurance that this will handle the loads it states. Thanks in advance. Dave
There weren't many HL 4cyls produced by contrast to the 6's. So... yu probably won't get much response from those who do own them let alone who tow with them. Those owners are far and few. And this small cross-section of 4 cyl. HL's is representative here on this forum.
But I'm sure yu will have no problem towing if yu watch what yu are doing. I would leave Overdrive "OFF" when towing. Yu might know this already?
The Camry has a similar sized engine, torque etc.
Try asking on other forums.
LT
Last edited by LifeTech; 12-20-2008 at 10:47 AM.
Reason: spel
I gottcha on the small pool to get info on it. Thanks for the responses. I feel comfortable for what limited use I'll give it but was hoping for some experiences from others. I'll check on some other forums as well. Thanks again. Dave
I have an 04 4cyl and I tow. Recently we towed an 850lb uhaul trailer with a washer/dryer ~200 miles. If you do this regularly, I'd add a tranny cooler as you will spend a lot of time in 2nd and 3rd. But, it wasn't nearly as bad as I thought, it actually did a great job. I just turned OD off on large uphills, that's about it.
We have an 01 4-cyl HL. We've towed our teardrop all over, took a trip from Austin, TX to Eureka, CA the HL towed the tear up Grapevine Pass and on Donner Pass just fine. Of course we weren't the fastest thing on the road but we were faster than the trucks. The tear weighs in at 1150, but I'm sure it was more than that considering all the gear we had for a 3 week trip. I'm assuming your camper is a canned ham or a standie? Yours might suffer because it sticks out of the slipstream.
You might want to check to see if you already have a trans cooler. If yours was equipped with the tow option, you might be all set. I found ours to equipped so all I had to get was the reciever hitch and light harness. The odd thing is that "Tow Prep" doesn't mean that it has a hitch.
Here is a pic in the Redwoods:
Last edited by asianflava; 12-28-2008 at 07:06 AM.
asianflava, thanks for the response. This is what i was hoping for. Yeah my canned ham will be out of the slip stream. I'm going to add the tranny cooler that I am lacking and should be good. Thanks again. Dave
That's a four banger? Did you changed the stock rims, 'cos usually those stock rims only come on the V6 models. Anyway, nice picture and mustta been fun going up the Grapevine in Cali I bet?
Cooler or no cooler, you should drive with OVERDRIVE OFF when towing. Most owners make this mistake and Toyota Motorhome owners in particular have learned the consequences (blown transmission) the hard way.
Installing a cooler also increases the risk of a future transmission oil leak. Pull the tranny dipstick after towing awhile and you may be surprized the fluid isn't as scalding hot as you might expect, hence a cooler may not be needed unless your trailer is up around 2000 - 3000 lbs or you plan to drive in 105+ degree F desert heat.
That's a four banger? Did you changed the stock rims, 'cos usually those stock rims only come on the V6 models. Anyway, nice picture and mustta been fun going up the Grapevine in Cali I bet?
Rims look indentical to mine and I have a 2007 4 cylinder.
Cooler or no cooler, you should drive with OVERDRIVE OFF when towing. Most owners make this mistake and Toyota Motorhome owners in particular have learned the consequences (blown transmission) the hard way.
Installing a cooler also increases the risk of a future transmission oil leak. Pull the tranny dipstick after towing awhile and you may be surprized the fluid isn't as scalding hot as you might expect, hence a cooler may not be needed unless your trailer is up around 2000 - 3000 lbs or you plan to drive in 105+ degree F desert heat.
Yes, to the overdrive being off. Thanks for the comments though.
To the question of towing with the (4) cylinder Highlander. I tow a 17' Bass Tracker boat and trailer with a 65 hp engine and full compliment of gear for two and have never had any trouble. I do not take the vehicle out of overdrive, even when pulling the boat out of the water. **I asked the overdrive question to both, the salesperson as well as the service rep and both said the transmission will seek the correct gear on it's own. Hope they know what they're talking about! If they don't know, who does? I would like further comment on the overdrive question if there is someone who is trained in this arena. thank you - bpIII
To the question of towing with the (4) cylinder Highlander. I tow a 17' Bass Tracker boat and trailer with a 65 hp engine and full compliment of gear for two and have never had any trouble. I do not take the vehicle out of overdrive, even when pulling the boat out of the water. **I asked the overdrive question to both, the salesperson as well as the service rep and both said the transmission will seek the correct gear on it's own. Hope they know what they're talking about! If they don't know, who does? I would like further comment on the overdrive question if there is someone who is trained in this arena. thank you - bpIII
read the owners manual. even for my 03 tundra it says to turn overdrive off. it has something to do with the torque converter and the transmission overheating.
on the boat ramp it really doenst matter because you will not get out of 1st gear anyway. only matters when you are going fast enough to get to overdrive.
Most of the time, I do not turn off O/D when I tow. When the trans can't make up it's mind which gear to stay in (keeps hunting between gears) then I take it out of O/D. When you are in steady state cruising on flat highways, then running in O/D is not a big deal.
Yes, it is a 4-cyl, it also has port (SET) installed leather interior. You should see the ugly port (GST) installed wheels on my Tundra. At least they are unique now that we've moved out of GST territory. This is our primary tow vehicle now. It doesn't know that the tear is back there, I pretty much get the same mileage with or without the trailer. The Highlander will drop from 24 to 19. The Tundra gets between 17 and 18 so it is a wash.
I towed a car on my car trailer with the Tundra, just over 6000lbs. I did not use the tow/haul mode (I had removed the dash to install my DVD/NAV and forgot to plug the switch in), and the trans temp gauge never moved from it's normal spot.
4 Cyl. Highlanders ???
Surely there are some who have done some towing with their 4 cylinder HL. Don't be shy, just wanting some reasurance that this will handle the loads it states. Thanks in advance. Dave
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