My family and I are taking a vacation to bar harbor from NW ohio.
I sold my first boat over labor day weekend, and have been shopping for another boat.
I recently found another boat I like in NH and am thinking about buying it on the way back from our vacation.
Im wondering if it would be ok to tow a 3,895lb boat with tandom axle trailer? I read the the HL towing limit is 3500lbs. So I would be nearly 400 lbs over.
We have the tow package as well.
My question is will I be ok to tow it back from NH to NW Ohio as long as I really take it easy? Meaning not fast acceleration, no high speeds 55-65 etc...
thanks!
Last edited by Tyler@sound-Xtreme; 09-18-2009 at 11:28 PM.
But does your wiring harness have the ability to modulate the brakes? I thought the towing package had a standard four pin output? If you can brake safely, then it's not nearly as big of a deal.
Your best option is to not tow that boat with the Highlander. The 3,500# limit is under ideal circumstances (no load in the vehicle, which means no people and no gear). A good rule of thumb is to tow at 80% to 90% of GCVW. The tow rating doesn't mean anything...it's the GCVW you need to look at and the weight at the hitch. There was another fellow on the board who had rear bearings fail from heavy towing, too....so, it's not just going and stopping. Also, a big, long, heavy boat without sway control on the small and relatively light Highlander is a recipe for trouble.
If you are set on towing with the Highlander, I would have the Highlander and the boat weighed at a set of scales. I would follow the Highlander manual on weight limits. The GCVW is around 8600#, which means that if that boat really weighs in at 3900#, you have 5000# to play with...that includes the weight of the Highlander, fuel, people, and any gear. Tongue weight is limited to 350 pounds. I would not at all be surprised if the boat weighs more than 3900#, especially loaded with fuel and any gear. Depends if you're getting that weight from the boat's registration or from actually weighing it on scales.
You might want to post over in the Tundra Towing forum, or at least read up over there, to get some tips on towing setup. If it were me and my family, there's no way I would do this tow...period. I would rent or borrow a bigger vehicle for the trip.
On my 04 HL V6 I converted the dealer fitted 4 pin flat to 7 pin round, after some 5 years of poor electrical contact experience. I only wish that I had done it sooner. Now my trailer lights always work, and the plug is much easier to insert. The conversion was straightforward and the 4 pin flat is retained - hidden away - for emergencies.
I regularly tow 3,500 lbs without difficulty, with the Highlander just having me in it, i.e. no significant extra load in the vehicle. My otherwise heavy duty (frame, suspension, axle, wheels & tires all rated for load) trailer does not have brakes, which it really should have, but I find that the powerful Highlander brakes do a good job stopping the combination under normal braking situations, and with good control. Obviously, an emergency stop would be a different matter. I leave plenty of space between myself and the vehicle in front, switch off the overdrive, manually select gears when necessary to keep the engine in the 2000 to 3000 rev band, and limit my speed to 50mph. My vehicle uses Mobil 1 5w/30 Synthetic, and is fitted with a transmission oil cooler. The 5 speed automatic transmission locks up in each gear, i.e. no heat inducing slippage. I change the transmission oil every 20,000 miles.
With 400 extra pounds to 3,900 lbs total, working trailer brakes, few steep hills and tandem axles, I would expect that you would do okay for a one time trip. The tandem axles would probably reduce the pitching which would be one of my concerns with the extra weight. The 04 would have enough power, I am not sure how much less the 02 might have. In fact, I am also assuming that the 02 brakes are as effective as the 04 brakes.
towing bigger boat with 02 HL limted v-6
Linear Mode
