RAV4 has the same 3.5 V6 and 5 speed tranny as the Sienna.
I've towed our Fleetwood Sun Valley popup with a Honda minivan with a 3.5 V6 and 5 speed tranny for some years now. My minivan weighs a lot more than the RAV4 and it still has plenty of power on the road. The RAV would be even better since Toyota allows you to lock in D4 in rolling terrain and avoid tranny hunting.
For wdh, just make sure you get the 2" receiver hitch and use the Reese 350mini wdh which is specially made for popups and other very light trailers.
I agree with another poster above, check out the Sun Valley over the Cheyenne. This is one case where just looking at trailer GVWR is a disservice to the shopper. The Sun Valley GVWR is 3,500, but it weighs the SAME empty as a Cheyenne (around 2,100#). How much stuff you put in it is YOUR choice. Nobody forces you to load to GVWR.
PopUpTom wrote: Hey, remember the unpopular Subaru 4-door truck? It's popularity is about to change.
I really liked the Bajas, and even looked at them myself. The mistake Subaru made with that vehicle was basing it on the Imprezza platform rather than the wider Legacy platform (like the Forester). The Imprezza is just too narrow to be comfortable for bigger guys to drive, otherwise I would have a Baja right now. I hope Subaru does some research before attempting this again.
As to the original post. The V6 Rav4 is potentially a great tow vehicle, and I personally would choose it OVER the 4Runner for towing a popup. Yes, the wheelbase is short, but that alone is meaningless. It's the ratio between wheelbase and rear overhang (distance from axle to trailer ball) that determines lateral stability, and the Rav4 has a very short rear overhang. Consider also that the Rav4 has a fully independent suspension front and rear, while the 4runner still has a rear live axle. The independent rear suspension is going to greatly stabilize the rear of the Rav4, again improving stability when towing. Unibody construction is a huge benefit when it comes to ride and handling. Being a unibody means the vehicle is more rigid, and carries it's weight closer to the pavement. The additional rigidity makes the suspension work more effectively, and the lower center of gravity will further improve stability. Contrary to popular opinion, you do not need to have a ladder frame to tow. There is no problem towing with a unibody vehicle, many of us have been doing it for years using WD hitches in the process. They work just fine.
* This post was
edited 06/11/08 09:34am by Caddywhompus *
'04 Ford Freestar (Primary tow vehicle) '05 Subaru Forester (Backup tow vehicle) '65 Bethany popup (best popups ever made!) Looking for a tow vehicle Minivan towing
I have a 2008 Toyota Highlander and recently bought a Fleetwood Arcadia (big highwalled popup - 3K lbs). I put my own Valley Class III frame hitch on the vehicle. The dealer suggested an Equalizer WDH and I agreed. When it came time to do the install, the dealer discovered that the 08 Highlander could not accept a WDH after trying to figure out what the Valley hitch was rated for (it didn't list a capacity with the WDH). They called the Toyota Dealer and they said not to use a WDH for that vehicle. So, we just put the trailer on the ball and drove off. It actually tows pretty well - just a tiny amount of sway felt. I am going to get a friction sway control device, though. It doesn't really bother me, but my wife will be driving the setup across country and I'd rather be safe than sorry. The dealer didn't seem concerned about the effect of a WDH on the popup (never came up). The Highlander is rated at 5K lbs and it tows it pretty well. Much better mpg than my previous setup - 04 Dodge 2500 diesel 4wd and a 8K lb 30' 5th wheel. With today's diesel prices, I'd be afraid to take it out of the driveway. Glad I sold them this winter....
sgorman wrote: They called the Toyota Dealer and they said not to use a WDH for that vehicle.
All that means is Toyota didn't want to stand behind 3rd party equipment, and who can blame them? I wouldn't either.
But it doesn't actually mean the vehicle can't use a WD hitch. It means the hitch Toyota would have provided you wasn't rated for it, and they weren't going to stand behind someone else's hitch.
It sounds to me like you either bought a "class 2.5" hitch or a class III hitch rated for Weight Carrying only. It pays to pay attention to the ratings and construction of these things before you assume and buy.
Most of this hitches sold for minivans and small SUVs are in fact class 2 or 2.5 (A class 2.5 hitch is simply a class II with a 2" receiver). The market is like this because for the vast majority of people a class II hitch is plenty. If the need to use a WD system is important, then one has to shop around to find a true class III/IV hitch with the dual WC/WD ratings stamped on it.
The rating of a hitch includes it's mounting to the vehicle, so an aftermarket hitch that is WD capable will have substantially different construction and mounting points than the non-WD versions. Often times there are long side plates that reach far up the chassis of the vehicle to distribute and counter-act the torque of the spring bars.
I write all this because I don't want people to actually think the Highlander or any other vehicle is incapable of being used with a WD hitch just because the dealer says so. The ability to handle WD is dictated by the receiver and it's design, and no OEM car manufacturer is going to OK the use of aftermarket hitches to attain this ability. There is just too much liability if someone screws up and thinks Toyota should stand behind it.
In fact, for the record I looked up the Valley Hitch for the 2008 Rav4 (I know you said Highlander, but the OP is about a Rav4. The Higlander has the same hitches available anyway) and indeed it is a class III Weight Carrying only. Ironically it costs more than the Hidden Hitch Class III/IV WC/WD hitch which is rated for 300/3500 WC and 500/5000 WD. This better receiver combined with an Equalizer hitch would greatly improve you "little sway" issue.
IMHO, it's also possible that Toyota recommends against the WDH not because of the receiver limitations, but because the receiver attachment points on the vehicle may not adequate for the stresses the WDH may put on them.
Pete D wrote: IMHO, it's also possible that Toyota recommends against the WDH not because of the receiver limitations, but because the receiver attachment points on the vehicle may not adequate for the stresses the WDH may put on them.
If that were the case, Hidden Hitch would not have a WD receiver for the vehicle either. It's also possible that an aftermarket hitch attaches to more/different places on the chassis than the OEM would have.
All the hitches e-trailer.com lists for the 08 Highlander (Drawtite, Curt, Valley, Hidden Hitch) have the same attachment points to the vehicle frame. The only difference in the hitches is that the Valley and Curt are round tube hitches, whereas the Hidden Hitch and Drawtite have square tubes. When I was under the car installing the hitch, there were no other attachment points for the hitch - they all attach in the same place. The Toyota dealer told my RV dealer that the Highlander was not supposed to have a WDH hooked up to it - hence I did not buy one. If anything went wrong while a WDH was hooked up, I'm sure my Toyota warranty would be voided.
It tows almost as good as my old 5th wheel and my old 24' TT setup with a WDH. I just installed the friction sway control tonight and will test pull it tomorrow. That, and the extra tounge weight of 2 12V golf cart batteries I added to the frame of the popup, should give me a great ride.
One strange thing, though - if the Highlander is rated to tow 5K lbs, you'd think Toyota would rate it for a WDH. At that weight, I'd definitely feel better with it. Then again, you'd think that a vehicle rated for 5K lbs would be prewired for a 7 pin connection, but it wasn't. My dealer had to run power wires for the trailer brakes.
sgorman wrote: The only difference in the hitches is that the Valley and Curt are round tube hitches, whereas the Hidden Hitch and Drawtite have square tubes.
Interesting because the picture of the Hidden Hitch I linked to earlier was round tube, and had forward mounting points not shown on the Valley.
Since the Hidden Hitch Caddy refers to has a WD specification and attaches differently to the vehicle, I suggest that you write to both Toyota and Hidden Hitch and ask them about it. That way you will have it in writing for warranty purposes.
Towing with a WDH is a lot better than without.
Dealers have been known to get things wrong, as have the people that make up the cross-reference tables for sites like ETrailer. Toyota may have just not figured the number of WDH users was enough to redesign the stock receiver.
I have a rav 4 V6 2007 that i pull a popup sun valley popup i have the full tow package and NEVER had any problem pulled the pop w/o any problems.drove it all over and up some mighty steep hills ,The Sun valley was 2600 fully loaded . I now sold the Rav 4 and recently purchased the rockfood roo im waiting for my del, have no fear the Rav 4 will do good job on Pops
jerry
23ss Roo 09
chevy 09 Silverado 5.3 V8 3.73
DW,4boys all grown, GC 5 boys 5 girls ages 8 down to 1
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