clydengail wrote: I think the biggest problem with using sedans for towing is the suspension. These days, most are built for comfortable ride, not load carrying. Vans and SUVs are a different matter.
Unless you go back to land yachts of the 70's.
Part of me would think it fun to stroll in to camp hauling your TT behind a top down cadillac. LOL
I am not advocating this by any means, but here a thread I had to reach way back into the server memory for, dust it off real good so the link would stick. (JK)
This fella set up and successfully towed a 34ft airstream with a Dodge Intrepid!
I think his name is Andy from Can Am RV in London, Ontario.
Again, check my sig to see where I stand on this issue, but the reading is interesting.
Andy from Can Am RV in Canada has made a living setting up Minivans as well as other vehicles, to tow Airstream trailers. You can easily google his info, or go here: Can Am
Ron3rd wrote: Andy from Can Am RV in Canada has made a living setting up Minivans as well as other vehicles, to tow Airstream trailers. You can easily google his info, or go here: Can Am
Thanks, I live near Buffalo NY so am familiar with andy, he suggested I look at the New Taurus, VW Diesel and the Buick Lacross w/ V6. I do like that VW wagon w/ diesel but never see them used.
gregrc75 wrote: I think the Subaru Outback Wagon with the V6 tows 3200lbs. A friend of mine has the Subaru Outback wagon with the 4 cyl and her's tows 2800lbs
I had a forester with the turbo and threw the 10 foot pop up on it to run down the road 10 miles. It was good on power but the soft springs and short wheelbase would require some sort of weight adjusting hitch.
I have to wonder about towing close to the limit with a turbo engine, though they tend to rate the turbos quite a lot higher.
I was in the same dilemma a couple of years back. We have a '98 Camry, '01 4Runner, and '07 Sienna and wanted to get a travel trailer with all the creature comforts. The 4Runner had the highest capacity at 5K lbs., but that left no payload. We looked at Trailmanor and was shocked at the price tag for one of those. Plus it would be close to our max towing capacity.
We ended up just getting an Excursion to tow with. This allowed us a lot more options in a trailer we wanted. The cost of the used Ex and new trailer was just about the same cost as a new Trailmanor. The good thing about going this route was I am not jeopardizing my safety being at the max towing capacity.
My '08 Highlander is unibody, and has a 5000 lb. tow / 500 lb. tongue capacity. Funny thing is, when I test drove it, the salesman bragged about the great ride by saying the Highlander was built on the same platform as the Avalon. Go figure.
Like others have said, the Avalon suspension may not be able to handle much tongue weight. Maybe that is whey they don't rate it for towing. The 3.5L with 5 speed auto is a great combo though. I have towed a (approx.) 3500 lb. trailer more than 75,000 miles with my Highlander and it does fine. Have not needed anything but fluids and filters, with 91K on the odometer.
Mike & Sherry
2000 Mercury Mountaineer
2008 Toyota Highlander
2011 KZ Spree Escape E14RB
The 'first' gen Highlander was derived from the Camry, which is also
the basis for the Avalon
The 'current' gen Highlander is derived from the Sienna
Both monocoque or unibody
OEM's limit things via several methods. Like I used to say 'no' to
any company wishing to license something my company didn't want to.
Tell them the cost is $1,000,000,000 per year plus royalties. That is
saying 'no' without saying 'no'...and if they were foolish enough to
do so, my company would have rewarded me with a big bonus for setting
a hook on that fish...
An OEM can limit the trailer by their tongue rating and if someone did
find a trailer with that tongue weight...it would most likely be an
ultra light and/or a 10% tongued trailer.
Longevity and safety are the issues with using things at or over their
limits.
Going over or always at the limits won't have the wheels instantly fall
off, but they will sooner. Plus that day when Mr Murphy crosses your path
-Ben Picture of my rig
1996 GMC SLT Suburban 3/4 ton K3500/7.4L/4:1/+150Kmiles orig owner...
1980 Chevy Silverado C10/long bed/"BUILT" 5.7L/3:73/1 ton helper springs/+329Kmiles, bought it from dad...
1998 Mazda B2500 (1/2 ton) pickup, 2nd owner...
Praise Dyno Brake equiped and all have "nose bleed" braking!
Previous trucks/offroaders: 40's Jeep restored in mid 60's / 69 DuneBuggy (approx +1K lb: VW pan/200hpCorvair: eng, cam, dual carb'w velocity stacks'n 18" runners, 4spd transaxle) made myself from ground up / 1970 Toyota FJ40 / 1973 K5 Blazer (2dr Tahoe, 1 ton axles front/rear, +255K miles when sold it)...
Sold the boat (looking for another): Trophy with twin 150's...
51 cylinders in household, what's yours?...
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