Towing with a Toyota Sienna

We are planning to buy either a 2720 or a 3023 in the next week or so. We currently drive a 2007 Toyota Sienna with tow package. Will this be sufficient to tow a 3023 with AC comfortably or should we plan on either going with the 2720 or getting a bigger tow vehicle?

We live in Rhode Island and plan to travel to Ohio and New England this summer.

I am towing a 3326 with a 2008 Tacoma V6 Prerunner with a tow package. It does know the TT is behind it, but with the WD hitch and sway control I haven't encountered any troubles yet. Handling is fine and it goes up hills OK, though I have not tackled any mountains yet.

Maybe if I was going through mountain passes I might feel differently. Still when the 18 wheelers pass by on the Interstate I don't even know they are there.

We have spent the afternoon looking at new trucks and have decided to go with the 2720 so that we don't have to part with an almost new van that we really love. I wanted the storage under the couch but have thought about making a storage unit that will fit over the mattress either at the foot or on side of the trailer. Our daughter is small and will have plenty of room if we "steal" a little of her space. We will need to keep it light and I would want it to match the interior as well. Has anyone done anything like this?
I am going to place our order now and am very excited to be joining the TM family!

Just be sure can be removed from the top of the mattress. When the trailer is folded you cannot have anything on top of the mattress.

I have pulled a 3023 for about a year. Hubby and I are not lightweights and we travel with 2 Labs and their crates in addition to all of our stuff. We're careful about what we carry with us and try to travel dry, but can't always.

We hardly know the TM is behind us! I am quite comfortable towing it along the east coast, though I have to admit we haven't ventured far into the mountains, yet. I don't know if I would feel the same level of comfort if we lived in Colorado, but someone out that way can speak to that.

The most difficult part of dealing with the minivan is that the trailer hitch rides quite low. I have to be careful not to bottom out even when the trailer is not on the van. That means paying attention to grades in driveways, etc. Still, it's not that big of a deal.

We've looked at other TV's, but I haven't found anything that would make me give up my Sienna.

Deb

Our Sienna is towing our 2004 TM 3023 just fine, too. We have yet to take it down the mountain going from TN to SC and bring it back up, but we will be doing that soon. I am sure we will be in the slow truckers' lane coming back up, but that is ok.

I went over to the Toyota site to see what the Sienna could do. The limits on your Sienna with the towing option is 3500 pounds. Remember that is the empty weight of the 2720 which is about 2,800 lbs. If you add a/c add about another 150 lbs to the empty weight and another 60 lbs of propane.

It would be real easy to exceed the 3,500 max for the Sienna. Remember you haven't added water yet to the holding tanks. You need to figure in 26 gallons (cold + hot water capacities) with nothing in the grey and Thetford tanks. You could fill and dump both before and after you camp and that would minimize the time you might exceed the 3,500 lb limit.

The plus side is that you have a V6. That helps. The downside is that you may have front wheel drive. Not a killer, but it does limit how well you can put power to the road.

The towing package for the Sienna does not spell out what it has in it. A good tow package, besides hitch mount and wiring, would have a transmission cooler. If you do not have one, you should get it.

I know the dilemma you face. I was in your position with a 2007 Toyota Tacoma 4 cyl with a 3,500 tow rating. When we bought the truck, we were not into Cowboy Action Shooting and had not considered towing anything. But when we did, 3,500 lbs really limited us on what we could tow, TMs included.

We took about a $3,000 hit upgrading to a 4-door Tacoma Prerunner with a 6,500 lb tow package. That meant we could pull any TM and probably any Hi-Lo. At least now, I do not need to worry about what I pull with my Tacoma.

That was good news because I happened onto an excellent deal on a 2006 3326. That guy is now sitting in my driveway and has even been to the range once!

So with caution you can drag a 2720 behind your Sienna. However, a little more powerful TV would open a bigger class TMs (like the 3124s) that may be a better fit for you.

[Mr. Adventure]

The unibody Toyotas have been typically rated for a 3500# tow on top of the gross vehicle weight. In other words, there's likely 4500 to 5000# between the curb weight of the TV and the Gross Combined Weight Rating, and that ought to be enough room for a 3500# trailer. There is no need to carry a lot of water unless you are going to be dry camping, in which case you can fill it up just before you head into the woods.

Caution is always a great idea, of course, and a little restraint on the junk one loads into the trailer is in order. But lets give people the chance to use these trailers with the lighter vehicles they were designed for.

Thanks for all your comments. My husband is planning to get the transmission cooler. We got some good ideas on this site about how to load water with portable containers and gravity feed so we can tow without full water tanks.

Our TM will be here in about 2 weeks and I can't wait to try it out. We will test it first in the driveway. Then the New England Owners' Group has a weekend rally at the beginning of May we plan to attend. That way, when we get to the summer months, we should be in the groove for what to take, how to maneuver, and so on.

Hope to meet some of you then.
Sara

Originally Posted by LittleRhodey

...My husband is planning to get the transmission cooler...

Really a good move.

Originally Posted by LittleRhodey

...We will test it first in the driveway. Then the New England Owners' Group has a weekend rally at the beginning of May we plan to attend.

Also really smart. One thing we were told by the trailer campers we were with was to leave our water pump turned off during the night. That way if anything sprung a leak the pump wouldn't empty the tank.

As far as maneuver goes, you will be surprised just how tight you can turn on of these beasts.