HELP PLEASE - Toy highlander & TM

Bought a new 2004 Highlander 2 mos. ago and just bought a TM 2619 two hours ago after 3 dealers told me it would be no problem towing with the highlander.

After reading comments on the topic it looks like I'm in trouble. Is there anything I can do or add to make this safe, or should I just cancel the TM purchase contract. I can't buy another vehicle and I love the Highlander.

Would a 17' bigfoot be better to tow or worse due to the wind resistance?

Any help would be greatly appreciated... I'm so concerned. :'( :'(

[Denny_A]

[quote author=goldenluvr link=board=20;threadid=2185;start=msg15189#msg1518 9 date=1091316031]
Bought a new 2004 Highlander 2 mos. ago and just bought a TM 2619 two hours ago after 3 dealers told me it would be no problem towing with the highlander.
============snip===========
Would a 17' bigfoot be better to tow or worse due to the wind resistance?
[/quote]
T_C covered the details of Bigfoot vs a 2619. All things being equal 'but' the profile of the 2 trailers - the TM wins. Its low profile means less retarding force due to wind drag.

Assuming you have a 3.3L V6, 242 lb-ft of torque available and a tow limit of 3500 lbs, the 2619 "may" work. Since the specs list the approx. dry wt as 2673, you must add at least 300 to 350 lbs to that number to account for additional "options" wt . So, the real empty weight may be 3000 up to 3050 lbs. If you can get by loading the trailer to no more than 3500 lbs (450-500 lbs payload) you "could" get by.

The Highlander has a listed payload of 1425 lbs. That means any additional trailer payload items can be carried in the Highlander. PROBLEM: the Combined Gross Weight Rating could be the real hangup. The specs on the Edmunds site don't specify CGWR. That's typical. Usually only the owner's manual will have that number. Combining 3500 lbs towing limit with a 8500 GCWR, f'rinstance, could lower the Highlander's payload to 1065 lbs. Throw in 4 pax and a full tank of fuel and the stuff you can put in the vehicle is seriously affected.

Know the GCWR. Subtract 3500 lbs from that. Subtract the dry wt of the Highlander to determine useful payload.

Ex: GCWR - TM - Hlndr = 8500 - 3500 - 3935 = 1065 lbs.
Subtract fuel and pax wt from 1065 to get useful payload.
GCWR above is arbtrary, but I'm guessing ballpark.

Finally - most folks prefer to have enough margin between tow vehicle towing limit and their trailer's max wt. The Highlander is not the best vehicle for the wts we're discussing, but it is doable if one is careful to pay close attention to limits.

HTH - Denny_A

P.S. - If the purchased TrailManor is on the lot, the ACTUAL dry weight is posted on a placard inside, and to the right of the entry door. It is about eye level. I'm guessing that with options and full propane it'll weigh in at 3000 + lbs.

[fcatwo]

I made a quick check at both the PopUp Explorer and Tundra Solutions (which includes the Highlander) sites and didn't find anyone who reported towing anything as big as the 2619. They did mention you'd need the towing package to tow much of anything with the Highlander. We've towed our 2002 2619 about 14,000 miles so far with our 2002 Honda Odyssey which has a similar 3500 lb tow rating and have had no problems. It's just the two of us however and we travel light by removing the 2nd and 3rd row seats from the Odyssey and the TM does not have air cond, or a microwave etc. The combination tows well, gets 17+ MPG, experiences no sway and has outstanding power/performance compared to the pickup and 5th wheel we had for 10 years. Also, the Odyssey just had a transmission recall check and no problems were found.

I should tell you however that we flew to our former home of Juneau, Alaska for a visit a couple of weeks ago because I wasn't comfortable taking the Ody/TM combination up the Alaska Hwy. I'll also have to admit that I'll be looking for a new tow vehicle when the 05's are out. It might be another Odyssey or Honda Pilot but will probably be truck-based.

I can also tell you that the full size diesel and big-block gas pickups that some on this site are using to tow their TrailManors are used by others to tow trailer weighing 2 or 3 times as much. RMR for instance lives on Mars and he needs a bigger TV than we flatlanders because of the altitude :-).

I would suggest that you weigh you Highlander fully loaded as you would for travel and add 3500 lbs for the TM to see how close you come to the Highlander GCWR (combined weight rating) which should be in the owners manual. If you are a few hundred pounds under you should be OK-- assuming of course that the big-truck advocates here haven't scared you beyond recovery.

Thanks to all who have replied. I'm glad to hear that someone with a towing capac of 3,500 was able to tow a tm. My Highlander has the tow package, (wasn't purchased for towing I just got an urge to fill my RV instinct all of a sudden). The TM2619 has a dry weight of approx 2,500 lbs, then there's the water, gear etc. and Toyota says to add the passengers, gear in the vehicle in the 3,500 lb range.

My biggest concern was that earlier posts mentioned that the Highlander can't have a WD hitch installed due to unibody construction and was advising not to tow the TM with just a normal hitch. I'll check my manual and do the math mentioned above, but does anyone know of anyone towing a TM for short trips using a Highlander. I'm not going cross country etc.
I just bought the Highlander so the Trailmanor will have to go before I take deliver of it if I can't tow it safely.


Thanks to all for the help.

[RockyMtnRay]

[quote author=fcatwo link=board=20;threadid=2185;start=msg15195#msg1519 5 date=1091338506]
RMR for instance lives on Mars and he needs a bigger TV than we flatlanders because of the altitude :-).
[/quote]

ROTFLMAO!!!!!! ;D ;D ;D

That is a very accurate statement...I very frequently feel like I'm living on another planet when I try to describe life here in Colorado...the penthouse of the Continent.

I would suggest that you weigh you Highlander fully loaded as you would for travel and add 3500 lbs for the TM to see how close you come to the Highlander GCWR (combined weight rating) which should be in the owners manual. If you are a few hundred pounds under you should be OK-- assuming of course that the big-truck advocates here haven't scared you beyond recovery.

I'm not exactly a "big" truck advocate but I think this is sound advice....though I would add that it's important to derate the GCWR somewhat for non-flatland towing and quite a bit for high altitude towing.

[Denny_A]

[quote author=goldenluvr link=board=20;threadid=2185;start=msg15196#msg1519 6 date=1091340734]
My Highlander has the tow package, (wasn't purchased for towing I just got an urge to fill my RV instinct all of a sudden). The TM2619 has a dry weight of approx 2,500 lbs, then there's the water, gear etc. and Toyota says to add the passengers, gear in the vehicle in the 3,500 lb range.
[/quote]

The TrailManor website lists the 2619 dry weight as 2673 lbs.

http://www.trailmanor.com/Products/Specifications.htm

That does NOT include options. As I suggested before, you need to know the dry weight number printed on the placard in the TrailManor you are (have) purchasing.

My placard is like this:
GVWR..............................4075
Minus UVW......................2965
Minus Fresh Water............216
Minus LP-Gas.......................40
= CCC for Trailer................854 lbs

My 2720Sl is older, so the dry weight listed in the specs was 2680. The UVW is up 285 lbs from specs. Add the LP-GAS at 40 lbs + UVW = 3005. Add a 50 battery (not included in UVW on the placard) and the dry weight is up to 3055 lbs. The battery is a dealer installed item.

Since your 2005 2619 spec'ed dry weight is almost identical to the above numbers, and if the majority of optional equipment is in installed, your new trailer will likely weigh in around 3050 lbs.

Recommendation: call the dealer to determine the UVW. Ask if that number includes the weight of the battery. Once armed with this, your decision will be based on facts. Unless someone messed up the UVW on the placard.

HTH - Denny_A

I have a 3023 and tow it with a Montata AWD, no WD or Sway bars. 3600 lbs. towing cap. prob. need a bigger vehicle for mountain region.
John

[fcatwo]

You may also want to do some heavy duty research on the weight distribution hitch issue. IMHO the TM needs a WDH for most lighter TV's because of it's tongue weight- you'll probably get a lot of rear end sag otherwise. I just checked http://www.etrailer.com and although they list a 2" hitch for the Highlander rated at 350-3500 for weight carrying they show nothing for weight distribution. Toyota had the same restriction on their V-6 4Runner for a while but allowed WD with the V-8. Questions to dealers and calls to Toyota never got an understandable answer for that but I notice that etrailer now makes no distinction between the two. They also show both for the Odyssey. Even though you have 4WD you still may not want to be towing with too little weight on you front wheels because it can affect steering response on wet or slippery roads. Good luck with this.`

[Denny_A]

[quote author=Texas_Camper link=board=20;threadid=2185;start=msg15209#msg1520 9 date=1091389695]
My tires, Goodyear Marathons, are rated at 1875 lbs, eachl. that limits the TM to 3750, for tires, but the axle is rated at 3500. The decal on the inside listed the total allowable weight at 4100 lbs. I am assuming that is for the frame..
The bottom line is that my 2619 weighs 3140 empty. With an alxe limitation of 3500, that leaves only 360 lbs of "cargo". Now my sewer hose doesn't weigh much, but it does weigh something
[/quote]

Two points:

1. If a WDH is not used, and if the tongue weight is around 600 lbs, then you would be able to go a GVW of approx 4100 lbs and stay w/in GAWR too. That is 4100 - 600 = 3500 llbs at the trailer axle; all tongue wt taken on the hitch. It is not a frame issue, methinks.

2. If you use a WDH and if 1/3 of tongue weight is transferred to the axle, then the GVW would have to be reduced to 3880 lbs. That would mean a tongue weight around 570 lbs max. The Axle load will then be:

GVW- (2/3)* Tongue Wt = 3880 - (2/3)*570 = 3880 - 380 = 3500 lbs.

Therefore if your empty trailer is 3140 lbs, the cargo load can be either 4100-3140 = 960 lbs, or w/WDH -->3880 - 3140 = 740 lbs.

If the tow vehicle (as is the Highlander's case) is limited to 3500 lbs, then a measely 360 lbs. of cargo it is!

Denny_A

Check the hitch receiver capacity carefully -- I think the Highlander is only a Class II (I might be wrong). Additionally, with the Highlander's unibody construction there is no way for the hitch to transfer the load via the frame -- therefore, I don't think a WDH is possible.

Ed