Highlander chugging while towing?

[woodlandcottage]

We've never towed anything before and it's been too long to remember what it felt like when my dad towed stuff but something strikes me as not right.
We brought our new TM(2619) home on Saturday with our 2013 Toyota Highlander(V6, 4WD, w/tow package). We drove normally(not 4wd mode) and there was a subtle chugging feel. Maybe I'm just super sensitive, but I can't imagine that's normal when so many people say they don't even "feel" like they are towing something.
We know we haven't exceeded our towing capacity(5000#)so I don't see any reason that the Highlander would struggle. That's what it felt like. :/
We are using an adjustable ball mount 23" from the ground. The trailer is nice and even with the tow vehicle.
Any suggestions?

[Redtail Cruiser]

When did you feel the "chugging" ? Was it pulling a grade or on flat roadway? If it was only when pulling a grade, then that probably is normal for your vehicle. It will be more noticeable when your loaded up for a camping trip. Be sure to get a WDH, if you don't already have one.

[Bill]

I'm not sure I know what "chugging" is, or feels like. But there is a phenomenon called "chucking" that is manifested as a subtle back-and-forth or up-and-down motion of the tow vehicle. If I recall correctly, it happens when you are driving on a concrete road (not asphalt) where the center of each slab drooped a little as the concrete dried. This subtle "swooping" of the road surface can set up a rhytmic motion of your rig as you drive. Does your chugging go away when you reduce your speed, or drive on an asphalt road?

This has been discussed a few times on this board. Start with these threads, or do a Search on "chucking".

http://www.trailmanorowners.com/foru...ead.php?t=3427
http://www.trailmanorowners.com/foru...ad.php?t=13202

I hope that "chugging" does not refer to a situation in which the engine is running at very low RPM - what we used to call "lugging". An automatic transmission should prevent that, presuming your tranny is an automatic and not a manual.

Bill

[tentcamper]

"So many people say they don't even "feel" like they are towing something" Any time you tow something you feel secondary bounces from the trailer as the trailer axle hits a bump. The phrase "I don't feel like they are towing something", is more in reference to handling, with larger TV's something acceleration and stopping, but not the secondary bounce. Most TV's you will have to accelerate slower and stopping with brakes adjusted at slow speeds will be about normal, but at higher speeds the distance will increase.

A WDH will decrease the secondary bounce feeling because the camper will use the shocks and struts of the TV. But you will still feel the bounce.

Also, the hitch sound like it might be high. The trailer should be level or slightly lower, up to 1 inch lower at the tongue.

[woodlandcottage]

It was only a 16 mile trip home but it is uphill on the way home, and very mild uphill at that. But it seemed to chug as we coasted downhill too, but that could have something to do with the electric brake control being too high???
We don't have a weight distributing hitch, the dealer said it wasn't necessary and I see a lot of people online say they aren't necessary either. Why exactly are you recommending one?
I've been on plenty of concrete slab roads and I know what they feel like. I also know how smoothly our Highlander takes the same roads we came home on when not towing. They are standard roads but I suppose if there have been a lot of repaired cracks from ice and snow plow damage it could cause the same kind of concrete slab seam chucking?
It seemed to improve when we were accelerating hard or at a faster speed(50mph+). It is only subtle, not herky jerky like the linked threads seem to be talking about. More like a seasick kind of feeling.
I just wanted to find out if that was normal when towing.

[MarkoPolo]

If it is "chucking" the Andersen No Sway WDH is superb at stopping that as well re-distributing weight.

[tentcamper]

It is normal to feel and hear some of clunking from bumps. There is a little play in the ball/hitch connection. Also there is a little play in the hitch receiver 2" tube. As you hit the bumps and de-accelerate you will feel hear this. Also, some of it might be the brake controller not being adjusted it you got the clunking when braking and there is a very slight delay from the brakes.

You most likely don't need a WDH. But one of the advantage of a WDH is it keep a consent force on the hitch ball and the 2" receiver tube. You don't hear as much noise with a WDH. After you drive a hundred miles you will not notice it without a WDH. But when when spring comes each year you will notice the first out. If you op for a WDH all of them will resolve a lot of the clunking. But look for one rated in the range of your tongue weight. We just got the reese pro 600

Our first time out this year without a WDH. The DW was asking if everything was right because she had forgot the noise and feeling. But after a hundred miles or so she remembered it.

[Bill]

When you drop a 400-pound tongue weight on the hitch ball, one of the effects is to take weight off the front wheels. Since the front wheels do all of the steering, all of the power delivery (FWD), and more than half of the braking, this is not a good thing. The short wheelbase of the Highlander (about 110") magnifies this effect in comparison to longer-wheelbase vehicles. The result is often a slightly squirrelly feeling as you drive along. One of the purposes of a WDH is to put back some of the weight that is lost, and restore normal handling. Without a WDH, you may be feeling this effect.

Have you measured the "squat" of the vehicle when you load it up camping-ready and drop the hitch on the ball? As someone else mentioned, 23" to achieve a level ride sounds awfully high. The commonly-bandied number is about 19". A large "squat" is a sure sign of the need for a WDH.

I disagree with your dealer when he says you don't need a WDH. On what basis did he makes that determination? Perhaps you gave him the dry weight of a 2619 from the TM website (about 2600 pounds, as I recall), and he assumed 10% hitch weight? With 260 pounds on the hitch, he might be right.

I can't see any way that a properly adjusted brake controller could give you that feeling. By the way, what kind of controller do you have?

Now I have to ask about the total weight of your rig. As with most (all?) vehicles intended for towing, the Toyota web site says

"The maximum you can tow depends on the total weight of any cargo, occupants and available equipment."

This means that the 5000 pound rating refers to the total LOADED weight. This in turn is made up of the dry weight of the TM itself, plus the weight of all the options TM put on it (think air conditioner and awning as the heavy ones), plus the weight of all the stuff you put in the TM (food, water, clothes, tools, etc etc), plus the weight of all the stuff you put in the wayback of the Highlander, plus the weight of all the people in it except the driver. Suddenly 5000 pounds may not seem like such a generous number. And if you are anywhere near the 5000 pound limit, and you combine this with the lack of a WDH, you may indeed be feeling some squirreliness in the handling.

Finally, it would be really helpful if you could hook up, put some dummy weight in the TM and the Highlander to simulate a ready-to-camp loading, and get the vehicle weighed. There are CAT scales almost everywhere (catscale.com/cat-scale-locator). You just drive on, and for about $10, they will give you a printout of the weight on all three axles individually. You can/should check the weight on the tow vehicle rear axle against the rating. Then for a couple bucks more, you can unhitch the trailer, reweigh, and then compare the front axle weight loaded and unloaded.

In summary, I think a 5000-pound tow rating is almost certianly OK, but the lack of a WDH is not. I wonder if there is any way you could borrow a WDH, and try it out. Might be worth it.

Sorry to be so long-winded, but a vehicle that "feels funny" when towing, even a little bit, worries me.

Bill

[ELM-JLM]

I had thought about getting a Highlander but after research and reading forums on the subject I had found this!


Thank you for your most recent correspondence.

We would like to take this opportunity to mention that most hitch manufacturers only recommend weight distribution when towing over 5000 pounds; the 2009 Highlander has a maximum towing capacity of 5000 pounds. Weight distribution hitches put a great deal of strain on the frame of the vehicle to achieve the distribution of the weight. Unibody vehicles are not built for this type of strain; the Highlander is a unibody vehicle that does not have a full frame, it is not recommended for use with a weight distribution hitch.

Please be advised that weight distribution hitches are common on trucks that have full frames. Toyota vehicles that have full frames are the Tundra, Tacoma and the 4Runner.

We apologize for any inconvenience this has caused. We hope this information is helpful and thank you again for taking the time to write.

I decided on the 4Runner and am very happy I did!

[ELM-JLM]

I also found this post in the same forum! Its dated back in 2009! I know the 2nd generation Highlanders are unibody but don't know when they came out! 2008 might have been the old style with frame!

I tow a TrailManor 2619 with our '08 HL Sport. Runs approx 3700lbs loaded with a tongue weight around 450lbs I would guess. I plan on weighing it come spring. I use a Reese Pro 1200lb WDH to level the load and HL. I drove it once without the WDH and it felt very unsafe. Front end was pointing at the sky. Light steering and poor braking.

The WDH made a huge difference in handling, steering and control. I can't imagine towing any kind of travel trailer without one.

Besides the tow rating, you need to watch your GCWR. I am under it by only 400 lbs with only 2 people and a lightly loaded TrailManor.
__________________
2006 Tundra 4WD Double Cab

These folks were from Colorado Springs! Wonder if they are members here!