4RUNNER towing Jay Feather X17Z...???

[CO_camper]

Have a deposit on a 2021 Jay Feather X17Z, looking to tow with my 2020 4RUNNER TRD Off-Road. Others that have done this or doing this now?

Thoughts...???

[Murff]

Well, you could have a tongue weight of 630 pounds if the X17Z us fully loaded. Take that from your payload figure, that is posted on a yellow sticker on the driver's door post, then figure out how much passengers, pets and gear weighs to see how close you are to that payload number.

From information on the internet, the X17Z is well under the 5000 pound tow rating if your 4Runner, assuming it is equipped for trailer towing.

Murff

[Randy]

Hi CO-- I had a 17 foot trailer , weighing in at about 4800 lbs that I towed with my 4runner. It was doable, but a handful. Lots of gear hunting on hills and headwinds. Really felt like that tail wagging the dog sometimes.

[CO_camper]

So that 4800lbs was fully loaded? Climbing significant hills and inclines? I live in Colorado, so the mountains have to be a consideration.

[Randy]

Hi Co- Fully loaded was optimistically 4800-- Probably a little north of there. I too live in the mountains, and it worked for me, but like I said, it was a handful. I am sure you know you must have a WDH with this combo. Love my 4runner, so I am a bit hard headed. Now I have a 32 foot class C and flat tow the 4runner.

[mass-hole]

Originally Posted by CO_camper

So that 4800lbs was fully loaded? Climbing significant hills and inclines? I live in Colorado, so the mountains have to be a consideration.

I am a little late to the party. I tow a X213, so its a bit bigger but not a whole lot heavier. My UVW is ~4200 and GVWR is 5500.

I have a 2011 Lexus GX 460 which is the same chassis as the 5th gen 4Runner. The big difference is that I have a 6 speed auto and a 4.6L V8 shared with the Tundra that makes 301hp and 330 ft-lbs of torque. I live at 6500' in Utah.

I have only towed my trailer with the GX a handful of times and it does ok. Stability wise its decent with the Equal-i-zer hitch set up right. I can cruise at 70 mph on I-80 in winds without white knucking at all. You may want to consider air bags in the rear coils just to stiffen things up a little as the rear suspension seems to be a little soft. I have AirLift 1000's on mine.

Where it lacks is power. And my engine makes a bit more than the V6 in the 4runner. Its making 330 ft-lbs at 3500 RPM vs the 4Runner 278 ft-lbs at 4400 rpm, so 52 extra torque at 900 rpm lower. So I have a lot more low end grunt and I still have to work the thing pretty hard to keep moving


The issue is not the weight of the trailer but the aerodynamic drag at speed. You get out into Utah, Idaho, and Wyoming on I-80/I-15 with the 75-80mph speed limits and start fighting a headwind, and it will NOT be fun. Your trailer is a bit lighter than mine but its still a full 8' width trailer.

So just keep that in mind. On slower roads in the mountains it will probably do ok, but I would think twice about pulling out in the open country.

[mass-hole]

Oh and the other things that stink:

1. The gas tank. If you are doing short trips its fine but start heading out 4+ hours and the small tank will be a serious annoyance. Especially in the Rockies where the distance between stations can be far. This is especially true if the place you are camping is far from a gas station and you plan on driving around all weekend. I have a 36 gallon tank in my F150 and will fill it at the last station on the way in, and even then I am tight sometimes on the way back out. You will have to stay on top of things with the 23 gallon tank in the 4Runner, and probably stop early to make sure you get gas incase there are long stretches.

2. My GX's transmission cooling was terrible. The first trip out I hit 247F trans temps multiple times. I've since added a hayden air cooler in series with the stock liquid cooler and now the transmission stays at 205 or less.

3. Trailer Brake Controller. You can add one, but they just are not as nice as the OEM controllers built into a lot of the half ton trucks. I would highly suggest you go with a RedArc Tow Pro Elite as they have the wiring harness as well as some dummy switch blanks that fit Toyota's rectangular switches.

Basically, the jist is that the 4Runner will do it, but its not ideal. If you wanted an SUV that does well towing I would be looking at a Sequoia/Expedition/Tahoe since they have the larger gas tanks, more power, and I think they all can have factory installed trailer brake controllers.

[Randy]

Ditto on everything Mass-hole said- Again, I really liked my 4runner, so another vehicle was not a option for me. Again I am hardheaded... I made it work

[MontanaRick]

My trailer had to be COMFORTABLY towable by my 4Runner (also live in the Rockies). I ended up with the 195RB (with Andersen WDH), been towing it all over the west for 3 years now. Gross weight of the 195RB is 3750. Personally, I would not tow anything heavier with the 4Runner. We definitely have to slow way down on long steep climbs. And I certainly wouldn't want more when braking.

Can you do what you suggest? Probably, as long as no emergency ever happens, like the need to brake suddenly or accelerate suddenly. Should you? Personally, I don't think so, I don't think it's safe.

For me, keeping the 4Runner is more important than a larger trailer. YMMV.