Does anyone tow with a 2017 Toyota Highlander?

[DeeBee]

We have been looking at popups for my daughter, her husband and 2 small kids. She has a 2017 Toyota Highlander. We found her a nice used popup...but then she starting thinking maybe she should be looking at a Jayco SLX 174BH. They have a GVWR of 3750. I am worried with wind resistance this might be too much for her max 5000 lb. towing capability. She does not have the tow package and has to have a hitch put on. She was told by Toyota that all the Highlanders have what is equal to the tow package already...she just has to have the hitch put on. Does anyone tow a travel trailer with a Highlander? Can you share any insight? Thanks so much.

[NewBlackDak]

Going by the numbers, they seem well matched. That line of trailers are short, narrow, and easy on the hitch.

Is a Highlander the best tow vehicle? Probably not, but with a good hitch it should do fine.

[cekkk]

The information received from Toyota is in line with other information from car manufacturers and dealerships. Not true. According to Toyota website, the tow package includes a larger radiator, larger alternator, and a larger transmission cooler, wiring as well as a stiff frame for mounting the hitch. It does not include a hitch but just sticking one on a standard Highlander might cause some serious problems. Look elsewhere for correct information.
I know nothing about Toyotas and I got that information from about a 2-minute Google search. So put a little effort into it before trying to use this non-tow vehicle as a tow vehicle.

[xizowudao]

I have 2016 tacoma w/ tow package which has the same engine as your highlander i believe (v6 just under 300ish hp). I tow the 174bh baja edition and it does great!

[Jim Davis]

I have a 2013 Highlander and tow a Hummingbird 17RK. I have done three Snowbirds from Maryland. Also a Nova Scotia and a Mid-West for a total of about 22,000 miles. It has done well with the eastern mountains but I'm not sure I would want to do the Rockies but it has been fine for our use.

[Adios Pantelones]

I'll throw a few cents in. My TV is an 04 Tundra with the 4.7l. I think its around 275hp and a rating of 7000lbs. My 1st TT was a 19' prowler tandem with a 4800 gvwr. You weren't winning any races and spent most of your time at 45-50 on hills. I now have a 174bh. So much better can run 55-60 up hills. The Toys sound like they are wound up but your only running 4k rpms at 60mph up hill. They do just fine. With trailer brakes I never have an issue stopping. Wind SUCKS. Small truck and single axle trailer get blown around on the freeways when the big rigs are running by you at 85. I just keep her around 65 and everything is happy. I run a WDH and never had an issue with swaying. Run with overdrive off and make sure you have a tranny cooler. I tow all over the west US with some pretty big grades and it does pretty well. It's the windy mountain roads where you miss the low end torque and things get really slow.