Towing 2000 to 2500 lbs with a Tacoma V6 or a Rav4

[Bad Pete]

thanks for all the advice I am going with the RAV4 short term with brakes added to the trailer. That seems to be the determining factor and then trading up to the Tacoma double cab when I am financially able. I am going to try to limit the distances I tow with the RAV4 and not load it up with extra gear and people. Interestingly enough I was a glider pilot. A glider trailer is about 25 feet long. The total weight with everything is about 1700 to 2000 lbs. I know a couple of guys that towed these with a 4 cyl RAV4s. But they only did it once or twice a year. They had no complaints. Some glider trailers had brakes and some did not. I towed my glider with a Venza (abt 250 HP V6) and I did not know the glider was there, hit 70 mph at times (not good with a 25-30 foot trailer). Wish I had that venza now.

 

[Assassin3F]

Quagfwl, The Rav 4 will be able to pull the trailer without significant problems especially if you add the brakes. One thing you must check though when towing with a smaller weaker vehicle is the tongue weight. Get your rig all loaded up then go into the drive way grab the tongue and lift it. If your a big guy you should be able to just lift the tongue with one hand (it'll be a bit of a stretch but doable if your strong if not use two). The manuals will all tell you to have about 5% of the total weight sitting on the tongue. Too little will lead to excessive sway at speed too much will wear out your rear shocks quick and lead to other issues with the trailer. The majority of boat trailers are adjustable in some way. The easy adjustment if you are too heavy is to shift the winch post rearward. If your too light you can shift it forward. Small movements are usually all that is required unless someone has royally pooched it up at some point int he trailers life (Note: I just had to move my winch post eight inches due to a 800 lb tongue weight on a 2000lb load...not cool).

Also when you get your hitch set up it is frequently set up with a removable tongue. Make sure the ball is mounted on the high side of the tongue...the ball is mounted on a little tab of metal you want to be able to install that with the tab on metal on top of the hitch because the rear of the towing vehicle is too low to the ground. I have that problem with my Kia Senoma. Got the ball flipped and all of a sudden everything is copacetic. It's a royal pain to get a shop mounted ball off the tongue so you might want to discuss it with the mechanic when they mount the hitch. (I ended up mounting the ball sideways and using a shop jack and monkey wrench to break the nut loose...even then I had to hit it with a 5lb mallet to break the nut loose)

 

[jkust]

On that Rav 4, a 161hp 4 cylinder in today's day and age or even yesteryear's isn't a lot of hp. I had mid 80's 4 cylinders back in the day with more than that. Regardless it is the torque where towing is concerned that matters. The thing about towing too is that the length of the tow vehicle makes a difference. The Rav is a pretty short car. Any vehicle can tow practically anything right...it's about the starting/stopping and emergency maneuverability ignoring the ramp prowess and wear and tear on the drive train that really makes the difference.

 

[Bad Pete]

All excellent advice I wish I had the money for a used Tacoma double cab but it all went to the boat

 

[BMerr509]

Quagfwl- Another thing to consider against the RAV4 is the payload capacity (which would include all your passengers gear WITHIN the vehicle, plus the tongue weight of the trailer... I'll agree with most here that going with the Taco is preferred, but i also understand money restrictions (which obviously safety comes before all) but i will disagree with those who think the 4 cylinders all around should not be considered. I owned a 2010 reg cab 2.7 taco and towed a 3,000 fiberglass just fine. Just be cognizant of what you're towing and be a more defensive driver. Key is manual transmission. btw, 2.7 tacos are perhaps the most durable/reliable engine on the market (followed/tied with the inline six of the older jeeps) and are rated at 3500#.

I felt the need to come to your defense a bit as i can relate to the expense of a new truck. Let us know what you go with.

 

[Bad Pete]

I felt the need to come to your defense a bit as i can relate to the expense of a new truck. Let us know what you go with.

Thanks I have done a research on this and I do not take it lightly. However I do not believe numbers like the US 1500# towing capacity are necessarily sound.
Seeing the European weights for trailers with brakes and without makes all the sense in the world. Why don't we do that here? Their numbers are 1600 lbs wo brakes and about 3600 lbs with brakes. BTW I would never tow anything with a RAV4 over 2500 even with brakes. My rig will weight in 2000 to 2100 with me and my dog and no luggage. I towed a 1900 to 2000 lb glider trailer with no brakes with a RAV 4 and it did fine but I wish I had brakes

I don't plan to stay with the RAV4 as my permanent towing vehicle I just need to get it back from where I bought it (500 mi or so) and then only use it to tow short distance to a lake. Again my trailer is already being fitted with new brakes. After I retire in 2018 I plan to switch out to a Toyota 4 runner or Tacoma. Damn the Tacoma prices are high or for that matter any truck. I saw some decent prices on used 4 runners better than Tacoma or Highlander.

 

[jkust]

So what is the true wet weight of the Whaler and trailer you are buying? Any vehicle can 'tow' practically anything out there. As I can attest to, the rubber meets the road in that instant where it is life or death on the highway in an emergency maneuvering situation. The very first time I switched from a minivan to tow my previous rig, which was a shortsighted maneuver because I spent so much on the boat and couldn't buy a real tow vehicle, to a full on body on frame suv with v8 and all of the proper towing equipment, we had a worst case, once in a lifetime highway emergency scenario occur and only the prowess of the suv's ability to emergency maneuver kept us all from crashing and most certainly perishing. Literally I owe our lives to the fact I had just upgraded vehicles. Your Rav 4 could probably pull my 6000lb boat with its it just couldn't do the rest of what goes into the act of towing a boat.

 

[Bad Pete]

So what is the true wet weight of the Whaler and trailer you are buying?

the true weight is about 1800 to 1900 lbs. That's just the trailer, the boat and the engine add 100lbs for boat gas and a few extras assume everything on the trailers and including the trailer is 2000 lbs. And I'm adding brakes to the trailer. I really don't think it will be that bad. I'll have to write a review and post it here after the trip.

 

[bruceb58]

add 100lbs for boat gas

That's only 17 gallons of gas. Which Boston Whaler are you looking at? Huge difference in weight between a 15' and 17' models.

Personally, there is absolutely no way I would tow with a Rav4. Wheelbase isn't long enough. I don't care if the trailer has brakes or not. That spec is the deal killer for towing with that car.

BTW, max toungue weight is 150# along with the 1500# towing weight but of course you already know that.

 

[Bad Pete]

Ok so I promised an after action report

Trailered my new 17 ft Triumph from Kalamazoo MI to central Mass. About 850 miles with a Toyota RAV4. The trailer is a Shorelander. It was an easy tow and the tow brakes really helped. Some information:

• RAV4 161 HP 4 cyl AWD
• Toyota US towing capacity US 1500 lbs (presume this assumes no brakes on trailer)
• towing capacity Toyota UK same engine 1650 lbs (no trailer brakes) 3650 lbs (trailer brakes)
• My towing load boat, trailer and engine (1900 lbs)
• Car Load (driver and luggage) 250 lbs
• Car and trailer tire pressures 45lbs cold (max 51 lbs)
• Tongue weight was not measured but it was not heavy as I could easily pick it up with 1 hand
• Used a 3 inch rise on the hitch, as the receiver rides low to level the trailer
• Average gas mileage 17 mpg for trip vs 29 mpg highway

I drove the Rav4 in manual mode and generally was able to stay in 4[SUP]th[/SUP] or 5[SUP]th[/SUP] gear. I rarely used 6[SUP]th[/SUP] gear or 3[SUP]rd[/SUP] gear. I started out in Sports mode but then found that operating in Standard mode was fine. My goal was to keep the RPMs below 3000 whenever possible. I was able to operate between 2500 and 3000 RPM easily. On long uphill?s in the western Mass mountains I was able to climb with the RPMs below 4000 RPM. I had no trailer sway and the RAV4 handled this load easily. I averaged between 65 to 70 mph. However, I was the only occupant and I had only one suitcase. So my total load was around 2100 lbs. I still want to upgrade to a 6 cylinder to tow longer distances and to carry a large luggage load but I felt the RAV4 is fine for select short distances. But I would not want to use a RAV4 for regularly tow long distances with this type of load. I think the key factor in setup is the addition of trailer brakes. I have trailered larger loads with bigger vehicles but there were no brakes on the trailer. Those rides were not pleasant. This long ride with a RAV4 was no big deal.

 

[bajaunderground]

...Western Mass mountains...

you made a typo, you meant hills! Thanks for reporting back. Congrats on the new vessel!

 

[Bad Pete]

sigh, yes you are right but given my new towing situation they seemed like mountains to me