Light Weight Equalizing Hitch

To all that joined the light weight equalizing hitch discussion. Very inteligent remarks. My position is that the trailer is pulled 4 to 8 days a year. My TM 3023 weighs 3280 pounds with a tonge weight of 450 pounds. It is the biggest TM trailer that I can tow behind a Toyota Siena. Getting 20 to 22 mpg without the trailer for 355 days a year is very important. MPG only dropped to 18 to 19 on the Florida trip. OK it was 16 MPG going up the mountains in Tennessee.
The Siena and other mini vans have a gross towing capacity of 3500 lbs. That leaves only 220 lbs of stuff. Therefore light weight hitch and only one 20 lb propane bottle.

Jan Rooks

[Bill]

Jan -

You should be aware of what "3500 pounds of rated towing capacity" means. It refers to the towing capacity of an un-optioned Sienna with driver. Period. If your Sienna has options, factory or aftermarket, you must subtract the weight of those options from the 3500-pound rating. If you have a passenger(s) in the Sienna, you must subtract their weight from the 3500-pound rating. If you plan to carry any cargo in the Sienna, you must subtract the weight of that cargo from the 3500-pound rating.

Most people find that they have to subtract about 600-800 pounds from the advertised towing capacity, leaving a real towing capacity of 2700-2900 pounds. You may find that you are actually overloading your vehicle. I'm not entirely sure why 4 to 8 days of towing would make that OK.

By the way, it seems that every tow vehicle manufacturer is kind of coy about this definition of towing capacity. It is not just Toyota. But if you rummage around on the manufacturer's web site long enough, it is always there, usually as an asterisk or a footnote - the lawyers make them put it there.

Bill

[Mr. Adventure]

Sorry Bill, but you haven't read his owner's manual which allows for a 3500 pound trailer on top of the gross vehicle weight, before they figure the GCWR. Yours is probably different, as is your trailer and the way your vehicle is loaded (although his horsepower rating is only 9 fewer than yours). Only the tongue weight and the weight of the hitch add to the GVWR according to the Toyota owner's manual.

"4 to 8 days of towing per year" is a big deal in tow vehicle choice, considering that vehicle durability is an important factor in the way manufacturers rate towing capacities. And, of course, Jan is reporting better gas mileage towing than an Explorer would be expected to get in every day driving.

It's OK for you to love your Explorer, but it doesn't mean that the rest of us have to need one to tow a TrailManor.

[Bill]

You're right - I haven't seen the Siena Owner's Manual. But if I go to Toyota.com and enter "towing" into the search box, and then click the little tiny asterisk in the Siena result, it says

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

If I then go to the Specs section for the Siena, the same warning appears twice more, in these cases as footnotes.

Overloading is a safety issue.

Bill

[Mr. Adventure]

Bill,
Yes, the weight of the vehicle and the trailer all adds into GCWR. But the point is that Toyota allows a full 3500 pounds plus GVWR to arrive at their GCWR vehicle ratings, so that you would have to overload the TV above its rated gross weight before it could cut into the rated trailering capacity (example: Loaded TV curb weight 4500, Gross TV weight rating = 5000#, Gross combined vehicle weight rating = 8500; this scenario allows a 3500 pound trailer with no subtractions for what's going on in the TV). Your lecture in this thread may be right for your Explorer but you have the numbers wrong for the way Toyotas are rated.

People with truck obsessions in this forum are unnecessarily discouraging potential TrailManor owners, despite lots of wonderful, successful years of experience with lighter tow vehicles among many people posting here. Excuse me for disagreeing with you, but you don't need a truck to safely tow a TrailManor!

Personally I'm impressed and enthusiastic with people successfully towing these trailers with minivans and light duty SUV's. Bill is right in general about watching out for options and loads being carried. Also watching the options on the TM such as AC, awning, and extra water that add to the base weight of the TM from the factory. I am a Toyota fan and think they are built great. Usually built better than stated by Toyota. I have also towed a 20' boat with a 1990 Explorer years ago and it was a really good tow vehicle. Later I towed the same boat with a newer Grand Cherokee, also a 4.0l 6cyl, and it didn't tow nearly as well. I amazes me how different each vehicle is.

As far as WDH I have zero experience. I do have a lot of experience in suspension tuning. A front drive mini van will be very nose heavy to begin with. Losing a bit of weight won't kill it. Note that I said a BIT as those front wheels do everything from driving to steering to braking. Putting a spring (WDH) that is mismatched with the vehicle weights is not ideal. It may work but won't be working optimally. You want to use all the capability and stroke that mechanism has to offer. Putting a 1400lb WDH where only a 400lb one is needed is not ideal. It's like putting too stiff of shocks or springs under the vehicle. If you want to get all the travel and ride out of the suspension, you need to get the spring rates just right.