Hello all

I’m new to this forum and owning a 4runner. My husband was a tundra owner and the car guy in the house. He passed away at 34 in October of colon cancer and left me more than a little lost without him. His mod’ed out tundra was too much for me, and my Subaru couldn’t tow our trailer (renovated 1966 Aladdin 3500lbs).
So I sold both cars and upgraded to a 2021 4Runner trail edition. I love it, but have a lot to learn about it and just cars in general. I’d love to do some of the mods down the road I know my husband would have done but might need help from you guys on how or what to do.
My first question is about the trailer towing. I hitched it the other day to move the trailer and understandably my whole car tilted backward. My dad said I needed airbags to level it out- I thought maybe stiffer suspension. Or maybe I don’t need anything? I definitely don’t want to damage my new car by towing too much. What do you all think? Any help is appreciated!

 

First sorry to hear about your loss.

Second haven't towed with my 4runners. I pretty much baby them. Only got minor scratches from trails runs.

"Then why the hell are you commenting?"
I thought of giving an idea.

Do you know the weight of the trailer when loaded? If not, a place that weigh trucks would help to check the weight of your trailer and 4runner. Make sure you load them as required. Take that slip and talk to a good knowledgeable 4x4 shop. They will tell you what kind of weight distribution or a height drop hitch needed for your requirements. May be you don't have to touch your suspension, its a simple change of tow hitch you need.
If you are carrying more weight they will let you know what kind of spring upgrade or suspension upgrade needed.
I am dumb, so I tell all my requirements to my 4x4 shop called Toytec in Denver CO and they explain me in simple terms what I need. So I suggest whatever advice you get here, talk to a knowledgeable Toyota 4x4 shop before implementing that plan.

 

We took it to a weigh station loaded up for a trip and it was 3500lb. I don’t plan on towing a lot but a handful of camping trips during the summer. Thanks for the tip though I’ll find a 4x4 shop and see what they say. Any recommendations for shops in the Portland Oregon area?

 

Sorry for your loss Tiffany, and welcome to the forum. It sounds like you have your head on straight, continue with your research and you will be fine.

 

Welcome from Wisconsin! Sorry to hear about your husband Tiffany. Fairly new to 4Runners, I do tow with ours but not that much weight. In our case we just tried different drop heights of the hitch until we got it right. I'm guessing 3500# is about all a 4Runner would want, so, I'm thinking your Dad has a good idea. Weight distribution is important also, the amount of tongue weight is important. A trailer can start "whipping" in certain situations if weight is incorrectly distributed. Get it level and you'll be good to go, whether it's airbags or some other means.

 

Sorry for your loss. Welcome, very nice 4Runner.

 

I'm in Eugene and have used 6 Roblees for any towing needs I have. Im pretty sure there is one in Portland. I'm not sure that they do installations, but I think they could probably get you pointed in the right direction for what you need. Welcome to the forum and I'm sorry to hear about your husband. We lost my girlfriend's dad to cancer in August.

 

Welcome to the forum! And, very sorry for your loss!

I would look into Firestone air bags for the sagging due to the trailer. Stiffer springs would help as well, but could result in a harsher ride when not loaded.

 

Welcome and I'm so sorry to hear of losing your husband.
As for towing, I have towed a 3,000 lb. pop up trailer since 1989 with 3 different Jeeps but not with the 4Runner yet. I did tow a car trailer over 600 miles with the Runner that weighed near 5,000 lbs. The 4Runner did OK but it was struggling on hills and the squat in the rear was very pronounced. Your father is correct about the air bags, that would help a lot. At 3,500 lbs. I don't think you'd need a weight distributing hitch but it surely would not hurt and it would make the trailer more stable and at least give you piece of mind. Does the trailer have brakes? In NY any trailer over 3,000 lbs. needs to have brakes, I don't know about where you live but if it does then you'll need to have a brake controller installed. Remember to keep the transmission in S4 to keep it out of over drive and I think you will be fine towing your trailer.
There are a lot of guys here with tons of experience on these vehicles so any advice you might need for anything, you came to the right place. Take care, stay safe.

 

Welcome from Arizona. Very sorry about your husband.

 

welcome and sorry for your loss
the runner is rated at 5000lb, you should be good with the 3500lb trailer, be mindful of the tongue weight that adds to the total payload for the runner (people, gear, tongue weight, they all add up for payload).
I think the manual says 1700lb payload; example or a regular trip: 200-300lb tongue weight, with 300 lb of gear (bikes, tent, ax, food, etc), plus another 400lb for 3 people and a dog, you are still way under the specs.
Just keep your tires properly inflated and learn how to drop in the 4th gear (manually) while on steep hills.
The runner will pull, it will make a lot of noise, it will suck up a lot of gas, but it will get things done reliably.
if it is a few times a year deal, i wouldn't get the air bags personally

 

I can only imagine. So sorry to hear about all that.

Well, the towing capacity for the 4Runner is 5000 lbs, so happily you are well within it's limits. But yes, I am sure that you are getting into the territory of needing to think about the tow weight, so I'm glad you're here. I have hardly any personal experience towing so I'll defer to the experts.

Feel free to ask anything around here, we've all asked the "dumbest" questions before so don't worry at all about that lol.

Beautiful vehicle, great choice! I am sure your late husband would be / is proud.

So, guys, this is our first Trail edition, no? I see it looks like it comes with the TRD skid? That's cool!

OT, OP: I have an internet buddy that just moved from the Bay Area to Portland; he is loving it! I might just have to make it out that way one of these days. It's funny to me because I was admiring your home, thinking to myself (that looks like it could be around here!). Well, they don't call Birmingham, AL "The Portland of the South" for nothin', I guess..

 

So sorry for your loss and welcome from SoCal.

 

So sorry for your loss.

Greetings from Canada.

 

My heart felt condolences on your loss as well. Welcome to T4R ownership and to the community.

 

I like how your 4R matches your house.

 

Sorry for your loss! Tongue weight is very important as mentioned above and a trailer brake controller is a must for your trailer's weight.

https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-1-d&q=percent+of+tounge+weight

I had a horse trailer that had a bad tongue weight for both my Tundra and my F150 Raptor. Not a really fun experience. Towed a friends horse trailer with no problems. Hope this helps and good luck. BTW, nice 'Runner!

 

Ain't no such thing as "dumbest questions" 'round here. LOL! We all be smart (asses). HEH! Please ask no matter how "dumb" you think yer question is. I've done it more than a few times. HAH!

 

I’m sorry for your loss. Welcome to the friendliest forum around... We love to discuss the pedal commanders here...

 

Not to steal this tread, but how 'bout superchargers. HEH! Could help towin'.

How do I PM someone on this forum?

Sorry Tiffany.

 

Welcome!

 

Welcome to 4Runners.com !! 2020 has been hard on everyone, rip to yours and all loved ones who moved on !!

You made a good purchase ! Tundra's are a bit bulky and thirsty ... uggg still miss it though sometimes. What all was done to it ? ...did it fit in the garage ? One thing about the 4Runner is much easier to get around in and park, plus fits nicely in garage !!!