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Old 12-29-2017, 05:24 PM   #1
WDW
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Towing a new gen 19 with a Toyota FJ

We have a low mileage Toyota FJ that we found at a local Lexus dealer. With its short wheel base it can be pretty quick to change lanes. But when I connect our 17 foot Casita Independence it tracks straight down the highway with little correction needed. We are interested in moving up to the new generation Escape 19. Does anyone have input on how the FJ will handle the extra weight? The FJ is rated at 4600K for towing and the Casita weighs about 3400K when loaded.
I understand the 19 Escape may start at 3400K before it is loaded.
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Old 12-29-2017, 06:02 PM   #2
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I towed my 2012 Escape 19 with a 2012 FJC. There was some squat in the rear so you may need a w/d set up, otherwise it handles the trailer fine.
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Old 12-29-2017, 06:08 PM   #3
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Thank you.
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Old 12-29-2017, 06:47 PM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by WDW View Post
We have a low mileage Toyota FJ that we found at a local Lexus dealer. With its short wheel base it can be pretty quick to change lanes. But when I connect our 17 foot Casita Independence it tracks straight down the highway with little correction needed. We are interested in moving up to the new generation Escape 19. Does anyone have input on how the FJ will handle the extra weight? The FJ is rated at 4600K for towing and the Casita weighs about 3400K when loaded.
I understand the 19 Escape may start at 3400K before it is loaded.
The new 19' is an expected 4200-4300 lbs. loaded but no telling what you will be. You need to also look at the GCWR.
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Old 12-29-2017, 07:12 PM   #5
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Next available delivery date for a 19 is July 20th...not that bad...others have waited longer.
Good luck on your decision...
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Old 12-29-2017, 07:42 PM   #6
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Originally Posted by float5 View Post
The new 19' is an expected 4200-4300 lbs. loaded but no telling what you will be. You need to also look at the GCWR.
Aren’t the new ones considered 5000lbs loaded?
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Old 12-29-2017, 10:26 PM   #7
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I believe the FJ (at least our old 2007 FJ was) tows 5000lb.. and tongue weight limit is 500lb it should be enough.. that was our intended setup but we didn't get to try that out...

our 19' has 400-425lb tongue and trailer is 3550lb, slightly less than 4000lb. we have the extra insulation and spray foam which I believe is the heavier options?
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Old 12-30-2017, 06:00 PM   #8
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I tow a 19 just fine with a 6 cylinder Venza. No problems starting or stopping. (At least in a trial run from Alaska.) I do try to be conservative in adding weight to the Escape and TV.
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Old 12-30-2017, 06:34 PM   #9
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I have towed our 2013 19' for past 5 yrs with my 2011 FJ. Has been a suitable tow vehicle but I do use a WD hitch. The new generation 19' will be a bit heavier than mine, but should still be doable with your FJ if you don't overpack.
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Old 12-30-2017, 06:41 PM   #10
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Originally Posted by Bakes99 View Post
Aren’t the new ones considered 5000lbs loaded?
I believe that you are referring to the 5000 lbs. allowed weight specified by Escape on these newer 19's (whereas ours was only 4000, I believe, for our Classic). What yours actually weighs is hopefully hundreds of pounds less than allowed by Escape.

Not certain if you are asking about the GCWR but, again, you are looking at what you have loaded in the trailer and in the vehicle and comparing that total for both to the GCWR that is specified by your vehicle manufacturer. The GCWR is the vehicle manufacturer's allowed weight of both trailer and vehicle. The only way that you can know your weights is to go to a scale, but you can get a good idea beforehand what it will be and that you can meet the numbers.

The towing capacity for any vehicle can be very misleading. In order to know the actual towing capacity, one should look at the GCWR also. Your towing capacity may not be what you think if you only go by what a dealer or the manufacturer says. But they should also provide a GCWR number.
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Old 12-30-2017, 06:45 PM   #11
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Originally Posted by Moaboy View Post
I tow a 19 just fine with a 6 cylinder Venza. No problems starting or stopping. (At least in a trial run from Alaska.) I do try to be conservative in adding weight to the Escape and TV.
Did you know the Venza towing max is 3500 lbs.? I wanted to tow a 19 (Gen1) with a Murano and ETI said no. Plenty of HP, however it too is 3500 lbs. Know someone towing a Gen1 19 with a Lexus RX350 Hybrid which is 3500 lbs. max. It seems people ultimately do what they want I suppose.
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Old 12-30-2017, 10:13 PM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by float5 View Post
I believe that you are referring to the 5000 lbs. allowed weight specified by Escape on these newer 19's (whereas ours was only 4000, I believe, for our Classic). What yours actually weighs is hopefully hundreds of pounds less than allowed by Escape.

Not certain if you are asking about the GCWR but, again, you are looking at what you have loaded in the trailer and in the vehicle and comparing that total for both to the GCWR that is specified by your vehicle manufacturer. The GCWR is the vehicle manufacturer's allowed weight of both trailer and vehicle. The only way that you can know your weights is to go to a scale, but you can get a good idea beforehand what it will be and that you can meet the numbers.

The towing capacity for any vehicle can be very misleading. In order to know the actual towing capacity, one should look at the GCWR also. Your towing capacity may not be what you think if you only go by what a dealer or the manufacturer says. But they should also provide a GCWR number.
what I was thinking is that the GVWR for the new Escape 19 is 5000lbs. Think I was thrown off when it was posted, "expected 4200-4300 lbs loaded."

My brain took me to the new 19's total weight should not exceed 5000lbs loaded as stated by the GVWR.

I don't have a huge knowledge in this area, so I could be way off here, but if your specific vehicle gives a max tow capacity of 5000lbs, should you not exceed that despite what the GCWR is?

Read this post as someone genuinely wanting to learn.
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Old 12-30-2017, 11:13 PM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Bakes99 View Post
what I was thinking is that the GVWR for the new Escape 19 is 5000lbs. Think I was thrown off when it was posted, "expected 4200-4300 lbs loaded."

My brain took me to the new 19's total weight should not exceed 5000lbs loaded as stated by the GVWR.

I don't have a huge knowledge in this area, so I could be way off here, but if your specific vehicle gives a max tow capacity of 5000lbs, should you not exceed that despite what the GCWR is?

Read this post as someone genuinely wanting to learn.
No, you should not ever exceed the GVWR or the GCWR. So, yes, that is correct that you need to stay within the 5000 for the trailer. And then also see that you will be within the GCWR. There are vehicles where, if you had about 5000 lbs. in the trailer and you had close to the GVWR allowed for the tow vehicle, you would exceed the GCWR for the vehicle. That is why many of us try to tell people not to simply go by the towing capacity. The towing capacity number given is often unreliable, which you find when you look at the GCWR.

We have people looking at towing where they will be close to the limits and can decide for themselves if their loaded weight will be acceptable. They need to see that they meet the GCWR though and not only the GVWRs.
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Old 12-30-2017, 11:40 PM   #14
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Quote:
Originally Posted by float5 View Post
I believe that you are referring to the 5000 lbs. allowed weight specified by Escape on these newer 19's (whereas ours was only 4000, I believe, for our Classic). What yours actually weighs is hopefully hundreds of pounds less than allowed by Escape.

Not certain if you are asking about the GCWR but, again, you are looking at what you have loaded in the trailer and in the vehicle and comparing that total for both to the GCWR that is specified by your vehicle manufacturer. The GCWR is the vehicle manufacturer's allowed weight of both trailer and vehicle. The only way that you can know your weights is to go to a scale, but you can get a good idea beforehand what it will be and that you can meet the numbers.

The towing capacity for any vehicle can be very misleading. In order to know the actual towing capacity, one should look at the GCWR also. Your towing capacity may not be what you think if you only go by what a dealer or the manufacturer says. But they should also provide a GCWR number.
Quote:
Originally Posted by float5 View Post
No, you should not ever exceed the GVWR or the GCWR. So, yes, that is correct that you need to stay within the 5000 for the trailer. And then also see that you will be within the GCWR. There are vehicles where, if you had about 5000 lbs. in the trailer and you had close to the GVWR allowed for the tow vehicle, you would exceed the GCWR for the vehicle. That is why many of us try to tell people not to simply go by the towing capacity. The towing capacity number given is often unreliable, which you find when you look at the GCWR.

We have people looking at towing where they will be close to the limits and can decide for themselves if their loaded weight will be acceptable. They need to see that they meet the GCWR though and not only the GVWRs.
I believe we are more on the same page than initially thought.

Still waiting for the day when I see a dodge scrambler towing an escape 5th.
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Old 12-31-2017, 01:23 PM   #15
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My 2013 FJ GCWR

Just wanted to give you some numbers that I crunched and ultimately swayed us to purchase a different truck. When we purchased our 2016 21' Escape, I owned a 2013 FJ Cruiser Trail Teams Edition.
GCWR= 9490#
FJ + 2 Pass.= 4746#
FJ GVWR= 5566#
Max. Cargo + Tongue WT = 820# (Not a lot of room left here)

That left me with 4744# left of overall GCWR capacity. (Trailer+FJ/Cargo)
Our 21' came from the factory at 3166# dry but I have weighed it several times with full water tank or full grey/blk tanks and numbers between 4000 and 4300# are normal. Trying to keep tongue weight at 10% minimum left me with little cargo capacity in the FJ and always right at the maximum of it's limits. Personally I like to have some wiggle room on my towing limits and didn't want to be uneasy or second guessing my trailer loading or FJ limits.
I loved the FJ and it's 4 wheel capability. Second to none in my opinion. It towed the 21' dry no problem and we did go out on a few outings to test it. WD Hitch w/sway control also.
I was always in 4th gear while towing (Automatic) and had to drop to 3rd on any kind of hill. Not good on fuel and small tank so range was poor. These were the two main Cons for me.
Sadly it was traded in on a 2016 F150 Supercrew with 2.7L Ecoboost. Fully setup for towing with 3.55 rear end. 7100# towing/710# hitch capacity so I am well below that loaded up for our extended trips.
It is a dream towing with the Ford and I no longer fret about what we have in the truck and trailer. To make a long story short, as much as I was sad to let the FJ go, it was the best route for us to go to enjoy our Escape trailer and travel safely as far as the tow vehicle was concerned.
Some food for thought from a previous FJ owner...
Cheers,
Ken
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Old 12-31-2017, 01:27 PM   #16
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I agree, with a 21 Escape that the FJC is marginal, still adequate but marginal, whereas with the 19 there more wiggle room. It had plenty of power towing and stopping, just the rear squat issue. They do hold their value, I got almost 85% in 2015 on trade in. By then I had the Ram truck which I used for towing.
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Old 04-13-2018, 04:44 PM   #17
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Hi Dave, I bought an after market transmission cooler for my 07 FJ as extra protection when towing my 19. However, my mechanic who is a huge Toyota fan, doesn't think it's a good idea to add this to the FJ. Says it's over-kill and he thinks it just one more potential thing to go wrong. Plus he's not a big fan of non-OEM parts. Since you tow with a FJ, did you add a transmission cooler to your FJ or were you good without one? Your thoughts? JIm
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Old 04-13-2018, 05:20 PM   #18
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Good explanation

Quote:
Originally Posted by kendo View Post
Just wanted to give you some numbers that I crunched and ultimately swayed us to purchase a different truck. When we purchased our 2016 21' Escape, I owned a 2013 FJ Cruiser Trail Teams Edition.
GCWR= 9490#
FJ + 2 Pass.= 4746#
FJ GVWR= 5566#
Max. Cargo + Tongue WT = 820# (Not a lot of room left here)

That left me with 4744# left of overall GCWR capacity. (Trailer+FJ/Cargo)
Our 21' came from the factory at 3166# dry but I have weighed it several times with full water tank or full grey/blk tanks and numbers between 4000 and 4300# are normal. Trying to keep tongue weight at 10% minimum left me with little cargo capacity in the FJ and always right at the maximum of it's limits. Personally I like to have some wiggle room on my towing limits and didn't want to be uneasy or second guessing my trailer loading or FJ limits.
I loved the FJ and it's 4 wheel capability. Second to none in my opinion. It towed the 21' dry no problem and we did go out on a few outings to test it. WD Hitch w/sway control also.
I was always in 4th gear while towing (Automatic) and had to drop to 3rd on any kind of hill. Not good on fuel and small tank so range was poor. These were the two main Cons for me.
Sadly it was traded in on a 2016 F150 Supercrew with 2.7L Ecoboost. Fully setup for towing with 3.55 rear end. 7100# towing/710# hitch capacity so I am well below that loaded up for our extended trips.
It is a dream towing with the Ford and I no longer fret about what we have in the truck and trailer. To make a long story short, as much as I was sad to let the FJ go, it was the best route for us to go to enjoy our Escape trailer and travel safely as far as the tow vehicle was concerned.
Some food for thought from a previous FJ owner...
Cheers,
Ken
Textbook explanation, very well written.. Tank levels going out or coming back are indeed a critical factor as are loading patterns and conscientious inventories.
Iowa Dave
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Old 04-13-2018, 10:49 PM   #19
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Your absolutely correct in your assesment of the FJ. We just came back from a 1200 mile trip from Houston to Davis Mountains in far west Texas. From Houston to our campsite we climbed from 50 feet above sea level to a camp site at 6700 feet. We used our little 17 foot Casita because of the distance and altitude and camp sites. The little FJ huffed and puffed the long grades and could not pass a gas station. That said I have the hardest time parting with what has proven to be the most impartial car we have ever owned. Every time we drove in to a state camp ground the Ranger would look out the window and say that is exactly the truck I have always wanted. A ford truck is really the only practical vehicle for pulling trailers and I am sure one is in our future. But I plan to park the FJ because surprising its resale value is like an Escape, it just keeps going up.
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Old 04-14-2018, 08:25 AM   #20
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So sayeth the fix or repair daily / found on roadside dead section
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