Anyone towing a 19 with a 5th gen. 4Runner? - Escape Trailer Owners Community
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Old 10-02-2018, 01:32 PM   #1
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Anyone towing a 19 with a 5th gen. 4Runner?

My wife and I are looking at purchasing an Escape 19 as we've gotten older and our trips have gotten longer. We presently own a Casita 17, which we're pulling with a 2014 4Runner. Nice and level without a WD hitch, but we do have the Curt anti-sway. The 4Runner has done a great job climbing summits in the Rockies and Sierra- it's very comfortable and we'd like to continue using it with the Escape.


My concern is that Toyota doesn't recommend the use of a WD hitch on the 5th generation 4Runner. I believe this is because the hitch is actually mounted to a (very beefy) sub-frame rather than the frame itself.



There must be some of you out there using the 4Runner to tow the longer Escapes? Did you forgo the use of a WD hitch, or does it tow okay without it?
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Old 01-01-2019, 04:51 PM   #2
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I'm in much the same situation. I have a 5th gen 4Runner and am considering a 19' Escape.
I've heard it's doable if you swap out the hitch and beef up the suspension a bit. Hoping someone with actual experience could chime in.
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Old 01-01-2019, 05:14 PM   #3
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Quote:
Originally Posted by tubabrew View Post

My concern is that Toyota doesn't recommend the use of a WD hitch on the 5th generation 4Runner.
Our Honda Pilot too did not recommend a WDH, though did not disallow it. We used one with no issue, as have many others.
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Old 01-01-2019, 05:51 PM   #4
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https://www.etrailer.com/question-241876.html


From e-Trailer

Ran into this issue when shopping for a tow vehicle last year.
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Old 01-01-2019, 05:56 PM   #5
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Originally Posted by EdColorado View Post

And note that I've been using a WDH on my 2008 RAV4 Sport for ten years now.
I asked the Toyota service manager to check the condition of the hitch receiver when I had it in for service recently. Condition was excellent.
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Old 01-01-2019, 08:02 PM   #6
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Regarding the above issue with Unibody, it doesn't apply to 4Runners, since they are body on frame.

I've towed my 2010 '19 with a 2007 4runner (4th generation) and now have a 2015 4Runner (5th gen).

The manual for the 2007 says to definitely not use a WDH, but I can't find any yes or no answer for the 5th gen.

At first I used a basic hitch ball and sway bar on both 4runners. It towed ok, no sway, but the ride was pretty bumpy (porpoising). The rear of both 4Runners did squat quite a bit, so I went with a Fastway Equalizer with 4pt sway control on the 2015 and I love it.


Much smoother and pretty easy to hook-up once you get the hang of it. Note, the Fastway Equalizer is not the same Equalizer WDH offered by Escape. I would probably get the Fastway E2 from Escape if I was buying a new trailer, which is similar to the Fastway Equalizer.

The only modifications I made to the 4Runner were to add a transmission cooler and get a cheap OBD2 scanner to read the transmission temp on my cell phone.
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Old 01-01-2019, 09:08 PM   #7
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Originally Posted by goalie39 View Post
Regarding the above issue with Unibody, it doesn't apply to 4Runners, since they are body on frame.
You’re right, of course. I should have clarified that the issue was simply a part of my research.

The Jeep Grand Cherokee Trailhawk I wound up buying is of the unibody design but the owners manual specifically says that a WDH is recommended if your trailer weighs over 5,000#.

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Old 01-02-2019, 11:50 PM   #8
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There are a handful of threads around here pertaining to towing with a 4Runner, among them:

Tow 19' with v6 4Runner?

2013 Toyota 4Runner Towing 21'

Towing With Toyota 4Runner

I have towed my 2015 19' Escape over 10,500 miles throughout WA, OR, and CA, including a lot of passes in the WA and OR mountains, and don't really have anything much to add to my post at

http://www.escapeforum.org/forums/f1...tml#post237388

I continue to have no issues with sway or weight distribution while using no anti-sway device or WDH, but keep in mind that the 2nd Gen 19' Escape is heavier than my 1st Gen.

Key advice: Get an auxiliary transmission cooler - keep the revs up and the tranny temps down!
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Old 01-03-2019, 05:12 AM   #9
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Originally Posted by goalie39 View Post

The only modifications I made to the 4Runner were to add a transmission cooler and get a cheap OBD2 scanner to read the transmission temp on my cell phone.
If you are using TorquePro app you might be interested in this thread which shows how to get trans temp info from second temp sensor that is already installed in your vehicle.

https://www.toyota-4runner.org/4th-g...nny-temp.html?

One sensor shows temp before the cooler, the second is located after the cooler. I did it and it works fine. You can really see what the torque converter does to trans temp.

Edit: link didn't go exactly where I wanted. Within the link you can page back to Post #1 and find this:

First, you have to have a bluetooth OBD reader, like the one I got from Amazon for $15. I bought one that had a lot of positive reviews, and it was labeled "ELM327". Here is the link:

Amazon.com: iSaddle Super Mini ELM327 V1.5 OBD2 OBD-II Bluetooth CAN-BUS Auto Diagnostic Tool for Windows XP, Vista, Win7, OSX and Android (Blue Color): Automotive

You will also need to purchase the paid version of Torque, which is $5.

Once you have it on your phone/tablet, make sure you download the free "Torquescan" app. It is an addon, so it will not appear as a separate app. Once it downloads, it is made a part of the Torque app and will appear as an option in Torque.*

Once in Torque for the first time, setup your vehicle profile, which will enable you to start using the app.*

From the main screen, hit your menu button, then choose "Manage extra PIDs/Sensors"

Hit the menu button again, and choose "Add custom PID"

Hit "OK"

Under the first item called "OBD2 Mode and PID" enter "21d9"

Under "long name" choose whatever you want. I typed in "Trans Custom"

Under "short name" choose whatever you want. I typed in "Trans"

Under "minimum value" leave it at "0" or type in "0"

Under "maximum value" type in "300"

Under "scale factor" leave it as "x1" or type in "x1"

Under "unit type" type in "F"*

Here's the tricky part - under "equation" type this in, EXACTLY, without any spaces:

(((((G*256)+H)*(7/100))-400)/10)

That's *five* parentheses at the beginning! Just be sure that there are six total parentheses facing to the right, and six total to the left.

Leave the rest blank and hit "OK"

Now when you want to add a gauge to the display, you should see "Trans custom" or "Trans" or whatever you named it at the beginning. The darn thing works!!!!!

Post #22 gives formula for Celsius.
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Old 01-07-2019, 01:20 PM   #10
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I've been wondering if I can tow a 21' with my 2012 4runner - thanks for the links
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Old 01-07-2019, 02:00 PM   #11
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Welcome Dave, to our Escape world.....
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