Tow Vehicle Question

[kennull]

Thanks John, I sometimes wish I had more umph pulling the 17' Casita with the 4Runner. I'll compare my 4Runner with your Acura to see how they compare.

Thanks,
Ken

[thoer]

Ken I am really happy with the new model I bought from ETI, the E2 model. It is very easy for us to hookup and seems to work excellently for us. Even the basic Pro Series we had on the 17B seemed to us to be easy to hookup and worked well for us. There are other models that may be just as good or better according to other folks. One thing never lacking here is opinions!

[richardr]

We have a 2014 Casita 17FD that we pulled with a 2014 2 wheel drive 4Runner. I thought they were the perfect pair. We ordered an Escape 21. I wanted to try pulling it with our 4Runner, but because we carry a Honda 2000i above the propane tanks I was concerned the Escape 21 hitch would exceed the 500 lb limit of the 4Runner receiver. So.. we decided to purchase a Tundra. So far we have only pulled the Casita with the Tundra (we pick up the Escape mid August). There is a world of difference between the Tundra and 4Runner. We could always feel the Casita behind the 4Runner, but when driving the Tundra we could forget the Casita was there. Of course we are taking a gas mileage hit of about 3 miles per gallon.

[Bill_75]

Originally Posted by thoer

LeonW, IowaDave and I all tow 21's with Highlanders with 5000' tow capacity and have had very good experiences.Leon has the most miles of us 3 with this tow/trailer combination.

Make that 4 of us.....Sometimes I wish it got off the line a little quicker and didn't require so many rpm's to climb our mini-mountains here, but for a dual-purpose car, around town and towing, it works for us.

[Losangeles]

Originally Posted by Bill_75

Make that 4 of us.....Sometimes I wish it got off the line a little quicker and didn't require so many rpm's to climb our mini-mountains here, but for a dual-purpose car, around town and towing, it works for us.

Interesting.

I just checked and the horsepower and torque of the 2017 Highlander vs our 2011 Acura MDX, and they are both almost identical.

I do wish our MDX had a little more grunt.

Saving now for an Audi Q7.

[thoer]

Originally Posted by Losangeles

Interesting.

I just checked and the horsepower and torque of the 2017 Highlander vs our 2011 Acura MDX, and they are both almost identical.

I do wish our MDX had a little more grunt.

Saving now for an Audi Q7.

Some models of the 2017 Highlander also now have an 11,000# GCWR along with the 8 speed transmission, and some new standard safety features that have me contemplating a much earlier than planned trade in...

[Grandma Carol]

Although I do not yet have my Escape, I am pondering my 2011 Runner as my TV. I am thinking that I will get the trailer, probably in April, and run with it for awhile, and then possibly step it up. I have 4WD and the factory hitch and tow package. I know that the Runners are notorious for saggy back ends. Have you been adding air bags and/or changing hitches?

Thanks,
Carol

[richardr]

Originally Posted by Grandma Carol

Although I do not yet have my Escape, I am pondering my 2011 Runner as my TV. I am thinking that I will get the trailer, probably in April, and run with it for awhile, and then possibly step it up. I have 4WD and the factory hitch and tow package. I know that the Runners are notorious for saggy back ends. Have you been adding air bags and/or changing hitches?

Thanks,
Carol

I used the Tembren suspension system when we towed our Casita 17FD with a 2014 4Runner. They worked well with removing the sag, but they made the rear end a little stiffer when the 4Runner was not towing the trailer.

I removed the Tembren system when I sold the 4Runner and have them for sale for $100.

[Grandma Carol]

Thank you. I will get back with you.