Towing with a Highlander Hybrid

[Ron in BC]

Originally Posted by John in Santa Cruz

you never tow a dry camper. you tow a camper that often has a full water tank (or partially full grey/black tanks), a fridge full of food, and closets full of clothing and bedding.

And that's just for starters.

Ron

[cpaharley2008]

It is always better to allow some room for expansion......!

[Iowa Dave]

Originally Posted by cpaharley2008

It is always better to allow some room for expansion......!

That’s what I always tell myself when I’m buying pants. Seriously, we’ve towed tens of thousands of miles with two Highlanders but they were the 5000 lb rates models. I wouldn’t go below that for any “serious” camper. The 6 cylinder Highlanders have been good to us. I have about 115,000 on the 2018 and figure I’m good for a while yet but doubt I’ll buy another one with the 4 cylinder and turbo. Probably just me. Little 100 mile trips on flat ground you might be ok at the limit or a little over but if you’re serious, there are other good options. I like those Sequoias, who knows?
Iowa Dave

[Mike G]

Most definitely, go with the 5k rated HL. I towed 140k miles with a 2008 HL with the tow prep package (so it had that rating) and, while I really liked the HL and bragged on it at the time, my current tug (2008 Lexus GX470 V8) does so much better I would not be likely to go back to a lesser-powered vehicle.

It's never a good idea to push a drive train to (let alone beyond) its rated limit. Trailers I towed with the HL included a 6' wide cargo trailer, a Li'l Hauley molded fiberglass trailer (an empty Snoozy), a 17' Burro, and a boxy KZ Escape E14B. The latter was about 2700 lb loaded, 7' wide and only about 100" high, and it towed hardest compared to the others simply because of the wind resistance. The boxy shape and sharp edges made the 3.5L V6 labor more than the others, and the transmission temperature light sometimes came on when climbing grades. And I had to keep the speed on more-level terrain down to about 60-62 mph. The more aero-shaped molded trailers were noticeably easier for it to handle and I could go a little faster. (Now with the V8 I could go 75 if I wanted to with my 19' and the drive drain seems to think it's no big deal.)

I'm sure Toyota has very good reasons why they put a lower rating on the hybrid model. If you want to find out later on in the service bay what those reasons were, I say go right ahead and get the hybrid. Otherwise, stick with the non-hybrid model.

[infinity]

Was about to start a thread and then realized this would be a great thread to ask for help.

Our experience with towing our Escape 19 with the 2022 V6 AWD Highlander was been a great so far. It came with the "tow package" which still includes a hitch and 4-pin wire for tow brakes/lights. Wish it would have come from factory with a 6-pin.

We upgraded to the Highlander from a Mercedes Metris Passenger Van. Loved the van but at the peak at used car prices, we decided to upgrade to the Highlander in fear of the high maintenance costs. We had the Tekonsha 90250 Prodigy RF Electronic Brake Control from the Mercedes that I repurposed into the Highlander.

However, I did have to install a Tekonsha 7-pin adapter kit myself.The 7-pin connector was installed utilizing the original mounting holes for the factory 4-pin connector. Found a factory drilled hole which I sanded off the paint and bolted on the ground wire. I ran 2 cables down the drivers side over the axle and hidden under the cover of the undercarriage. I had to drill one self tapping screw to secure the cables by the inner front driver’s side fender. Luckily there’s a grommet there where I was able to feed the cables into the engine bay. I only used one of the cables to a fuse and then the battery. The other cable is for hardwiring to the brake controller; however it isn’t used for my current setup.

This setup worked beautifully without hiccup on our road trip from San Francisco to Glacier National Park in Montana. And then here's the kicker...

Just today, I had to move Nimbus, our Escape 19 for street cleaning in the city and when I tapped the brakes, the wheels locked. I turned the gain down on the brake controller to a little less then the usual setting (0.8 - 1.2) and yet again, the wheels lock up when tapping lightly on the brakes. Since I was only driving around the block with little to no incline/decline, I pulled the brake controller from the cigarette lighter to deactivate the trailer brakes. Surprisingly, the wheels still locked up when lightly tapping the brake pedal. So this is leading me to think that maybe the Highlander has a safety sensor that is causing this? This puzzle has me scratching my head. Would love to hear your input, thank you!

Daniel

[John in Santa Cruz]

um, without knowing exactly how the 7 pin trailer connector is tied to the vehicle and brake controller, its impossible to guess whats happening. I've never used a cigar connector for powering my brake controllers, they've always been tied to the appropriate vehicle circuits under the dash or hood.

[occer]

Just guessing and trying the easiest things first.
Double check the breakaway safety switch is not pulled out on the trailer.

[Mike G]

Originally Posted by occer

Just guessing and trying the easiest things first.
Double check the breakaway safety switch is not pulled out on the trailer.

My guess as well.

[GregColdewey]

Originally Posted by joanwaldron

We don't have our Escape 21C yet, BUT we bought a Ford F150 hybrid in preparation. The hybrid doesn't give the better mileage when towing but we don't plan on towing all the time when we arrive at places. We also have the plug in in case our solar doesn't work/we don't have electricity. City driving we get better than our Nissan pathfinder. We can't speak to towing yet but it has more than enough capacity. So far we love it.

You will love towing with the f-150 powerboost. It's different than the highlander in that the f-150 has the full power gas engine (3.5 ecoboost), but the electric does help on acceleration from dead stops etc. The ability to plug into the truck works extremely well and allows us to boondock as long as we want even if the sun isn't shining on the solar. The only disappointment is towing mpg which for us (21NE) is 10-11.

[Brian B-P]

Originally Posted by occer

Double check the breakaway safety switch is not pulled out on the trailer.

If the breakaway switch is pulled out the trailer's brakes will be on all of the time, not just when the tow vehicle's brake pedal is touched.

[Brian B-P]

Originally Posted by infinity

Just today, I had to move Nimbus, our Escape 19 for street cleaning in the city and when I tapped the brakes, the wheels locked. I turned the gain down on the brake controller to a little less then the usual setting (0.8 - 1.2) and yet again, the wheels lock up when tapping lightly on the brakes. Since I was only driving around the block with little to no incline/decline, I pulled the brake controller from the cigarette lighter to deactivate the trailer brakes. Surprisingly, the wheels still locked up when lightly tapping the brake pedal. So this is leading me to think that maybe the Highlander has a safety sensor that is causing this?

If the trailer brakes go full on when the tow vehicle brakes, even without the controller powered, the brake light circuit must be connected to the trailer brake connection of the 7-pin wiring. That improper connection could be anywhere from in the controller to somewhere in the trailer, or anywhere in the wiring between them.

The Highlander has no connection to the trailer brake connection (other than what you may have created in added wiring), so this is not a feature of the Highlander.