Has anyone taken their Highlander Hybrid on a long vacation?
I am wondering how the Highlander handles under a heavy load -- i.e. luggage, kids, dog, camping gear, roof cargo carrier, bicycles, etc.
Do the heavy loads cause strain on the rear suspension and sagging?
Does the engine strain under the heavy loads?

I am newbie here, and we've just replaced our faithful, aging Toyota 4Runner. The 4Runner took the heavy loads, but sagged tremendously and bottomed out (what a scary sound! ) on moderate bumps in the road when we loaded it with all our gear.

Thanks for your inputs!!

I put about 1000 pounds of lumber (Enought to build 50 feet of privacy fence) in the back of my HiHy a few weeks ago with minimal sag and no bottom dragging. The car handeled the same and even got most of the way home in battery mode (warm streak in Michigan with temps in the 50's). I think you will be fine!

Tim

'06 HiHy
Michigan

Over the holidays, I took our HiHy on a 1500 mile trip with the family (wife and 2 kids). We didn't have anything loaded on the outside of the vehicle, but we were pretty well packed on the inside. No visible sag, definitely no bottoming out. And in terms of power, if anything the HiHy has too much of it. There were a couple of times that even at highway speed I felt it zoom out from under me. Overall, one of best travelling experiences i've had, particularly because of how infrequently we had to stop for gas. Fear not, the HiHy will take what you throw at it.


-HiHybrid

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Bluestone '06 HH AWD Ltd. w/nav

We put 1850 miles on our hihy back in july. It was a joy to drive and it got the best milage that it has ever gotten. We got rid of our 04 durango after pulling a 6x12 trailer to lasvegas and back from minnesota.I was so unhappy with that pile i got rid of it 1 day after the trip.(feul milage for the 1700 mi trip each way was 8.9mpg) I hooked the same trailer up to the highlander and drove about the same speed and averaged 16.4 mpg on a 30 mile test.Other wise I've had 30.4 to 19.8 mpgs. Winter driveing is not a fair test.I use a lot of gas letting it warm up and i dont thing that should count when fiqureing your milage.

Joe:

Tell me more about the trailer you towed. How much does it weigh dry/wet. I love my HiHy and am thinking of getting a small (less than 2000 lbs) Scamp travel trailer (www.scamptrailers.com). You are the first person I have seen who has towed anything and would love to hear more! Did you need to add more than the hitch and wiring? (ie tranmission cooling).

Kace

THE TOWING INFO: TRAILER WEIGHED ABOUT 1700 LBS plus ABOUT 500 LBS OF CARGO.EVERYTHING WAS EASY FOR THE HIHY. THE ONLY BAD PART IS THAT AT 70 miles per hour THE MILAGE WENT WAY DOWN TO 16 ISH BECAUSE THE TRAILER WAS SO TALL AND THE WIND DRAG WOULD KILL MILAGE ,BUT THE WEIGHT WAS NOT A PROBLEM. MY TRAILER WAS 7'+ TALL ,flat front & 6'WIDE...JOE

I dont think the tranny needs a cooler .because there is no tranny!!!

Joe540ci,

When you towed that trailer, did it cause any "squatting" of the rear suspension on the HiHy? If so, how much?

Thanks,
Firerodan

no squating,I cant help much because the tung weight was only about 200lbs

In the summer, I tow a 3300lb boat/trailer rig, plus have the vehicle loaded with family and luggage. I know the tongue weight is 300 lbs. Fully loaded like this, the vehicle is about 1.75 inches lower in the back than when unloaded. I've never bottomed out.