Well, the answer to my question is they will tow 3500 lbs and it appears that the hitch will be rated for 350 lbs tongue weight. Thus I am done. I need 450 lbs tongue weight for my 3450 lb trailer. I use a big weight equalizing hitch and sway bar setup on a Coleman Niagara so I need more then the Hybrid can provide.

I guess I am sad to say that the 07 Hybrid will be all we buy for a while in the hybrid approach.

So anyone know when the 08 4Runner's come out? Rumor has it that they are delayed a while so the 07's are the best we can do. Yeeash, 16 MPG city on a V8. What a let down for the 27 for the 08 Highlander.

(To avoid the suggestions, my truck has to be the tow vehicle. I am not going to buy 3 cars or rent a truck just to move the trailer around. I guess I will just enjoy the wife's 07 HHy.)

 

2008 Highlander will have the same towing as the previous models. Here in Hoover, Alabama where I am at Hoover Toyota already has 2008 Toyota Highlander V6's on the showroom for sale now. They can tow 5,000 pounds, but the Hybrid wont be able to.

 

Yeah that is the information I have also. My problem is the tongue weight not so much the towing weight. My 07 hhy has the factory recommended hitch and it is rated about 350 lbs. I need more like 450 lbs for my weight equalizing hitch.

I will have to go and pull the trailer out and measure the tongue weight loaded before I give up on the 2008 hhy, but I don't think it is looking good. The next thing to do is search the web for hitches for the hhy and see if I can find one that can take more tongue weight.

I thought about a gas highlander which is rated 5000 lbs, but I bet they put the same hitch on it, so it will be interesting to call the dealer tomorrow and get the details.

 

Regarding the tongue weight spec: Is the limiting factor the amount of weight that the hitch can withstand; or is the limiting factor the amount of weight pushing down on the rear of the Highlander, which potentially reduces front wheel traction and may throw off the SUV's handling?

Patrick Wong

 

It's the vehicle not the hitch.

 

That is why I use a weight distributing hitch that allows me to force the front end down and effectively level up the vehicle. This is the root of the problem. I like to put about 450 to 500 lbs give or take on the hitch and force my chevy level as it is a class 5 hitch rated for 750 lbs tongue and 7000 lbs towing.

With only 300 lbs on the tongue and a class 2 hitch, then I cannot use my weight distributing unit and I am stuck.

 

nomorebenz,

If it is the vehicle, why do you think that the gas highlander is rated 5000 and the hybrid 3500?

I would guess that it is the heating issue of motors and not the unibody. My experience with towing with a conventional vehicle is its the brakes and tranny that limit the towing more then the body/frame.

Your thoughts???

 

Toyo upped the Gross Vehicle Weight Rating to 6000lbs. The GVWR is the maximum that the fully loaded car plus the trailer tongue can weigh. The 320lb difference between the Hybrid 4x4 and the ICE 4x4 is a determining factor between max tongue weights.
In the case of the Highlander, my biggest concern would be re: exceeding the rear axle maximum.
After all that, I still *think* you could tow your trailer with a properly setup system. The most I've towed is 2500 and that was on a different vehicle. Get the tongue weight down with the WD and install a brake controller...who knows.

Check out this thread from edmunds http://townhall-talk.edmunds.com/WebX?14@@.f0daea6/1

 

If you have a regular SUV, a brake controller might be useful. I don't think the brake controller will work well with a Toyota hybrid such as HiHy, as its braking system is partially regenerative and partially friction brakes.

If you routinely must pull a very large towing load, wouldn't a traditional American 4x4 SUV (Chevy Tahoe or Ford Expedition, for example) do a better job for you?

Patrick Wong

 

A brake controller controls the trailer brakes when you apply the car brakes. What the HiHy does in regards to switching between regen & friction is independent of the trailer stopping.
The main purpose of the brake controller is to reduce the extra load on the HiHy's brakes.