Towing a 320 S with a Toyota Highlander

forgalsus

Hi was wondering if anyone tows a 320S with a highlander (5000 ld tow capacity) and how it does?   I've never towed before and appreciate any tips to get started?  Haven't purchased yet but close

morey000

Well, I own a smaller SUV that has a 4000lb towing capacity, and had no problems yanking a 3500lb RPOD at 65mph up to 8000 ft.  While the Highlander isn't a Ford F250, there are few travel trailers that would be easier to tow than a 320S.  Which is why they're so popular in the first place.  Towing is still towing- and you need to take it seriously, but you'll be well below your vehicle's capabilities.  

MuttonChops

Welcome to the forum & hope you become an owner soon.

Suggest you use the forum search feature; upper right below your username.

You'll find several threads on Highlander related topics.

dragonsdofly

@forgalsus, welcome to the forum. The answer is yes several of the t@b owners here tow with the highlander. Use the search function in the upper right hand of your screen and use key words like tow with highlander and it will pull up numerous threads. For a tip to make sense of what you may see, look for a page number on the bottom right. Sometimes the search will deliver you to the middle of a discussion on the third or fourth page and it might not make immediate sense to you, so start at the first page and read your way through. If you go all the way through, most of your questions will be answered. 
Also, I'm sure a few resident experts will chime in to help. Good luck.

Homebodyatheart

@forgalsus I  have a 2017 Tab320S and tow with a 2015 Highlander. L@dybug is my first ever trailer. I read as much of the Forum  I could while she was on order, and now there's a number of Tab facebook groups, too. NuCamp is an amazing company that builds a quality product and cares about you and your experience with your Tab. Back to your question, I love towing with the Highlander! I barely know that she's behind me. My Tab is my dream, DH comes on some trips but she's really mine, my dream come true. I can handle everything I need to do. If something comes up I can't do there are plenty of folks who can help. With a Tab you don't buy a cookie cutter style aluminum box on wheels, you've joined a family! After two years I've never regretted buying her for a minute. I hope this helps. Good luck with your decision!

Campwise

We are new to towing, have a 2018 320S that we bought this winter, and will be towing with a 2017 V6 Highlander.  In case it's helpful, here are some Highlander related things we've learned, though towing has only been around town for practice. 

1. When we bought the car new in late 2017, we were told a tow package is included on all V6 Highlanders.  the salesman knew nothing about what that included, and we were given no information in writing about it. From online "All Highlander V6 models come standard with a towing package that allows for a maximum towing capacity of up to 5,000 pounds. The package includes a heavy-duty radiator with engine oil cooler, 200-watt fan coupling, supplemental transmission oil cooler and 150-amp alternator." 
   
2. At the Toyota dealership, a service tech told us most manufacturers over rate their towing capacity, especially Toyota.  He advised we not tow over 3500# with the Highlander. I won't be surprised if folks chime in and disagree, but he said it with confidence and we're new to all this so decided to take his advice.  
   
3. The Highlander did not come with a 7-pin connector needed to tow a t@b, or a break controller, required in some states and recommended for safe towing.  Toyota could have installed these, but it's not something they do often and I decided to go with a trailer/RV familiar service center instead. 
   
4. We got quotes for 7-pin and Prodigy P2 break controller installation ranging from $650 firm from a t@b dealership -- "around $475 but we won't know till we get in there" from an out of town service center -- and $450 give or take 10% from a local RV service center - we went with them and they added 10% but said they lost $ because it took 2 guys 4 hours.  We waited and watched from a distance, and it looked like they struggled to get it done.  The lead installer said it's really tough to do on newer Highlanders.  It sounded like he held high standards, and his forehead was beaded with sweat, so I don't doubt it was challenging.  Everything works well so far.     
   

Now we're enjoying doing modifications, getting ready for our first trip in May to the Southwest.

The learning curve is overwhelming at first.  After two months of reading this forum voraciously and getting additional online info, pieces of the trailer-care puzzle are falling into place.  Putting rubber to the road will be the real test.  We're glad to have a well built, easy to tow 320S, and appreciate the generous knowledge shared by t@b owners on the forum. 

Sharon_is_SAM

@forgalsus, I would add, make sure to have a 10 gauge charge wire installed in addition to your 7 pin.  It can make a difference with charging your battery.  

forgalsus

Thank you all for the responses.   Encouraging and helpful especially from Campwise!

Photomom

We tow our T@B with our 2013 V6 4wd Highlander. It tows very well. I don’t believe that the Highlander is overrated at 5000 pounds - that would be a huge legal liability for Toyota if someone towed a 4700 pound trailer and caused an accident because the SUV failed. That said, I don’t believe in pushing things to the limit.

Our Toyota dealer would not install a hitch or brake controller, so we had a local trailer service center (the kind that sells and services horse trailers) do the work. They do our annual state inspections and we will use them for non-RV specific trailer repairs.

I will say that if we replaced our tow vehicle we would probably go with a 4Runner. Those already come with hitches and 7way connectors. The other reason is that Highlanders in my area of the country all come with a 3rd row seat that is ridiculously small yet wastes a lot of space.

You will take a mileage hit. We tow often on the relatively flat NYS Thruway. When we’re not towing we will get 22-24 mpg driving Thruway speeds and when we tow the T@B on the same road we’ll get 15-16 mpg, driving at 60.

I will give you two pieces of advice. The first is to practice hitching and unhitching a few times. Go through the whole process each time until you’re comfortable. We have friends who bought a brand new travel trailer and the first time they went camping it fell off the hitch because they did it wrong. They ended up selling the trailer back to the dealer at a huge loss because they were too afraid to use it. Don’t do that, practice in your own driveway!

The second piece of advice is to make yourself some quick reference cards for T@B tasks and keep them in your tow vehicle. I made up little laminated cards for everything from hitching to dumping tanks to using the Alde to playing DVDs on the television. I wanted both of us to be able to do everything even if we haven’t done it in a while.

Good luck!

forgalsus

Thanks so much John and Henrietta!

Marceline

forgalsus said:

Hi was wondering if anyone tows a 320S with a highlander (5000 ld tow capacity) and how it does?   I've never towed before and appreciate any tips to get started?  Haven't purchased yet but close

I don't have any Highlander-specific advice but here are a few things to keep in mind if you're new to towing.

1) You will have zero visibility through your rear window so get yourself used to relying solely on your side mirrors. You can start practicing this now.

2) Backing up is the single most difficult skill. Take your trailer to an empty parking lot and practice. There are tons of videos on YouTube but this one is pretty good. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4tbGrgfwpZY

3) Make or get a checklist to use every time you hookup and unhook your trailer. Use it religiously so you don't forget anything important.

Here is my list: https://www.icloud.com/numbers/0nqJGbAUcmp_1WLdpJhfaQgQw#T@B_Checklist

4) Whenever you hook up your trailer, drive a short distance and then stop and walk around the trailer to double check that everything looks ok.

Bayliss

@forgalsus , if you do not already have blind spot mirrors on your tow vehicle mirrors, get some.  l have always had them on my vehicles and they have saved my bacon a number of times when I had to make a quick decision to avoid a traffic hazard, inattentive drivers, or to safely change lanes in heavy or fast traffic.  I use the round stick-on type (3" for my half ton Toyota Tundra and 2" for my Subaru Forester.)  Mount them on the lower outside corner of both side  mirrors for maximum field of view and to retain full visibility in the upper portion of your mirrors.  It may take a short time to learn to use them with confidence (including no more having to look over your shoulder, although it doesn't hurt to do that too), but for towing they are a must in my opinion.  Even if you have extended tow mirrors, you still should have blind spot mirrors.  They are a quick and easy way to see what is next to you (i.e., in your blind spot) while driving.  They are also very helpful for backing up.  Having towed all size trailers for over 40 years, I would not be without them.

N7SHG_Ham

Depending on how accustomed you are to using the outside mirrors will directly apply to your ease or frustration at backing a trailer. Even without a trailer you can practice, block your back window and take a spotter and head to an empty parking lot and practice backing into and out of spots.

I am not sure when I backed my first trailer, but I can tell you I was backing semi trailers at 18 years old, that was 42 years ago.

I have noticed over the years that many never use the outside mirrors, that is a good skill to hone trailer or not. It will be an asset even when trailer is not hooked. Always try to know what traffic is on all sides of you and where any vehicles disappeared too if suddenly you don't see them in the mirrors. Leave lots of following distance, avoid quick movements, never forgot there is a trailer, think way ahead if there are exits coming up, if you miss it, there will be another one. Be on your driving game 100% of the time BUT also enjoy the journey.