chrisp

My 2005 4Runner has a decent sag in the rear with my 4400 lb car/trailer and 250 lbs of support stuff in the back of the truck. I'm planning on moving my spare tires out of the 4Runner and onto the trailer on a tire rack which will leave only 50-75 lbs in the back of the truck. I found a used weight dist hitch that's very inexpensive and am wondering if it will reduce the sag. My owners manual says I don't need a weight dist hitch under 5,000 lbs. My tongue weight is pretty spot on and when I get the tire rack installed I'll move the car back to adjust for the added the tongue weight.

Am I barking up the wrong tree by adding a weight dist hitch to a 4600 lb trailer set-up?

RedlineMan

No;

You can effectively cut most tow ratings offered by manufacturers by at least 1/3 for the garden variety SUV or pickup. They may drag that much weight, but they won't do it well, or for long, or safely. Nothing personal, but a 4Runner is not much of a tow vehicle.

Short of getting a real tow vehicle, a weight distributing hitch would be a very good addition to your current setup. 4Runners have traditionally been squat-assed to start with, and towing won't help a bit. A distributing hitch will take some of the load off the rear suspension and transfer it into the frame instead. Additionally, most light trucks cannot handle enough tongue weight to make the load ride stable. A WD hitch will tend to eliminate tongue weight difficulties quite effectively. Anything short of a 3/4 ton truck probably needs one, in reality.

In your shoes, I wouldn't tow without one!

chrisp

Thanks for the advice on the wd hitch. I appreciate it.

No comment on your tow vehicle beliefs except that I knew it wouldn't be long before someone would take the opportunity to step up on the soap box.

Crazy Canuck

i'd disagree with the above statement about cutting the tow rating by 1/3. PROPERLY SET UP you will have no problem. A WD system w/ or w/o sway control (dual cam is especiall nice) will help out immensely to even out the load distribution.

kurt M

I towed an enclosed rig for years with a 3.3L pickup using a distrubutive hitch and had 0.0 problems. pulled, stopped and handled just fine. Trans did not cook nor did brakes. Was right at manu max weight.
Set it up so the trailer weight sets the front and rear of the car down even and the rig will stop flat and without wagging. Use it if you have it.

Antonio

If tongue and hitch are more or less at the same height and the load is distributed correctly, there should not be any significant sag in the rear of your Pathfinder. I suspect that your hitch sits a lot higher than the tongue of the trailer. Unless this is corrected, the weight distributing hitch will not fix our proble.

Based on my personal experience, you do not need a 3/4 ton track for this type of load. If anything, US auto manufacturer are conservative on tow ratings. I tow about 5,000 lbs behind a BMW X5 (rated at 6,000 lbs) without a weight distributing hitch and no issues. In fact, BMW specifically warns against the use of it.

cstreit

I towed for years with my 4-runner. That said a WD hitch would have been a good idea... Too much weight on the rear wheels. A WD hitch would have leveled the load out a bit and made the steering a little less "vague". I use one now on my 24' trailer with a sway bar and love it! (not towing THAT with the 4-runner)

Tom W

I towed for a couple years using an ML430 and an open trailer that weighed about 5000 lbs. Since that was the limit for the ML I used a basic load distributing hitch and it helped significantly.

Since then I've moved to a bigger trailer (24' TPD) and use a 3/4 ton truck with a turbo diesel (Chevy Duramax) to haul with. It works well but I recently decided to add a load distributing hitch with sway control for extra insurance and it tows even better. I just dragged the 8000 lbs of trailer, car and crap up over the Sierra's to race at Reno-Fernley and it went up and over at 65 mph like a dream.

RedlineMan

When you've towed with as many different vehicles as I have, and when you've seen what I've seen over the years - i.e. WRECKED tow vehicles - it would all make sense to you.

Bull

When looking at numbers related to tow vehicles and their max abilities, pay attention to the Gross Vehicle Weight Rating, which importantly includes what you can tow combined with what can be carried in/on the vehicle. If you look at their fine print, you will find that most manufacturers use an assumed vehicle load of a 150lb driver ONLY, then go to the towed weight.

After 30+ years of towing cars, inboard hydroplanes, horses and bikes, I find that not exceeding 75-80% of the rated towing capacity of a vehicle gives me the best results.

Gary R.

That is the new Reese W/D - Anti-Sway setup I have on my truck, it is truly a great piece of work..

Chrisp - I have a trailer toe scale if you want to see exactly what weight you are putting on the hitch at some point... but I would get the W/D setup either way.

John H

Buy one. It not only reduces sag but will significantly reduce the waggle. Best money I've spent and I will never tow a car without a WD hitch.

chrisp

Thanks guys and John, your input is always welcome. We may not be practically or financially able to adopt it but it's valuable nonetheless.

John Brown

Wrestled with the tow setup for 2 years with about 5000lb load and full size GM tow vehicle. Finally installed the Reese load distributing with dual cam sway setup last winter. WHAT A DIFFERENCE! If I had realized just how much better it would be I should have done it from the start. 400 bucks well spent.

RedlineMan

I hear you brother...

BELIEVE ME... I hear you loud and clear. I have no business - practically or financially - owning an '00 E450 6.8l V10 14' Cube van for a tow rig, but I do. I have that and a few Porsches instead of a house, wife, kids... ... ... ...