Can I tow a Toyota 4Runner
From : Annonymous
Q: hello all i own a 1999 dodge ram 1500 quad cab. specs 4x4 5.2l 318 automatic transmission hitch is the factory bumper hitch class iii i think axle ratio unknown tow package is installed minus the class iv hitch thats a long story including bigger transmission cooler i have to move cross country 3000 miles+ and i have two vehicles to move. the last time i did this move i only had one so it was alot easier! now i own a 2004 toyota 4runner 4x4 v6. i am thinking about towing it car dolly or trailering it during the trip. frankly though i dont know anything about how to figure out if i can tow that big a load or not. hopefully this group can help. my questions 1 the 4runner has a gvwr of 5570#. if im not mistaken that bumper hitch on my dodge is only rated for 5000# is it not which would mean if i did tow i would need a class iv hitch wouldnt i 2 does a car dolly change anything with regard to how much weight you can tow vs. towing a car on a trailer 3 assuming i do need a class iv hitch do i even have enough truck to pull that much weight the max trailer weight for the truck is 7200# and the gcwr is 12500#. 4 on the last cross country move i pulled one of those 5 x 8 little uhaul trailers but it only weighed about 1700# loaded. truck pulled it just fine at 70 mph on interstate highways except in the mountains where i had to take it out of overdrive and the gas mileage sucked horribly. i realize that towing this toyota is a whole new ball game which is why im here. 5 am i just setting myself up for a transmission or rear-end failure trying to pull that much weight over that distance if so i would be open to any suggestions anyone has about how to ship a vehicle cross country including if they know any reputable shippers in the seattle/ tacoma/bremerton area of washington state. moving to virginia. buying a new truck is not an option as other than moving like this i never tow anything above little 1000# trailers i like my truck and it is in awesome condition its got less than 60000 miles and its paid for. .
Replies:
From : tom lawrence
5 am i just setting myself up for a transmission or rear-end failure trying to pull that much weight over that distance if so i would be open to any suggestions anyone has about how to ship a vehicle cross country including if they know any reputable shippers in the seattle/ tacoma/bremerton area of washington state. moving to virginia. no - you can tow the 4runner but you definitely need a real receiver - the bumper pull wont cut it. not only is the bumper not rated for the weight its way too high for a proper mount and it also limits your turning radius. i would install a transmission temperature gauge to keep an eye on the transmission. heat is what kills it and if you manage the heat youll be fine. keep it out of overdrive in mountainous areas to prevent the transmission from hunting back and forth between gears. as for equipment a low flatbed trailer is preferable to a car dolly - it will save the wear on the towed vehicle. if you have to use a car dolly put the front wheels on the dolly disconnect the 4runners rear drive shaft from the rear axle and secure it up against the frame. make absolutely sure it cant come loose. heavy wire through the yoke and around the frame tied in such a way so that it cant slide rearward. given the above and with a healthly amount of common sense applied during the trip i think youll be fine. make sure you get a spare tire for the trailer/dolly to bring with you. some people forget that trailers get flats too. .
From : sqdancerlynn
heres the story last week the audio in my truck went out. i have a 2005 dodge ram qc with infnity 7 speaker system. the stereo in dash appeared to be finelights display etc but no audio from amp behind glove box. took it to the dealer they tried to replace the radio but still no audio. they ordered a new amp put it in today. the dealer just called said as soon as they connected the new amp it fried. so now they are ordering a new radio and amp. he says for troubleshooting they checked all my aftermarket wiringamp under seat for sub box under back seat. he says the wiring was fine. he says they were able to get audio from the new factory stereo to speakers by bypassing the amp. he further claims that the old factory stereo would not pass audio to speakers when bypassing the amp. my question is what would cause a otherwise fine stereo to suddenly quit and fry the amp in the process my concern is maybe the issue is not originally with the stereo at all but the pci cluster tia jon for a power amp to fry the most likely cause would be that the output to the speakers is shorted or grounded. high powered amps use a special kind of output called bridged. none of the speaker lines can go to ground with a bridged output. disconnect te power amp and check the wireing. also look for a shorted speaker. bg .
From : roy
on 20 mar 2103 midlant washra...@hotmail.com wrote dodge introduces cleaner quieter and more powerful 6.7-liter cummins turbo-diesel engine at state fair of texas engine available in january on new 2007 dodge ram 2500/3500 models * increased output with 350 horsepower and 650 lb.-ft. of torque * new fuel-saving six-speed automatic transmission features best-in-class gear-ratio spread; standard electronic range select ers * first-ever integrated exhaust brake available direct from the factory * 50-percent quieter engine; 3 dba reduction in cabin sound levels * life-to-major overhaul intervals of 350000 miles providing more than a 100000-mile advantage over the competition if this is true then chevy and fords only go 250k between overhauls. isnt this a reduction over the older 12vs like i have in my 96 john they would only get that far if they are run and maintained right what is they .
From : azwiley1
the horns are not a new install infact nothing was changed except the compressor in the bed of the truck. nothing was reouted newr wire in the install. but since you suggested itwhat is the proper way to check speaker leads what should ground to what or have continuity- hide quoted text - - show quoted text - with your speakers nothing should go to ground ever. run the + off the amp to the + on the speak the - to the - for most sub set ups and always for regular speakers to check the omh load of your regular speakers in your case as you will likely have something crossed over somewhere you will be best off to pull each speaker and using a dvo meter set it at ohms and measure it. please keep in mind that since you have not changed the factory speakers out and they are supposed to be running off a factory amp there should be nothing wong with the factory speaker wiring. this means that to check for a blown or bad speaker you will have to do as above. .
From : sqdancerlynn
closely matched the orifice of the old egr. now to see if i could get the van running. wont start. the spark is good at the coil. i pulled a spark wire and put a spark plug on top of the valve cover. sparks but weak every now and again when cranking. but it also sparked when i turned the key off. even though the rotor was pointed some where else. hmm. not good. went to the parts store and bought new cap rotor wires. put them all on. motor still wont start. but ive got good spark at a plug on top of the valve cover. turn the distributer here and there while the motor is cranking and not even a hint of fire. tried a squirt of ether and that still doesnt help. the rotor turns with the starter so i think that indicates that the timing chain is still connected. i got the chilton manual out and confirmed the spark plug wiring. read through the troubleshooting section. none of that is doing much good. put in a new set of champion spark plugs still nothing. not even a hint of starting. its raining today and im not eager to get any wetter than i am already. im about at my wits end cant make much sense of this. what else comes to mind -- christopher a. young you cant shout down a troll. you have to starve them. .. .
From : wolfpack6
1987 dodge one ton b350. 318 cid engine. mileage is about 160000. ps/ pb. used to be a telephone company vehicle. then it was owned by a rental property guy who badly neglected it. a couple months ago my dodge van gave me all kinds of trouble would start and run and then when i was away from home it would slow and die. a couple minutes later it would restart and run for awhile. i tried all kinds of things but changing the air filter seemed to help the most. even once came home by tow truck. last week i decided to put the hand choke kit on. removed the pull off bimetal coil from the side of the carb and wired a hand choke cable to the side of the carb. pulled the wire off the bimetal coil. trashed the bimetal and screwed the plate back on to cover the end of the cable. left the little electrical wire hanging loose. tried to start the motor to see how it worked. started but just ever so barely. i tried a couple things like adjusting the timing. had the motor running but it was just barely. the spark was weak at the coil so i cleaned the low power wires at the coil. also cleaned the coil bracket that holds the coil to the motor. runs but barely. i could see that the egr valve was falling apart. couple days later. go get an egr and replace that. two bolts but oh what rusty bolts. got em finally. install the egr with the provided
From : azwiley1
additional info you might consider driving the toy and shipping the dodge. be reasistic 3k mile trip you will spend an extra $300-$400 on gas at todays prices .
From : wolfpack6
on mar 21 354 pm roy r...@home.net wrote on mar 21 205 pm chris thompson kf4drr-nos...@alltel.net wrote on wed 21 mar 2007 113656 -0700 azwiley1 wrote on mar 21 1102 am roy r...@home.net wrote on mar 21 333 am roy r...@home.net wrote hey man in your charger what audio set up do you have regular or premium where are all your speakers located premium. 200 watt kicker subwoofer 276 watt amplifier. it has 11 speakers which are all over the place. i think some are doubles but are part of the 11 speaker count. a kicker system huh what year is it again 06 i thought that they had all changed over to the boston acoustics in 05 - 06 anyway 11 speakers three in dash one in each front door which shuold be subs two in rear deck one each rear doors tying to get an idea of the layout as i might buy one and want to play with a plan for the system i would put in. yup 06. it is not a bad system ive heard worse and heard better. guess it has to do with the configuration of the car. it cuts through the noise of the exhaust unless im really on it. you have the speaker layout about right i think. as i said i believe some are doubled for the total to hit eleven.- hide quoted text - - show quoted text - cool. that means i could but one hell of a system in there and using the deck i am thinking about if i get a charger i will be able to run a front rear center and sub set up. by my count your missing 2 speakers in that count. possibly some flag tweeters at the a pillar or top of the door panel -- chris 05 ctd 06 liberty crd- hide quoted text - - show quoted text - yeah i know i was a few short. trying to go from memory on most set ups that i have dealt with all of which were oem 7 speaker systems. if there are tweets up from man that has to make it pretty bright having that many speakers located in such close proximity to each other. let me see if i can find the exact location for you gentleman.- hide quoted text - - show quoted text - that would be might white of you! i am still guessing three in the dash two 8 subs in the front doors two in the rear doors two in the rear deck lid two questionable.. your slightest request is my pleasure. bfg here ya go. the dash speakers are 2 way type so they count as four in the dash. one speaker in the front doors=2 the rear deck are again 2 way so that is another 4. the one subwoofer= 11 talk about fuzzy math but thats the deal. .
From : azwiley1
ignition computer 1987 dodge one ton b350. 318 cid engine. mileage is about 160000. ps/ pb. used to be a telephone company vehicle. then it was owned by a rental property guy who badly neglected it. a couple months ago my dodge van gave me all kinds of trouble would start and run and then when i was away from home it would slow and die. a couple minutes later it would restart and run for awhile. i tried all kinds of things but changing the air filter seemed to help the most. even once came home by tow truck. last week i decided to put the hand choke kit on. removed the pull off bimetal coil from the side of the carb and wired a hand choke cable to the side of the carb. pulled the wire off the bimetal coil. trashed the bimetal and screwed the plate back on to cover the end of the cable. left the little electrical wire hanging loose. tried to start the motor to see how it worked. started but just ever so barely. i tried a couple things like adjusting the timing. had the motor running but it was just barely. the spark was weak at the coil so i cleaned the low power wires at the coil. also cleaned the coil bracket that holds the coil to the motor. runs but barely. i could see that the egr valve was falling apart. couple days later. go get an egr and replace that. two bolts but oh what rusty bolts. got em finally. install the egr with the provided gasket and the little orifice restictor that most closely matched the orifice of the old egr. now to see if i could get the van running. wont start. the spark is good at the coil. i pulled a spark wire and put a spark plug on top of the valve cover. sparks but weak every now and again when cranking. but it also sparked when i turned the key off. even though the rotor was pointed some where else. hmm. not good. went to the parts store and bought new cap rotor wires. put them all on. motor still wont start. but ive got good spark at a plug on top of the valve cover. turn the distributer here and there while the motor is cranking and not even a hint of fire. tried a squirt of ether and that still doesnt help. the rotor turns with the starter so i think that indicates that the timing chain is still connected. i got the chilton manual out and confirmed the spark plug wiring. read through the troubleshooting section. none of that is doing much good. put in a new set of champion spark plugs still nothing. not even a hint of starting. its raining today and im not eager to get any wetter than i am already. im about at my wits end cant make much sense of this. what else comes to mind -- christopher a. young you cant shout down a troll. you have to starve them. . .
From : wolfpack6
roy wrote azwiley1 wrote maybe you should learn to read. i said my son not me. so what qualifies you to critique snomans post anybody with a fourth grade education has the tools needed to crtique his posts. often enough but not this time. there wasnt much wrong with the post. could some one please translate this for me was a foolish reply from someone with azwiley1s language skills. -- in girum imus nocte et consumimur igni .
From : roy
on mar 21 612 pm azwiley1 azwil...@cox.net wrote what branch are you in what rank something just doesnt sound right about them not flipping the cost for moving a vehicle on a pcs in conus i have only been out 2 years after serving 16 and never single or married was told anything even remotely similar. usmc - officer. check the joint federal travel regulations @ http//dodtravelregs.hqda.pentagon.mil/propub/template.htmview=main chapter e talks about pov moves. i will talk to my admin folks just to be sure. man honestly have no idea on the weight anymore. if i had to guess i would say somewhere around 3 or 4k. it was a completely enclosed trailer which i figure was about 1500 or so. well the more i investigate it doesnt really matter. looked at penske uhaul etc. none of the car dollys or trailers that you can rent are capable of hauling a 4runner. either the wheels are too big or its too heavy. looks like my only option is to have it shipped unless i am wrong. will have to find out tomorrow. maybe i can convince the government to reimburse me. wife has a medical condition that prevents her from driving and i cant very well drive two vehicles at once. maybe i can use some kind of doctors note to get reimbursed. certainly would make the trip easier. are you sure ive seen some fairly large cars on rental trailers. .
From : snoman
on the 87 only had the spark module. which is fine; the plugs spark. -- christopher a. young you cant shout down a troll. you have to starve them. .. ignition computer stormin mormon cayoung61-&spamblock*-@hotmail.com wrote in message 1987 dodge one ton b350. 318 cid engine. mileage is about 160000. ps/ pb. used to be a telephone company vehicle. then it was owned by a rental property guy who badly neglected it. .
From : roy
thanks grizz -- actually that was the second thing i did right after the sender. as it stands ill probably run it for a while just sticking with heavy oil as someone else suggested. it pulls just fine starts right up even in sub-zero weather so . . . at some point id probably want to change the timing chain so then i might consider going a bit deeper and replacing cam cam bearings & main & rod bearings or i might just keep an eye out in the meantime for a low-mileage 360. what id love to do is put in a cummins diesel or a 5.7 hemi but i have a feeling that the first wouldnt fit height and the second would require all kinds of sensors that i wont have available so a straight swap would probably afford me sufficient grief as it is. thanks again joe joe befumo wrote a couple of years ago i bought a 1987 dodge b250 which purportedly had 120000 miles on it. after the first oil change i disovered that my oil pressure was falling down to near zero at idle when the engine a 360 btw is warmed up. okay so i change first the oil pump then the sender and finally the pressure gauge with no change. finally i switch it to 15w50 oil and the problem is solved -- presssure is up to 40 psi when running and no lower than 20 at idle from which we deduce that i need main bearings. so my question is should i take this as an indicator that this engine as gone around more than once it seems to have lots of power doesnt burn any oil that i can detect -- i use the van infrequently so its difficult to say for certain but it definitely doesnt smoke or do anythying thats in any way problematic. is it worth putting in bearings or would i be better advised to just get a low-mileage engine -- maybe even a 5.9 magnum ;^ id be inclined to just sell it but its really nicely equipped -- 360/727 torqueflite limited slip rear electric windows & door locks factory interior cruise control tilt wheel trailer towing package heavy suspension. . . and everything even works! what do you think ive had many 100k+ vehicles and have never seen bearings go in so short a time which leads me to surmise that maybe it has a lot more than 120k on it. thanks. joe before you get too excited about it try a mechanical oil pressure guage on it. i have a 89 pickup that i replaced both the sender and the guage and it still showed low oil pressure. i installed a mechanical guage and the pressure is fine. i still have both guages in it. a lot of the time the electrical will show 20 pounds and the mechanical shows 60 right where it should be. i was told that those years had problems in that electrical circuit. grizz440 .
From : roy
on 21 mar 2007 232954 -0700 wolfpack6 marinedad2004@gmail.com wrote well the more i investigate it doesnt really matter. looked at penske uhaul etc. none of the car dollys or trailers that you can rent are capable of hauling a 4runner that is strange because i have rented a tow dolly off of budget serval times and towed vehicle bigger than a 4runner with it. uhaul too in years past. nice thing about a tow dolly is lower drag and weight. i have seen new tow dollies on sale on ebay for 700 bucks and they are the same ones i have rented from budget and they are well built units. if you are worried about wear on tear on 4 runner simply remove rear drive shaft. i have towed a few car cross cuntry on a dolly and had no problems and i would do it again. the only bad part about them is that is it a bear to try to back up long distances. well that was then this is now. to move a 4 runner on a budget trailer you have to rent one of their larger trucks. that is the only way they will rent the trailer. forget the dolly. cmon explain the v10 sensor. lke your sig you are the ultimate troll. --------- thetrollman.com .
From : azwiley1
on mar 21 1129 pm wolfpack6 marinedad2...@gmail.com wrote on mar 21 612 pm azwiley1 azwil...@cox.net wrote what branch are you in what rank something just doesnt sound right about them not flipping the cost for moving a vehicle on a pcs in conus i have only been out 2 years after serving 16 and never single or married was told anything even remotely similar. usmc - officer. check the joint federal travel regulations @http//dodtravelregs.hqda.pentagon.mil/propub/template.htmview=main chapter e talks about pov moves. i will talk to my admin folks just to be sure. man honestly have no idea on the weight anymore. if i had to guess i would say somewhere around 3 or 4k. it was a completely enclosed trailer which i figure was about 1500 or so. well the more i investigate it doesnt really matter. looked at penske uhaul etc. none of the car dollys or trailers that you can rent are capable of hauling a 4runner. either the wheels are too big or its too heavy. looks like my only option is to have it shipped unless i am wrong. will have to find out tomorrow. maybe i can convince the government to reimburse me. wife has a medical condition that prevents her from driving and i cant very well drive two vehicles at once. maybe i can use some kind of doctors note to get reimbursed. certainly would make the trip easier. wow! what a way to screw the military over even more!!! i am sooo glad i am not in anymore it is stupid shit like this that i do not miss and hated to deal with. i wish you the best have a safe move however you accomplish it and as roy said thanks. .
From : chris thompson
on wed 21 mar 2007 155537 -0700 azwiley1 wrote on mar 21 333 pm wolfpack6 marinedad2...@gmail.com wrote on mar 21 149 pm azwiley1 azwil...@cox.net wrote on mar 21 1238 pm sqdancerlynn www.sqdancerlynn1s...@verizon.net wrote you will have the added expenses of getting your vehicle ready for towing much added fuel costs stresssaftey factor time have you considered shipping the vehicle probably cost $1400-1500 it may not even cost that much. i recall when i went to hawaii that it would have only cost me about 700 to ship a car from the port at long beach to honolulu. mind you this was back in 98 and it may have been a price for military shipping a second vehcile. yep i have considered shipping and that is still an option that is on the table. which is why i also asked if anyone knows a dependable and reputable auto shipper. right now the ones i have priced are about $1000. and yes this is in conjunction with a military move. unfortunately the government no longer pays for shipping vehicles inside the us which is why i am trying to save money by towing. i really am only concerned about crossing the mountains while towing but i guess worst case scenario i could have my other driver going to split driving with s
From : wolfpack6
thanks for all the replies. i think i am pretty much resigned to shipping a vehicle. just going to have to figure out which one. the ram will only be about $100 more than the toyota to ship. my question now is which one do you think would be better on gas mileage while pulling one of those small uhaul trailers less than 1500#. the 2004 toyota 4runner is a 4.0l v6 generating about 245hp and 283 ft- lbs of torque. its a stock factory setup. the 1999 dodge ram is a 5.2l v8 318 generating originally 230hp and 300 ft-lbs of torque although im quite sure it probably gets less than that due to the age of the engine at about 53000 miles. my guess would be the 4runner since it doesnt generate much less torque than the ram and it has more horsepower. any thoughts .
From : dave
unless the ram has a shell the toyota will have somewhat better aerodynamics for towing a small enclosed trailer. i get 18 mpg in my 2006 ram ctd at 70mph with no shell. when towing a toyhauler it goes down to about 12.5mpg. thanks for all the replies. i think i am pretty much resigned to shipping a vehicle. just going to have to figure out which one. the ram will only be about $100 more than the toyota to ship. my question now is which one do you think would be better on gas mileage while pulling one of those small uhaul trailers less than 1500#. the 2004 toyota 4runner is a 4.0l v6 generating about 245hp and 283 ft- lbs of torque. its a stock factory setup. the 1999 dodge ram is a 5.2l v8 318 generating originally 230hp and 300 ft-lbs of torque although im quite sure it probably gets less than that due to the age of the engine at about 53000 miles. my guess would be the 4runner since it doesnt generate much less torque than the ram and it has more horsepower. any thoughts .
From : chris thompson
on thu 22 mar 2007 215023 -0700 dave wrote unless the ram has a shell the toyota will have somewhat better aerodynamics for towing a small enclosed trailer. i get 18 mpg in my 2006 ram ctd at 70mph with no shell. when towing a toyhauler it goes down to about 12.5mpg. thanks for all the replies. i think i am pretty much resigned to shipping a vehicle. just going to have to figure out which one. the ram will only be about $100 more than the toyota to ship. my question now is which one do you think would be better on gas mileage while pulling one of those small uhaul trailers less than 1500#. the 2004 toyota 4runner is a 4.0l v6 generating about 245hp and 283 ft- lbs of torque. its a stock factory setup. the 1999 dodge ram is a 5.2l v8 318 generating originally 230hp and 300 ft-lbs of torque although im quite sure it probably gets less than that due to the age of the engine at about 53000 miles. my guess would be the 4runner since it doesnt generate much less torque than the ram and it has more horsepower. any thoughts the ram 1500 would be my choice. i would expect about 9 mpg towing at interstate speeds with it. being a full sized truck pulling what will be a fairly light load for it you stated previously a small uhaul trailer it should handle well. im sure the 4 runner would do the job nicely too but irrc those are more along the lines of a dakota sized vehicle. my personal preference is to pull with the larger vehicle always. note my guess/estimate of 9 mpg is just that a guess. im basing that on my personal previous experience with my wifes 5.9l durango and v10 2500 trucks. both previously sold with each truck unloaded we were seeing 10 13 mpg empty. your actual mpg will depend greatly on your driving habits and load. keep in mind ive never owned a 4 runner and have no idea what mpg you could expect out of one when towing. my recommendation was solely on the size of the tow vehicle. -- chris 05 ctd 06 liberty crd .
From : roy
the main trans is a close second in my long distance opinion. has any of the electronics been checked for codes or failure -- max join www.devilbrad.com and find out what free exchange of info is all about. there are four boxes to be used in defense of liberty soap ballot jury and ammo. please use in that order. -ed howdershelt author on mar 21 304 pm geekboy n...@nerdy.com wrote thanks to all who responded so far. last i posted was that the transmission was not engaging. this was based on my experience when i was sitting on a hill.the truck kept rolling back when in any gear. last night i tried to drive it again. this time i am on flat surface. when i press on the accelerator the truck tried to move. it was like there was not enough power to move it. now what could this signify for those who dont know its a 2000 ctd. what i learned from my whole process was that i honestly needed a fsm and a hydraulic pressure gauge on ports to read exactly what the transmission was trying to do and when. http//www.allpar.com/mopar/transmissions/torqueflite-tom-hand.html if im not mistaken the basis for your transmission is the same as the old 727 plus electronics and the od unit on the end....so the diagrams on the above listed website helped explain to me the logic behind the deal. good luck and i hope a transmission rebuilder starts cruising this ng. .
From : Annonymous
on thu 22 mar 2007 215023 -0700 dave wrote unless the ram has a shell the toyota will have somewhat better aerodynamics for towing a small enclosed trailer. i get 18 mpg in my 2006 ram ctd at 70mph with no shell. when towing a toyhauler it goes down to about 12.5mpg. thanks for all the replies. i think i am pretty much resigned to shipping a vehicle. just going to have to figure out which one. the ram will only be about $100 more than the toyota to ship. my question now is which one do you think would be better on gas mileage while pulling one of those small uhaul trailers less than 1500#. the 2004 toyota 4runner is a 4.0l v6 generating about 245hp and 283 ft- lbs of torque. its a stock factory setup. the 1999 dodge ram is a 5.2l v8 318 generating originally 230hp and 300 ft-lbs of torque although im quite sure it probably gets less than that due to the age of the engine at about 53000 miles. my guess would be the 4runner since it doesnt generate much less torque than the ram and it has more horsepower. any thoughts the ram 1500 would be my choice. i would expect about 9 mpg towing at interstate speeds with it. being a full sized truck pulling what will be a fairly light load for it you stated previously a small uhaul trailer it should handle well. im sure the 4 runner would do the job nicely too but irrc those are more along the lines of a dakota sized vehicle. my personal preference is to pull with the larger vehicle always. note my guess/estimate of 9 mpg is just that a guess. im basing that on my personal previous experience with my wifes 5.9l durango and v10 2500 trucks. both previously sold with each truck unloaded we were seeing 10 13 mpg empty. your actual mpg will depend greatly on your driving habits and load. keep in mind ive never owned a 4 runner and have no idea what mpg you could expect out of one when towing. my recommendation was solely on the size of the tow vehicle. im with chris on this for all the reasons he mentioned. ship the toy and tow with the truck. you will be more comfortable in the bigger cab also more room for the dog. chris 05 ctd 06 liberty crd .