Acrad

Darwalk

I tow a 26ft travel trailer with my 2014 just fine. It is 4300# dry, but we are probably close to 6000# fully loaded down with all of our stuff. WDH and sway control added from the hitch to the trailer. Haven't had any issues with trailer sway, but have had to drive 40mph on a 30mph+ headwind to feel comfortable one time. Otherwise the GX tows it fine and I am completely comfortable with it!

Htony

Towing is really pulling weight without loading down on the truck rear axle. Tongue weight, proper hitch set up, brake control, terrain, wind factor, altitude, etc. all matters, Once I was heading out with my Ford F250HD trailer special pulling ~7000 lbs. 5th wheel against early spring time head wind. Truck had two fuel tanks each filled with 35 gallon. I did not even make 200 miles when both tank were almost gone empty but rig was very stable. Experience is a good teacher. I learned a lot during days of towing. When kids grew up I sold the rig built a cottage on a piece of land.. Money wise cottage is worth lot more than old rig if it was kept.

CanadaGX

Thats interesting. Thanks for the post. I had a WDH, but no electronic sway control, or hydraulic sway control bar. I spend a god amount of time setting things up with a friend of mine who is very familiar with travel trailers. To me it seemed set up correctly, but its possible that I could optimize further. It really didn't sway back and forth like the typical "tail wagging dog" phenomena, but just was moving with the wind and felt really ****ty. I have been renting trailers, in part to figure out what my family likes/needs, and what feels right with my truck. I am hopeful that the 23' unit I have rented at the end of August will be a better fit, with only a minor loss in interior space.

Darwalk

Being comfortable while towing is 94% of the priority for sure. the other 6% is a good navigator that knows what music to play I also had issues with the side mirror and honestly just stopped using it altogether, Same thing with it blowing in every 2-3 minutes. I did put a rear camera set up on our trailer so I can watch what is going on behind me. That way I can watch people coming up from behind, and judge the distance from the back to the side view mirror. Good luck on the next round!

Oldmanb777

Take the trailer tow rating and cut it in half. That's where it is comfortable towing. After that, you need everything exactly right. Balance of trailer, tongue weight, load in the vehicle, and balance of that load, etc. No mountains, no high speeds or high speed traffic to deal with etc.
If you ever have a trailer get away from you, you will be a believer real quick. I lost a slightly out of balance trailer once. Blew a tire, well below the trailer capacity and well within the loaded limits of the car. Good thing no one else was in the car with me. Fatalities would have been probable. Would have been likely to take out other cars in on coming traffic, but luckily I was able to get off the highway on my side. Rolled the truck and trailer. Not a pretty sight for sure.
I see people traveling at speeds with trailer that they would never have a chance of controlling in a panic stop all the time. Mountain grades etc. Sad part is they have no idea what it takes to control that kinetic energy in a rapid stop, even IF, and its a big IF they had enough brakes to stop it. Remember your brakes take motion energy, turn it into heat and dissipate that heat. Once they are overwhelmed, no more brakes. The ability of brakes to dissipate heat is directly related to the outside air temp (at pavement level) and the quality of your brakes. If you have 30,000 miles on your vehicle, you no longer have brakes that are the quality of when they were new. Just replaced the brakes? How good of quality were the new linings? makes a big difference. Just controllability of stopping will be in question. Most drivers will loose control in a rapid stop, not even a panic stop. That will be deadly on our crowded highways!

CanadaGX

Update. Rented a trailer again a couple weekends back. This time it was a 25" model, 3300lbs dry. It was a better experience, but still had to tow in 4th gear. Felt safe going 105kph on the way out, but had a 50km head wind on teh way home and slowed down to 95. Same problem with drivers mirror blowing in when tow mirrors were attached, so I used a strap to hold them out (looked real read neck) I am guessing that there is a gear of some kind in teh folding mechanism that is stripped and causing the mirror to fold in so easily. If anyone has an experience I would appreciate.

So, I think my next target is going to be a smaller trailer (maybe 22') and try to keep the weight around 3500lbs. Would be great to find a unit that would be small enough where I could pull in 5th gear.

Acrad

Does yours have an AUX transmission cooler? I see you are in Canada. It should look like a small radiator on the front driver side of radiator. The one on passenger side of radiator is the AC condenser. The GXs in US have the small one built into the radiator.

You can use OBD Fusion to monitor AT Temps since 5th gear will likely heat things up.

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/gx-...s-via-obd.html

Htony

Not only size, there are trailers with light weight even size is big. My 2014 MB ML550 has 4.66 V8 biturbo 420 hp, 440 lb ft. specs. It came with a factory mounted hitch. As is the truck is rated to tow 7200 lbs. max. Does your GX have towing option from the factory?
I never towed big trailer with it but I know who does. They don't seem to have any issues. If one wants to pull big trailer Diesel truck is better choice, IMO.

2012GX460

Sorry if this has already been asked and answered, I looked but didn't see it...
So, we're considering a travel trailer.
What are the real world weight and length limits?
We're looking for the smallest trailer for just the wife and me, and maybe a dog, she really wants a German Shepherd, which would be a great security system when we're on the road!
Thanks

CanadaGX

2012GX460

Great information, thanks!

Acrad

I think these even loaded up will be fine. Anytime I see Airstream I want one. My grandfather back in the mid/early 70's towed one from Alaska to Newfoundland, all around the US and even as far south as Honduras. He towed with his 72 GMC 3/4 ton 2WD pickup with 400 cu inch (~6.5 liter)

https://www.roamingtimes.com/2017/12...s-3000-pounds/

whalley

Hauled a yard of gravel today without any problem (~3,400 lbs). However, my utility trailer doesn't have brakes and I probably wouldn't do any more weight without trailer brakes.

2012GX460

Thanks for the information, we're taking our time.
Right now I think she's more focused on the dog!