supradrivr

Hey I was wondering if I could get some input on towing a car with the LX470. I have a 2003 and am planning on towing my 98 supra. I would be using a U-haul auto transport trailer. Here would be the weight:

98 Supra: Roughly 3600lbs
Dolly: 2000lbs empty weight

I would also have 3-4 passengers and some weight from our luggage. I will be traveling from Kansas to Texas. Would the LX470 be able to handle this without hurting anything such as the transmission or suspension? Any idea on how much gas it would suck?

Any input is appreciated.

pagemaster

I think you will be at the rated maximum for towing.

SC300T

You'd be heavy, no doubt. But its KS to TX in the winter, engine is making good power in cooler temps, and little in the way of hills. Doesn't a dolly eliminate much of the tongue weight? I.E. this would just be a matter of pulling the weight? We're not talking about an enclosed box car trailer, are we? If you're just pulling the Surpra and its associated drag, and not plowing a big 8x8 box through the air, I'd think you'd be absolutely fine. Towing an exposed car is nothing like pulling a 5500lb camper and battling the associated aerodynamic demons.

kyoso23

I just recently pulled my FJ40 (close to 4000 lbs) from TX to Phoenix without skipping a beat. The tongue weight was a little gay because the wheels are set back a little far on a uhaul transport, but it worked great either way.

Jayson

If your setup looks like kyoso23's picture, you'll be fine. SC300T is right. Because its winter, your load on the engine will be less. Take some pics once you get here to TX and post'em so we can see how you did!

supradrivr

Thanks for all the responses guys. After thinking about it some more I think I will be okay.

kyoso23 - I love your wheels. Could ya PM me the details including cost. Also, if you were able to tow a 4,000lb fj I think I will be fine with my Supra.

Jayson - I will definately post some pics. I plan on attending the national supra meet so hopefully I can have some to share. I will not be doing the towing until march so the cold weather will not be advantage to me.

kyoso23

Thanks. They're '07 Tundra Limited 20" take offs that I got off Craigslist for $800 with tires. I had to modify the center cap from the original wheels to fit as the dust cover on the front hubs sticks out to far to use the Tundra caps.

supradrivr

That is a great deal. I had another question for you. Would I be able to drive highway speed limit (70mp) while towing the car?

psychodoc

I pulled my 22' Triton Bayboat ~700 mi.round trip a few years ago...Got ~7-8mpg...drove 55-65 most of the way(75-80 downhill...probably weighs ~4500#??? I've also pulled my 10K# boat short distances on occ.,when needed. No problems...

supradrivr

psychodoc - thanks for your input. With the trailer I should be weighin in at approximately 5600lbs. I was hopping i could get 10mpg but i guess not. That gas mileage is going to hurt on the trip. However I do have an 03 and the power differences are substantial from the 99 because I used to have one and could tell right away between the power differences.

Any other input on the kind of gas mileage I will be getting?

Jayson

Damn! 7-8 mpg and you did a 700 mile trip? That should give you reason to custom-build an auxilliary fuel cell for your LX.

psychodoc

Since my boats get 1-2mpg & 3-4mpg respectively, I figured 7-8mpg was pretty good(glad I was towing the little boat)...Really,I was shocked that it cost me ~40%, and if I had to tow much, I'd buy a diesel...I only get ~12mpg city & maybe 15mpg hwy (avg ~ 13.5-14mpg) in my LX anyway...1/2 the trip was all uphill(North)-lol...I can't tell any difference in power or anything else between my '99, '01(the one I towed the boat~700m.w/) & '02...except I think the Nak. sounded better than the ML does-jmho...

kyoso23

Yeah, I did 65-70 the whole way in some rough weather without a problem. Just leave tons of room for braking because those trailers have shotty electric brakes. I only cracked 10mpg on one tank though, the rest of the trip was 8-10mpg. I'm guessing if you keep it at like 60mph you could probably pick up an extra mile or so.

Here's a little linky for the cap mod I did for the wheels...


CLICK!!!!!!!!!!!!