Getting ready to purchase a boat that is on the upper-outer limits of the LX 570 towing max and wanted to see what experiences anyone has had. I've got a 2011 LX 570 and it's rated at 7000lbs but most the boats I'm looking at are between 6800s-7400's. I see the same year land cruiser will tow 8200lbs but both have the same basic driver train.


So questions: What's the most anyone has towed behind their LX and what kind of experiences have you guys had towing?


I'll of-course be using a trail brake system regardless. Half of towing isn't what you can pull but what you can stop!

 

I towed a 6500lb Grady about 300 miles with my 2014 LX and I was glad to get it the heck off my hitch. The LX seems to do OK but I would not want to do it often. The Grady trailer had brakes but they did not seem to help much and stopping fast was not an option

If you do I would be looking at additional service at shorter intervals

 

Lexus has the lowest tow rating in its class, probably for two reasons () lawyers and (2) the added vehicle weight of all the luxury and little used off-road items which are included in the base vehicle weight.

Here's a link to a video which shows that the LX performed pretty well against other SUV's in a towing test.

 

I think that there is a difference between LX570 and Land Cruiser because of the adaptive suspension. It is similar to Sequoia Limited vs Sequoia Platinum.

 

Proper setup would go a long ways to making for a successful tow.

Having enough tongue weight is really important (10% of trailer weight) for trailer stability. Newbies lean on having less tongue weight which is a recipe for instability.

Like you said, brakes are important. The trailer brakes are responsible for stopping the trailers mass. If it feels like the trailer is pushing you around in any way, or that it takes more pedal to stop the rig, then the gain on the trailer brakes needs to be dialed up.
Sway control and a weight distribution hitch is really important as well. If the steering feels at all light or unstable, then more weight distribution is needed. I've had great success with the Anderson hitch that's used in the TFL video.

If you get everything right above, I wouldn't hesitate to tow at the upper range. It's just that much more important to have everything setup correctly though.

 

I have 16 LC and towing to the lake every weekend during the summer. I agree with weight distribution. I have not had problem with swaying, etc... Also 16 brakes are much bigger and braking is pretty good, but of course you need the extra length. I don't know if suspension makes difference, but LC is solid.