justjosh

iTrader: (5)

Hello all,

I just wanted to leave my most recent towing experience with my 2019 LX570 since there isn't much info out there about LX's towing.

I rented a 28ft camper for 5 days and the camper had a dry weight of 6200 lbs. I towed it for a couple hundred miles to the campsite on various types of roads from stop and go around town to 65-70mph on the highway and hilly country back roads.

I was very impressed with the LX towing. There was zero squat with the hydraulic suspension that leveled the ride perfect with a 650ish lb tongue weight plus people and gear inside the LX.

Never was there an issue with power as I was able to maintain the speed limit on any hill and it would cruise on flat roads in 6th or 7th gear. The paddle shifters are very useful while towing and are great to downshift the transmission right before a hill to keep the speed up.

Braking was equally as good and I never felt like the brakes weren't up to the job. I did install a trailer brake controller before the trip which is necessary for a trailer this size. For anyone interested this is the trailer brake controller I installed in one of the blank switch buttons to the right of the steering wheel.
The only thing that I would want if I towed frequently is larger mirrors. The factory mirrors aren't large enough to see around the side of the trailer which makes switching lanes more challenging.

Overall I was very impressed with the LX and wouldn't hesitate to tow with it if you are considering it as a tow rig. The weight of the LX makes it feel very stable.

Below are some pictures for your enjoyment.

DaveGS4

iTrader: (2)

Thanks for sharing your experience, looks like a great trip!

That's a cool little brake controller! The only thing I see about it that I don't understand is the manual control of the trailer brakes. Most controllers have an incremental engagement slider to manually engage the brake controller - from the Q&A it looks like you push down on the **** to engage which would be full on / full off. That works for testing to make sure the trailer brakes are working and set correctly, but I sometimes just want a little bit of trailer brake applied when I'm on the highway towing in high winds or a tractor trailer passes, etc. to help straighten out any sway. Does it do that somehow?

You probably know this and just didn't get them - they sell clip on towing mirrors that will attach to your regular mirrors and extend them a bit that help some. Not as good as true extendable towing mirrors but work OK.

Ratchey

From the instruction manual

DaveGS4

iTrader: (2)

Good thinking to look that up. And looks like you can only change between the two modes while you are stopped which isn't ideal. I'd probably always leave in proportional.

justjosh

iTrader: (5)

The main reason I went with that specific brake controller was the factory installation look. I didn't want a big bulky brake controller screwed into the plastic panel by my knee.

Reggie1

I tow often with my LX. I replaced the minuscule side mirrors with a set from

www.clearviewmirrorsusa.com

They are a direct bolt-on installation using the factory holes from the original mirrors, and direct plug and play using the factory side mirror electrical controls. They are identical to the tow mirrors on my GMC2500HD, including the extension feature. Installation requires door card removal but Clearview has a step by step video which makes this easy for those with decent hand tool skills. Cost for the pair is approximately $600. IMO these mirrors are well worth it if you tow anything bigger than a big box store single axle trailer with the LX.

atlasdarby

Ty the info was very helpful.

biff44

thanks everyone....am planning on towing in the future and this thread gave me the basics at least.

jsch222

Been using the redarc brake controller for a few months. Great system and would highly recommend. Easy to install, as the truck is pre-wired.

gbouton

Thanks for the info/review! I tow a small travel trailer that only weight about 2300 lbs, so was curious how well it would tow a much larger/heavier camper. One suggestion I'd make with the setup you had (based on the pictures) is the flip your adjustable hitch around so you can lower the hitch ball by a few inches to put the trailer in a very slightly nose-down (or at least level) position for better weight balance and control. The LX (and the LC) has an unusually high hitch mounting point, probably for greater ground clearance when off-roading, so it needs a drop hitch in most situations to get a level trailer stance.

biff44

btwboy you ain't kidding. to get my low garden trailer to be flat, i needed a SERIOUS amount of drop to my ball hitch point over what i used to use on my RX350! I needed it dropped for my trailer jack lift on the tongue to get the trailer high enough to pass over the ball.

my new Curt 45090:



btw, if you buy one of these, have the shop you bought it from install the ball! I had to bring mine back to them when i realized i did not have a socket big enough, nor the 250 ft-lb torque wrench needed.

hankinid

OP, you noted the trailer is 3 tons plus unloaded, I'd bet you're close to max LX towing weight when it's loaded.

I've got no issues pulling horses and a trailer that weight about 2.5 tons loaded with either LX or our Land Cruiser.

But more than that, we definitely prefer wife's Dodge 2500 with Cummins.

hankinid

it appears to me that manual control is possible. That said, it also appears to me that going in and out of manual control looks like a real PITA.

rnummi

Thanks for the original post. Im getting ready to haul an Airstream 23D. So far, a quick test fit disclosed a radical drop off the LX570 Hitch receptacle to the Airstream.....thinking I need an almost 11 1/2 inch drop to get the AS to tow flat.