Hello,
I just bought my first LX570. Its a 2013 White LX570 with all the options available in 2013. I have been an LS owner for a while and own a 2007 LS460 as well. As being a new SUV driver I need some help with an upcoming trip that I am planning.

I'm planning to drive from Northern Virginia to Orlando Florida (about 680 miles - Zip code 20166 to 32835) in First week of August. Now I've traveled that route on my LS many times and have no issues in terms of planning the trip. However, this trip will be a little different as I am planning to tow my 2012 Sonata with my LX570 (i'm taking my Sonata to give it to my sister).

Here are a couple of questions that I have for all the experts out there:

1. I checked the tow rating and I should be within the 7000lbs tow limit when I take the car carrier from UHaul. Anything I should be looking for? I already have the hitch installed from UHaul a few days ago when I towed my motorcycle to the dealership for service. It was the most heavy duty hitch that they could find for the LX.

2. I've never towed such a long distance before, anything I should keep in mind while I chart my course?

3. Has anyone tried long distance towing on the LX570? If yes, how was your experience? Any suggestion or advice?

Note: There will be 3 passengers in the LX, the luggage for 3 passenger for 5 days (4 standard hand carry suitcases) while towing the car carrier with Sonata on top!

Thank you for all your help!

Mo.

 

The "heaviest" duty hitch is typically a single forging with no welding. Hole for trailer ball should be 1-1/4" diameter to fit an HD 2-5/16" ball.

Not that you mentioned it, but I assume you've installed or had installed a brake controller.

Steve

 

I think that all U-Haul trailers are equipped with surge brakes, so he does not need a brake controller.

 

It's just Sonata, it's not so heavy. I haven't seen the hitch, but it's probably enough. You, Americans, take towing too seriously. Look at Europe. It's quite common to tow a trailer with a car on it with a big sedan like LS460. Just be careful :-)

 

Nice for towing boats, but crap in the mountains where lower gears reign. Imo.


Looking at and having lived in Europe, I much prefer the United States.

OP is not in Europe, he's in the state of Virginia...in Virginia you need trailer brakes if the loaded trailer weight is 3000 lbs. or more.

 

I agree. But it's definitely doable. Been there, done that (even with a heavier car on the trailer). It helps to have LX, it's good for towing.

But surge breaks should be enough for the law.

I lived there for almost 40 years and I agree with you :-)

 

Thank you guys for the response. I am planning to stop by UHaul this afternoon and find out about the surge breaks. Anything else I should be worried about?

 

Drive slowly and keep sufficient braking distance from other cars. I suggest you turn on ECT and put in in sport mode. The heavier the car is relative to the trailer the better off you are. If trailer wags the LX, sometimes its best to floor the gas pedal for a couple of seconds until it stops. It's counter intuitive to some, but works well (Assuming you have the space to do it) It's summer, so watch the temp gauge for overheating, but with the LX, it shouldn't really be a problem. Most importantly, use gears to hold car on long down-hills and do NOT ride the brakes. Good luck and enjoy your trip.

 

^Everything Ashron wrote.

Beyond that, do not allow the truck to "hunt" for the right gear, especially up a long gradual climb. Far better to go full manual at a constant speed uphill and FAR easier on the transmission. When pulling horses my goal is to give them a comfortable and very safe ride. I select manual gear mode to keep the tranny cool and help the brakes on long down-hills.

 

I have done this with an Uhual "car hauler" where the car (an old 1995 Volvo 960 4 door sedan which was a VERY HEAVY CAR) is riding on the car hauler.

I do not believe the Uhaul car hauler has brakes of its own (meaning when you hit the brakes on the LX it will NOT automatically apply brakes on the Uhaul car hauler). I think the "brakes" on the Uhaul car hauler ONLY KICKS IN IF SOMEHOW the LX got DISCONNECTED by accident while in motion and the safety chains will begin to "pull on the Uhaul's car hauler's automatic brakes" to slow the whole thing down.

I wonder if it will be "easier and safer" if use the Uhaul "car dolly" option instead. This is towing only with the two "drive wheels" on the car dolly. In the case of your Sonata (which is front wheel drive) ...... the front wheels will be on the Uhaul car dolly and the rear wheels on the ground. This option will be a lot lighter to tow and short and therefore easier to maneuver when in city traffic. I have done this with the same Volvo that I had but it was with a Uhaul rental truck. In the case of the Volvo it was rear wheel drive so the rear wheels were on the car dolly.

BTW, the old Volvo had the old manual gear driven ODO which by towing it "backwards" the ODO decreased for the entire trip!!! IDK how your Sonata will do as far as the ODO if the rear wheels are on the ground going "forward" while towing......

 

Hi guys,
Thank you all for the suggestions and advice for the towing. So I picked up the auto trailer from UHaul and put the Sonata on it and drove it straight to Orlando.
One Express lane excel violation ticket, 930 miles and 19 hours later, I made it to Orlando. I cruised at 70mph for most of the way. The weather was extremely bad and it was raining non stop all the way, so I had to slow down to 65 a few times. I did take it to 85 as well a couple of times when I was trying to merge and LX did not complain at all. Here are a couple of things I noticed and I wanted to share with everyone.
1. The Uhaul auto trailer is equipped with Automatic Hydraulic Brakes. It works with momentum and inertia, therefore it won't engage the brakes when the brakes are engaged from the towing Vehicle. It engages automatically when the trailer pushes against the hitch and releases when the situation is opposite. I initially thought that I may see some lag in the braking but there was none.
2. Uhaul auto trailer's rear lights are all the way in the bottom. I also turned on the parking lights of the sonata to have more visibility on the road since it was raining and dark.
3. Goes without saying, longer turns are the best.
4. Don't make any sudden lane change or movement on the steering or the trailer will sway. I faced it at 70 mph when I was overtaking a line of trucks and left half of the vehicle was hydroplaning. It was a tough one to handle but I'm glad lx held tight and responsive and didn't let the trailer sway too much.
5. Tire pressure : I went through the owners Manual and found that when towing, we should increase the rear tires by 2 psi. No change to the front ones.
6. MPG: I refueled every 260 miles and filled up when the low fuel light came on. And the truck only took about 19 gallons everytime. The on board mpg calculator said that I averaged about 14mpg all the way.
7. Tow settings: LX tow lights connection in the back wont work until the headlights are set to 'on'. Makes sense, they want you to have most visibility when towing, day or night! I put the LX in sports mode and ECT Power.
8. ACH suspension was amazing throughout the journey. I had my wife and my dad with me in the car. Wife watched movies lost of the way and dad was busy with his work on his laptop while I listed to my playlist.
Last but not least, below please find the quick summary of the facts. I'm available to answer any questions. I'll also try to post some pictures:

Towing Vehicle: 2013 Lexus LX570 72K Miles
Vehicle being towed: 2012 Hyundai Sonata GLS
Towing Trailer : Uhaul auto trailer
Total distance towed: 930 miles
Total Time : 19 hours
Number of passengers: 3 (including driver)
Total load IN the vehicle : 1500 lbs (including passengers and their luggage)
Overall MPG : 14
Distance per tank : 260 miles

I'm available to answer any questions.


Sterling Virginia - leaving 8 am on 8/1/18


Ladysmith Virginia - stopped for breakfast.



Finally made it to orlando at 3:30am on 8/2/18. A long but comfortable journey and LX made it look very easy.

 

Thank you for the towing report and photos! I am happy that you made it without any big issues. The hydraulic surge brakes on U-Haul trailers work good enough for occassional towing although electric brakes would be better (but they would require an electric brake controller) so it's quite clear why U-Haul use it. About two yeras ago I was towing 6x12 U-Haul cargo trailer for a similar distance (in a mountain terrain), it was probably heavier than your trailer with Sonata on it, and also did not have any problems. But I was much slower. The recommended speed for all U-Haul trailers is 55 mph so I was going about 60 most of the time. But it's good to see that even 85 is O.K., although I would not risk that :-)

 

So the trailer has a sticker posted that the recommanded speed is 55, but I took the Uhaul guy on the side and asked him what would be the safest speed for me, I know it can take more than 55. He looked around and then told me try not to go over 70mph and i should be ok. So I cruised on 70 for most of the time.
I commend your patience for cruising so patiently on your trip. I don't have that much patience.
Also, on my way to FL, I came across a Yukon Denali, 2013 as well, with similar setup as mine (auto trailer and a sedan on top of it). The rear of that Denali was way way down, the suspension was all the way down and it seemed that the Denali was struggling with the load. It felt really good when I passed him a few times uphill at 70mph. Lol.