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I would be very interested in the feedback from those towing a 22' travel trailer with the GX. So please post your impresssions. What speed did you drive. How were the hills. And, the gas milage.
Here's what I'll be pulling. Should hear from Winnebago tomorrow if she's ready!
I'm ready to get it out on the road for her maiden voyage before I have to put her away for the winter!
I think having correct tongue weight, and a good hitch setup, then driving sanely (like anyone knows how to do that) is the key. DOT has some good info on their website about towing, and tongue weight etc. What does that weigh when fully loaded?
Here's the deal... it's not so much tongue weight and over-all weight (depending on axles and trailer brakes). I tow my 32' 6,700 Lbs Coachmen Freedom Express with my 6,500 Lbs Ford F-150 all the time just fine. The trailer has dual axle and each wheel has electric brakes. The truck has the brake control module added to amplify the power to the rear hook-up upon braking.
The REAL issue (IMHO) is sway. I use a load-leveling hitch with anti-sway brake. This helps transfer weight off the tongue and position the fulcrum to between the axles for even braking, The emergency disconnect would lock up the trailer brakes if the tongue or hitch ever failed.
The real danger is sway which best explained is this... Do you really want 7,000 Lbs of fish-tailing trailer behind you, and pulling your vehicle off the road?
The feedback that I am seeking assumes electric breaks with a controller in the GX, a weight distribution hitch, and optional sway control attachment. Proper setup is important no matter what vehicle is pulling the trailer.
Well the GX did great! Pulled very well. I discovered that, especially in the hills of Kentucky, S Mode is the way to go for the transmission. It gives you a lot of control and doesn't get confused as to what gear the GX should be in.
In Automatic Mode, the transmission would actually get confused as to what gear was the best. When ascending long hills on the interstate I would put it in S Mode 4 and leave it there running at about 2800RPM at 65 mph. Perfect!
Downhill, back to Auto and descent was fine. Level highway and Auto was perfect. Start and Stop in town I used S mode most of the time. It just felt more efficient and strong. Back roads pretty much S Mode the whole time adjusting for speed.
The GX has great torque and I averaged 11 mpg. going 65-70 mph. I never had any sway problems whatsoever. The sway control bar never left my storage bin.
I meant to take a picture of my hitch set up, but I was too busy having fun camping and forgot. It's a Reese Pro Series w Friction Sway Control (didn't use) with a Draw-Tite 5504 Brake Controller.
The only issue was at slow speeds the electric brakes were a little grabby on the trailer and lurched a little, but was tolerable.
Overall a very pleasant experience and confirmed why I chose the GX 460 for my tow vehicle.
I am a new owner of a 2018 Lexus GX460. I have a question regarding towing with this vehicle. I have a lifted jeep wrangler that weighs roughly 4000 lbs. Other than looking extemely awkward, would there be any issues flat towing my jeep. I included a picture of the jeep behind the Lexus. Thanks in advance for all who chime in!
You should be able to do that. I assume the trailer you will be towing with has electric brakes? Have you already installed the brake controller in GX?
I've poked around to see if there was a dedicated Towing thread or Sub-forum, but not having any luck; Curious to see what those who do tow are pulling with their 2nd Gen GXs.
10-16-17, 02:36 PM
