yavery

Hi,

I'm wondering if anyone has any experience towing Ultra-Light
(but not ultra-short) travel trailers (TT) with a 2005/2006 GX470. I know it has
a theorical rating of 6,500 pounds ... but what about real life ...

I'm facing a dilema and don't know which TT model I should be getting in order
to have safe journeys when hauling (handling and stopping included!) ...

#1)
TT dry weigth: 4328
GVWR: 6000
exterior length: 27'1"

#2)
TT dry weight: 4530
GVWR: 6000
exterior length: 30'3"

#3)
TT dry weight: 4655
GVRW: ?
exterior length: 25'10"

#4)
shorter and lighter models ...

What scares me a bit is the length of these trailers. Do you think I could safely
tow #1, #2, #3 or should I be looking for a shorter TT.

Please me let me know what you think.

Stupid question, when they say 6,500 pounds, does that include the SUV passengers
and any fuel in the tank or is it 6,500 pounds just for the actual trailer and whatever
is in the trailer?

Thanks in advance for sharing your own experience if any ...

loflin

Can't help you much, with experiences, but can tell you there is some good info on the web about Tow Weight, GVWR, tongue weights, etc. Go to the TT manufacturer site and they should have a section on it.

In General the Tow Weight is just that the total weight of what you are towing, nothing to do with passengers and luggage in your car.

However, you will have a tongue weight, typically 10% of trailer weight (if trailer is properly balanced). So for max tongue weight that is 650lb. This weight IS added to passengers, luggage, fuel, etc. to ensure you don't go over your CAR's GVWR. The car GVWR is seperate from the trailer GVWR.

I don't have the GX nums in front of my, but just making up number as an example...

Say the GX empty/dry weight is 4500lb. Say the GVWR is 6000lb. If you were going to tow the max with properly balanced trailer, then you would have 6000 - 4500 -650 = 850lb left for passengers, luggage and fuel, etc. Assume you only put 150lb of fuel and luggage in the car (and the rest of the luggage is in the trailer), then you have 700lb left for people. You and your wife at 350lb, leaves 350 for friends or kids.

Now if you trailer is only 4000lb, then tongue is only 400lb and you have another 250lb you can carry in the actual car.

Again these are made up numbers, for example.

looknow12

The tow weight of 6500lbs does consider the load in the vehicle. Here's a note from Lexus.com

[2] Before towing, confirm your vehicle and trailer are compatible, hooked up properly and you have any necessary additional equipment. Do not exceed any weight ratings and follow all instructions and cautions from your trailer-hitch manufacturer and vehicle Owner's Manual. The maximum amount you can tow depends on the total weight of any cargo, occupants and available equipment.

You're correct about a typical 10% of the tongue weight. That's mainly to balance the trailer and to ensure there is no upforce on the rear hitch, tongue, and wheels as that could be dangerous. To flip that, too much weight on this area could also be dangerous.

Regarding the GVWR if you subtract the curb weight (4,871 lbs), that will give you the load for cargo and passengers. I am not certain if the curb weight is "wet" or "dry" meaning with or without fluids respectively. There may be notes on Lexus' website stating this if not, Lexus Customer Service would help. But since gas weights around 6.1lbs per gallon your only talking about 130lbs anyway so + or minus, don't serve the family Entenmanns that week Then other fluids like Antifreeze, oil, etc. Again this is assuming the curb weight isn't a wet one.

loflin

looknow12, not sure if you responding to my post or not.

The GX Owner's manual does cover this is some detail (though still a little confusing the first time you go through it) on pgs 470 to 488

I don't have the car with me to look at the Cert Label to get the real nums.

But there are some nums in the manual.

One is total of EVERYTHING (including trailer) is 12000lb. Max Tow is 6500lb. So this will be one of the limiting calculations on load (passengers, luggage) in the GX if you have a max loaded trailer:

12000-6500 => 5500 - empty weight of GX => max weight for passenger/luggage left

The other limiting factor is the GVWR of the GX. This DOES NOT include the trailer and trailer load, EXCEPT for the tongue weight portion.

So as I said in previous post:

GVWR - empty weight of GX - tongue weight of trailer = max weight for passenger/luggage left

Finally, there are also calculations and warning on ensuring your load in the GX is distributed correctly over each axle (as there is a max per axle, but usually this is not an issue).

So go look on your Cert Plat and get the GVWR and the empty weight of the GX and plug those in.

yavery

Thanks guys, will do the maths!

yavery

What about the trailer lengths ... Any comment on that, any experience ?

Thanks!

looknow12

Yeah, normally not an issue since the amount of cargo area in CuFt is so small compared to the amount of axle load limit stated.

looknow12

Normally vehicles don't get into specifying this. This comes down to the trailer itself. Longer trailers will add a second axle. The second axle will distribute more of the trailer load evenly across the two axles. Additionally, if the trailer load/trailer length is too long, it will increase your tongue weight (or shear) and max tow weight which would fall outside the specs anyway.

Make certain your trailer tow weight and tongue weight fall within the specs, that's the important part.

dmizock

We've been using our GX to tow our TT for well over 2 years now. We have an '03 GX with the original 235HP/320 lb ft torque engine. Our trailer is an '03 Caravan by Fleetwood. It's 25' in length and weighs 4100# empty. The GVWR of the trailer is 5500#, and the tongue weight is between 550 and 600#. We have towed our trailer from San Diego to Canada and have done many trips within the state and into Oregon and Washington. Our most recent trip last month was to Colorado. Rt mileage was around 3500. The Canada trip was over 4500 miles. Overall we have put close to 15,000 miles on the trailer with our GX. We have had other travel trailers which we have towed with different tow vehicles. The GX is, by far, the most comfortable way to tow a travel trailer ever. We go to Yosemite every winter and really appreciate the 4x4 capabilities of the GX in the snow. While in Colorade, we headed up into the mountains on some pretty rugged jeep trails (obviously without the trailer) with no problems at all. Towing the trailer uphill at 11,500' does require somewhat slower travel in lower gears, but overall, we have no trouble keeping up with traffic. And with the exception of occasional high wind situations, we have no issues with sway. I use a weight distributing hitch and sway control.

I would say that we are probably at the upper limits for this vehicle with its relatively short wheelbase, in terms of trailer length and weight. I would not try to tow a trailer longer than 25', and 5500# keeps us just at or below our GCVWR (the loaded truck and trailer combined). My GX has a 6000# gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) and weighs about 4700# empty. Add two adults, two kids, the dog, a full tank of gas and the weight of the trailer tongue, and we are right at the limit. The engine's 320 lb. ft. of torque is more than adequate for our load.

With the Rear Seat Entertainment System for the kids, the Mark Levinson stereo for the adults, the safety and security of 4 wheel drive, the convenience of a top notch navigation system (covers parts of Canada as well), and the smooth quiet Lexus ride, towing our home on wheels is an absolute joy. We did plenty of research before buying the GX and the trailer in order to find the right match, and couldn't be happier with our decisions. Good luck to you with your search.


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