smassey321

We drove from FL to CA and it took 10 days. The trailer was a Wells Cargo mini wagon which . weighs 600 lbs empty. We had another 600 lbs of cargo so around 1200 lbs total. The RX did much better than expected. It has plenty of power for passing and climbing hills. The brakes did great in everything but the most extreme down hill runs. The rear suspension did great with the extra weight. I expected to bottom out but never had to worry.

We got 20 mpg compared to our normal 26. We could easily maintain 80 mph in the flat areas. In the hills we kept it around 70. The hybrid system functioned as normal. At low parking lot speed it ran in full electric. At higher speeds it boosted the power as needed. I have towed many things with my old Jeep Grand Cherokee. Overall I would rank the RX equal to or better than the Jeep as far as towing confidence.

Our RX400h is an 06 with the tow prep package and 80k miles. I added a factory hitch and wiring. It did not drink a drop of oil the entire trip.

RX330inFL

One very long trip. Glad to see you made it safely there. Plans to come back to FL, or was this a one-way trip?

smassey321

We just did another long trip so I wanted wanted to give a new update. This time we drove from CA to FL on the I-10 route. The trailer total load was close to 2000 lbs this time. As expected the RX did great and is a surprisingly good tow vehicle.

We also have purchased a boat. An 18' bow rider which totals close to 3000 lbs boat motor and trailer. I have only towed short distances so far but was most impressed on the boat ramp. The RX pulls the boat up the ramp and out of the water effortlessly. Just a gentle step on the gas and it idles up the ramp. Those electric motors are really powerful at low speed.

CometVR4

I was impressed with the gas mileage while towing my motorcycle. I was still able to achieve 20+mpg over a 600 mile trip on our old RX4.

With the FX35 I was averaging around 13-15mpg.

thomas1

Wow, I am impressed...nice pictures too.

macprint

"We drove from FL to CA and it took 10 days. The trailer was a Wells Cargo mini wagon which . weighs 600 lbs empty. We had another 600 lbs of cargo so around 1200 lbs total. The RX did much better than expected. It has plenty of power for passing and climbing hills. The brakes did great in everything but the most extreme down hill runs. The rear suspension did great with the extra weight. I expected to bottom out but never had to worry.

We got 20 mpg compared to our normal 26. We could easily maintain 80 mph in the flat areas. In the hills we kept it around 70. The hybrid system functioned as normal. At low parking lot speed it ran in full electric. At higher speeds it boosted the power as needed. I have towed many things with my old Jeep Grand Cherokee. Overall I would rank the RX equal to or better than the Jeep as far as towing confidence.

thanks for the information. Have had my 2007 RX400 5 weeks. Has towing package but no hitch. Was a little concerned about how the hybrid would tow. Will start looking for a hitch next week.
Thanks

myw

love those photos!!!! amazing and congrats re the successful tow. love my trusty rx!

Weighit

I had to buy a hitch for my 400H, then rented a U-Haul trailer to pick up ceramic tile for a house remake. The trailer was loaded and the car towed and stopped perfectly. I was impressed.

smassey321

Thanks for the kind words. The cargo trailer success gave us the confidence to get a boat! We now have a 18' bow rider that weights close to 3000 lbs loaded. Acceleration and braking are still great but the best part is pulling out of the boat ramp fully loaded. The RX basically idles up the ramp using mostly electric power. It senses the load and gives it extra juice. It feels like you could do this 100s of times with zero wear on anything.

DBinMobile

Thanks to everyone who posted here. It's been very informative for me. I have a 2006 400h & considering purchasing a small skil boat/trailer later this year so this has been most helpful.