We have a smallish popup tent trailer and have been towing it with our elderly (1990) Toyota pickup, 4 cylinder, 4x4. Wondering if our well-maintained 1999 Lexus RX300 might do a better job of towing it or if we should stick with the pickup. The RX has been very well-maintained, runs like a champ, and has 275k miles on it. It does have a hitch receiver, but I don't know if has the tow package (anyone know how to find out?). It just occurred to us that the RX is a lot more pleasant to drive distances in than the pickup, but don't want to overstress it as it's my daily driver for work and I love it dearly. Neither vehicles have any major problems; both good condition, well-maintained and high mileage.
Thoughts? Advice?
Thanks in advance!

 

Welcome to CL!

As you can imagine there are a number of similar questions that have come up in the past you can leverage to get started using search. I put 'towing' in the advanced search keyword, pointed at the 1RX forum and there are about 50 threads on this and similar topics. Here are a couple to get you started and a link to advanced search



https://www.clublexus.com/forums/rx-...ghlight=towing
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/rx-...ghlight=towing
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/rx-...ghlight=towing
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/rx-...ghlight=towing
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/rx-...ghlight=towing
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/rx-...ghlight=towing


Also searched for tow package
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/rx-...ht=tow+package
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/rx-...ht=tow+package

Advanced search link (it's right at the top of the forum in the blue bar as well under the search dropdown)
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/search.php

 

RX is not renowned for a strong transmission. I have pulled trailer full of stones a couple of times, but never on regular basis.

Salim

 

Don't do it, don't do it! In all seriousness, the little tent/trailer thing you are talking about shouldn't be at all heavy. If it's the one I'm thinking about, you can move it around yourself by hand without much effort. That would be the limit for me. As salimshah mentioned, the transmission in this version of the RX has known issues/weak spots. That and the fact that you are at 275K are things to consider.

 

It is rated to 1500kg although have seen other stats in past to say was higher. All depends how much you load it up.

 

Yes, it was originally rated at 1500lbs. But experience has show this transmission to be a huge weakness of the car. Not worth risking it.

If the transmission goes out, it's not worth paying to get it fixed and it won't be worth anything to sell/trade.

 

I would stick with your pickup. The transmission in the RX300 is straight from a camry, and is not very robust especially for towing.

Cheers