Rav4 Towing a Caravan

[dakodamemphis]

Can anyone offer any advice on Caravan toweing with the Rav4. What they have towed. How they went. What kind of Rav4. Thankyou

[Dazzzler]

Can anyone offer any advice on Caravan toweing with the Rav4. What they have towed. How they went. What kind of Rav4. Thankyou

Hi, this may be a bit late for you however we have just completed 10000ks towing a Jayco Swan weighing around 1200kg. Ours is an auto rav and I would definetaly say NO NO NO NO NO......No.

The hills absolutely kill it and we got caught in the warrumbungles where it only just got up the hill, the temp was going up and the engine management system began to go to lessen the power to stop it overheating. We averaged around 17 to 18l/100ks travelling at 85km/h. Up to 19l/100 if we tried 95 to 100.

The problem seems to be the VVTI engine that loves to rev coupled with the auto means it suddenly goes from 3rd to 2nd and revs itself stupid.

We have towed a camper trailer weighing around the 500 to 600kgs and it did it pretty good.

A manual one may be a lot better as you could hold 3rd gear longer perhaps.

Cheers

[CrankN]

What year is your car?

Was that 4 cylinder or V6?

Ta.

[Dazzzler]

What year is your car?

Was that 4 cylinder or V6?

Ta.

Current Rav4 4cyl auto......Now the V6 would be bl***************dy bewdiful!

[CrankN]

Yeah i have a SX6 and although i don't own a caravan i would love to here comments from other V6 drivers on towing them as well as from the 4 cylinder guys.

Since this is an older thread i don't think that 'dakodamephis' would mind expanding the thread.

[love_live_travel]

Dazzler

Was your Jayco Swan an outback or on road? We are considering purchasing a Jayco eagle outback (approx tare weight 1080kg and adding around 300kg for extras) and have been advised that we should have a weight distributing hitch (Hayman Reece?) and possibly also add air suspension to the rear (polyair bags) installed.

We have a manual 4 cylinder 2002 Rav 4 Edge. Does anyone have any comments/suggestions regarding the advice we have received? We are concerned about safety and handling as we will have kids on board. All advice most welcome.

[Billgw]

Newbie

Hopefully you have not bought the Eagle yet.

We have towed a Jayco Dove (880Kg unloaded, but just over 1240Kg loaded) with a 2007 2.4ltr CV L Auto.

If you can guarantee that you will never see a hill, yeh you may be OK, but I doubt it, I think you are not only too close to the maximum that the RAV can comfortably tow, but also to the legal limit

As you may guess from a previous comment the RAV4 with the auto does not like hills, I agree it hunts and seeks but never quite seems to like what it finds.

Can I make a suggestion, get on the internet and look up Caravan hirers, then go and hire a Swan, load it up including filling the water tank, and take it and the family for a run, over a weekend, in particular find some hills to drive through. It may be the best couple of hundred dollars you ever spend.

Regards

Bill

ps Whereabouts do you live.

[Potter]

I am very interested in this topic as I have just purchased a 2009 Jayco Starcraft Pop Top 12'6 rear door van with underslung carraige, ATM 1300, and am towing it with my 2008 RAV4 automatic.

The RAV manual says on page 230, in the towing section, "In order to maintain engine braking efficiency, do not use fifth gear [manual] or "D" [automatic].

I read this after our first small trip away, had no trouble towing using D, only once needing to drop down to 3. I am planning a wrong way round trip from Gold Coast down through Flinders Ranges , up the centre then across to Atherton, in part via the Savannah Way and Cape Tribulation, then down the Qld coast.

Can anyone offer help re the do not drive in D or other wise insights. For most of this trip I will be travelling alone, am a 60 year old female with character, intelligence and a well developed sense of humour.

[Ravvvie :)]

Pulled a fully loaded 1.3ton trailer...n gosh it was struggling or because it was the rav4 because it was a small bugger...and it was making this weird noise sound

but in the end it consumed like 16lt/100 D=

[sandshoe]

The RAV manual says on page 230, in the towing section, "In order to maintain engine braking efficiency, do not use fifth gear [manual] or "D" [automatic].

Can anyone offer help re the do not drive in D or other wise insights. For most of this trip I will be travelling alone, am a 60 year old female with character, intelligence and a well developed sense of humour.

If you post this question on a caravan forum you're in for a long discussion! The majority (but by no means all) say that you shouldn't tow in D or 5th because these are overdrive gears and they strain the drivetrain. In an auto the torque converter doesn't lock up as readily, and the slippage can cause overheating. I have towed in D (with a Commodore, not a RAV4 yet) without trouble, but only on the flat, and without any significant headwind. The general recommendation is to tow with whatever gear gives you a 1:1 ratio - usually one gear down from top. Incidentally, I've never heard engine braking used as an argument not to tow in D. Surely if you need engine braking you change down as required.

[dakodamemphis]

Hi All.

Sorry for the absence, I have still not yet purchased my Jayco. Bummer. The Rav4 is such a wonderful car. I can not fault it, besides its not the best car for towing. I made a very interesting observation the other day. I was out a Jayco watching a New Outback Dove being hitched to a Patrol. I was shocked to see the Patrols back end sink so much. My thought was that if the Patrols suspension couldnt take a small van my Rav's suspension defiantly coudnt take it.

In conclusion, Now I am debating what stance to take: Sell the Rav4 and get a look at a Sports wagon or a Kluger. Or Spend some cash on the Ravs suspension and motor and hope that will help.

Dilemma.

What to do, what to do.

[dakodamemphis]

Have an update for everyone. Have been researching and have found that Pedders do a full setup. They've advised me that some new springs for the rear wheels, and as I don't yet have a tow bar that's the most important. This was quoted at $950.00. For a heavy duty towbar rated to 1900 this is perfect. I also asked regarding a weight management system they said to see how I go with the springs otherwise it's $745.00 for that.

I have aslo been looking into some engine mods, will let u know how I go.

I didn't relise the expandas are rated to 1300.

Jayco sale on starting the 6th of Jan. So I'm finaly going to get our van.

[sandshoe]

Have an update for everyone. Have been researching and have found that Pedders do a full setup. They've advised me that some new springs for the rear wheels, and as I don't yet have a tow bar that's the most important. This was quoted at $950.00. For a heavy duty towbar rated to 1900 this is perfect. I also asked regarding a weight management system they said to see how I go with the springs otherwise it's $745.00 for that.

I have aslo been looking into some engine mods, will let u know how I go.

I didn't relise the expandas are rated to 1300.

Jayco sale on starting the 6th of Jan. So I'm finaly going to get our van.

Just beefing up the rear suspension may not be the best way to handle this. The problem is that any weight on the towbar will not only push down the back, but (more importantly) will also lift the front wheels. Putting heavier springs on the back will lift the back up to where it should be, but does not redress the lightening of the load on the front wheels. This is bad enough in any vehicle, but worse on a predominantly front wheel drive.

In my experience the best way to deal with towing is to install a weight distribution system first. This distributes the weight properly between the front wheels, rear wheels, and trailer wheels. After that you can think about new springs, but you probably won't need them. I've had two tow vehicles with Hayman-Reese WDHs that have sat nice and level and towed beautifully at high speed without any extra suspension. I wouldn't tow anything with a ball weight over about 75kg any significant distance or at any highway speed without a WDH. I reckon any caravan or towbar specialist (as distinct from a suspension specialist) would say the same.

Congratulations on deciding to get a van - it's a great way to holiday. I don't think I'm going to get our van out behind the RAV until about April, but when I do I'll tell you how it goes!

PS. Have you done any research on transmission oil coolers? I'd like to know whether they are necessary on the RAV for towing. The manual doesn't mention it. In my experience (with other vehicles) the dealers tend to say "not necessary" and the auto transmission specialists say "absolutely essential". Who can tell??!

[dakodamemphis]

Hi Mate.

Thanks for the info. I will definitely look into the intercooler. I will be very interested to hear about how you go.

I have just purchased my Swan Outback. Stoked!

Don't get it till april but thats ok.

Keep the advice coming though.

All the Best

[dakodamemphis]

Hi All.

Well three weeks to go till I get my caravan, so know the mods on the Rav4 start. Am booked in for Hayman Reese Heavy duty towbar on the 14th, and for my Tekonshi P3 breaking system to be installed. I had a couple of quotes, one I thought was great price at $1200 so I booked it in. Thought I'd give one more place a call and the quoted me $590 with my own Brake controller. Picked one up on good old ebay, for $180. Stoked. Needless to say I have booked it in with these guys. Won't say names. But they are in the center of Geelong. Will let you know on workmen ****. I also got a quote from Prestige Jayco for a Hayman Reese weight system for $350. Cant go wrong.

So now it is getting exciting.

Well keep you all posted.

[sandshoe]

Hi All,

Some time ago I promised some feedback about towing a caravan with my 2009 ZR-6. Well, I've just got back from a trip from Adelaide to Beechworth, Vic, and Melbourne, towing a 15.5-foot single axle Roadstar pop-top. The van has an ATM of about 1500-1550kg, with a ball weight of about 150kg. The rig uses a Hayman-Reese weight distribution hitch, and the vehicle is fitted with a Tekonsha P3 brake controller.

Apart from one thing, it was a great experience. The ZR-6 pulled the van easily and with power to spare, especially on the long flat runs in eastern SA and western Vic. I don't like to hold up streams of traffic, so I tend to tow at or close to the speed limit. I kept the car in "4" pretty well all of the time, as I have heard from many sources that towing in overdrive strains the transmission. When I put the car into "D" as an experiment, it never shifted into fifth gear, so I guess it knows what is good for it!

One interesting aside: when climbing a hill the transmission would (naturally) downshift to third. On reaching the flat land at the top, sometimes the car would hold in third for a long time, often a minute to a minute and a half, before shifting back up to fourth. If I moved the shifter to "3" and then back to "4", it shifted up immediately. Don't know what that was all about!

The one black mark - fuel consumption! Around town I drive many short hops, and often get about 13 l/100km. Country driving, some flat, some hills, some gravel, etc. I was getting about 10. With the van on the back this blew out to 21 on the flat and a whopping 24 in hilly country. Not only did this work out to be bloody expensive, but inconvenient as I could only get 250km from a tank!! Didn't seem to matter whether I cruised at 100km/h or 110. Maybe if I poodled along at 80 it would be better, but, hell, I'm on holiday and don't want to spend all day just getting there!

(This makes me wonder how the Kluger goes as a tow vehicle - same engine but another 500kg of car to pull around.)

On another matter, I took the RAV along a couple of pretty rough tracks (without the caravan, of course), and was very pleased with how well it went over quite deep ditches and ruts. I don't have any 4WD experience worth a damn, though, so my definition of "pretty rough" might be a bit wimpy! If anyone knows MacDonald Spur Track (between Power's Lookout and the upper King valley) then they can put me straight. We went down - there's no way I'd have tried going up!!

Happy travels everyone, especially dakodamemphis - hope it's all going according to plan, mate!

Here's the rig!

[c32kompressor]

Hi Sandshoe,

I'm glad you had fun on your travels. Good to see people using their RAVs to their fullest potential.

I just wanted to make a similar comment on an issue that you have noticed. I have 08 RAV CV that I bought brand new and it has just over 30,000km atm. I have never towed anything with it but go travelling within often. I too have noticed that sometimes when the cruise control is on, the car downshifts to 3rd (as mine is a 4 spd auto) on uphills and when the road levels up, it remains in 3rd for a long time before going to 4th and overdrive. Like you said, if you manually shift it from D to 3 (in my case) and back to D it shifts up. But on its own it can stay stuck in 3rd for a while. It doesn't happen all the time but rarely. The thing is, the car is never loaded either and its just me and my partner in the car. So there is no real load. I'm just guessing that the RAV feels that there might be another hill coming up, so just stays stuck in a lower gear LOL.

Other than that, it's a great car and really good for travelling long distances.

[dakodamemphis]

Hi All

Firstly let me say to sandshoe, Wow I hope you have a fat wallet.

Secondly, My caravan is here. Jayco Swan, it is brilliant. It tows perfectly, up hills it drops down a gear but nothing major. Took her down the Great Ocean Road, not a problem. Caravan pulled realy well, no swaying not over heating nothing.

I got the Hayman Reese intermediate system and it levels out the car just perfectly.

Fuel: I always track my fuel every fill. Prior to getting the van I average around 10.2L/100kms, average.I normaly get aroung 460+kms out of the tank before fuel light comes on. The trip down the coast 12.5L/100kms.

Planning a bigger trip over to Robe and up to Adelaide latter in year so im looking forward to seeing how she goes.

Planning to head up to Yarrawonga for a long long weekend in couple of weeks so Im sure that will give me so more good info.

Glad to hear that there are some more keen caravaners with there Rav's other than me.

Get out and about.. Enjoy.

[sandshoe]

Glad you had a good shakedown trip, dakodamemphis. Your fuel consumption is a lot better than mine!! (I assume you are driving a 4-cylinder.)

I'm upgrading my caravan to something more modern but smaller and lighter (should ATM about 1300 kg and save me at least 250 kg). It should have better aerodynamics, too.

I also read on other threads in this forum that fuel consumption improves with mileage - I hope that's true!

Happy travels, and keep us posted.

[dakodamemphis]

Hi Sandshoe

Glad to hear your looking at some other options. There really are some nice vans around. Glad to hear your not looking at upgrading your Rav.

Have just come back from a trip to Yarrawonga. The Rav did really well. It was quite hilly as you know you go up over the Great divide. I didnt use cruise ever thought it would push her to much. Was just happy to let her ease up on the hills. In saying that we sat on 110 and we made it to Yarrawonga on one tank of fuel, roughly 350kms. Mind you I did fill up with Shell Optimax. I have been using that recently and have found the Rav is running so well, good fuel consumption and feels nice and smooth.

Sandshoe I will send you a message with what I have dont to the rav to try and improve Fuel consumption, it has most deffinatly worked. I am very impressed with what has helped and as you can see I am getting good mileage. I will not post it on here as there are a lot of well lets just say (f*#$*) that dont like other peoples help and opinions.

Anyways, am planning a trip down to Robe in couple of weeks. Have planned to do the beach trip from Robe to Beachport. Have been told to allow a full day and to take some special equipment ect. But cant wait. AM not excpecting the Rav to have any problems. You can clearly see the track on Google Earth and it looks great.

Will let you know how it goes.

Get out and about, Enjoy.

[rolflet]

Hi All

Firstly let me say to sandshoe, Wow I hope you have a fat wallet.

Secondly, My caravan is here. Jayco Swan, it is brilliant. It tows perfectly, up hills it drops down a gear but nothing major. Took her down the Great Ocean Road, not a problem. Caravan pulled realy well, no swaying not over heating nothing.

I got the Hayman Reese intermediate system and it levels out the car just perfectly.

Fuel: I always track my fuel every fill. Prior to getting the van I average around 10.2L/100kms, average.I normaly get aroung 460+kms out of the tank before fuel light comes on. The trip down the coast 12.5L/100kms.

Planning a bigger trip over to Robe and up to Adelaide latter in year so im looking forward to seeing how she goes.

Planning to head up to Yarrawonga for a long long weekend in couple of weeks so Im sure that will give me so more good info.

Glad to hear that there are some more keen caravaners with there Rav's other than me.

Get out and about.. Enjoy.

[rolflet]

Hi All

Firstly let me say to sandshoe, Wow I hope you have a fat wallet.

Secondly, My caravan is here. Jayco Swan, it is brilliant. It tows perfectly, up hills it drops down a gear but nothing major. Took her down the Great Ocean Road, not a problem. Caravan pulled realy well, no swaying not over heating nothing.

I got the Hayman Reese intermediate system and it levels out the car just perfectly.

Fuel: I always track my fuel every fill. Prior to getting the van I average around 10.2L/100kms, average.I normaly get aroung 460+kms out of the tank before fuel light comes on. The trip down the coast 12.5L/100kms.

Planning a bigger trip over to Robe and up to Adelaide latter in year so im looking forward to seeing how she goes.

Planning to head up to Yarrawonga for a long long weekend in couple of weeks so Im sure that will give me so more good info.

Glad to hear that there are some more keen caravaners with there Rav's other than me.

Get out and about.. Enjoy.

Oh my Dog, you lot frighten me. I was going to tow a small caravan behind my 2.4 RAV4 next year but am confused now. Can I or can I not tow a van safely and economically with my car. Help?

[rolflet]

Oh my Dog, you lot frighten me. I was going to tow a small caravan behind my 2.4 RAV4 next year but am confused now. Can I or can I not tow a van safely and economically with my car. Help?

Rolf

:(

[dakodamemphis]

Hi rolfet, yes I have found it possible.

But as they say, just do it.

I have a 2007 cv and it pulls my swan PERFECTLY.

It just depends were u plan to go, and if you plan to be in a mad rush or happy to take your time.

I get around 350kms per tank with van on.

Without van I get about 500kms.

I say yes go for it.

But you need to make your own informed discussion.

Hope this helps.

Get out and about, Enjoy.

[skulldragger]

Just to add my towing experiences with my 5speed 2.4L Rav4

I regularly tow my boat (total weight about 1000-1100Kg) Tow ball weight approx: 75Kg

- Speeds up to 80Km/h (ie city driving) not a problem.

- Cruising speeds on flats up to 120Km/h not a problem.

- Up hills can struggle, but can do 60Km/h up the long hill going north out of Wollongong.

- Fuel economy: average about 14L/100Km with trailer (11L/100Km without in the city. 8L/100Km on the freeways)