Towing setup for new RP176

Lots of good comments on hare about TV and recommendations. I also have a similar TV as the beginning of the post(Toyota Venza). I have a wide range of career back ground. Machinist, did second career thing for Mechanical Engineering(College version), now designer-draftsman for welding company, also renovating a 150 year old house. I have learned many things when working with Engineers, can be 1.5 to 10 times safety factors, that being said I have some Engineers ok our design and others will not touch our projects. With my 20 years of Machining, I was the guy who got all the jobs that everyone else in the shop said it couldn't be done. I took great pride in proving a lot of people wrong, sometimes anything is possible, and also in a safe way too. Many things can be said about a vehicles tow rating, and many modifications can be done to improve things. Car manufacturers tend to have less and less tow ratings, and make sure with today's lawyers that, their butts are covered for any lawsuit. I have a best friend who is a fantastic mechanic and my RV dealer has been is business for around 70 years. They say the Venza will work, I still think it may not have enough power for my liking when towing out east (Canada and USA has same landscape as far as out east goes). I'm not 100% on board, but one fact is that with trailer brakes, stopping will not be a safety concern. I will also do all of the modifications to my TV, already have a good WDH with sway bars, looking into frame strengthening, but sometimes a proper design needs parts to flex so they do not break. Now I have to wait till June to find out how it will work. I hope this helps everyone to maybe think outside the box. Also I am not saying that car company's tow rating are wrong, or anyone's experience is bad advice, but some times there are grey areas..... . I'm on hear to find out everyone's opinion, good or bad, this will help me see things I may not have thought about to make a good decision. Thanks for all the input and I hope no one was offended about my post.

I have to disagree with you, I chose my dealer because is is an expert on towing, they even have towing seminars to teach people the dos and don'ts for towing. He has taken over the business and has worked there since he was around 10, over 50 years working with rv's and towing. A rating on a vehicle has a 1.5 to 2 times safety factor, which means a 3500 lbs rating could actually tow around 5000-7000 lbs. Keep in mind that would be too much in my opinion, but everything is over rated to allow these type of situations. Not every trailer and situation, are people able to know the exact wight, maybe I have to tow a trailer with building materials or garbage. Also if you have a TV rated at over 5000 lbs, that dose not mean you are safer. Have you seen how fast people drive and how bad some drivers are...... just my opinion

Originally posted by tsteckley A rating on a vehicle has a 1.5 to 2 times safety factor, which means a 3500 lbs rating could actually tow around 5000-7000 lbs. Keep in mind that would be too much in my opinion, but everything is over rated to allow these type of situations.

I don't know that that is true or not. If you've ever driven a vehicle that is towing something that is at 100% of its rated capacity, you might think differently. The proof in the pudding is towing at altitude; and I mean at 6,000 or 7,000 feet and above. Just amazing to me the difference in vehicles; even without a trailer.

Originally posted by Our pod I selected my trailer, then bought a truck that could tow twice that weight. Then I bought my r-pod.

We did it the other way around. We did need the truck for other purposes, but we tempered our TT selection with the capacity in mind. It's not a factor at all between the F-150 and the R-pod, and we really didn't want or need a bigger TT. Every situation is different of course. Those folks in the east where the "mountains" are 3,000-4,000 feet might have different considerations than those out west where the "mountains" are 6,000-10,000 feet. Where we live we call the 3,000-4,000 foot things "hills".

Bottom line, if you tow beyond your vehicle or trailer's weight capacity and get into a wreck, you're going to be in a very complicated situation, possibly involving criminal charges if there is a serious injury or fatality.  Depending on your state's or province's insurance laws, you may find yourself in violation fo the terms of your insurance policy and may have forfeited your coverage, making the situation even more complex.