Hello - just purchased 2019 182g - tow questions

As the owner of a Highlander and a 179 let my try to talk you out of towing with the hybrid. First, I have had Prii of over a decade and am a big fan of Toyotas hybrid drive. But not for towing an rpod. There is a reason that Toyota has limited it to 3500 lbs/350 on the tongue. Hybrids weigh more so the hitch can't take as much weight and the drivetrain isn't as robust as a conventional V6 auto drive.

You are going to be over on both the 350 and the 3500 unless you leave nothing in the trailer and don't use the systems. Also those ratings assume nothing but the driver is in the Highlander, and you will have 4 people in there, plus stuff. So regardless of whether you feel comfiy trying it you will be over your vehicles limitations, making you at risk if being found negligent if you do have a crash.

The HiHy is a desirable vehicle, I think you will find that "upgrading" it to a 5000 lb rated 3.5 liter V6 one with the towp package like I have can be done for little to no net cost. You will be glad you did.

BTW, you won't see a measurable fuel economy difference towing between the two vehicles anyway, the hybrid drive won't get a chance to cycle the engine off dragging the trailer around. I get about 14 mpg as do most folks here. The hybrid has a 17 gallon fuel tank, the std drivetrain is 20, that extra 3 gallons helps extend your short range between fuel stops a lot when you're towing.

You will want a wdh, I use one and it makes a big difference. But it does not increase your towing capacity.

Good luck.

My wdh is rated at 1000 lbs. The wdh has to support both the trailer tongue and whatever you have loaded in the back of the TV so I think 600 lbs is too low unless you really have a very low tongue weight. I keep the spring bars tensioned to around 750-800 lbs when my fresh water tank is full and drop them a link when the fwt is empty and gray tank is full.

The calculator I sent the link to allows you to input the wdh spring bar length and change the bar tension so you can see the effect on your rigs weight distribution. The objective is to get the front axle weight back up to what it was without the trailer. When I weigh the axles before and after tensioning the wdh the calculator has been right on and I've manually verified the calcs so I'm confident it's correct.

Having been through that and wanting a safety factor on top (you will occasionally get upwards of 2g bump loads on rough or pot holed roads) I chose a stiffer wdh than most. I don't have an overly stiff or bouncy ride which would be the downside. In general I think a wdh in the 800-1000 lb range is a good choice for towing an rpod.

I have an old school Reese Pro wdh, nothing fancy. I used separate friction antisway bars. Lots of folks like the designs with integrated antisway, the problem I have with that is that the level of sway resistance is lower the lower the tension on the wdh. So if your tongue weight is low you set your tension low. So you get lower antisway friction at lower tongue weight, the opposite or what you want. Also, I just like being able to adjust my antisway independently, if I'm onnthe freeway I keep it high, twisty back roads and wet conditions I lower it.

Thank you offgrid and colonel podder for your recommendation!