Shopping for New Tow Vehicle

Welcome.  Good point.

Originally posted by dlbrownmac I have the 2014 Prerunner V6 with Tow package. How much was the supercharger?

As I recall the SC was about $7,000 installed. I bought the SC from Toyota OEM Part World and the local Toyota dealer installed it. The entire installation was then covered under the 3YR warranty. HOWEVER, 2013 was the last year Toyota would install and guarantee the SC. I had signed and put the deposit on a new 2014, then found out Toyota wouldn't install the SC, although the local manager assured me they would. I had to point out to the local manager he had no control over Toyota corporate. So I got a new end of year 2013. That said, the 2014 engine is identical to the 2013 so the SC should fit, but Toyota will not install and warrant it. Maybe a good third party shop would. The SC itself was around $4500. 

Just to throw a real-world example out there, until 12 years ago I was pulling a 3500 pound 16-foot popup with a Venture, which had about 2 1/2 feet between the axle and the receiver.  That camper was very sway-prone even with a sway bar.  I finally got it to a manageable level and then the Venture detonated on the way home from a trip.  Then bought a Sienna which had about 3 1/2 feet from axle to receiver.  What was manageable was again a big problem, with the only change that extra foot.

The distance between the rear axle and the hitch ball on my Escape is approximately 3-1/2' (the hitch is not mounted, so I am estimating the hitch ball to receiver distance). That probably explains why, even though the pivot point is not directly above the axle, I don't experience the sway that a pickup truck with a larger distance between the axle and the hitch would experience. I agree that better would be to have the pivot point at the axle. Better still might be what this setup did, and have the pivot point midway between front and rear axle: VW Beetle Trailer and Ultimate 5th Wheel.

On my first assignment after training with the Army, I was at Fort Hood, TX. As part of my assignment there, I was assigned as a driver of a deuce and a half. Along with that, I had a stake-side trailer. The truck was much longer than the trailer. Now I have an R-Pod 179, and I have been towing it with our Ford Escape. The trailer is longer than the Escape. What I have found is that with the Equal-i-zer hitch, coupled with the AeroPlus, sway has not been a big issue in the 10,000 plus miles of towing. It was not an issue with the Army vehicle, but backing was a royal pain as the trailer would jackknife in a heartbeat. Backing with the Escape is much easier since it does not have nearly the tendency to jackknife that I experienced with the deuce and a half.

I'm not saying that sway isn't something to be concerned about. Sway control is important. In my case, both equalization and sway control are vital. I would not be able to nor would I want to tow even a smaller R-Pod without them. I also would like to upgrade vehicles. I will do so as soon as it is financially feasible. I have been reading that Ford will have a Diesel F150 for the 2018 model year. Hopefully, I will be able to upgrade by then. Perhaps by then VW will be able to sell Diesel Tuareg models again also.