Can I tow my tow car behind my 4Runner?

[Jim917]

Hi,

We placed the order for our first RV yesterday. (And we're so excited!) I also have my tow car already (and I'm sure it can be flat towed, per the manual). Camping world will be installing the entire flat tow kit on that car, with Invisibrake, the tow bars, wiring and everything.

Once that is done on the tow car, and our RV arrives, we should definitely be good to go for flat towing that car behind the RV.

However, before we get the RV, we are moving out of state, and we need to get that tow car to the new state. Assuming the tow car is completely set up correctly for towing behind the RV, and assuming I have all the equipment for towing it behind the RV, is there any reason why I can't flat tow it behind my 4Runner?

The car is very light, and far below the tow capacity of the 4Runner. And the 4Runner has the square tow hitch receiver, as well as the wiring plug for the electrical connections.

It seems like the tow car wouldn't even know it's not behind an RV, and the 4Runner wouldn't know that the thing it's towing is being flat towed. When I think of each side separately, I don't see why it wouldn't work. However, I don't think I've never actually seen a car flat towed behind another car. I'm wondering if there's an issue with doing that.

Any help would be appreciated!

[NLOVNIT]

In order to even being to answer your questions we'd need to know the following:
What is the toad car & what is it's loaded weight? Saying it's "light" isn't enough. Have you weighed it?
What is the 4-Runner's hitch rating
What is the 4-Runner's CGWR

[Arch Hoagland]

Does the 4 Runner have a brake controller for the auxiliary brakes on the toad?

[Garyp4951]

I would think yes, since I've seen Mini Vans flat towing Jeep rock crawlers.

[Stevegd007]

Yes. I would. Only weight on the 4 Runner would be the hitch as the car is 4 down & not adding weight to the other car. You will have other issues. 1) Lights. Stop & turn. Should rig up a wire harness. 2) Stopping. If you going off without a supplemental break assist. Be very aware the tow car WILL push your 4 Runner as you stop or slow down. So I would not travel very fast. Slow down...SLOWLY. You should be OK.

[Jim917]

Originally Posted by NLOVNIT

In order to even being to answer your questions we'd need to know the following:
What is the toad car & what is it's loaded weight? Saying it's "light" isn't enough. Have you weighed it?
What is the 4-Runner's hitch rating
What is the 4-Runner's CGWR

Those are very good points about the weight. The 4Runner has a load-distributing hitch, and the manual says the towing capacity is 7,000 lbs. The car is a 2008 Chevy Cobalt which weighs 3,200. I don't know what the CGWR is. I couldn't find that, but I'm thinking I'm probably OK since I have so much margin.

My question is perhaps more fundamental than that, though. Weight problems would be an issue for dolly towing, too. But assuming there aren't any weight issues, and assuming dolly towing the vehicle would be just fine, then I'm wondering if there would be a reason why I couldn't flat tow instead of dolly.

[deandec]

Not the same situation, but I did tow one JGC with another Jeep JGC for about 15 miles at 45 mph using the tow bar.

I did not like the handling. Weights were all in tolerances. Towing a 20 ft boat and trailer with tandem axles was far more pleasant.

If going a long distance at highway speed, I would rent a car hauler for the one-time tow.

[Jim917]

Originally Posted by Arch Hoagland

Does the 4 Runner have a brake controller for the auxiliary brakes on the toad?

I don't really know (yet) what those wires do. I need to study that. It looks like the 4Runner has a flat-ish 3 pin connector and a square-ish 4 pin connector. Do one or both of those match what would be on the back of an RV? I'm assuming the 4Runner must have exactly what is on the back of an RV, or it won't match up right with what Camping World is setting up for the toad.

[John Boy]

When we had our invisibrake installed at Camping World they had to do some "setup" on the RV 7 pin connection. Have whoever sets up the car make sure your 4Runner is set up to tow the car using the invisibrake system. That way your brake lights and signals will work properly.
It is not plug and play but it can be done safely.
Good luck!

[Hurricane-TX]

Those connectors are not for trailer lights. They may be part of the vehicles wiring harness that when properly configured will allow you to have a pig tail for connecting to your trailer. I suggest you skip Camping World and find a custom hitch place to install your base plate. They can also advise about setting up the 4Runner to be a tower.

[John Boy]

I see you don't have a 7 pin connection. Get one properly installed.
Camping World would not be my first choice for this.
How far is the new house? It may not be worth all the time and money and effort.

[Arch Hoagland]

I've never seen plugs like that, have no idea what they were for.

What make and model RV did you order?

[Jim917]

Originally Posted by RetiredbutWorking

Those connectors are not for trailer lights. They may be part of the vehicles wiring harness that when properly configured will allow you to have a pig tail for connecting to your trailer. I suggest you skip Camping World and find a custom hitch place to install your base plate. They can also advise about setting up the 4Runner to be a tower.

Good idea about the custom hitch place. I'll check into that.

[Jim917]

Originally Posted by John Boy

I see you don't have a 7 pin connection. Get one properly installed.
Camping World would not be my first choice for this.
How far is the new house? It may not be worth all the time and money and effort.

It's San Jose to Phoenix, about 12 hours (undoubtedly much longer if I'm towing the car). We have 2 other cars to get there, too. I'm going to pay to ship those on an auto-transport, but that's perhaps $700/car. I figured if the toad was already going to be set up anyway, I could save the $700.