www.iFourWinns.com

I have decided i can't take the 17-20 mpg most 5,000 lbs towing capacity most mid size suv's get so for all of you who have Rav 4's can you really pull a 19' or 20' Fourwinns with it? I trailer maybe 4 times a season and not usually more than 10 miles. also what about a class III hitch for it? I havent been able to find one online yet.

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Guns kill people like spoons make people fat.
2007 Horizon 190 Gxi
97 Pathfinder SE 4x4
73 International Scout II

dave I am not sure if this is too late. I have the rav4. I tow my boat 3500lbs loaded. I tow it alot. It works fine. The engine and trans in the v6 rav4 are the same as in the new highlander. You only have 10 miles to tow. I would do it. I get 24-27 mpg in my rav mixed mountain/freeway/city driving.

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Four winns 180 horizon

oh yea factory hitch is class III

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Four winns 180 horizon

My boat is more like 4500 so it worries me a bit....

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Guns kill people like spoons make people fat.
2007 Horizon 190 Gxi
97 Pathfinder SE 4x4
73 International Scout II

have you looked into the highlander hybrid?

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Four winns 180 horizon

Ntt yet but considering all options over 20 mpg.....

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Guns kill people like spoons make people fat.
2007 Horizon 190 Gxi
97 Pathfinder SE 4x4
73 International Scout II

The new Hilander is no longer a girly machine, the styling is handsome especially in black. As a reference, my wife's 2004 Toyota Sienna Minivan with 100K miles on it has been dead reliable and gets a consistent 24MPG with 80% highway driving, can hold 7 people and a weeks worth of gear, and the dog, and can be configured to tow 3500 - 4000 lbs. You can get a towing package for the new highlander that will allow 4500 or 5000 lbs I think. I am shocked the Rav 4 has a class 3!

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2005 Horizon 230 5.7 GI/DP 280-HP
2005 Suburban "The Battlewagon"

Get the FJCruiser. I drive 63 mi 1 way to work mostly highway & I get AVG. OVER ALL HWY/CTY 20+ MPG Constantly on Plus 89 Octane. It's on the Tacoma platform vs the Camary Platform that the Highlanger's on, i.e. A real FRAME not unibody .I love this vehicle. Just my $.02

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2008 H190 Blue W/Red accents 4.3L Merc
2015 Tacoma Access Cab Super White 4x4 TRD Sport
2014 HD FXDC Black Stage 1 Mods V&H Bolt Ons,Naked VO2 AC & FP3.
2011 Polaris 500HO RED]
Life Long Boston Bruin Fan 2011 Stanley Cup Champs!!
#736

Check the tow rating on it, if Toyota rates it for the load you have it's probably fine....as far as their other trucks...I used to be a Toyota owner...but the last few years the quality of their trucks has really slipped....specificially with respect to long term corrosion protection. They had a buy back program on 95-2000 Tacomas because the frames rotted to the point that the vehicles were unsafe and could not pass inspection....now that problem seems to be spreading to the Tundra, I am seeing reports that 2000-2001 Tundras are having the same issue. Finally, I have also seen this on the FJ Cruiser, a friend has one he bought last year and there is already rust on the welded joints and rear axle housing. On top of that the FJ seems prone to cracks in the inner front fender panels....so if you are thinking of a Toyota truck, do some research...They have to be more careful with what suppliers they use here for major parts like frames.

BTW my 11 year old unibody Jeep Grand Cherokee has very little surface rust after living in a salt water area, where they also salt the roads in the winter.....it was just washed off and all crevices flushed well during and after each winter.
And the inline 6 will get about 21 mpg on the highway...but it's no powerhouse next to the modern Toyota V-6s, 185 hp vs 260 or so....but anyone can maintain these, a tune up takes 1/2 hr and well maintained they last over 200,000 miles

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88 Four Winns 200 Horizon
4.3 OMC Cobra-4bbl
2002 Walker Bay 10/2012 Suzuki 2.5
2008 Walker Bay 8

1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4.0/Selectrac
2007 Jeep Grand Cherokee 5.7 Hemi/Quadradrive II

Do some research & you'll find the inner fender problem was limited to early build years, 1st year, the frame rust was an isolated infrequent problem too.Find another vehicle that DOESN'T have problems, good luck just like boats, production problems no matter WHO builds them.

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2008 H190 Blue W/Red accents 4.3L Merc
2015 Tacoma Access Cab Super White 4x4 TRD Sport
2014 HD FXDC Black Stage 1 Mods V&H Bolt Ons,Naked VO2 AC & FP3.
2011 Polaris 500HO RED]
Life Long Boston Bruin Fan 2011 Stanley Cup Champs!!
#736

Of course that is true, but if you go over to FJCruiser.com you will see that there are reports of the cracking going up to the 07 model year...and the frame rust...really there is no excuse for that with today's materials and technology....I had Japanese cars back in the old days....late 70s early 80s...biggest rust buckets you ever saw....rotted through in 4 northeast winters....but they did improve by the mid to late 80s...
I'd still be somewhat cautious...before the buyback was put in place for the Tacomas, there were literally THOUSANDS of these things rotted out...not driveable...

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88 Four Winns 200 Horizon
4.3 OMC Cobra-4bbl
2002 Walker Bay 10/2012 Suzuki 2.5
2008 Walker Bay 8

1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4.0/Selectrac
2007 Jeep Grand Cherokee 5.7 Hemi/Quadradrive II

I've been a member over @FJ forum before I bought mine. I don't know about the earlier Tacoma's wasn't interested in them back then too small. I'd have to say from 1973 till late eighties were also HORRIBLE rust years from Detroit for sure. Had 98 Explorer Sport 4yrs 98k no problem 02Chevy Blazer 4yrs 99k no problems 02 Liberty 3yrs 54k (was wife's 1st 2yrs hence lower then avg mi for me) No problems except had L/H caliper hang up, both rear calipers & disc's replaced under warranty. Now the FJ & it pulls the boat likes it's not there, WAY different then the liberty. The hp isn't that much more, but TQ & 6sp A/T vs 5sp A/T,.

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2008 H190 Blue W/Red accents 4.3L Merc
2015 Tacoma Access Cab Super White 4x4 TRD Sport
2014 HD FXDC Black Stage 1 Mods V&H Bolt Ons,Naked VO2 AC & FP3.
2011 Polaris 500HO RED]
Life Long Boston Bruin Fan 2011 Stanley Cup Champs!!
#736

I wonder if the same supplier who made the frames for the Tacomas, also made them for the Tundra, which is now showing problems. I'd want to know if they were also supplying them for the FJ and current Tacomas if I was going to buy one. The Toyotas we had in the past (88 Camry and 89 Corolla) both had some rust problems but they were minor compared to the frame rot issues noted on these trucks...one minor spot on the Corolla, a number of spots at welded seams on the Camry....all fixed with rust converter and proper body sealant (they skimped a bit on that). I predict if they get more negative press from this they may wind up giving a longer rust warantee....problem with frames is they will say 'light surface rust' is normal, and can be normal, but what I saw on some of these was heavy flaking rust, the kind that if you tap it with a hammer it goes through it.

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88 Four Winns 200 Horizon
4.3 OMC Cobra-4bbl
2002 Walker Bay 10/2012 Suzuki 2.5
2008 Walker Bay 8

1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4.0/Selectrac
2007 Jeep Grand Cherokee 5.7 Hemi/Quadradrive II

Meanwhile, my 11 year old F-150's frame still doesn't have a spot of rust anywhere on it. Just fanning the flames...

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Mike
2005 Four Winns 230/240
VP 5.7GXi/DP
1998 F-150 XLT
Boat Pic

OK I'll say it Mike.....I buy American whenever I can....I have had and had liked Japanese cars...but in Detroit's time of need...I just don't feel good about continuing to do that....even tho my beloved Mopar is in Chapter 11....I have not given up on them....and Ford is actually not in bad shape...could be a Ford in my future.....I honestly got tired of working on my Japanese cars because of uneeded complexity and expensive parts.
On an FJ cruiser site, (not the one mentioned above..a different one) they have a downloadable pdf file factory shop manual....
For the heck of it I read through sections of it....just to see how tough it is to maintain these new engines....well oil changes and plug changes are not bad but a few things are, well typical...remove sub assemblies 12-22...blah blah blah...then replace defective sub assembly 12a with a 400 dollar part...
just a few quick ones...if you ever have to replace a knock sensor on these engines (Toy 4.0 V-6) guess what-- you get to remove everything on the front (entire chain drive for the 4 cams) and everything on the top of the engine and one cylinder head, that's right...for a little tiny sensor (went bad on our Subaru, they hid it under the intake manifold)...I guess I am just spoiled growing up in the heyday of simple small block Fords, Chevies...Olds...and Ford and AMC inline 6s....

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88 Four Winns 200 Horizon
4.3 OMC Cobra-4bbl
2002 Walker Bay 10/2012 Suzuki 2.5
2008 Walker Bay 8

1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4.0/Selectrac
2007 Jeep Grand Cherokee 5.7 Hemi/Quadradrive II