13 replies to this topic

[GrandyGirl]

I recently purchased a Casita Liberty Deluxe and am wondering if anyone has had experience towing this model with a Lexus RX 300 SUV.  The operating manual says my Lexus can tow 3500 and the Liberty is approximately 3000.  So that's cutting it pretty close.  Please let me know.  Thanks.

Dori
aka GrandyGirl

[ArizonaEileen]

It can be done, but it's certainly not optimum. You'll know what I mean when you travel through the mountains.

You also need to consider that the Casita will weigh more when you start loading your gear and food, and fill the tanks.

Does the Lexus have a tow package?

Eileen

[Ron B.]

I would have to agree with Eileen.
Without a tow package you may have problems.
The 3500 towing capacity may include the passengers and cargo in the vehicle.
Best to call the Toyota or Lexus dealer and ask...
In mountains and hot weather, you don't want to be stuck beside the road with an overheated vehicle.
Hope you have a great time camping.
Ron B

[micasita_17]

I would agree with the others.

A Lexus actually has a very small Toyota engine in it-the one Toyota got rid of many years before when they increased the size in the 4Runner from 3.0 liters like you have to 3.4 liters like in the later ones because the little engine was too small to pull anything.

They then put that little engine on the RX and Camry because they knew no one would tow with a Camry, and only rich mostly women-types bought the RX300 (I mean, I NEVER see any being driven by men hereabouts) and so don't tow, either. I don't think I've even ever SEEN a hitch on a Lexus, and that should tell you something.

I recommend that you get a Honda Pilot or a Honda Ridgeline like we have. It is a wonderful truck, and they all have 4WD so your front wheels won't have to do all the work when the weight on your back bumper tries to unbalance your vehicle.

I think the absolute minimum tow rating of whatever you replace your Lexus with should be 5000 pounds, because manufacturers over-rate their vehicles, so it's unlikely one rated for 3500 pounds could get out of its own way pulling 3500 pounds, especially uphill, and probably they skimped on the brakes and other things as well.

Also, even if you get a better vehicle to tow with, be sure to add a WDH and a sway bar. Even an adequate TV can get thrown around in certain circumstances without them, which we found out after my husband almost had an accident without one (assuring me they were for wimps). If that's true, he's now a wimp, because his face went white and he was shaking (like mine) after an unexpected swerve almost caused us to crash our beautiful ruck and trailer.

Paula

[Laura&Rick]

If possible. you should also consider a 2008 or later Toyota Highlander.  The Limited model is close to the RX in features and can tow 5,000 pounds with the tow package.

Rick

[GrandyGirl]

Thank you ALL for you very helpful suggestions.  I've been waffling on this issue and just didn't have a real comfort level with the whole thing.  Now I know I need to get more hauling power before I take off with my Casita.  So thank you!!

Dori
aka GrandyGirl

[GrandyGirl]

I guess I will purchase a truck.  But that won't happen for a few months.  So let me ask you another question and again, thanks for you input, I'm trying this out.

Initially what I am trying to do is get down to Galveston from Houston which is about 50 miles away...all flat as a pancake.  I have a couple of lots on the beach in Galveston and I bought the Casita so that I can go there a couple of times a month (or more) and live on the beach for a few days, drive back to Houston and work on the weekends, and then head back to the beach for a few days.  There is no electricity or water hooked up on my lot yet so the Casita is perfect because it is self contained and I plan to purchase a solar panel or Honda generator to recharge the battery during my beach days.

Once I get to Galveston, I plan to find a storage facility on the island where I can store my Casita...I don't feel safe just leaving it on the lots and by having it in Galveston, I don't have tow it back and forth for 50 miles each way using my Lexus.  I can just tow it from the storage facility to my beach property and get all set up for the week, then take it back and store it for a few days until I return.  I really don't want to pay for storge but I'd really hate for someone to just hitch my Casita up and haul it off my property when I am back in Houston.  That would be a shame and it would piss me off:)

In your opinion, would this singular drive be too risky to do with the Lexus.  The most demanding trip would be the 50 mile drive getting the Casita down to Galveston Island.  I plan to have someone follow me down here with some of the gear I will need to set up a homebase on the beach lots so that I don't overload the Lexus.  After that, it's just a matter of towing it less than 10 miles from the storage facility to the beach lots.  Surely the Lexus can handle that, don't you think?

I don't plan to hit the road or do any serious travel camping until I get a stronger vehicle.  What do you think??  Do you think I would be safe towing my Casita with the Lexus RX 300, especially is the water tanks are empty during the tow.  After I get the Casita to Galveston, I plan to drive back and forth with my Lexus, but without having to tow the Casita.  Thanks for you input.

Dori

[Bobinyelm]

GrandyGirl, on 13 May 2012 - 10:12 AM, said:

I guess I will purchase a truck.  But that won't happen for a few months.  So let me ask you another question and again, thanks for you input, I'm trying this out.

Initially what I am trying to do is get down to Galveston from Houston which is about 50 miles away...all flat as a pancake.  I have a couple of lots on the beach in Galveston and I bought the Casita so that I can go there a couple of times a month (or more) and live on the beach for a few days, drive back to Houston and work on the weekends, and then head back to the beach for a few days.  There is no electricity or water hooked up on my lot yet so the Casita is perfect because it is self contained and I plan to purchase a solar panel or Honda generator to recharge the battery during my beach days.

Once I get to Galveston, I plan to find a storage facility on the island where I can store my Casita...I don't feel safe just leaving it on the lots and by having it in Galveston, I don't have tow it back and forth for 50 miles each way using my Lexus.  I can just tow it from the storage facility to my beach property and get all set up for the week, then take it back and store it for a few days until I return.  I really don't want to pay for storge but I'd really hate for someone to just hitch my Casita up and haul it off my property when I am back in Houston.  That would be a shame and it would piss me off:)

In your opinion, would this singular drive be too risky to do with the Lexus.  The most demanding trip would be the 50 mile drive getting the Casita down to Galveston Island.  I plan to have someone follow me down here with some of the gear I will need to set up a homebase on the beach lots so that I don't overload the Lexus.  After that, it's just a matter of towing it less than 10 miles from the storage facility to the beach lots.  Surely the Lexus can handle that, don't you think?

I don't plan to hit the road or do any serious travel camping until I get a stronger vehicle.  What do you think??  Do you think I would be safe towing my Casita with the Lexus RX 300, especially is the water tanks are empty during the tow.  After I get the Casita to Galveston, I plan to drive back and forth with my Lexus, but without having to tow the Casita.  Thanks for you input.

Dori

I personally see no reason Not to use your RX as you indicated.

Th RX is basically a Highlander generation one in a nicer body.

For 50mi on level ground a trans cooler would be optional, bit if you plan to extensively tow elsewhere it would be mandatory in my book. Same for a WDH.

A brake controller IS mandatory, and I would ALWAYS use an anti-sway device.

I stick w/ my opinion that an RX is fine except for mountainous terrain (w/ a WDH).

Opinions vary, and there will always those who would advise bigger TVs.

I tow w/ a 1 ton dually diesel rated to tow 14,000 pounds, but that's what I have. My wife has an RX and if that's all I had I'd use it and adjust my expect ions and habits to accommodate its limitations and it would be just fine.

Would I BUY an RX to tow a 17 Casita? NO, but that doesn't mean it won't work if you adjust your expect ions and driving habits to match the TV- Trailer combination. That means accepting you won't climb every hill at the speed limit, but SO WHAT? Drive conservatively (ALWAYS a good idea) and you'll  be just FINE.

I am not the ultimate authority, but with 40+ years of towing a lot of trailers behind an assortment of TVs, I know I wouldn't hesitate 5 seconds on hitching  Casita 17 to an RX300.

The MOST important part of ANY tow vehicle is the driver and his/her judgment. NO TV is safe to tow even a Radio Flyer kids red wagon if it has an idiot behind the wheel. If you have no towing experience, find an experienced driver who HAS good judgment and let him/her take an hour or two to show you how to tow safely w/o abusing your TV and you will be fine.

Bob

Edited by Bobinyelm, 13 May 2012 - 09:19 PM.

[GrandyGirl]

Hi Bob,

I want to thank you for your thoughtful reply.  I guess you can tell that I am brand new at this and I want to be safe.  I also don't want to tear up my RX300 because that car has been such a little soldier.  I have never had a day's problem out of it.  I call her Alexis:) and I feel strange turning it into a towing machine when all she's ever been is a little suburban trolley.  But my life has changed and i'm ready to try my hand at something new.

So I feel reassured having read your reply and about your experience with towing.  As I mentioned, Galveston is 50 miles from where I live in Houston and the terrain is all smooth highway which is very flat, the only hill might be an ocassion ant hill on the side of the road.  I am a careful, defensive driver and I intend to take some time to learn as much as possible about towing before I take off.  i feel that I should be just fine.

Thanks again!

Dori

[mike712]

I agree with Bob; you have a marginal tow vehicle, but it can handle the light-duty version of towing a 3,500 pound Casita on flat land.
You do need a transmission cooler, a top of the line brake controller, a weight distributing hitch and an anti-sway device.

I'd also suggest towing out to the island when traffic is light--perhaps early on Sunday morning (5:30 a.m.) when traffic is light.

Ask around among your friends to learn who is the best, and most reputable hitch installer and towing advisor. Don't skimp on quality. That doesn't necessarily mean the highest priced WDH because you only need to transfer some of the weight of a relatively light trailer. My preference for a brake controller is a Prodigy.

You may not be able to tow through the Rocky Mountains at 60 mph., but you may be surprised at how well the Toyota-Lexus 3-Liter motor can handle your rig in your environment when properly equipped. Good luck. Mike

[Chickadee]

I have an 04 Sienna with the 3.3l v6.  It comes standard with a transmission cooler.  Your Lexus might as well.  The dealer can tell from the vin number. My Sienna tows the Casita 17' just fine as long as I don't peak load the van at the same time.  You need to respect the load capacity as well as the towing capacity.

[DART]

GrandyGirl, Last night I posted a message to you but in a "senior moment" I mistakingly sent it to AuntieM under the topic "need advice". Sorry about that--- and I will try to move it if I can figure out how,  Vince

[MikeAg]

I tow my 16' Casita all over the North Carolina mountains with a 3.0 liter Highlander, with nary a problem.  The Highlander does have the tow package, and I use a WDH and sway bar.  I don't think I'll ever break any speed records, but it has never struggled enough that I was concerned.

[tsi8i]

When we bought our 17'SD in 2006 we towed it from Rice to Massachusetts with our 2004 RX330.  We took a couple of weeks to do the scenic route and had no problems with the hills in Arkansas and Western Pennsylvania and later took it over some hills in New Hampshire and Maine.  The RX seemed to handle the trailer just fine, but we were concerned that our hitch was stamped "do not use with a WDH".  As we were planning a cross-country trip all the way to San Francisco we decided that the RX was a bit marginal for getting over the mountains.  After some research we settled on a four year old Lexus GX470 which was less costly than a new Highlander or Pilot.  We've now used the GX for over 5 years and about 35,000 miles to tow the Casita and have been really happy with it.  It's really comfortable and we have lots of room in it.  One nice feature is that by pushing a button we can raise or lower the back end which makes it easy to level the trailer when we spend the night at a Walmart or Cracker Barrel.  In our view we see no problem in using your RX300 to tow a Casita on flat land as you propose.  If you plan to go over steep mountain roads however, that would not be a good idea.  Once you've gotten used to Lexus luxury, it's hard to leave it so I would look at a four or five year old Lexus GX.   Mary Ann & Dick