Low power towing in the Appalachians, what to expect?

So in the last couple of years I've gotten tired of missing drift events due to not having a trailer in case something breaks far from home, and a few weeks ago I finally ordered a steel open deck trailer (econotrailer out of Pennsylvania), which weighs 1551 lbs, to tow my RX7, which is 2200 lbs. Right now, I'm replacing the cylinder heads on my '91 Montero (due to failed valve guides causing excessive oil consumption) and will hopefully be done with that project before the trailer is complete. The Montero is rated to tow 4k lbs, but brand new it made something like 140 hp and 160 ft lbs, and that was 220k miles ago. I'm about 45 min southwest of Pittsburgh in WV, and most of the tracks I want to visit involve driving up and down steep grades on I68, to Summit Point and Richmond Raceway, and even going to Englishtown NJ requires conquering a few hills on Pennsylvania's hellish turnpike. 

My question is, am I underestimating what the Montero might be capable of? I guess I won't know till I try it but I have a hunch that towing with it will not be a low-stress experience. I don't expect to run up the fast lane at 75 mph, but I also don't want to get rear-ended for having to pull the hills in 2nd gear at ~ 30 mph. The Montero is the LWB 4 door and I went with the 18' trailer for more stability, and it also has air helper springs out back. I was trying to avoid buying a pickup truck that just sits most of the time, especially with used prices being what they are right now, but after an especially problematic road trip home from Quebec a few weeks ago, I think I'm getting old enough to where I don't want to walk willingly into a stressful or difficult experience on long trips. I also realize that parts availability on the road for a 30 yr old Mitsubishi might not be great, but at least the motor was shared by Chrysler. If I have to find something else to pull the trailer, comfort and capability will be at the top of the needs list. What say you, GRM?

I think I would rent a truck, if you're only doing it a few times per year.  Almost nothing worse than having to work on your tow rig on a race weekend.

I'm seeing a lot of third gear, with several excursions to second.

3 liter Japanese truck engines are not torque monsters.  A 305 tbi Chev from the 90s would be a far better choice, and it would be bad.

In reply to Tyler H (Forum Supporter) :

There is an Enterprise truck rental 10 mi from my house, I think realistically I'll be towing 5-6 times a year, more if the the Canadian border stays open and I can go drive with friends in Ontario. I'll have to pay the .30 a mile difference after 300 mi with Enterprise, but that's still potentially under $500 per weekend..

Is the Montero an auto or a manual? I don't think I'd even bother trying with the automatic, and with the manual, I would still be nervous. A quick spec check says something like 4200 lbs vehicle weight and a rated 0-60 time between 13 and 40 seconds new, when unloaded. I think you'd find you'll be running wide open throttle all the time just to stay with traffic.

Skimming a period car and driver review also mentions that they have a fair bit of body roll. A trailer on curvy, hilly roads with a light-ish tow vehicle weight, body roll, and no power does not sound like a low stress experience to me.

I'd be much more likely to say try it if you were in the flatlands, but mountain towing puts a lot of stress on engines and brakes. Even my 255-hp GMT400 Silverado was wide open on some hills in second gear to maintain 60 mph, and more brakes would have been nice on a few downhills where traffic was bad and not predictable enough to just use engine braking the one time I towed through that area. It was an enclosed 6x12 trailer that didn't have brakes at the time, though.

In reply to gearheadE30 :

It is manual, but yes the body roll is quite apparent if there's little to no air in the helper springs. 

I would do a test run; load up the car and go for a 40-60 mile drive and see what it's like.

I tow with a 30yr old camper van and I'm down to 40 mph on some of the steeper grades.  My attitude is it just takes longer to get there. I'm not the only vehicle jugging up hills. I just allow for an extra hour on a 300 mile tow.

Give it a try, expect slow and mostly third gear but it will probably be ok.  I've towed with a Toyota 3.0, Jeep XJ 4.0, Mazda MPV 3.0, all did OK with a small car on an open trailer or dolly, certainly not like my 6.0 Suburban, but acceptable if not in a big hurry.  Trailer brakes and a fresh cooling system are a must.  

I think my biggest concern would not be power but tow rig stability.  Lack of power isn't dangerous, you just go slow and get used to letting people by a lot.

And yes, make sure that trailer has electric brakes on both axles.

I have done a fair amount of towing with my XJ. Usually the Abomination on my open trailer. It's not horrible, just don't be in a hurry. As long as I kept the speeds reasonable it was a non-event. Trailer brakes will take a lot of the pucker factor out of towing. 

You only need brakes on one trailer axle, usually the back axle. The way the equalizers are set up, the rear axle will lift the front under hard braking. Most trailers don't have brakes on the front axle unless you are over 10k pounds. 

I've got some experience towing on the stretch of I-68 you mentioned - my old Powerstroke towing a trailer with similar weight, and cars in the 2000lbs range on them also wasn't particularly happy. Definitely take your time, and make sure that the brakes on both trailer and tow vehicle are in good shape.

Edit: In the medium to long term, I would definitely recommend getting a vehicle more suitable to towing your trailer + car.

Toyman01 + Sized and said:

You only need brakes on one trailer axle, usually the back axle. The way the equalizers are set up, the rear axle will lift the front under hard braking. Most trailers don't have brakes on the front axle unless you are over 10k pounds. 

I respectfully disagree. 
 

What you said is true, but I wouldn't do it for frequent mountain towing in a Montero. 
 

4 brakes are better than 2. And there is very little price difference. 

Streetwiseguy said:

I'm seeing a lot of third gear, with several excursions to second.

3 liter Japanese truck engines are not torque monsters.  A 305 tbi Chev from the 90s would be a far better choice, and it would be bad.

I towed my RX-7 home from Nashville with a 3 liter Montero.

it was perfectly adequate.  Was able to easily accelerate uphill up to 75-80mph and actually pass traffic instead of blocking it.  The 6G72 is a stout mill and can deal with it.  I felt way more comfortable holding the V6 up at 3500-4000 of whatever it was, than driving a small block Chevy at 3000-3500rpm for hours because you can't use overdrive and tow with a 4L60.  (Well, you can, if you are a transmission replacement enthusiast)

Another way, you'll never find yourself wishing to be able to go faster than the chassis feels comfortable towing.

The trailer will have 10" electric brakes. Those of you who have towed slowly, did you have many instances of inattentive drivers running up behind you? I think sticking to the right lane will help mitigate that but around here it seems like 75-80mph is the average highway cruising speed anymore.

Try it. Have the rental truck as a back up plan. 

Pete. (l33t FS) said:

Streetwiseguy said:

I'm seeing a lot of third gear, with several excursions to second.

3 liter Japanese truck engines are not torque monsters.  A 305 tbi Chev from the 90s would be a far better choice, and it would be bad.

I towed my RX-7 home from Nashville with a 3 liter Montero.

 

it was perfectly adequate.  Was able to easily accelerate uphill up to 75-80mph and actually pass traffic instead of blocking it.  The 6G72 is a stout mill and can deal with it.

 

Another way, you'll never find yourself wishing to be able to go faster than the chassis feels comfortable towing.

Mine must be drastically under powered due to the valve guide issue (compression is good across the board) if you were able to tow at 75-80. My Montero won't do those speeds uphill even with no load and just me in the truck..

dannyp84 said:

The trailer will have 10" electric brakes. Those of you who have towed slowly, did you have many instances of inattentive drivers running up behind you? I think sticking to the right lane will help mitigate that but around here it seems like 75-80mph is the average highway cruising speed anymore.

That is the beauty of towing... you don't have headlights in your rear window constantly.

Toyman01 + Sized and said:

You only need brakes on one trailer axle, usually the back axle. The way the equalizers are set up, the rear axle will lift the front under hard braking. Most trailers don't have brakes on the front axle unless you are over 10k pounds. 

Of the trailers I've used, only the very cheapest had single axle brakes.  My enclosed trailer (9995 weight rating) has brakes on all three.

In reply to dannyp84 :

I haven't had that many issues with inattentive drivers - if anything it was more drivers not letting big rigs pull out in time and the truck driver desperately trying to maintain momentum. Nothing much you can do other than practicing your newfound appreciation of Zen when the pedal is already mashed past the floor.

In reply to Pete. (l33t FS) :

75mph in 3rd gear in our Sierra is 2500rpm. It's perfecly happy with 4-5k lbs behind it. 

In reply to bobzilla :

Every 1/2 ton I have paid attention to had 3.73 gears, maybe yours didn't.

In reply to Pete. (l33t FS) :

that's the thing people don't realize, half tons can be built 100 differnet ways. GMT800 2wd/s could have had 3.23, 3.42, 3.73 and 4.10. Ours is a 3.23, Dad's is a 3.42.

SVreX (Forum Supporter) said:

Toyman01 + Sized and said:

You only need brakes on one trailer axle, usually the back axle. The way the equalizers are set up, the rear axle will lift the front under hard braking. Most trailers don't have brakes on the front axle unless you are over 10k pounds. 

I respectfully disagree. 
 

What you said is true, but I wouldn't do it for frequent mountain towing in a Montero. 
 

4 brakes are better than 2. And there is very little price difference. 

Also, completely not legal where I live.  All wheels on any trailer capable of hauling more than ??2500?? pounds needs operational brakes on every wheel.

I have the ticket to prove that, and the bill for installing backing plates and drums on the rear axle.

In reply to dannyp84 :

With my '01 Montero, pulling a Uhaul tow dolly with a Toyota Avalon, probably 4,400 lbs all total, required all my attention even on the flattest ground.   5000 lb rating but for what I was pulling I had to stay out of 5th gear on the auto trans because even just the slightest application of throttle would require a downshift from 5th to 4th.  Again, this was all on the flattest of ground and always under 60 mph.

My 2019 Grand Caravan with its just 3,600 tow rating was more pleasant with a similar load of Uhaul dolly and Mercury Milan.  Again, all flat ground but there was a flat stretch of highway where I did get it up to 70 mph.

My 2006 Super Duty, 5.4L and 2wd pulls the similar load with no need to really pay attention or alter my driving.  

I think my summary is that your Montero "can" do it but you will likely not "like" doing it.  

Best bet is once the trailer arrives, load the car up for a little "around the neighborhood" towing.  Try testing a local hill.