2011 Sienna with a Travel Trailer

[Zector]

Hi

Thought I would post some of my experience towing my new 2011 jayco swift, 184bh. The trailer is "made" for minivans and smaller suv's, it is lower and not as wide as normal TT's, and from the factory comes in at 2700lbs, rated up to 3500 with all my stuff. I will try to pack it light, in the 300lb range.

I had a 450km drive back from picking it up. The drive back had no weight distribution, I do have a brake controller installed, the toyota tow package with tranny cooler and after market receiver. Here is my thoughts on it:

The Sienna does tow this size trailer quite well. It will get up to 120+kph, but is working for it at that point. On the level i found it cruzed comfortable at 100-110kph @ 2400-2500 rpm, and dropped to 90-100 ish on hills without pushing it, although cruise will make it hold 100/110. Acceleration is very good with that size and weight behind it, i was quite surprised. Around the city you could barely notice it, even braking was very good. Without any weight distribution the rear sagged about as much as having a couple adults in the back, not scraping, but noticeable. Engine temp sat at the same spot as normal and didn't move.

Today I installed an E2 weight distribution and sway control hitch, and did about 50km. The ride was a lot better, and not much sagging in the rear, not to noticeable to the eye.

for mileage normally on highway i get 10 to 11L/100km or 23mpg ish, towing i got 18 to 19L/100km or 13 mpg ish.

I would have no problem doing a local 300-400km trip with it. Im looking at a 1000km trip this summer, but would like to get more time with it before I decide i want to take that on.

It handles well on the highway, even passing oncoming semi's at speed. No surprises or disappointments at all, i was a littel hesitant but cant justify a big truck for something my family may or may not enjoy. I was very impressed with how the sienna tows.

I have a pic to share, but wont let me post it, i keep getting errors.

[brian_bp]

Thanks for the observations. I'm not at all surprised that the Sienna worked well for this size of trailer (although the Swift 184BH doesn't seem to be in the 2011 model specs, so I don't have details), and I suspect that air bags in the coils would have been quite satisfactory as an alternative to the weight-distribution system.

[Zector]

I did antoher 300km trip total with the TT loaded up. The van towed well. With a headwind the gas was not to nice! but on the highway with the E2 WDH with sway control there was no issues at all with the trailer. 100kph on flat area with little headwind seems to be very fine. With headwind 90-95kph seemed to make a big difference with how hard the engine was working.

Backing the TT into place and getting around with it was no problem. With normal driving you dont really notice the trailer behind you in the city or under 60kph.

I did notice the front floor to get a little warm. Never paid attention on long road trips before, being a bit paranoid now about all the weight. Is the normal on longer trips, or just heat from the engine/tranny working? The engine temp stayed right where it always does in the middle. Is there something i should watch for with the tranny heating up? It does have the tranny cooler/tow package from the dealer. Or am i being paranoid?

Overall I was very happy with performance, fuel consumption, handling.

Any thoughts or inputs?

[brian_bp]

I did notice the front floor to get a little warm. Never paid attention on long road trips before, being a bit paranoid now about all the weight. Is the normal on longer trips, or just heat from the engine/tranny working? The engine temp stayed right where it always does in the middle.

Work means heat, and I personally would not be concerned about feeling some of it through the floor, although the question does make sense to me. I haven't paid enough attention to know if towing load has made much difference to our floor temperature.

Is there something i should watch for with the tranny heating up? It does have the tranny cooler/tow package from the dealer.

The factory-available tow prep package for a 2001 (or any 2007-up) does not - as far as I know - include any change to transmission cooling; the package includes an engine oil cooler. All Siennas have transmission coolers, as typical modern automatic transmission vehicles generally do. If the dealer installed an additional transmission fluid cooler, it would not be Toyota OEM.

Unfortunately, Toyota does not provide an indication of transmission temperature for the Sienna.

[shineysideup]

I did notice the front floor to get a little warm. Never paid attention on long road trips before, being a bit paranoid now about all the weight. Is the normal on longer trips, or just heat from the engine/tranny working? The engine temp stayed right where it always does in the middle. Is there something i should watch for with the tranny heating up? It does have the tranny cooler/tow package from the dealer. Or am i being paranoid?

Overall I was very happy with performance, fuel consumption, handling.

Any thoughts or inputs?

I too have felt a warm floor ( I believe that it is coming from the exhaust ). I've towed in 90+ degree F. temps for a couple years now... Just don't leave that box of glazed donuts on the floor!

[tsaheeka]

Hello,

I have a 2010 Sienna AWD, and I just started towing a Jayco Jay Feather 165 Sport with it. The vehichle seemed to have plenty of power to haul this, and I purchased a load equalizer hitch.

But now, the rear wheels on my van are noticeably splayed, and are wearing unevenly with scalloping on the inside!!!

Are the rear wheels on the van adjustable...can they be re-aligned, or have I damaged / bent something, and if so is this repairable, or am I screwed?

I've been a Toyota owner before, and was very happy with the two Tacoma's I bought new many years ago. But I would have preferred to buy a new AWD Chevy Astro Van last year--built on a truck frame--but since Chevy doesn't make this model anymore (or GMC / Sierra), I went with the Sienna AWD...now I wonder if I'm totally screwed in having damaged / ruined the rear wheels / suspension of my 2010 Sienna.

Thanks for any information anyone can provide.

CD

[brian_bp]

I have a 2010 Sienna AWD, and I just started towing a Jayco Jay Feather 165 Sport with it. The vehichle seemed to have plenty of power to haul this, and I purchased a load equalizer hitch.

But now, the rear wheels on my van are noticeably splayed, and are wearing unevenly with scalloping on the inside!!!
...

This is nearly a duplicate of 2010 Sienna Rear Wheel Splay. The subject doesn't belong there (because it's in the 3rd Gen forum), and while it could belong here in Towing & Hauling it isn't logically a part of this "2011 Sienna with a Travel Trailer" topic. It's just a confusion about model year, but could we have the topic moved before we launch into a big discussion?

tsaheeka's issue may be related to the suitability of a Sienna for the load of a travel trailer (an aspect of this topic), but it seems like a fundamentally separate topic about a specific issue... in a different model generation.

[Zector]

Went out again a couple weeks ago for a weekend, about 300km trip. The Sienna towed flawlessly again. I kept speeds down to 55-60 range this time. There was no gear shifting except on a hill or two it shifted down one and it held the speed just fine with headwind and lesser hills. It was on a hotter day i noticed a lot less foot area heat than before at 100-110km range. And i got 15l/100km or 15-16 mpg this time, thats a huge drop in fuel consumption :-) this was a lot nicer to see at the pumps, and comparable to city winter driving.

Big trip this weekend to mt Rushmore for a week or 2, be about a 3000km/1800mile ish triangular trip with an excursion to Minneapolis. This is the big test. I think i have the needed items / wanted items / and nice to haves narrowed down for this big trip. I will be going all tanks empty, and no food (food much cheaper in the states, and some issues at the border). So weight will be down. Coming back after the outlet malls will be a different story...

Im loven this trailer, and my dreams for a huge rig have subsided a lot. The day to day cost of the sienna, with its multiple family and home use and the ability to tow such a trailer (2011 jayco 184bh) really makes RV'ing affordable to many, vs the cost a big truck to pull a few times a year and eat gas the rest of the year going to work, for those of us that is that does not have the need for a big truck otherwise.

[shineysideup]

Went out again a couple weeks ago for a weekend, about 300km trip. The Sienna towed flawlessly again. I kept speeds down to 55-60 range this time. There was no gear shifting except on a hill or two it shifted down one and it held the speed just fine with headwind and lesser hills. It was on a hotter day i noticed a lot less foot area heat than before at 100-110km range. And i got 15l/100km or 15-16 mpg this time, thats a huge drop in fuel consumption :-) this was a lot nicer to see at the pumps, and comparable to city winter driving.

Big trip this weekend to mt Rushmore for a week or 2, be about a 3000km/1800mile ish triangular trip with an excursion to Minneapolis. This is the big test. I think i have the needed items / wanted items / and nice to haves narrowed down for this big trip. I will be going all tanks empty, and no food (food much cheaper in the states, and some issues at the border). So weight will be down. Coming back after the outlet malls will be a different story...

Im loven this trailer, and my dreams for a huge rig have subsided a lot. The day to day cost of the sienna, with its multiple family and home use and the ability to tow such a trailer (2011 jayco 184bh) really makes RV'ing affordable to many, vs the cost a big truck to pull a few times a year and eat gas the rest of the year going to work, for those of us that is that does not have the need for a big truck otherwise.

Zector, you hit the nail on the head. There are people from one camp that say towing with anything but a truck is a mistake and then there are the others :o. Obviously I'm one of the others... What gear do you tow in? The shape and to an extent the weight of my trailer won't allow me to tow in 5th gear while keeping the torque converter locked up. I'm usually in 4th spending some time in 3rd... The 401 is really the hardest towing I do with the wind drag that goes along with the higher speeds. We are headed state side in August, can't beat the gas prices and campground fees compared to Ontario... 15 days for the price of 10 in Ontario.

[Zector]

I haven't checked what gear, but i think it cruises in 4th gear at 90/95, it is at 2000 rpm, so im guessing 4th no gear hopping. The van is more or less empty, aside from 2 adults and 2 kids with some toys and blankets and stuff. Nothing on the roof, all our stuff is in the trailer, and i figure 3000 to 3100lb tops. The trailer is 2700 empty, and 300-400 would more than cover our stuff/food we normally take, we go with what we need and would use and some toys. We always travel with empty tanks.

[shineysideup]

I haven't checked what gear, but i think it cruises in 4th gear at 90/95, it is at 2000 rpm, so im guessing 4th no gear hopping. The van is more or less empty, aside from 2 adults and 2 kids with some toys and blankets and stuff. Nothing on the roof, all our stuff is in the trailer, and i figure 3000 to 3100lb tops. The trailer is 2700 empty, and 300-400 would more than cover our stuff/food we normally take, we go with what we need and would use and some toys. We always travel with empty tanks.

All 2011 sienna's have a 6 speed tranny? I wouldn't be surprised if you were actually in 5th gear... Can you select each gear still on the shift lever like the previous generation sienna's?

[Zector]

If there is 6 gears, then it would be 5th, dropping to 4th on big hills. There would be one more gear to cruise on the hwy normally. I can select the gear, never really played with it much. I posted in another forum if there is a OD type option or turn off economy when towing.

[brian_bp]

Can you select each gear still on the shift lever like the previous generation sienna's?

Yes... as we discovered in accidentally driving in sport mode.., the transmission behaves the same (but with one more gear) and has the same selection choices (but again with one more position), but the lever works differently.

[shineysideup]

Can you select each gear still on the shift lever like the previous generation sienna's?

Yes... as we discovered in accidentally driving in sport mode.., the transmission behaves the same (but with one more gear) and has the same selection choices (but again with one more position), but the lever works differently.

Good to know that Toyota didn't do away with a good thing. How else would I be able to pull trailers that are way heavier than recommended!

[Zector]

I have a few hauling - trannie - S mode questions in another thread. Does sport mode lock in the torque converter?