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2015 XLE with 6x12 Enclosed Single Axle

1288 Views 19 Replies 5 Participants Last post by  floridanative, 
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Have a 2015 XLE (100k miles) with a Reese hitch (500lb TW/5,000lb with WDH rating). Only ever used the hitch for bike rack. Thoughts on towing a 6x12 enclosed single axle trailer with camping gear (tent, air mattresses, bags, bikes (5), folding chairs, coolers, camp stove, possibly a canoe, etc.) ~900 miles round trip from central Indiana to northern Michigan and back a few times a year? I have an Air Lift 1000 spring kit (need to install) and also an EAZ Lift 600lb WDH.

Trailer's GVWR is 2990 with rated payload of 1670lb (1320lb trailer), no brakes.
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Even though you are in relatively flat area, I would not want to tow that trailer without brakes.

Also, the Air Lift and the WDH probably should not be used at the same time. The Air Lift only stiffens the springs to prevent rear end sag, but the WDH actually transfers weight off the back to get it to ride higher. You might get the hitch set first, then add a little air to stiffen, more than raise, the rear end.

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datsa noydb said:
Even though you are in relatively flat area, I would not want to tow that trailer without brakes.
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So is this trailer supposed to have brakes? Or more so... with THIS vehicle it SHOULD have brakes but if you had a larger tow vehicle you may not?
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datsa noydb said:
Also, the Air Lift and the WDH probably should not be used at the same time.

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They absolutely SHOULD be used at the same time. Like you also stated, they serve different purposes… airbags stiffen rear and WDH distributes the tongue load. The are both important when towing.

And, given that the trailer’s GVWR is 2990 pounds, I’m assuming it was never intended to have brakes from the factory. In a lot of places, trailers with GVWR at or above 3000 are required by law to have brakes. Manufacturers rate them at 2990 (I bet it has a 3500 pound rated axle) to get around that.

But, yes, for that trip you should most DEFINITELY add brakes to the trailer. If the axle has backing plates, you can basically just bolt on electric brakes, otherwise you will need to swap the axle out for one with brakes. That may be the easier way to go anyway and may not be that much more money than just adding brakes to the existing axle (if possible).

-Mike
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floridanative said:
But, yes, for that trip you should most DEFINITELY add brakes to the trailer.
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Tag says manufactured by RC Trailers Inc. with a GAWR of 3000lb. Should the mfg be able to tell me if it's got backing plates if I can't find it on their website nor have the trailer to look at?

Also, as does that mean I may wanna hold off on installing a flat 4-pin harness as I may need a brake setup assuming I can even add brakes?
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mrbaggins2009 said:
Tag says manufactured by RC Trailers Inc. with a GAWR of 3000lb. Should the mfg be able to tell me if it's got backing plates if I can't find it on their website nor have the trailer to look at?

Also, as does that mean I may wanna hold off on installing a flat 4-pin harness as I may need a brake setup assuming I can even add brakes?
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If the trailer is on order, just ask them to add electric brakes to it. Usually not much extra $$$ at the time of manufacture. They will just install an axle with brakes vs one without.

I would hold off with electrics until you know what your are buying. But if you end up having to tow it home and then add brakes after the fact you will need the 4-flat to get it home. I actually wired up my 7-pin so it plugs into a 4-flat for the lights. I can then unplug it and use a 4-flat extension cable to tow a trailer with only a 4-flat connector.

-Mike
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floridanative said:
If the trailer is on order, just ask them to add electric brakes to it.
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I'm looking to buy a used trailer. Been looking at options; add electric brakes (unclear if current axle has backing plates) to it or just replace the entire axle (etrailer has some options I think will work) which actually sounds easier and may be about the same cost if I've gotta have someone weld backing plates on properly.

floridanative said:
I would hold off with electrics until you know what your are buying. But if you end up having to tow it home and then add brakes after the fact you will need the 4-flat to get it home.
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In looking at the 7-pin OEM harness from etrail and its cost... it seems like I'm better off just keeping my already-purchased 4-flat and then running my own addition trailer brake wire (possibly 12V aux as well) at the same time I run the 4-flat kit 12V wire. Then taking the 4 off with a 7 receptacle and scabbing the 4 back on or just using an adapter. Also looking at the Tekonsha Primus IQ controller (I know the P3 is favored here, not sure why exactly).
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I just wired my 7-pin so the 3 light/1 ground connector of the 7-pin van side plug into a 4-flat like a trailer would. I did add an additional ground. That way I can tow both 4-pin (plug 4-flat extension cable in) or 7-pin (plug 7-pin van side into 4-flat already in van). The other 3 pins on my 7-pin could either be hard-wired to the van or connected semi-permanently.

So… if you were to keep the 4-flat and wire up your own 7-pin that plugs into that you’d end up with what I have (and I quite like my arrangement except for the rat’s nest of wires in the jack compartment).

I’m not familiar with what brake controllers are available today. I am still using my 15 year old original Prodigy.

-Mike
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mrbaggins2009 said:
In looking at the 7-pin OEM harness from etrail and its cost... it seems like I'm better off just keeping my already-purchased 4-flat and then running my own addition trailer brake wire (possibly 12V aux as well) at the same time I run the 4-flat kit 12V wire. Then taking the 4 off with a 7 receptacle and scabbing the 4 back on or just using an adapter. Also looking at the Tekonsha Primus IQ controller (I know the P3 is favored here, not sure why exactly).
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I have seen a 7-pin connector (car side) at several places, but U-Haul always has them. Beside the round 7-pin is a flat-4 connector. The beauty of this particular connector is that your current flat-4 wiring plugs in to the input harness of the 7-pin, then there are three additional wires that you can connect to your car. This gives you the flexibility of towing either one with no adapters.

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I went ahead and got a 7-pin with the 3 wires + 4-pin input so I can use either a 4- or 7-pin. Light harness installed, ran the two 12V and a brake wire from front to rear, got the brake controller installed and also the Air Lift 1000 bags. Just need to do power and circuit breakers in the engine compartment for brake controller (light wiring is done).

Picking up this trailer tonight, empty it's 320lb over the 1000lb un-braked rating, so hopefully the flat (but hot today) hour drive home with just the air lift bags goes ok. Will have electric trailer brake kit on order.
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You shouldn’t have any problems pulling it back empty without brakes. Just drive like the trailer doesn’t have brakes.

-Mike
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Welp... Not sure if it's buyer's remorse or if it's fine and I'm just "adjusting" but I went and bought this 6x12 enclosed trailer. No brakes on it yet but I've got the brake kit in my shopping cart and the van's wired up with a controller with a WDH... but I'm not sure I want to keep this thing!

First time towing with a sienna but it seems like air resistance is the issue. Empty trailer (1320lb) with air lift bags at 30psi and it towed smooth, but... seems like I could only get up to about 65mph with it. In (D)rive it'd hunt between 4th and 5th with cruise control. I could maintain about 63mph without CC in 5th at 2500rpm but decided its probably better to keep it in S4 even though I was at 3000rpm. THE GAS MILEAGE! I mean, I knew I wasn't gonna get 20mpg, more like 11, but still, watching the gas gauge MOVE was saddening.

I bought this with the idea that rather than playing tetris to pack camping gear creatively for a family of 6 I'd just throw all the junk in a trailer and be done with it. Realistically we'd probably only make the 900mi round trip once a year, so maybe it's worth it considering the speed limit is 65 most of the way anyway? Thinking maybe I should try for maybe a 4x8 or 5x10? Any thoughts/tips for a first-time sienna tower? Selling this thing won't be a problem, in fact already have a buyer lined up!

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How does the volume meet your needs? If it's just for stuff that you'd rather not pack in the van, then it seems WAY too big, but you were talking about a canoe and stuff that would never have gone into the van.

If the 6' is the width of the box, and the wheels make it more like 7.5', then yeah that's pretty wide. Cutting that width by a foot would not only improve the aeros, but it would make it easier to maneuver. I guess it depends what else you would want to use it for when you're not making those trips. For the trips alone, a much lower and narrower trailer would be good but then you wouldn't be able to take the zero-turn down to the shop, etc.

A U-haul 4x8 is nice and low, has rounded corners, and you may be able to carry a canoe on top. Renting one, or buying a similar one, is an option.

Maybe try packing your camping gear into the 6x12 and see how much smaller you can go?
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That sucker is tall! Try leaving it in 4th so it doesn’t shift back and forth between 4 and 5. What you experienced is normal.

Your mileage seems a little low but not terribly out of line. When I towed a 7’ wide regular height travel trailer with my 07 I would see between 12-14 mpg depending on speed. Maybe even lower if my foot was really in it. I have also towed a 5x5x12 box trailer similar (but smaller) to yours - but loaded (not sure of loaded weight) - and got somewhere around 14 with it (flat highway at 60-65mph).

-Mike
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Beluga the sienna
That seems like the trailer too large for the van. Might need a smaller one though this one is pretty small. I can't even see the trailer when towing with my sienna.
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Not necessarily too big for the van, but too big (way too big IMO) for vacation travel. People who need to carry 400+ cubic feet of stuff around with them usually find a better solution.
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Just wanted to post an update... I ultimately did not take this trailer camping a year ago. Sold the trailer to a friend and just used an open flat utility trailer to haul all the camping gear (mostly a pile of bikes) on the trip. However, the Sienna is completely wired up for electric trailer brakes, controller, etc. I also have the Air Lift 1000 spring kit installed and also an EAZ Lift 600lb weight distribution hitch. I did end up buying and installing electric brakes for that 6x12 cargo trailer though... and also have access to borrow said 6x12 trailer... and my wife was NOT a fan of tent camping last year...

So... 6x12 trailer is getting sudo-modified into a makeshift camper! Nothing drastic as it still needs to be a utility trailer, but I'm adding some carpet, painting walls white, adding a couple electrical outlet pass-throughs, air vents, and an A/C heat exhaust port. Some twinkle lights, "home away from home" sign... see if it'll pass.

After doing some more research about towing with the van I think I'm gonna attempt the trip this year with the 6x12. My brother bought a pop-up tent camper and I tried towing it with the Sienna; it's heavier than the 6x12 and still towed subjectively better, so I feel confident the van is fine with the 6x12, it's just the wind drag and as long as I'm OK with 60mph I should be good. Still kicking around the idea of a wind deflector on the van roof rack, but I'm not really sure how much that's going to help since the trailer is already a V-nose? Anyway, that's the plan! Wish me luck! Will report back after the trip in a month!
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Check out Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers • Index page There is a section dedicated to cargo trailer conversions that I’m sure will give you some inspiration.

Sounds like you have done the right steps to set yourself up for a safe towing experience. I did end up adding an auxiliary transmission cooler and after pulling our little fiberglass travel trailer up over 9000’ in the mountains, I’m glad I did.

The way I understand it (and I am NOT an engineer), the wind deflector things won’t do anything given how far the front of the trailer is from the trailing edges of the deflector. The reason they work on semi trucks is because the gap between the deflector and the trailer is relatively small.

-Mike
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floridanative said:
I did end up adding an auxiliary transmission cooler... I’m glad I did.
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Do you have a post about it here with details? I might be interested in doing the same.

floridanative said:
The way I understand it (and I am NOT an engineer), the wind deflector things won’t do anything given how far the front of the trailer is from the trailing edges of the deflector.
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Don't worry, I am an engineer and also don't know haha! But I had read that the distance was to large. That had me thinking maybe if I put it on the trailer... 🤔 but then I might be missing a rear window!

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Note that I have a gen2 van and there will likely be some minor differences with gen3 (but be similar overall).

I added to @paul_r thread on his trans cooler install. My install is on page 10 of his installation thread:

www.siennachat.com

Installed a transmission cooler today

Its a B&M 70268 This is what it looks like. It came with some hardware and I modified the lower right bracket a bit. Note that I drilled through the plastic baffle with a 3/4 inch hole bit to pass the hoses through . For the top right bracket I used a dremel to make a slit for passing the...
www.siennachat.com www.siennachat.com

-Mike
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