The Black Art of Towing Part Seven - Progress so far

Ironically, I couldn't find a photo of a broken down Sienna...

So, how has it been for us? Has the Toadmobile been stranded at the side of the road in a pall of oily smoke? Has the transmission dropped out onto the road? Has the hitch fallen off?

In answer to those questions I can categorically say that we've had not one ounce of trouble related to towing (or anything else), apart from a slow flat when we picked up a bolt in one of the tires whilst on the Gulf Coast. I still managed to drive to Tennessee before I thought it needed some repair work done!

I've kept the Sienna serviced in accordance with the Toyota schedule over the two years we've been using it, with one additional oil change after the big 2011 trip to Florida. Over the 30,000 Km (18,640 miles) on the clock, we've towed for about 10,500 Km (6,524 miles), which is roughly one third of the total. Our local Toyota dealer has, on my request, reported that both engine and transmission oil look fine and, given that the oil in the transmission doesn't need changing until we clock 96,000 Kms (60,000 miles), we appear to be good to go for a few more seasons yet. 

Wear and tear on the Sienna isn't apparent, but I think it helps that I'm a fairly careful driver. I keep my speed down, brake early and accelerate gently and I've always been quite gentle on my cars. By applying this same idea to towing, I think I don't abuse the car in any way and, as an added bonus have managed to get good gas mileage with an average 12 miles per US gallon over the past two years when towing.

When towing in warm conditions, particularly on a long run, you can feel heat through the foot well floors but this, if other Sienna drivers are to be believed, is quite usual when under any kind of load. The engine coolant temperature has remained steady, even when towing in temperatures around 38C (100F), and as yet no warning lights have been triggered, not even the transmission oil light.

That said, on our first trip towing, heading away from the dealer's lot, I did spin the wheels of the Sienna quite violently trying to turn left across traffic (forgetting the trailer was there I think) and managed to get a warning light come up on the computer screen. The car didn't seem affected and when I checked with the Toyota dealer they could find no trouble so just reset the error code and it's never reappeared since.

The brakes have shown no signs of additional wear and when towing, the whole thing stops more quickly than when not towing; that's where eight brakes are better than four, even with an additional three and a half tons to lug around.

The hitch receiver remains firmly bolted to the car although there is a very slight change of shape in the lock pin hole in the receiver box, due probably to some less than fantastic steel used in its construction; three and half tons dragging on it can have that effect, I think. 

The weight distribution system has been adjusted to take account of the additional spring that the bars develop after some use; I've added two bolts in each of the chains which shortens their length up by one third of a link per bolt. It will need a little more adjustment this season so I'll drop the two bolts on each side and just hook on one full link higher. This is acceptable wear given the use and quite normal. I don't know how long the weight distribution system is supposed to last but it's looking fine at the moment. 

I keep the Sienna's tires at the recommended 35 psi and they are looking quite normal for their age. When I need to buy new I shall consult with Can Am as I know there are better tires out there.

When we were buying the Airstream, the people at Can Am told us that they do keep track of the tow vehicles they set up and they did tell us that no Sienna drivers had reported any tow related problems, even over many years and countless thousands of miles. They pointed us to this blog - Not@Home - written by a couple of friends of Can Am. Ontario residents Anne-Grethe and Einar (who regularly give talks about their experiences) took a 31' Airstream towed by a Toyota Sienna up to Tuktoyaktuk, way above the Arctic Circle on the coast of the Beaufort Sea in Canada's North West Territories. If they can tow all that way with their Sienna, often on dirt roads, I know I'll be OK on the big highways of Canada and the US.

So, no ill effects from the towing and I don't think any other Sienna owners have reported towing related issues. We haven't done anything too outrageous with Towed Haul in tow but in the next instalment I'll detail a few of the trips we've done and describe how we've managed...