​​What Capacities Should You Know Before You Tow?​

Knowledge is one of the keys to successful towing with your Toyota. Part of that knowledge comes from understanding weights and capacities when you are towing a trailer. Key numbers to know before you tow are towing capacity and your tongue weight limit. Understanding these capacity figures will ensure that you are towing safely with your Toyota.  

What exactly should you know before you tow? The SlashGear website explains, “Towing capacity is a pretty simple concept—it’s the maximum amount of weight your vehicle can safely pull behind it as recommended by the manufacturer.” You can likely find this information on a decal affixed to the driver’s side door jamb.  

For example, the 2025 Toyota Tundra Limited with the CrewMax cab, 5.5-foot bed, and i-FORCE 3.4-liter turbo V6 engine has a maximum towing capacity of 11,120 pounds. Another example is the 2025 Toyota Highlander Hybrid Platinum with all-wheel drive, which has a maximum towing capacity of 3,500 pounds.  

That key figure can be the difference in towing your trailer safely. Towing over your vehicle’s listed towing capacity can cause multiple issues to occur, from loss of trailer control to damage to your vehicle. As SlashGear said, “It’s never a good idea to tow more than the listed capacity of your vehicle—even if it’s physically possible to set off and get the vehicle up to speed. But making sure your trailer is properly loaded is equally important for a safe towing experience.” 

One key component of your trailer is the tongue. The coupler is part of the tongue mechanism that is secured onto the ball hitch. The hitch has a weight limit. As SlashGear explains, “This specific weight is affected by where the weight is distributed on your trailer, so a trailer loaded with the same amount of weight, in different locations, will have different affects on tongue weight.” 

When it comes to tongue weight, it is recommended that approximately 10-15% of the trailer’s weight be balanced onto the hitch. SlashGear gives this example: “If you’re towing an 8,000-pound trailer for example, aiming for 10 percent of that trailer’s weight to be pushing down on the tow hitch, that’s 800 pounds of tongue weight.” 

There is another recommendation regarding weight balance while towing. You should have 60 percent of the trailer’s weight towards the front and the hitch, while the remaining 40 percent should to the rear. You should also balance the trailer laterally. SlashGear explained that “imbalanced weight can cause uneven tire wear, especially towing over long distances.” 

If you are looking to tow with your next Toyota, contact us at Valley Hi Toyota and we can help. We want to make sure that your experience with your Toyota is safe when you do the things you love—towing a trailer, included.