Determining Parts Needed to Tow 2,900 Pound Camper with 2004 Toyota Sienna  

Question:

Helpful Expert Reply:

A Class I trailer hitch will typically have a 2,000 pound towing weight capacity and a 200 pound tongue weight capacity. With that being said, we only have Class II and Class III hitches available for your 2004 Toyota Sienna so I recommend first verifying that the hitch installed on your vehicle is in fact a Class I model. There should be a sticker somewhere on the hitch itself that indicates its class along with specific weight limits.

If the hitch receiver opening is 1-1/4 inches then you at least know that it is a Class I or Class II model, as Class III hitches will have a 2 inch receiver opening. A Class II hitch, such as the Draw-Tite # 36513 that is confirmed to fit your Sienna, will typically have ratings of 3,500 pounds towing and 350 pounds of tongue weight. If you have a Class II hitch on your vehicle then the hitch itself is up to the task of pulling your new pop-up camper. If you do find that it is a Class I, then this Draw-Tite hitch will work perfectly as an upgrade.

Next you will just want to verify that your Sienna also has the needed towing weight capacities for the new camper. I took a look at the online owner's manual for your vehicle and found that with the factory towing package it can pull a camper that is up to 3,500 pounds (which also leads me to believe that the installed hitch is a Class II). If the vehicle is not equipped with the factory tow package though this limit is reduced to 2,000 pounds. I highly recommend verifying the towing capacity of your vehicle by checking your copy of the owner's manual or by visiting a local Toyota dealer with your VIN.

The online manual did also state that regardless of the factory package you have, if the trailer you are pulling is over 1,000 pounds it needs to be equipped with brakes. To power electric brakes on a trailer that is equipped with them you will indeed need to add a brake controller like you mentioned.

If you just have a 4-Way connector installed on the vehicle to power the trailer's signal lights, this will need to be converted to a fully functional 7-Way with the Universal Wiring Kit # ETBC7. This kit includes everything necessary to do this along with the extra wiring and circuit breakers needed to install a brake controller. I have attached the complete written installation instructions that you can look through as well.

Then for the brake controller itself I highly recommend the Tekonsha Prodigy P2 # 90885. This is an excellent proportional controller that will activate the trailer brakes at the same time and with the same intensity that you apply to them in your Sienna. It features an easy to ready display, 3 boost levels, and continuous diagnostics that will alert you to any potential issues.

expert reply by: Chris R

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