Should 4 Wheel Drive be Used While Towing/Hauling a Loaded Trailer On Steep Terrains

Updated 09/27/2017 | Published 09/26/2017

Question:

For climbing hills, weve been told to use low gear, but also told to never use 4wheel drive when towing something so big, are you meant to have 4WD on if youre going to use your low gears? What would be recommended to drive in for steep inclines or declines? We have a 4x4 Toyota LandCruiser as our tow vehicle

asked by: Kayla

Helpful Expert Reply:

You should not tow your trailer on dry pavement with the vehicle in 4-wheel drive. Since the rear axle will be receiving the majority of the weight/contact, you will want the power to come from the rear (not divided between the front and rear axle). For normal towing you should always use 2-wheel drive. The exceptions to this are extreme conditions such as snow covered or muddy roads that would normally require 4 wheel drive.

As far as what gear is to be used while towing/hauling on an incline/decline, your vehicle should have a tow/haul button which will change the shift points for optimal towing/hauling performance. This button should be activated at all times in which you have a load on the trailer.

If you are descending on a 4-wheel drive trail then 4-wheel drive low would be recommended to save the vehicle's brakes which can overheat in extreme downhill conditions. This allows the vehicle's engine and transmission to slow the vehicle. You may want to consider adding trailer brakes to your trailer if you are going to be doing a lot of steep towing. This would require putting brake and hub assemblies on the trailer and wiring a brake controller on the vehicle.

If you do not already have a brake controller, I recommend the Tekonsha Prodigy P3 Trailer Brake Controller part # 90195 as this is one of our most popular, well reviewed brake controllers. If you need to add brakes to your trailer, I would need to know your trailer's axle capacity, once provided I would be happy to offer a kit that will allow for your trailer to have brakes.

expert reply by: Conner L