Ls 430 Trailer Hitch

[bam43]

I have a 2004 LS430 and need to tow a trailer. Has anyone put a hitch on this model car? How does it tow?

[SW03ES]

I would not tow a trailer with your LS430. Its not designed to tow one. Aside from being very hard on the transmission you could actually wind up bending the frame because it is not reinforced to handle the load, also causes premature wear of the rear struts and differential. Big time bad idea. As a matter of fact I believe installation of trailer hitches to Lexus cars void the warranty but I'd have to double check that.

If you must tow a trailer you picked the wrong vehicle, sorry :(

[99lsguy]

Borrow someones's truck or suv.......................

I think if you put a hitch on the back of an LS- you'd better drive it for life or expect a huge Hit when you try to resell.

Is this a leased LS??

[1990LS400]

I've had a lot of experience towing small trailers with my 90 LS and know others who done the same. The Kansas City Lexus dealer used to sell hitches for the LS. But Toyota has recently gone so far as to limit the number of hitches that are sold on Lexus SUV's to meet fuel mileage and/or emissions regulations.

My 90 LS was completely "hitch ready" with pre-drilled and threaded holes in the bumper structure for attaching a hitch and holes for passing the wiring into the trunk. My 90 LS made a great tow car but I had to keep looking in the rear view mirror to verify that the trailer was still there. The car's power made towing effortless. A neat thing about the early LS was that the installed hitch was virtually invisible - it fit completely behind the bumper and the under-bumper plastic trim and one had to look closely to see the receiver when the tow bar wasn't attached.

I plan to install a class 2 Draw-tite hitch on my 00 LS before summer (less than $100) mainly to haul our bicycles on a rack that plugs into a receiver. But it looks like U.S. hitch companies are not offering hitches for LS430's so you may be faced with getting a custom hitch made. I would assume that it would attach to the same bolts as the exhaust system like on the LS400. Hitches are sold for the LS430 in other markets - take a look at U.K., Australian and South African websites where you can at least read about them in English. Unfortunately the hitch design used in most of the rest of the world is not compatible with the trailer tongues used in the U.S.

As SUV's have become more popular and Toyota has endevoured to move the LS430 further up-market, I can see why the availability of hitches has decreased in the U.S.

[ToddLS400]

Arghhhhh.....Don't tow things with your Lex...Too nice of a car for that...I just couldn't see towing things behind my Lex. Even though it's a 90....I bought a old '87 Ford F250 to tow my boat and move stuff around. I paid $1,500 for it and it has lots of power and I can beat on it. Change the oil and put gas in it. It's basically disposable. I don't look at my Lex like that.

[1990LS400]

An LS's robust design and construction makes it an excellent and comforable car for towing trailers. Much better than doing it with a Mercedes like I used to do.

For those interested, Brink is one of the largest suppliers of towbars (hitches) and their products are sold in much of the rest of the world. You can find a towbar for the LS430 on http://www.brinkweb.com/ but of course it is not compatible with the trailer tongues used in the Americas.

Towbars for Lexus including LS430's are often discussed on various non-U.S. (and sometimes non-English language) websites. For those who speak and/or read only English, Google's translation tool can be used to translate many non-English language web pages although the translations can be a bit off.

[98 LS]

I plan to install a class 2 "Draw-Tite" hitch on my 00 LS before summer (less than $100) mainly to haul our bicycles on a rack that plugs into a receiver.

Not that I am planning on doing it ......... but I would like to see some pictures of the install for the Gen III. I would think for a bike rack or a small trailer it would tow just fine ........... plenty of power, vehicle weight and RWD.

Post some pics when you get a chance .......... :)

[wmOH]

I have a 96 and have installed a Drawtite hitch for the sole purpose of using a bike rack. This works great, and I don't have to put a rack on the paint.

[99lsguy]

I agree bike hitches and such are not a problem!!!

Much better that touching the paint

The car has plenty of power.............

[SW03ES]

Its not so much a question of power its a question of whether or not the LS was designed to tow a trailer. I'm not certain but I believe it says in the owners manual it is not reccomended, it does in the manual for my ES. Vehicles that are designed for towing have reinforced frames, transmission coolers etc.

Just not something I would do with my brand new $70k automobile.

[99lsguy]

I know what your saying SWO............

I just logically access it this way :

The LS is designed to hold 5 people and up to (about) 5200 lbs gross weight. Which means about 1200 lbs of passenger/luggage.

So - the hitch may weigh 100 lbs plus a few bikes @ 25 lbs each. No problems.

To me, this is just like a "packed" trunk :D

Just do the math and calculate what you can/can't add weight-wise.... ;)

I wouldn't pull a "true trailer" with a couple thousand lbs + either...........

[SW03ES]

I'm not concerned about bikes, thats not going to hurt it, I just wouldn't pull an actual trailer with it. If trailer towing were a concern something like the LX470 would have been a better choice than the LS.

If I were a biker I would definately use a hitch to avoid hurting the paint.

[1990LS400]

Here is a link to the official U.K. Lexus website which documents that a 2004 LS430 is rated to tow 2000 kg. - a whopping 4,410 pounds! -->

http://www.lexus.co.uk/specification.php?m...a=specification

The U.S. LS is rated at towing only 2000 pounds without additional accessories like a transmission cooler. All three of my LS owners manuals (90, 94, 00) and our Camry manual contain identical disclaimers about how towing can increase wear, effect fuel mileage, etc. Similar disclaimers are in the owners manuals of many if not most cars and SUV's sold in the U.S.

My 2000 LS manual has 2 1/2 pages devoted to the subject of trailer towing. My 94 LS U.K./Euro spec manual goes so far as to provide extensive instructions on how to tow a trailer safely, how to calculate tongue weight, etc.

Maybe I have a different perspective because I have traveled extensively outside the U.S., am employed by a European (auto industry) company and know co-workers in other countries that drive Lexus LS cars. I also have 38 years of towing experience and for 11 years towed a 4 x 8 foot utiltity trailer and even a 2000 pound sailboat behind a 65 horsepower Mercedes diesel sedan without any problems. Last time I checked, that old '79 Mercedes diesel was still going strong at over 300,000 miles with its new owner - towing must not have hurt it much.

Take a look at this discussion of towbars on the UK Lexusownersclub website where you can find complaints that U.K. dealers are charging up to a 1,000 pounds to install a towing package on an LS430 -->

http://www.lexusownersclub.co.uk/forum/ind...13765&hl=towbar

[1990LS400]

To correct my previous post, "Steve" on the U.K. Lexus owners club website was complaining that the Lexus dealer wanted 1,000 to install a complete towing package, including an oil cooler and larger radiator, on his GS300 - not a LS430 as I reported. I do not know if a U.K. spec. LS430 requires such modification to tow its 4,410 pound rated capacity. Not to slam the GS300 but it is not as robust as an LS.

Towing a 1,000 to 2,000 pound trailer is quite trivial for a car like an LS so I certainly would not think that any modification, other than the hitch and wiring, would be required.

[nevadarick]

When you hooked up your trailer lights did you have to use one of those modules that supplies power to the trailer lights or did you just splice into your tail lights.??

Here is a link to the official U.K. Lexus website which documents that a 2004 LS430 is rated to tow 2000 kg. - a whopping 4,410 pounds! -->

http://www.lexus.co.uk/specification.php?m...a=specification

The U.S. LS is rated at towing only 2000 pounds without additional accessories like a transmission cooler. All three of my LS owners manuals (90, 94, 00) and our Camry manual contain identical disclaimers about how towing can increase wear, effect fuel mileage, etc. Similar disclaimers are in the owners manuals of many if not most cars and SUV's sold in the U.S.

My 2000 LS manual has 2 1/2 pages devoted to the subject of trailer towing. My 94 LS U.K./Euro spec manual goes so far as to provide extensive instructions on how to tow a trailer safely, how to calculate tongue weight, etc.

Maybe I have a different perspective because I have traveled extensively outside the U.S., am employed by a European (auto industry) company and know co-workers in other countries that drive Lexus LS cars. I also have 38 years of towing experience and for 11 years towed a 4 x 8 foot utiltity trailer and even a 2000 pound sailboat behind a 65 horsepower Mercedes diesel sedan without any problems. Last time I checked, that old '79 Mercedes diesel was still going strong at over 300,000 miles with its new owner - towing must not have hurt it much.

Take a look at this discussion of towbars on the UK Lexusownersclub website where you can find complaints that U.K. dealers are charging up to a 1,000 pounds to install a towing package on an LS430 -->

http://www.lexusownersclub.co.uk/forum/ind...13765&hl=towbar

[nc211]

Being the son of a man would want's to put a trailor hitch on his coffin when the day comes, I can assure you a trailor hitch can be put on anything. But, I agree with Swo, anything with substantial weight probably shouldn't be towed with the LS. However, having said that, I present to you a picture our good buddy Blake sent to me a few months ago that put me in tears! B)

CRAP: Error on uploading has occured "and NC211 internal error on spelling" Got this message

"The requested file upload failed because suitable permissions have not been enabled on the 'uploads' directory. Please contact the board administrator and inform them of this error."

Will try and post it later....it's a freakin' riot! Blake, you know the one I'm talking about....the boat!

[1990LS400]

I have to say that I find it humorous that some people still think that a 240-290 horsepower Lexus LS should not be used to tow a trailer. You guys should drive around the U.K. and Europe - as I have done - and see LS400's and LS430's (and BMW and Mercedes sedans) towing campers and other sorts of trailers. There have been quite a few threads about towing with the LS400 and LS430 on the U.K. forum - do a search: http://www.lexusownersclub.co.uk/forum/

On my 1990 LS400, the hitch installer wired the electrical receptable for the trailer lights into the taillight harness in the trunk. The only problem was that, after about 10 years, one of the trailer harness wires worked loose and caused the "light out" warning light on the dash to come on -- it took several months to figure out the problem.

I never did put a hitch on my 2000 LS400 -- I have been using another vehicle to carry the bikes and I parked my utility trailer when I stopped doing my own lawn care.

The main reason I called off the hitch install on the 2000 LS400 was that the installer insisted on running the trailer wiring all the way from the rear bumper to the battery in the engine compartment. Yes, his wiring harness had some sort of module box in it. He said that it would not work to tap into the trunk wiring harness as was done on my 90 LS400. I never verified what he told me and simply did not like the idea of having a wiring harness hanging under the length of the car.

I may revisit the whole issue this summer and finally get a hitch installed on the 00 LS -- it depends on if I retire soon and start doing "the gardening thing" again. Plus, I am a bit concerned that the 00 LS hitch will become unavailable -- currently they are still available from Draw-Tite.

[blake918]

Rob, you mean this pic? :whistles:

Aside from a tiny car pulling a big boat, you are seeing a much more beautiful thing happening-driving right and passing left!

[nc211]

HAHAHA

THAT'S THE ONE!!!

[1990LS400]

I finally ordered a trailer hitch today for our 2000 LS400 from http://www.etrailer.com/products.asp?model...e=Lexus&t1=&h=e

etrailer is near St Louis -- 250 miles down the road (I-70) from where we live in Kansas.

My wife "made" me buy it -- long story there -- the past two weeks on vacation together gave us lots of "discussion time" - i.e. she discussed and I listened.

I didn't do a lot of searching but $108.96 (plus about $11 for shipping) seems like a reasonable price for this $180 (list price) Draw-Tite class II receiver type hitch.

From the photo and on-line instructions, it looks like the installation is similar to how a Draw-Tite hitch was installed on our previous 90 LS -- the main difference is that the 95-00 LS400 hitch does not appear to bolt to the back of the bumper beam -- which was bad since doing so eliminated some of the impact absorbing properties of the rear bumper.

I don't plan to wire for trailer lights quite yet since the main reason I am buying this hitch now is so I can carry more bicycles ("more" = my wife's bicycle). But at least I understand now why a "curcuit protector" type trailer light harness is necessary and I can see a fairly easy way to power one without running the power wire all the way up to the car battery.

I will post photos after I get the hitch installed.

[lx_and_ls]

I have to say that I find it humorous that some people still think that a 240-290 horsepower Lexus LS should not be used to tow a trailer. You guys should drive around the U.K. and Europe - as I have done - and see LS400's and LS430's (and BMW and Mercedes sedans) towing campers and other sorts of trailers.

I couldn't agree more. I've lived in Europe for most of my live, and a lot smaller cars than the LS are used to tow trailers. The LS was even elected as 'camper towing vehicle of the year' in the 90's in the Netherlands. A lot of contractors also use regular sedans (or Chrysler minivans) to tow their trailers.

I have a hitch on my LS as well. Mostly use it for my bike carrier. However now and then I also tow a trailer. I havn't felt uncomfortable/unsafe with loads of around 1500 lbs.

[1990LS400]

Rob, you mean this pic? :whistles:

Aside from a tiny car pulling a big boat, you are seeing a much more beautiful thing happening-driving right and passing left!

The boat in the photo provided by Blake is what is commonly known as a "runabout" -- a small, light 14-16 foot boat with a total weight, including motor, of less than 1,000 pounds. The total weight including the trailer is well within the towing capacity of a Mazda Miata.

[dfkd]

If i could pull over 2500lbs across the continent (Vancouver to Niagara) over 5000km in my BEATER '90 FORD TAURUS with over 300,000km on it (engine had 190,000) I'm pretty confident that an LS would deal with anything you throw at it.

The worst part was that Canadian rockies where i was sometimes going 30kph uphill for 15 mins at a time because the piece of crap transmission wouldnt shift to gear 2.

I just think that if a piece of crap Ford with a 150hp 3.0 V6 can handle that kind of drive the LS should be fine doing whatever you want as long as you dont get rediculous with the weight. The LS is heavier and sturdier than that Taurus and i dont think you have 300,000km on your car either.

[JPI]

Rob, you mean this pic? :whistles:

Aside from a tiny car pulling a big boat, you are seeing a much more beautiful thing happening-driving right and passing left!

Wow.... Some people really take it to the extreme? lol....... I wouldn't use the lexus to tow anyway... I've seen too many burn up Lexus tranny. Use the right vehicle... That is why we bought a Dodge diesel to tow our trailer around

JPI

[monarch]

On the Toyota Motorhome forum, owners have not had transmission burn up problems when they obeyed the owners manual and locked the transmission out of overdrive when towing. The LS400's, in fact, have the same heavy duty 340 series automatic transmission as the Toyota Motorhomes

The mighty 2007 Toyota Tundra has an available 5.7 liter V8 with a heavy duty six speed automatic transmission and mammoth 10,000 pound tow rating. It will also be available in a double cab / crew cab configuration. So now Americans will finally have a more reliable and durable alternative to the large Dodge, Ford and Chevy pickups.

And while the American pickups may be built or partially built in Mexico, the Toyota Tundra will be fully built in Texas and Indiana.