Toyota 4Runner towing capacity, 2023 to 2026
Choose your 4Runner's model year, engine and grade: the checker reads Toyota's printed rating for it and tests your trailer, passengers and cargo against the rating and the GVWR.
2026 Toyota 4Runner: can it tow 4,500 lb?
Within, little margin
Rating for this configuration: 6,000 lb. 2026 Toyota 4Runner Product Information (Toyota USA Newsroom), p. 4.
| Trailer vs trailer weight rating | 4,500 lb of 6,000 lb ✓ |
| Tongue weight share | 12.0% (10 to 15%) ✓ |
| Load on the vehicle vs payload | 1,115 lb of 1,135 lb ✓ |
| Vehicle weight vs GVWR | 6,485 lb of 6,505 lb ✓ |
| Truck plus trailer vs GCWR | not printed for this vehicle |
| Heaviest trailer with this load (set by payload) | 4,666 lb |
Compiled by Radif Partners · Sources and method · Toyota documents read October 21, 2026
Toyota prints a single towing figure for each 4Runner generation. The sixth generation, sold from the 2025 model year with a 2.4-liter turbocharged four-cylinder or the i-FORCE MAX hybrid, is rated 6,000 lb in every grade, two-wheel or four-wheel drive. The 2023 and 2024 4Runner, the end of the fifth generation with its 4.0-liter V6 and five-speed automatic, is rated 5,000 lb in every grade and drive. Both figures follow the SAE J2807 method. What changes from one 4Runner to the next is weight: Toyota prints a curb weight and a GVWR for each grade, and the room between them, from 1,005 lb on the TH hybrid to 1,550 lb on the SR5 2WD, is what people, cargo and the trailer tongue must fit in. Toyota prints no GCWR for either generation.
One figure per generation
The 2026 product information gives the 4Runner one line, "Maximum Towing Weight" of 6,000 lb, with no split by grade, drive or engine (2026 product information). The 2024 sheet does the same with 5,000 lb and the words "all" beside its maximum trailer and tongue figures (2024 product information). That simplicity is rare in this segment, and it means the badge on the tailgate does not change the rating. It does not mean every 4Runner carries the same load, because the weights printed beside the rating differ by several hundred pounds.
4Runner maximum by model year
2026 Toyota 4Runner maximum towing capacity
6,000 lb
| Reached by | 2.4L i-FORCE MAX hybrid I4 · 4WD · LTD |
| Lowest rating printed | 6,000 lb (2.4L i-FORCE MAX hybrid I4 · 4WD · LTD) |
| Configurations in the table | 12 |
| Source | 2026 Toyota 4Runner Product Information (Toyota USA Newsroom), p. 4 |
The room between curb weight and GVWR
For the 2026 truck Toyota prints no payload, only a curb weight and a GVWR for each grade. The difference is the most that people, cargo, accessories and the trailer tongue may add. The SR5 with 2WD leaves 1,550 lb; the TH hybrid leaves 1,005 lb. The grades are printed with abbreviations in that table, copied here as Toyota wrote them. A 6,000 lb trailer with 10% of its weight on the tongue puts 600 lb on the ball, so the tight versions have little left for a family of four and their luggage. Weigh the loaded vehicle once before a long trip.
4Runner: room left after people and cargo
Payload left for the trailer tongue
430 lb
| Payload | 1,005 lb |
| People, cargo and hitch | 575 lb |
| Heaviest trailer at 10% tongue | 4,300 lb |
| At 12% tongue | 3,583 lb |
Hybrid or turbo
The i-FORCE MAX hybrid is printed only with four-wheel drive and weighs up to 5,500 lb, against 4,455 lb for the lightest gasoline version. Toyota still rates it 6,000 lb, and gives it a higher GVWR to match. Choosing the hybrid for towing is therefore a question of torque and fuel use, not of a higher rating. The hybrid grades are also the heavier ones, so they sit at the tight end of the curb weight to GVWR room, and a family that tows and carries a full cargo area should compare that room grade by grade before choosing.
The fifth generation
The 2023 and 2024 4Runner use the 4.0-liter V6. Toyota prints a payload for that truck, from 1,495 lb to 1,700 lb depending on grade and drive, and a tongue weight of 500 lb for every version, a tenth of the rating. The jump to 6,000 lb came with the new generation in 2025; a used 2024 is rated 1,000 lb lower. For three-row and midsize rivals see the Highlander, the Grand Cherokee and the Explorer, and the SUV towing guide for the whole class.
Toyota 4Runner towing capacity by model year
| Model year | Highest rating | Lowest rating | Configurations | Highest payload | Maker document |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 6,000 lb | 6,000 lb | 12 | not printed | 2026 Toyota 4Runner Product Information (Toyota USA Newsroom), p. 4 |
| 2025 | 6,000 lb | 6,000 lb | 12 | not printed | 2025 Toyota 4Runner Product Information (Toyota USA Newsroom), p. 4 |
| 2024 | 5,000 lb | 5,000 lb | 6 | 1,700 lb | 2024 Toyota 4Runner Product Information (Toyota USA Newsroom), p. 5 |
| 2023 | 5,000 lb | 5,000 lb | 6 | 1,700 lb | 2023 Toyota 4Runner Product Information (Toyota USA Newsroom), p. 5 |
2026 Toyota 4Runner by engine
| Engine | Highest rating | Lowest rating | Rows |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2.4L i-FORCE MAX hybrid I4 | 6,000 lb | same | 5 |
| 2.4L i-FORCE turbo I4 | 6,000 lb | same | 7 |
Every configuration of the 2026 table (12 rows)
| Configuration | Rating (lb) | GCWR | GVWR | Payload | Curb or base | Page |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2.4L i-FORCE MAX hybrid I4 · 4WD · LTD | 6,000 | 6,505 | 5,370 | 4 | ||
| 2.4L i-FORCE MAX hybrid I4 · 4WD · OFR | 6,000 | 6,505 | 5,225 | 4 | ||
| 2.4L i-FORCE MAX hybrid I4 · 4WD · PLT | 6,000 | 6,505 | 5,390 | 4 | ||
| 2.4L i-FORCE MAX hybrid I4 · 4WD · PRO | 6,000 | 6,505 | 5,455 | 4 | ||
| 2.4L i-FORCE MAX hybrid I4 · 4WD · TH | 6,000 | 6,505 | 5,500 | 4 | ||
| 2.4L i-FORCE turbo I4 · 2WD · LTD | 6,000 | 6,130 | 4,730 | 4 | ||
| 2.4L i-FORCE turbo I4 · 2WD · SPT | 6,000 | 6,020 | 4,610 | 4 | ||
| 2.4L i-FORCE turbo I4 · 2WD · SR5 | 6,000 | 6,005 | 4,455 | 4 | ||
| 2.4L i-FORCE turbo I4 · 4WD · LTD | 6,000 | 6,395 | 4,970 | 4 | ||
| 2.4L i-FORCE turbo I4 · 4WD · OFR | 6,000 | 6,240 | 4,850 | 4 | ||
| 2.4L i-FORCE turbo I4 · 4WD · SPT | 6,000 | 6,395 | 4,850 | 4 | ||
| 2.4L i-FORCE turbo I4 · 4WD · SR5 | 6,000 | 6,075 | 4,685 | 4 |