Specific Towing Needs

[klc]

We are considering the replacement of our '02 Highlander Non-Hybrid with an '08 Hybrid. However, I am concerned with how well the hybrid will perform when towing a camper over very steep mountain passes. We use our '02 Highlander Non-Hybrid in the summers to go camping in the mountains of Colorado. We usually put about 3k miles on our vehicle during these trips and face steep mountain passes with plenty of stop and go traffic while going uphill. Our '02 huffs and puffs, but it makes it along ok. I have heard mixed reviews on the hybrids ability to pull a trailer uphill. One review read that if starting off from a dead stop on the side of a hill, their '08 hybrid would not even attempt to rev... not even spinning the tires. They reported they had to unhook their trailer and have it towed by a separate vehicle. Towing capacity | Hybrid Cars

We would be in a terrible jam if this happened on a mountain pass.

In most cases we would be pulling a trailer similar to these specs:
3000 lbs Dry Weight
100 gal tanks (usually empty until 30 minutes from destination)
A few 100 lbs in camping gear

If this is too heavy, what types of travel trailors are others towing that are lighter and what kind of performance can we expect?

Seems to me, this wouldn't work well for us. Any thoughts from Hybrid owners?

[efusco]

I'll just link to my answer at Priuschat...
Towing with a HiHy in the Mountains - PriusChat Forums