On the edge to get a Tacoma, how is its towing?

Why is everyone suggesting a full size truck when the op stated he wants to wheel it also? Full size trucks are only good for beach and mud.

I would suggest compromising like others suggest and find something lighter. I pull a 3500 lb trailer to the parks, but all fairly close, within 200 miles. It would be stressful going much further than that.

 

I pull a 24ft ultra-lite that weighs in around 4500-5000# loaded here in the mountains of Colorado. It's a bit sluggish going up steep grades but with the trailer brakes, I can stop with confidence. I tow the same as you're planning (every other weekend from spring through fall) and also chose the Taco for the wheeling capabilities. Gas mileage does suck but if I had to do it all over again, I wouldn't have done it different.

 

My longest drives would be to San Diego, Grand Canyon, Bryce Canyon and I am in Phoenix, AZ

Yea, some how a Big 2500 GMC or F250 diesel just isn't very logical when I want a light weight smaller vehicle for Off-Roading.. Hell, I was seriously looking at a Rubicon but it can't tow anything more than 2K. The Tacoma has the ability to tow according to the manufacture 6500lbs. I have no intent on going much above 4500 total weight. My off roading adventures are not going to include rock crawling and a Full size pick up is still on the plate but on the edge of the plate. I can get a fully loaded F150 FX4 for only 6K more than the Tacoma or a Ford F-150 XL 4X4 that has the bare necessities for 31K but it can tow (Both 2013 models). So those are an option. I wanted to keep my truck purchase limit at $34K

For me, it's not the money that is the obstacle, it's the fun factor. I want a vehicle that will be fun when it's not hooked up to the trailer. That I can take off road and enjoy. Bigger trucks just really suck off road. Been there done that. The only other obstacle is parking space at home, the garage is full (Project car and tools) and the driveway can only fit two vehicles, my wives car and my daily driver.

My journey to this started out with me wanting a Razor side by side (20K). Then I thought, how am I going to get to the locations I want to go? I need a truck to tow it or bed it. Then what will I sleep in? The options kept adding up to crazy money... So then I started to try and see what I could do with a jeep, then the Tacoma. Those two could get me where I want to go and perform well. Then I knew I would want to sleep where I was going so a trailer was factored in. Lastly what ever I buy will also be my daily driver. The Razor would never do the daily driver task. LOL

All said and done I keep coming back to the Tacoma and a light trailer as a great solution.

 

This might just be the answer I was looking for! Thanks!

 

Tows 6500 lbs great. Mileage sucks, but fuel's cheap. I actually had a brake line fail on the trailer, and the brakes go out on a 900 mile trip with that boat, and i didn't even know they were gone until i inspected the trailer the next day. so the tacoma brakes work pretty well too. the trailer you're looking at will be cake.

 

The tacoma will pull 4500lbs OK. Anything more than that and you will definitely tell it's back there. I tow a 22' express style fishing boat with a cabin (probably around 5500-6000lbs loaded). You know it's back there, and the truck works hard when pulling. Trailer brakes are a must. I lost my brakes on the last trip. I never want to do that again... Only time I really wish I had a tundra is when I'm pulling my boat.

 

It really depends on how often and how far you tow.

If you only tow a camper on a vacation trip a couple times a year, then no problem.

If you only tow your boat a short distance from home to a marina or something every other weekend or something then no problem.



If you plan to tow something heavier 4000-6500 lbs frequently, then a Tacoma will wear on you and you will feel frustrated, nervous, or just disappointed at times.


If you are serious about towing a lot and frequently then you already know the answer is a full size and quite possibly a diesel.

 

it is the rear end ratio. Higher ratio means the Tundra tows better but MPGs drop

 

I'm real happy with how my truck tows. I tow a lot, all year long. Snowmobiles in the winter and boats in the summer. Sometimes even a landscape trailer with a lot of weight. 4500lbs will be no issue.

 

In 2008 my wife and I purchased a 2008 Jacy Jayflight 22FB. It weighed 4080 dry and had a 6000 GVWR. We lived in Colorado at the time and towed it about 3 times with the Tacoma before we decided to get a bigger truck. From my experience with the slight grades and the RPMs required to maintain 50mph, your not going to have any fun going to Flagstaff or over the hill into San Diego at all. Pretty much all trailers over 3000lb have brakes and most (not all) states require them anyways. You just need the controller. Its also recommended to get a weight distribution hitch over 3000lb or something. That said that trailer was too much for the Tacoma in my opinion. Maybe it was the surface area that made it so difficult. Whatever it was we traded the Tacoma in for a Tundra. Night and day difference. Maybe the RV dealer will let you do a test tow (if you have a brake controller) before the purchase. Good luck with your quest.

 

Full size trucks are very capable off road. Yes, they are wider and have a longer wheel base.

 

I am going to agree with many above, If I was looking to tow a 4K+ regularly, especially a travel trailer, the Tacoma would not be my first choice for a tow vehicle.

You have to consider that wind drag at highway speed is going to increase that 4500 number some. And hills will increase it some. And trailer cargo and extra factory options will increas it some.

Then cargo, passengers, and even some factory options in the Tacoma are going to decrease the 6400 number some. Pretty easy to get near or over the max safe rating. Too many people falsely believe the 6400 number means "how heavy a trailer can I tow?"

 

bold^^^

it can get dangerous quick. the picture i posted earlier stating 6500 lbs is the boat, trailer, full tank of fuel on the boat (36 gal), and a lot of gear/food/drinks. truck will tow 6500 lbs, all in, just fine.....but it will not tow a 6500 lb boat.

 

LOL I was thinking the same thing! My dad's 07 is stock and doesn't get anywhere near 35mpg

 

The new RAM 1500 with the 3.0 diesel V6 (from Fiat and shared in the Jeep Wagoneer) puts out some incredible numbers (power, towing, fuel mileage). If Toyota offered a comparable engine in the mid-size Tacoma (with 4-wheel disk brakes) it would be an unbeatable ride for pretty much everything. Won't matter much to me as I won't live long enough to see it, but it would be great. Rumors are that a diesel is coming for the Tundra, but full size trucks don't appeal to me for daily use.

 

Better yet, get a Kenworth or Peterbilt. Also, don't bother with the small block offering, nothing less than a 600hp/2050tq Cummins will do the job. Make sure you get the 46000lbs suspension (safety don't ya know) and 18 speed transmission. You will be much more comfortable with this.


He's towing 4500lbs with a truck that's rated for 6400, fercrissakes!

 

The point is people think they are towing 4500 pounds but they really are pulling a load much higher counting all the factors, wind resistance, hills, cargo plus options in the trailer, stuff and passengers in the truck etc.

Probably OK on occaision, but I am not going to subject my transmission or my pucker orifice to this on a regular basis.

 

+1, he does not need a diesel for 4500 lbs. Plenty of gassers out there will tow that easily. if I was OP I would just bck off on the trailer a little. The new hybrids are pretty nice and are normally shorter and lighter. There are some choices in newer RVs designed to be towed with mid size SUVs

 

I agree with this. Currently we pull a 2500 lb pop-up with ease. Light and low profile. We are looking to "upgrade" a little from this to a hard sided camper. After a lot of research, i have decided that, as long as we have the Taco for a tow vehicle (which I hope is the rest of my life) the camper has to come with only a single axle, or else it is probably heavier than we want to pull.

One tip for a great and very towable camper is to look at the Trail Manors. That is if you have plenty of money for a new one or find a good deal on used.