The Tacoma Towing Bible

ok, got the firestone air bags..............now, how do i sync up the air bags and weight distributing hitch.........?

 

How hard would it be to wire up a 7 plug when i wire up my trailer brake controller?
03 DC 4x4, has a hitch and a 4 flat, but no tow package.

 

Depends how handy you are and what wiring skills you posses... all of the wires you need are right there at the back of the truck. Try to avoid the "quick-connect" wire taps that just go on with a pliers. They will become unreliable with age. Get some good marine-grade heat shrink (with the hot-melt glue inside - available at Harbor Freight), and once you're sure of which wire you want, cut, do a good Western Union Splice (and solder), and seal it up with the heat shrink. Use appropriate gauge wire for all connections.

If you don't want to (or can't) solder, then properly crimped, correctly sized butt connectors are almost as good, but they MUST be weatherproofed - the marine heat shrink I mention above is perfect for this.

Double check ALL of your wiring BEFORE applying that heat shrink - it makes the connection permanent; the only way to remove it will be to cut it out of the wire, entirely.

Here's a diagram for ya', at no extra charge! Good Luck!

 

Thanks for the info, i've worked some with wiring before, and dad's wired a few trailers, so i think i'll be able to handle it.

 

I have a 2007 Tacoma 4x4 with the 4.0 V6 and the 6 speed manual transmission. We are looking at buying a trailer for camping. The 2 we are looking at are real close to the max weight of towing of my truck. The first one has a dry shipping weight of 4,845 lbs with carrying capacity of 2,155 lbs or a total of 7,000 lbs max loaded. The second travel trailer has a dry shipping weight of 5,030 lbs. and a carrying capacity of 2,510 lbs. giving it a max load of 7,540 lbs. Tongue weight on the first one is 515 lbs and on the second one is 540 lbs. When we get the travel trailer, it will be interesting to see how the truck does with it.

 

Subd

 

Those seem like heavy campers, how long are they? I would worry about weight more if you are going to be pulling in hills or mountains. But length is more important to me, because cross winds or passing semi trucks can play hell with our trucks being they just don't have enough ass to man handle a long and heavy travel trailer.

 

Damn. Let us know how either of those work out. Seem pretty hefty.

I'm heading to our RV show Saturday to take a look

Can't wait to get a trailer.

 

Hi Jay. Some people on here say tow up to or over the 6,500 lb tow rating, others say stay below the limit. Here's the thing....if you're towing a trailer that's above your tow limit and you have an accident (your fault or not) you may have trouble with insurance. At the very least you'll probably get a ticket. I've towed a 3,000 lb trailer through Colorado, Utah, Nevada, & California with my Tacoma and it did fine. At more than double the weight, you may have trouble with some of the Colorado mountains. If you do go with a heavy trailer I would recommend that you beef up the brakes on your truck and install airbags to help with the heavy tongue load of the trailer. My trailer is a Trailmanor and I think that it's ideal for our trucks. You may want to look into one of those. Let us know what you decide. Happy camping.

 

^^This....hills would NOT be fun.

 

Ummm. my 2013 V6 PreRunner DC with the towing package is rated for 6400lbs. Both of your options exceed that. I've pulled approximately 5000 lbs, with no real difficulty, but you're talking an additional ton over that, and I was in Florida, where there are no hills (let alone mountains).

Also something very worth considering - at 7000-7500 lbs, your trailer will outweigh your tow vehicle by a considerable amount (almost 2 to 1 in the latter case given), which is rarely a good idea, no matter how many Darwin Award nominees say it's ok.

I routinely pull a 6-ton, 28 foot toyhauler with a modified Chevy Silverado 2500HD Duramax/Allison rig (rated for 12500 lbs towing, in stock trim). Even though that's within the factory specs, it still gets interesting on windy days, or if I need to brake hard.

Your other option is to travel very light, and not load the trailer or truck beyond its spec'd ability. For example, we often travel with minimal fresh water, generator fuel, and fueling station fuel when transporting the dirt bikes and/or quads, filling up on those as needed when we reach or approach our destination. Fresh water alone accounts for 1200 lbs (150 gallon tank), and the combined fuel capacity of 60 gallons adds another 375 or so. Combined, that's 3/4 of a ton. Add riding gear, drinks, ice and miscellaneous gear, and you can see how you can go over your weight limit easily.

Bottom line - if you need to pull a heavier load than what your truck is rated for, you need a truck with a higher tow rating.

 

Not sure if this has been covered but when I hooked up my Primus IQ using an adapter, the controller has power when the truck is off. Would have thought this would be wired to the ignition. Is something wrong here or do I just need to disconnect the controller whenever not in use?

 

Never mind...it turns off after a short time.

 

Thank you Maverick! Seriously, this has been a huge help for me. I hate to ask this, but is there any chance you could put together a "grocery list" of the items you have or would buy now if they were available when you set up your TT? I am about to pull the trigger on a Keystone Bullet 217rbs. It is 4370# dry with 490# hitch weight. I have a 2011 V6 ext. cab manual 6 spd TRD with a 3" body lift, URD CAI, Y-pipe/exhaust, MAF cal. I have read through the towing bible and started to put together a list of all your suggestions. I want to buy once and cry once at the cost. I have pulled different types of trailers before for a previous job as a landscaper and currently have a small setup for my ATV. I guess what I am looking for is, what hitch would be the best performing, what brake controller, etc. The Timbren bump stops, Supersprings, airbags or just leave the rear suspension alone? I know you have put all of that out there in different posts but it took me the better part of a day to just read through the entire "bible". I would like to know what you would do if money wasn't a concern. (even though it is) I travel for work and am tired of staying in hotels. Again, thank you for building this post. I am reading it for the second time around.

 

I currently pull a 22' long, about 3500# pontoon boat/trailer with my 2007 5.3L V8 Chevy Trailblazer. I'm thinking of going to a 2015 Double cab Tacoma V6, but I'm concerned about the Taco's lower HP and torque.

I've read thru this post (great job Maverick), and most seem to indicate they pull much heavier loads without a problem... but my concern is one little part of every trip. My house is at the top of a little hill with a gravel road up to it. I can't really have any speed built up before getting to a steep uphill grade. Its not a very long portion, but steep enough that my wife's Prius grunts a little going up.

Is the stock Tacoma going to make it without feeling like I need to get out and push?

I think the Tacoma's a sharp looking truck, and the improved mileage would be appreciated.

Thoughts? Comments? Suggestions?

thanks, Larry

 

My wife has a 2005 TB with the I-6. We towed our 5000# TT with hers last year and it was fine. Just got the Taco in December and have only towed it from the storage lot back to the house and it seemed at least as good as the TB (I know yours is a v8 but the I-6 still has higher hp and tq numbers than the Taco) as far as pulling power; stability wise the Taco seemed better. The place we do most of our camping has a very steep grade (I would guess steeper than what you are talking about) along the way. Our first camping trip is next weekend (weather dependant); I will report back on how the truck does.

 

Put the truck in 4LOW and you should have no problem.

 

You will be totally good in 4low. I pulled a dump truck full of firewood out of a ditch in the snow on a gravel road with a 1987 4cyl Toyota truck by putting it in 4 low (and having snow tires)

 

Thanks.

That's the other aspect of it - 4WD vs 2WD. I bought the 4WD Trailblazer when I lived in Chicagoland. Now I'm in SE Tenn, where snow is a rarity.

The only time I'd *really* need 4WD is at the boat ramp... with the pontoon boat, I've got to back w-a-y into the water - up to the bumper on the Trailblazer. When the water is down for the winter like it is now, I can see that at the end of the cement part of the ramp, there's a drop off, if the boat trailer wheels ever went off the ramp it would be a devil of a time getting it back up without 4WD. The cement part can get pretty slimy in the summer time too.

 

That's where 4WD is a life saver! If you don't have room for momentum 4WD helps. If you really need to crawl 4Low works well. At that point you can pull quite a bit just on idle thanks to the gearing.