looking at buying a travel trailer

so im looking into a few travel trailers. I drive a 2006 v6 dbl cb 6speed sr5. It does not have the towing package. I currently dont have anything on it. My question is this. I know with the tow package the rating is 6500lbs gvwr. From toyota the oem hitch states that it is 5000lbs gtw. what am i missing in the 1500lb difference? what exactly would i need to get the truck to its 6500lb rating? The trailer that i want has a gvwr of 6200lbs. I forget what the dry wieght is. the 6200lbs is loaded with water, gear ect.

 

just found some specs on the trailer.

unloaded trailer weight is 3846lbs
dry hitch weight is 444lbs

 

How big of a trailer is it (dimensions). There's more to towing than just the weight of the trailer. You'd be best off to get a weight distributing hitch and sway control for a trailer that big. How frequently will you be towing and how far? The reason I ask is because while the Tacoma will tow it, a bigger truck would do better if you're planning on towing frequently or cross country for example.

 

the dimensions of the trailer are

2010 palomino 21sds
Specifications
Dry Hitch Weight : 444 lb.
Awning Size : TBA
Exterior Height : 8 ft. 5 in.
Exterior Width : 96 in.
Fresh Water Capacity : 30 gal.
Black Water Capacity : 31 gal.
Gray Water Capacity : 38 gal.
Exterior Length : 21 ft. 8 in.
Cargo Carrying Capacity : TBA
Gross Vehicle Weight Rating : 6,243 lb.
Unloaded Vehicle Weight : 3,846 lb.
Mileage: 0

it is a decent size trailer but i sat down with the guys at cold springs and went through what my truck could tow safely by there specs they have on the computer. He did mention the weight distributing hitch and what not. basically im just looking to set up the truck myself instead of paying them to do it. i was just confused as to why the rating is 6500lbs but all the hitches i seem to find are rated 5000lbs. I wont be towing cross country at all. it will be used a few times a year. basically staying in the state of new hampshire or maybe a little into maine.

 

The tacomas with the factory tow package come with an auxilliary oil and transmission cooler. I assume that they allow the truck to handle the extra 1500 lbs without overworking the truck.

 

OOOH, I misread your first post, I thought it said you DO have the tow package. You can not change your GVWR from the factory. The max you can legally tow is 3,500 lbs according to Toyota. The hitches you are finding are Class 3 which are rated to 5,000 lbs (5,500 with a weight distributing hitch I believe), the tow package comes with a Class 4 hitch.

You have to look at your door jamb, it'll give you GCVWR (Gross Combined Vehicle Weight Rating meaning truck and trailer) and that will dictate how much you can legally tow. You can set-up your truck fairly well with aftermarket accessories and it will handle more weight than that, but unfortunately you can not change what the sticker says. I've added a class 3 hitch to mine and definitely been above 3,500 lbs without a problem but I wouldn't push it past the 5,000 lb mark.

The tow package comes with a heavier alternator, transmission cooler (I don't think the manuals have this), class 4 hitch which you may be able to find aftermarket or buy used and the wiring for the trailer.

You should get a decent brake controller, you'd have to wire the truck for a 7-pin trailer, add a receiver hitch and I don't think you'd want to mess with the alternator swap for what you're looking to do.

 

so are you saying this trailer is way to heavy for my truck? The guys from cold springs are usually really good at fitting trailer to truck and they dont allow you to drive off the lot with one that your truck cant handle by their specs.

 

i dont see anything on the door jam with GCVWR. i only see gvwr which was like 5420 or something.

 

Hmm, I'll do some looking to see if I can find the other info. What I'm saying is technically it's too heavy for your truck because of the way Toyota rated the non-tow package equipped vehicles. You have the same engine and transmission and, when properly equipped, can handle loads up in the 5,000 lb range without a problem.

Off of Toyota's website (so this will be for the 2011) the GCVWR is 8,100 lbs w/out the tow package, 11,100 lbs with the tow package. I don't remember what the truck weighs but subtract the truck weight (all in truck weight including supplies, people, etc) from the 8,100 lbs and that's what you can tow. You're also limited by the type of hitch you put on it, obviously. A class 3 hitch limits you to 5,000 lbs (I believe you can go to 5,500 with a weight distributing hitch, check the specs on the hitch you're looking to buy for clarification). I hope I'm not confusing you too much, just trying to help out

 

i greatly appreciate your help but i am slightly confused still. I understand "legally" the sticker cant be changed and whats there is "legally" what the truck can tow. Maybe im naive but im thinking if i put the class 4 hitch on like the one with the tow package, add the brake controller and what not it will be the same as iff i had the tow package. again i understand what the sticker says but if there are no other differences in trucks with the tow package besides hitch, controller, alternator than why wouldnt this just work? I would see if there was different suspension or frame support i would get why you couldnt just add the package and call it a day. But as far as i know the hitch, controller and alternator are the only difference.

 

You can add the components of the tow package to a non-tow package and the trucks will be identical. The suspension and engine is the same. The issue is, god forbid you get into an accident or something were to happen, legally you are over loaded because of what the truck is rated for from the factory. In short, yes, you can build yourself a tow-pckage equipped Tacoma and it will physically tow the 6,500 lbs. Just can't get around the little f-ing sticker on the door jamb

 

oh i see i see. i get what you are saying. i guess i never thought of it that way. One more question for you. Every trailer hitch ive found for the tacoma is a class 3. Any idea what hitch they use from the factory? or any other class 4 that works?

 

the only reason that a non-tow packaged equipped truck is rated at 3,000 pounds towing is that it doesn't come with a hitch, you have to use the bumper and the bumper is only rated for 3000 lbs. Once you put a hitch on the truck it is considered with a tow package, do you really think a company will sell you a 5000 lbs hitch to put on the truck if it was still rated for 3000 lbs, that would be a lawsuit ready to happen. The only way to find a class IV hitch would be to look in salvage yards, it would have to be from toyota. all after market hitches are going to be a class III for our trucks, which would be in the 5000 non wd and 5500 with wd.

 

Partially correct, look at the above posts regarding the GVWR. Regardless of what the hitch is rated for you can not legally exceed the max rating for the vehicle. The tow package equipped Tacomas are rated for more weight than a non-tow package equipped Tacoma.

As far as the class 4 hitch, I have not seen an aftermarket one for a Tacoma yet. As mentioned by muddluvr, try to find a salvage yard or keep an eye out for another member selling one off.

 

legally, once you install a hitch the truck becomes tow package equiped. so it can have the tow rating of whatever hitch you have installed..all the other stuff, brake controller, trans cooler, oil cooler and all the other bolt on stuff is there to make the truck, trans and engine last longer. it does not increase what you can tow.

 

Not true, it does not matter what you add to a truck, you can not change the sticker on the door frame that tells you what you can legally tow. Toyota claims a tow package equipped Tacoma can tow/haul a total of 11,100 lbs, a non-tow package equipped Tacoma can tow/haul a total of 8.100 lbs.

Read the above posts, I said you can bolt on everything from the tow package but you can not change the sticker. A non-tow package equipped truck will physically handle the same weight as a tow package equipped truck but can not legally tow as much.

 

so if what are are saying is true all trucks with aftermarket hitches are illegally towing heavier loads. I hope they don't start to inforce that..

also if that is the case, if you crash towing 5000 lbs you can legally sue the company that made the hitch that you installed on the truck since you can only tow 3500 because the sticker says so.

do these scenarios make sense to you??

what if you take the sticker off and get one from a truck with a tow package...wouldn't even need to get a hitch.

 

See responses in bold

 

Even swapping that sticker wouldn't do any good. They are going to look up the VIN of your truck, which will tell them what it shipped with.