Tacoma comfortable with 23' trailer ?

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]So my family is planning to purchase a 23' travel trailer with a dry weight of 3,700 lbs, hitch weight of 380 and GVWR of 4,780. I will definitely be purchasing a weight distribution hitch and brake controller.

Would this be a good size for a 2012 V6 Tacoma with tow package?



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Neither length, nor weight will be an issue for you. A brake controller by itself is no good, you need to actually have brakes on the trailer. Depending on the type of brakes, a controller may not even be required.

 

Yeah, the trailer will have electric brakes. I'm green, but not that green. More curious about hauling up hills and in wind?

 

I tow a 19' trailer (24') over all. Fully loaded it weighs about 4500. It pulls just fine. You will notice it back there on big hills but it will cruise on flat stretches. I pulled my over 2 mountain ranges here in Oregon last week with no issues.

 

I tow a 23' toy hauler with my Tacoma that weights 5000 lbs with our gear and the motorcycle in it. The Tacoma tows it well but if the grade is too steep, it will fall below the posted speed. Other than that, it does fine with the size of trailer we have.

One thing you should have is a anti-sway system incorporated into your weight distribution hitch. 5000 lbs behind a Tacoma is a lot in a strong side wind or even when passing an 18 wheeler.

 

Watch the GVW and rear axle rating, that's where your real limit is. You'll run out of payload way before towing capacity.

 

You should be fine. I towed a 22'2 trailer about 3926lbs dry (hitch low 400lbs) and it tows great. You are not beating any records but it will get there.

 

If you were going up hills in a vacuum, the weight wouldn't be an issue at all. Wind is the big thing that most people don't account for, both in terms of resistance to forward motion, and being bucked side to side. As someone above has mentioned, sway control would be a good idea.

 

I had just purchased a 21 ft TT same Gross weight and hitch weight. The Tacoma pulls just fine. I would suggest the 4 th gear for most of your travel, unless flat highway. The gas mileage will drop to about 10 mpg. WDH is also advisable. The one thing that I found out was when the Semi's pass you, hold on to your steering wheel they will suck you in their direction..

 

Sounds perfect for a tacoma I have seen people on here towing alot more.
Post pics when you can!

 

I feel the same. When a semi passed me, the trailer floated. I had only the WDH that time (had the sway but didn't hook up the sway when I took delivery).

 

I tow frequently my crawler on a 16 foot trailer. The power to tow is there but braking sucks ass. Leave yourself plenty of distance in case of a panic brake situation even with trailer brakes.

 

The next time you are out, with trailer and you are using the sway bar. Let me know if you still get "floating effect" from the passing Semi's .. I was told I didn't need one, but if it makes a difference I will install one.

 

Will do. We are scheduled to take a 2 day camping trip on Sept 28 (driving distance will be 135 miles each way).

 

They most certainly do work even something inexpensive like this makes a big difference.

http://www.etrailer.com/Weight-Distribution/Reese/RP26660.html

Keep in mind trailer sway is not normal, the push/pull from passing trucks (or getting passed) is somewhat unavoidable.

 

You will be just fine with the WDH, brake controller and anti-sway bar. I had an '05 5.4L F-150 and it really did not pull my TT that much better than my Tacoma. The heavier truck kept the trailer from moving around as much, but the Tacoma is still plenty comfortable once you get a few miles under your belt.