Towing a 6500lb enclosed trailer

I have a 24' enclosed trailer w/brakes that weighs 3,400lbs and the load inside is about 3,000.
We are adding a weight distribution hitch but not until after I would tow it with my truck.
We used a 08 tundra to tow it a few months ago and the trailer was swaying at 60 mph... the tundra handled this fine but would it kill my tacoma?
I have an 06 double cab TRD off road w/brake hook ups and etc.

How sketchy would it be to trailer it for 50 miles at 50-60 mph with my truck?

 

"w/brake hook ups and etc" meaning you have the factory towing package?? Cause the max for the tow package is 6500lbs...

It's doable...but i don't think it will be pleasant...How often do you haul this trailer??

 

I brought my 24' enclosed Haulmark back empty some 250 miles after I bought it with my 04 4 cyl tacoma and no WD hitch. Yes, I made the trip and survived, it was no problem for the truck to do it, however it was NOT a pleasant experience.

The loaded trailer on a gen 2 v6 Tacoma would likely be similar. That is doable, but not going to be fun or enjoyable, and pretty stressful. Is there a reason that you can't have the WD hitch set up before this trip?

If you have not purchased the WD system yet, I'd reccomend the reese with a dual-cam sway control as my first choice, though they are a bit pricey. If you want a little cheeper than anybody's WD system would be fine provided that it has the offset ball mount for a friction type sway control. Whatever you choose make sure that you spring for one of the two types of sway control as well, it will make for a much more enjoyable tow.

Last thing, leave yourself a little time so that as soon as you are loaded you go to a big parking lot, and get your brake controller dialed in before heading out on the open road. Your settings will be dramatically different from when the trailer is empty.

Regards,

Adam

 

6500 will get you closer to the GCWR than you think. Short answer..........could you and your vehicle survive it? yes......... should you do it......... your call.

 

I'd say its doable. Just make sure you have enough tongue weight, yet not so much it bottoms your suspension. That will help control sway to an extent, other than that I'd just recommend watching your speed and if the trailer starts to sway then ease to a slower speed. No fast/aggressive maneuvers and keep adequate stopping distance between the car in front of you. I've been cut off while towing 6500-7000lbs where the driver decided they needed to immediately stop so they could turn after traffic went by and it was not fun. All 4 tires on my truck(chevy 1/2 ton, not my Tacoma) locked up and the load pushed me to about 5 ft of the cars bumper. This trailer had brakes on both axles and they were adjusted properly yet it still pushed my 6000lb truck(my Tacoma weighs in at 4500 with a full tank and a passenger). Drive defensively.

 

Please do not confuse tow rating with GCWR.

6500 is the tow rating and is NOT affected by passengers or cargo.

GCWR (Gross Combined Weight Rating) is what is affected by passengers or cargo.

In this case.

Truck curb weight is between 3855 and 4145 depending on bed length, and if it is 4wd or not. Trailer weight is estimated at 6400 lbs, and the GCWR for the Double cab with tow package is 11,100 lbs.

This gives our opening poster somewhere between 455 lbs(4x4 / long bed) and 745 lbs (pre-runner / short bed) for passengers and cargo loaded into the truck.

 

Guess I should clarify, fixed first post. Every time I run the numbers with max trailer capacity on just about any vehicle, it always skirts the edge of the GVWR. Stickers are usually short of actual weight (the 4 vehicles I have checked were). Either way, 6500 behind this truck is a little much, numbers or not.

Do whatever you feel comfortable with.

 

Srry a lil off topic but in reguards to the post a little above, is the tow capacity on the 2008 double cab TRD Off road the same as the access cab same model? considering they both have the tow package

 

If you've got the tow package- It's 6500#...