General Discussion and BS thread -Safe Haven

@SwollenGoat, just like I questioned the towing capability, the same goes for payload, except for the fact that I am 99% positive the payload can be easily and safely increased. Aftermarket springs (ome, allpro, etc) plus some air bags and aftermarket shocks would carry anything a stock full size could, no? Most people add those things I listed just for lift, looks, and off road performance.

 

Yes....and depends on what you are towing. For recreational towing I like to keep it right around half of capacity. For what I want, the Tacoma doesn't cut it...that is for a retirement vehicle.

Right now it is perfect, since I mainly do weekend trips, and couple weeks here and there, no reason to have something huge, that is going to sit mostly at this stage in life. Even with the 1-2 week trips the Tacoma gets a bit tight...so I wouldn't want to full time in one when I retire.

I like doing a heavier duty spring pack rather than air bags, air bags are fussy...springs, put them in and forget about them.

 

Physically yes, you can make it work, however...I like to be within the legal limit. I have driven vehicles right at capacity, and ones that were well over...it isn't fun, you're a danger to yourself and others.

IIRC (I could be slightly off here) ACLB Tacoma has a payload of 1300 lbs give or take. A Four Wheel Camper is 800 lbs. dry, it comes with a 20 gallon water tank, that filled is 166.8 lbs., I am 175#, the wife is 115#....so just that, I am right at payload...and I haven't put food, pots & pans, cutlery, clothes, propane, etc.... in it yet...hook up my moto trailer, the tongue weight and all of the moto gear has me closer to 2000# I am guessing. So I would be 700# over payload...that isn't good.

3/4-1 Ton truck with a 3000# + payload will handle that load a Hell of a lot better. You won't even know it is there.

 

Safety is the reason I am more confident about payload than towing. I do not want to tow past capacity or even at it. Payload, however, seems much safer but you may know something I dont. And I also don't mean the Tacoma can replace a 1 ton truck, just that I feel the payload is easily modified. Perhaps you can help me to understand why you cant up the payload with suspension components. I am under the impression that bottoming out is the only problem.

 

I didn't think you meant a Tacoma could replace a 1 Ton...keep it within the design perimeters, and you'll be fine.


Here is a good picture of going over payload, as they say, a picture is worth a thousands words. You can only push it so much.

 

Patience. .

With springs, proper loading, tons of experience, trailer brakes and the manual. I have towed up to 10k.. thats 8k on my trailer. Combined weight of the truck and trailer on a cat scale was a little over 14800 lbs.

No issues at all. Actually did much better than I expected.

Really though I wouldn't recommend anything over 8k or so pounds. Given a bad situation the frame is not tough enough for a accident past that. And if you were to loose trailer brakes it can be a hairy ride.

Someone is going to say I am crazy but 30 years or more ago a truck pulling 8k lbs would have had less power, worse brakes and wouldn't have been any safer.

 

Well that's an experience of towing over capacity, but what are the actual limiting factors? What separates a 1/2 ton from a 1 ton as far as towing?

 

Also when it comes to payload your limiting factor is the wheel bearings. Once you pass 1500 lbs or so. Regular use will destroy your diff and wheel bearing.

That is a factor for towing considering a normal guideline is about 10 to 20 percent tongue wieght depending on hitch style etc etc.

 

Semi float vs full float wheel bearings.

Brakes, springs, and drivetrain. And wheels and tires lugs included.

 

Right there with ya, waaay back when...all of our stuff was old...the scariest was this old Ford cabover milk truck that we used as water truck...that thing wanted to kill me...and it tried many times.

It looked like this, but with a a tanker...I hated driving that thing.

 

And that was more than 1200 miles in one shot.

Same trip was 8500 ish on a first gen. On the long mountain grades was where the 6spd 4.0 stopped the 3.4 auto. I could maintain 50 mph the 3.4 was struggling to keep up.

 

My Dad had a early 70s F600 untill recently. It was a 9 ton dump, and it pulled a 12k heavy equipment trailer. Pintle hitch. Drums front and rear. Air brakes. Split rims. Had a high low rear axle, and a 4 speed with big block 390 ford.

Aside from the horrible mpg. About 3. The brakes were scary as hell, the power was dismal and the suspension was.. well 1970s dump truck leaves.

If the tires and springs are addressed. The wheel bearings and rear diff are the next limit on the Tacoma's. . No doubt in my mind.

Although in thousands and thousands of miles towing all kinds of things in yota trucks the only diff I have had fail was when a wheel bearing gave in and it burned out the diff. And that wasn't towing at the time it was hauling way too much in my 79.

Lost a handful of rear wheel bearings in old yotas hauling too much. Broken some springs, but really if you drive properly they can take some serious abuse.

 

Okay, diff and wheel bearings. Then I wonder what they can actually safely handle over a long period of time. Could someone explain why hauling is harder than towing? I would guess the placement of the weight being directly over the axle which leads me to ask, could the weight be distributed, just like a towing load can be?

 

Towing places only the tongue weight on the bearings. So for example, if you are hauling an 8,000 lbs load you likely only have a tongue weight around 800-1,200 lbs. That's still within payload capacity for the rear bearings and differential. If you load 2,000 lbs into the box though you are placing that weight directly on the rear bearings of the truck. So that's why hauling is harder on the truck than towing. You can tow right up to the Tacoma's max and you should never touch the payload capacity on the bearings or rear end with the tongue weight, although there are restrictions on what the frame will handle which is another story.

Bottom line is you shouldn't exceed any capacity the truck is rated for. Those ratings are there for a reason. Even if you think you've covered all your bases on upgrading the weight your truck can tow or haul you may miss something as simple as a single linkage that could lead to a fatal outcome.

 

Hauling is hard on it once you get past a little more than rated payload because of semi float wheel bearings.

With a semi float wheel bearing like the tacoma the load is share between the wheel bearing, and differential. Once the wheel bearing is overloaded it will play more and increase the load on the diff.

With a full float all of the load is carried on two wheel bearings per side and the differential only sees the load from turning the tires.

Realistically pulling the full 6500 frequently is no problem.

Pulling 8k occasionally isn't going to hurt you. And anything more than that I would say should only be rare occasion if needed.

Load wise carrying a few hundred pounds all the time won't notably affect anything. If you haul 1000 pounds all the time you will decrease your bearing life. But not to an extent that its really a severe problem.

If your hauling rated payload or more everyday then you will see a noticeable decrease in your rear wheel bearings, and your diff wont go 400k..

 

All true.

The rating is in place as a guide for saftey.

Every pound you haul or tow will increase risks and wear and tear. Anything past the rated amounts will increase faster than up to the rated amounts will for saftey concerns as well as wear and tear.

 

Not too big not too small, for an RV that is.

 

Toyota, let's go places...

After the other automakers go there first so we know it's safe

 

Where have you been?^

 

At the mall riding the Segway