Just purchased vintage trailer. Need help.

So I towed this home yesterday, which was a one hour drive. My mileage was utter shite. I think I averaged about 10mpg. The trailer weighs 2625kg. Is this what I should expect from towing this brick?

Also I'm pretty sure I needed a break controller, but I know absolutely nothing about the subject. The trailer has brakes, and I have the big round outlet for plugging in the trailer on the back of my truck.

Can anyone with experience towing a trailer with brakes help a fella out?

 

Mileage is about right and yes you will need a brake controller. Towing the load isn't the problem, it's stopping it. Do it the right way and use a brake controller.

It's safer for you and everyone else on the road.

 

Yes, at almost 6000 lbs, you need a brake controller.

 

Ok another question. On my registration the weight is listed as 2625kg. Then on a label in the trailer I see gross trailer weight as 3820?

Which one should I concern myself with?

 

I'd go with what the trailer says it is since that's from the manufacturer. Could be a mistake on the registration. That's a 21' camper, right?

That lbs or kg?

 

Yes it's 21ft 1965. 3820kg sounds really heavy? Is that too heavy for my taco?

I don't know if it's lbs or kg? Doesn't specify. Registration says 2625kg.

 

There are few threads about it where you can enough information. Installing a brake controller is very easy. I did mine following the instruction in one of those threads. Just type "brake controller" in the search

 

Well I find it hard to believe a 21' camper would GVW would be 8,404 lbs. I'm thinking that the weight is probably 2,625 lbs. Take it to a truck scale and weigh it.

 

The gross weight is what you want to worry about. That's taking into consideration the water, fuel, and other gear on board. If it really is 3,820 kg, you bought too much trailer for your truck. That's over 8,400 lbs if I'm correct. You're a ton over the tow rating of your truck. I'd maybe take it to a truck weigh station and find out for sure where you're at. The trailer does look nice though. Looks to be in good shape.

 

That is a really nice looking trailer for a 1965.

 

Old trailers are heavy, compared to new ones. That looks like it may be a bit heavy for a Tacoma. Your gross weight is how much total the camper can carry.

 

The manufacturer is still in business under General Coach which at that time were owned by Bendix Corp. You may try contacting them and see if they may have any info in their archives about it.

http://generalcoachcan.com/about/

 

Here's a couple of threads with good info...

www.tacomaworld.com/threads/gen-3-towing-thread.413026/

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/what-kind-of-camper-do-you-have.87823/

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/the-tacoma-towing-bible.4031/page-64#post-12905404

 

Ok so I did some research and I'm pretty sure the gtw that reads 3820, is in lbs. I searched similar trailers from that era, and it looks like they are right around that weight.

 

I ordered the brake controller, and plug and play harness from partsengine.ca , it was $84 Canadian shipped to my door , and took about 3 minutes to install. Good luck

 

Correct me if I am wrong but didn't Canada convert to the metric system in 1970?

 

Weigh your travel trailer. The gvw is about 1200 pounds for luggage you to add to get to maximum trailer weight. It is 21 feet hitch to back right? Have fun. Your taco can do.

 

It calls for a class 3 hitch so probably not 8000 pounds.

 

look at the tire recommendation, E78-14B translates to approx 195/75-14 tire which in a B load rating is approx 1260lb PER TIRE

1260x4= 5040lb at max inflation of 44PSI your tag prescribes 32psi ( scary ) on bias ply tires, so weight rating would be lower

Trailer info and tags are very confusing at times.

your best bet as said earlier, weight the camper, in total and just whats sitting on the tires while hitched to truck

Total combination weight, then disconnect camper, leave on scale pull truck off, reweigh, then reconnect and pull forward to get truck off scale with just camper weight on scale, reweigh.

little mathing and you get truck weight, camper weight, combination weight, camper weight on tires, tongue weight.

THEN you know where you're at weight wise. anything else is just a guess and might cause you issues

MAKE THE BRAKES WORK, they'll save your ass more than you know !!

Oh, that gas mileage thing ? HA, you're pulling a BRICK, gas milage is the last thing you're gonna get !

 

Where did the 2625kg number come from (what does it label that number as on the registration)? My guess is this is a weight class. So under 2625kg / 6000lbs (which is also the max for a Class 3 hitch), you pay a certain fee or you need certain equipment to legally pull the trailer. Like you said, similar models list around 3800 - 3900 lbs dry. I recall a late 70's Coachmen 21' weighing around 3600 lbs, although they are different construction, it is not that different. Have you had this on a scale?

If you can get to an RV dealer to weigh the trailer and set up a weight distribution hitch, I'm betting you will save yourself some trouble. They should also be able to make sure all four electric brakes are working and the shoes aren't cracked.

I've developed the perception that fuel economy (or lack thereof) is tied more to towing speed and terrain more than weight of the trailer.