Should I sell my yesterday bought Tacoma already?

Hi all,

It was just a few days ago I introduced myself. But today I made a sad discovery.
We (a Dutch couple) are right now in Santiago de Chile. We are here to travel around in South America for a couple of years. Yesterday we bought a 2007 Tacoma TRD Sport with ARB bumpers, winch, etc. Tomorrow is the moment we will get the keys.

Today when talking with someone I discovered I made a gigant stupid mistake. As it turns out the way weight is displayed in the USA/Canada is different then we do in Europe. I thought the GVWR weight is the weight that I could load the truck with (I know...stupid). Today i discovered this isn't the case. I still can't believe that a company make such a big truck that can handle so less weight... Our plan is to put a Truck Camper in the back. The truck campers they make here are less heavy then in the US but still we are going to be over weight.

Our car already has a extra leaf (4 in total) and Ironman shocks. But I have the following questions for you guys:

1: What is the experience from people here with Truck campers?

2: What modifications could I do to make this work (remember they don't care about weight here. It's only about taking care of the car and still have a save drive)?

I feel so stupid right now and have the feeling I maybe should sell the car again before I even drove it for a day...

In this attachment I wrote down all the weights and as you can see we would be overweight between the 1.666lbs and 1.908lbs (if the truck indeed weighs 4.035lbs). When I get the car tomorrow I can look up how much it exactly weights right now. Any input would be highly appreciated!

 

Your choice of vehicles is excellent, very reliable and rugged so I wouldn't be tempted to jump out of it just yet.
Since your truck is already over Gross weight without installing the camper have you considered a small rugged travel trailer to tow instead of the camper? With the right setup you would probably have more living space and a ton more storage capability.
Good luck with your adventure.

 

HERE is the Tacoma World Towing Bible https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/the-tacoma-towing-bible.4031/

 

I’m sure the other thread will offer much more accurate info. However, I’m sure some AAL and heavier front coils will increase your weight capacity. Upgrading brakes couldn’t hurt, and power should be sufficient.

 

What camper model you plan on going with?

 

Yeah the vehicle is great but it just can't handle much weight from the factory. Great out of the box thinking!
We have thought about a trailer but that option will be too much hassle for us. We are traveling around in South America where streets are narrow, parking spots short (a Tacoma never fits in a parkingspot here), and safety sometimes is a concern. A trailer won't make all these things easier. Not a problem for a small holiday but if you are doing this for a couple of years...

Thanks a lot. Just took a look at it and will do more tonight. The first info I saw was about towing and not on payload in the bed. Lot's of things are similar ofcourse. Anyhow I will check it out.

Yeah I need to figure this out. Maybe some airbags and a swaybar as well.

We don't know yet. But all are around the 1.900lbs. Maybe a Northstar 600ATV. We heard to many bad stories about Travel Lite (which weighs less).

 

These guys have some suggestions for getting your truck ready for a camper, air bags, suspension.


http://www.fourwh.com/tools/popup-truck-camper-preparation/

 

The Max payload of a Tacoma is 1,300lbs. This INCLUDES bumpers, winches, passengers, luggage, gear etc. So in other words you need to subtract your bumper and winch weight from your payload since that's currently loading down the truck.

Regardless of modifications, you will not be able to put a 1900lb truck camper on a Tacoma. When you add in passengers, gear, your bumper, winch etc. you are starting to put around 3,000lbs in a truck only designed for 1,300lbs. Not a good idea. Plus the modifications you will have to do to make it realistic is probably going to exceed the amount of money it would cost you to buy a bigger or more capable truck. The other fear is that even with mods, the powertrain of the truck was not designed for that kind of use, so your Toyota is going to become much less reliable.

It looks like the mid-size trucks these are designed for (Hilux and VW) are diesels, not gas trucks, which changes the name of the game.

 

You could sell the ARB bumpers, and replace them with Aluminum bumpers, would cut the weight from the bumpers by half. Depending on the availability in South America.

 

This is something that's mentioned very rarely here but is talked about more often on other forums (such as Expedition Portal).

As you've noticed the Tacoma as built has very little GVWR headroom and when you compare it to the previous North American truck from 1979 to 1995 (which was essentially a Hilux) and the current Hilux the capacity is embarrassing. In some cases the Hilux will have as much as twice the payload rating as a similar size and curb/kerb weight Tacoma.

There are reasons for this, one of which is the Hilux frame is different and built for commercial duty. Another is the rear suspension on the Hilux is slightly different, for example the shackle configuration is traditional rather than the inverted design of the 2005+ Tacoma. I believe the brakes are basically similar. The available engines and transmissions aren't exactly the same but I don't think that factors into GVWR heavily.

What this means is that in the U.S. it wouldn't surprise me to discover that very few owners bother to check GVWR or attempt to remain within it. As a result I think many trucks you see with aftermarket parts and campers are in fact over weight. There is no legal ramification for this normally because we don't have to weigh or demonstrate adherence during registration and it's extremely rare an authority is going to investigate it.

We all think Toyota has built some extra capacity into the Tacoma and the numbers are specified to position it in the market in a way that it does not compete with larger trucks for commercial use (what we in the U.S. generally call "full sized" or work trucks). If Toyota imported the Hilux and left the ratings intact it would carry the same capacity as a 1/2 ton full size such as a Ford F150.

If you are not obligated to demonstrate GVWR adherence legally then you may have some ability to go over the plate number. By this I mean a few percent over GVWR is probably not unsafe. But without documentation from Toyota stating this it done at your own risk. My belief is the main ramification for driving a Tacoma at or slightly over GVWR is long term durability.

The alternative to this is to re-engineer the truck to increase it's legal GVWR. Usually the manufacturer does this in North America and it's usually down. But there may be a way to get an engineer to increase the GVWR with modifications. I would suspect frame reinforcement and probably stronger springs would be necessary.

 

Thanks for the tip.

Yeah this is what I'am afraid for as well. Regarding the powertrain I'am not that worried since it can haul 6.500lbs. But you are right we will be way over the GVWR.

Yeah that will give me some extra but I will still be way over the limit.

Thanks for your great response. We where really shocked that you could load up so less in it. We always thought that the HiLux was the little brother but it turns out that it is the big brother if we are talking about payload. Tomorrow we will visit a specialized company here and have a chat with them. But you are right I'm concerned about the long term. I really don't care about all the legal aspects but I do care about the impact on the truck long term and safety right now. We will see what's gonna happen. I really love the truck but it's easy to resell down here so we have some options.

 

One thing you're going to find is that Toyota (and just about every other auto maker) goes to great lengths to design, test and build quality vehicles. Part of that process involves compromises and balancing. By that I mean they could make a given part or sub-system totally bullet proof, but it would cost way too much in the real world. So they compromise on a design life target that costs less in the long run. And it also means that every component in the vehicle will fail sooner or later. That's just the way it is. Fortunately for us, Toyota seems design and build their stuff to last longer than many other manufacturers.

As for balance, they have to look at the entire vehicle as a series of interconnected parts and systems. If one part of system is too strong, one runs the risk of finding the next weak link - probably at the worst possible time. This is why some aftermarket parts that throw this balance out the window can be so destructive. For instance, let's say (for the sake of argument) that a new engine computer (ECU) could magically double the output (torque / horsepower) of the engine. What do you think would happen to the lifespan of downstream components like u-joints, the transmission, differentials, etc? Yup, it would probably be bad. (And yet some folks would get pissed off at Toyota for not building those downstream components well enough.)

So getting back to your original question, I'd propose that what you're thinking of doing would upset (probably seriously) both the balance and reliability of the truck. Worse yet, it would do it in a geographical area where replacement parts (and even mechanical ability to fix things) is severely limited. Given that, I'd find another - more suitable - truck. Just my 2 cents.

 

I concur that truck ain’t going to do it. With all that weight you will likely have some catastrophic failure of drive train or suspension. Good luck getting that fixed in South America. The other problem is your safety. Overloading a truck like that and driving it on the poor rough roads of South America is a dangerous undertaking. An accident waiting to happen. Would hate to see your trip end tragically. Your safety should be your number one concern. Learn from your mistake and get a truck more suitable for your needs and move on from there. SELL IT!

 

I’m fine with the of overloading these trucks for short hauls especially with helper springs and air bags. But for long term hauling I don’t think it is a great idea for both the longevity of the truck and the safety of you and those around you.

 

Have you considered something like a flippac or habitat? It doesn't sound like it makes much sense for you to get a bigger truck if the tacoma is already too big of a truck for where you are.

 

My Tacoma weighs around 6000 pounds. This summer I'm probably putting a slide in camper in the bed.

I have Old Man Emu Dakars with the additional leaf, as well as Firestone Ride Rite air bags and Daystar air bag cradles. I have OME 885 coils up front with SPC Light Racing upper control arms. Billstein shocks on all 4 corners.

The air bags alone will make it carry the camper fine. I would add a heavy duty full leaf pack if you are going to drive it in terrain that's difficult at all.

 

What is the max payload of the Hilux in you area? If you sell the Tacoma, you will need an alternative. Sounds like you need to find the correct tool for the job. As much as I love the Tacoma...

 

@Drainbung don't you run a bed camper?

 

I had a FWC Eagle for five years, recently switched over to a trailer with RTT.

 

Thanks for all your input guys! It looks like we are going to sell it. It's so sad but I think the only long term solution. We estimated that we would drive about 100K miles here. So we want to be on the safe side with this one, since it's our house.