Show us what you tow.

Thank you. My first tow with it will be with a weigh safe hitch, so I can see how much tounge weight I have. My intention is to learn what others have dealt with, prevent it and also give some lessons learned on how it towed with my trailer. Appreciate the advice and insight

 

What kind of trailer is it? Camper? Cargo? Flat?

 

Neo Trailer, enclosed 7X16 round top V Nose, all aluminum. It should be around 2K lbs empty though I plan on maxing out the weight capacities according to my truck (6500lbs).

 

you'll get sway from wind or when trucks or vans pass you. Be careful loading that heavy. Hills will put you in 3rd gear where the coverter is unlocked all the time. Watch your trans fluid temps when the converter is unlocked.

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads...ure-pids-for-torque-pro-and-now-apple.513531/

 

yikes, whats the GWR for that trailer? even dry, 10% hitch weight at perfect balance, you're looking at 470 lbs, so your 1000 lb payload on the DC is now 530 lbs. 2 big adults and an overnight bag and blam, you're at the truck's limit.

 

Thanks, I expect the sway to happen though I'll be as safe as possible for myself and others out there on the road. Looking forward to a safe and memorable tow.

 

Taxa Tiger Moth. Dry weight 900lbs loaded no more than 1200. This was my '13 AC AT 2.7l now have a '15 DCSB V6 MT. The '13 didn't like it in the mtns.

 

Round bales weigh around 1000# each plus the trailer. Truck didn't break a sweat. I'm continually impressed by the work this thing does for me.

 

Pull this all over the state,( California )up and over 10,000’ passes Down the coast gravel roads Dirt bike camping RV Park’s too or middle of nowhere

 

Cool that really opens up pretty big

 

A spring over lift would make that popup even more awesome

 

Thought of doing that many times.
I take it gravel/dirt roads. Not really 4wheeling.( Have dirt bikes for that)It’s nice I can see out the back rear view mirror. Just a Small hit on mpg’s too

 

Small military trailer with a roof top tent. It's not pretty, but I've had it all over the west.

Those are Harbor Fright solar panels on the roof rack, I have an ARB refrigerator in the back of the truck.

It's cheap and deluxe at the same time.

 

Nice rig

 

And you can fly down the road

 

Figure I'll chime in... I did a trip from Austin, Texas to Lake Wales, Florida (1160 miles one way) towing a new-to-me 2015 Rockwood 194HW A-Frame camper. I think the weight of the camper is either 2000-ish or 2400-ish. It was cold, so I had no water in the tank (20 gallon + 6 gallon water heater). I put a cooler in the front of the camper with a bunch of 16oz bottled water, plus I put probably 16 or so in the fridge in the camper. A few folding chairs in the back, a small space heater and a tool kit in the back storage of the camper.





This was a paramotor fly-in called Wings Over Winter that a training school (Aviator PPG - highly recommended even though I did not train with them. I trained with Austin Paramotor, whom I would recommend if it's closer to you!).

I left Austin at about 1AM Thursday, January 4 and it was about 30 degrees. A couple stops to check the trailer wheels (new wheels, need to check the lug nut torque... they DID loosen just a hair!) and mostly just truckin' through the night. I10 sucks through Louisiana. Lots of shitty road surface, but the truck and camper handled well. Being an old man (ha, I'm only 41!) I had to stop a bunch after I hit Mississippi, so my plans of making it to Tallahassee by evening were dashed. I stopped at a WalMart in Defuniak Springs at about 8PM to sleep for the night. They allow overnighting, so I popped up the camper, ate a sandwich and slept until about midnight. Oh, I work nights BTW, so I'm not normally asleep in the evening. I couldn't sleep anymore, so I got up and made some coffee and headed back out.

Seems like forever it took until I got to my destination around 10:30AM. Temperatures all through the panhandle of Florida were below 30 degrees. It was in the low 50s at my destination. I met up with a few local buddies, and managed to get one flight in. Freakin' cold, so I only flew for about 20 minutes, then landed. The next day was nicer, but still only about 55-60 degrees peak. I got two flights in that evening trying out some new gloves... which only sucked a little less than my previous inadequate pair. Oh well, I had fun. There must have been about 40 paramotors in the air that evening! What a sight!

Since the weather was slated to be crappy on Sunday, the local guys and I decided to head up to Panama City Beach and see if we could try our luck there. I packed up most of my stuff Saturday evening, then broke camp at 6AM Sunday. Panama City Beach was BEAUTIFUL! The wind was too wonky, coming off the gulf at an angle, which was causing it to hit the condo buildings and cause some nasty lateral rotor (mechanical turbulence), so flying was not possible. We hung out on the beach and tried to do some kiting, but that wind sucked. We had dinner, and the other guys, all riding together in a Suburban (without a camper) were going to drive through the night. I decided to go about as far as Mobile, AL and hit the Cracker Barrel, since they'll let you camp overnight in the lot.

Anway, that's a bit long so HERE'S HOW THE TRUCK HANDLED:

The truck has no problem pulling that camper, but from a stop, I'd turn on ECT Power mode, and/or S4. I think my overall fuel economy was about 15MPG, although one tank I managed 17.5MPG. If I can stay below 65MPH, fuel economy really isn't too bad. I mostly stuck to about 70MPH, and stayed right. A few times I had to pass, and lemme tell ya, when the truck drops to 3rd gear, it HAULS ASS, even with that camper! It's got plenty of passing power with that much load on it.

The clamp on mirrors are necessary, as the camper is a bit wider than the truck. They were OK, but IMHO, probably the best you're gonna get without modding or replacing the stock mirrors with those flip out ones (from a Dodge Ram, if I recall? I didn't bother looking into them at all). They vibrate a bit in wind, but you can at least tell where other vehicles are. They're the Dometic/Milenco Aero mirrors. The clamp mounts stayed on SOLID the whole trip.


To be honest, I may sell the camper and get a truck camper. I like the trailer, and it doesn't bother me much to tow it, but I kinda like the idea of a self-contained vehicle. MOST of my use will be fly-in events, which might be a long weekend, or otherwise will be going down to the coast to fly and camp at the beach. The Palomino SS500 looks like a nice little truck camper. They SAY it's only 1175lb, so with me and my paramotor gear, the truck should handle it. I would probably get air bags for the rear and would probably replace the shocks with Bilsteins or something comparable. I don't really intend to do any "overlanding" or serious offroading... but the possibility in the future has crossed my mind.


Here's what the camper looks like when it's up:

 

You're in Texas you could easily get one of these sweet rigs. http://capricamper.com/models/cowboy/

 

Nice write up Matthew
Yeah I have a tent trailer. Actually been doing the tent trailers for over 20 years. Former semi-pro motorcycle racer. So I kinda drive fast. Those PPG looks crazy.
Tried the camper thing ( keep the trailer)
It was nice. Just felt a little uncomfortable with that thing on the back.
Grow up with my dad having a cabover camper. If had more room to store it and put on and remove probably would have kept it. My wife really liked it. I think for you it would be great.
It’s just maxes out your Weight capacity. I had air bags.
Little nerve racking taking it on and off.
(Really tight storing place for me)

Sometimes wish I kept it.
Had it less than a year.
Don

Sold it to a grower (pot) up in NorCal Coast. Paid me in $20’s crazy

 

I don't think I posted this shot yet. Towed up to my mother in laws house for Christmas. They don't have space for us to sleep and towing up there and camping in the driveway costs less than staying at a hotel.

17.5mph at 65mph?!?!?! That's awesome. I get 8-10 at 55-60mph.....

 

how big and heavy is your trailer? My taco 4.0 pulled a ~4000 lb fiberglass Escape 21 foot trailer from Dallas to Santa Cruz via Reno a couple weeks ago... worst MPG was 9.6, that was keeping up with outer dallas fort worth traffic at 75MPH and I20 into a headwind. But, mostly after that I was going 55-65MPH and got 11-13MPG. The Escape is about 7' wide and 8' tall, so probably a 56 sq ft front.