Towing a travel trailer that is 27'6" and weighs 4546 lbs

I kinda like those as well, though they don't say if the dining converts to sleeping area. Still not the greatest sleeping arrangement with 2 kids.

 

I’m not sure either I’ve only been in the Hood River Edition once for a couple minutes. Make them sleep in a tent they gotta learn about wilderness

 

Yeah, no I'm not sending my 19 month old to a tent with his 4 year old brother when the temps can dip below 30° at night.

 

This and a space heater for winter camping, next step for me! Just got to get the wife used to it (peeing in the cold).

http://moabaz.com/moab-fort-xl/

The Rpods are nice...

 

I don't trust space heaters in tents.

 

You know, I vaguely recall that I get a little dizzy when I use the heater. I’m thought it was the beer but maybe not!

 

No way..that is way too much trailer for these little trucks.

 

Rpod makes a version with a fold out side tent, would sleep more. And the table does convert.

 

Companies in Australia make the best full campers if you can ship it back. Even if you could, I can’t afford one. Fun to check them out though.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ffOagKlc3L4

 

This is what I tow. The total length is 19 ft and is 3400 dry so with what we take with us it is about 2 tons +/- camp ready. It is basically the same size as the Rpods but it is 7 1/2 feet wide so the slide is wider. The box is shorter than my DCLB. Still we get only about 10 or 11 MPG towing it. I use the Anderson WDH and the P3 brake controller.

 

That is sweet. Nice size, high clearance, aero front.

 

I see lots of people who do the same thing as you, but have never understood it. What's the point of camping if you're only 30 miles from home, and (likely) in an RV park, setup wall to wall with a million other people? The same climate, environment, views, and proximity to people can be experienced in your backyard, without leaving home.

I see camping as a means of getting away from the daily grind, disconnecting, experiencing something different. Different strokes for different folks and all that, but still... makes no sense to me.

 

The camp sites I go to have no more than 30 sites. If I could convince my wife to pitch a tent in the middle of the woods, I'd never have bout a camper. Marriage is about compromise.

 

Marriage. The hidden factor single guys never consider. LOL.

 

We are sitting in south Texas 15 miles from the Mexico boarder. We towed our 19 ft trailer weighing about 3500 pounds loaded from Oklahoma City last weekend. The absolute worst towing experience I have had and I have towed many different trailers with lots of tow vehicles over 40 years. The problem is the transmission constantly doing its gear hunting dance. It would get to 70 mph in 4, change to 5, and drop back to 67 mph and gear down to 4. The slightest Hill would cause it to gear down to 3.

I believe the truck has power but Toyota has programmed the transmission terribly. It handled the trailer well and stopped great. The trailer has brakes. Again, it is operating as designed by Toyota.

We love this truck and have decided to keep the trailer another year so I am seriously considering the OVTune. Currently running with the ShiftSense Pro with some help.

I towed this trailer 9,000 miles last year with a Ram Hemi. My frustration with the Tacoma is focused on the transmission programming. It should be a very capable truck.

 

Why didn’t you move the shifter to the left and shift it manually? Was ECT mode engaged?

 

I believe the manual says to put it in S4 when towing.

 

The shift lever has to be in the manual position to operate the SSP. It does a great job of controlling upshift points but the slightest breeze or incline will cause it to gear down to fourth. A combo of the two requires third gear to get back up to 70 mph. The SSP setting will prevent it shifting into sixth at this speed.

Now if 70 mph is too fast, don’t try 65 mph. It’s worse. It is nearly impossible to maintain a steady speed. The cruise control is worthless because it will use third constantly at the slightest hint of needing power. Fifth might be used going downhill.

All of this gear hunting and rpms ranging from 2,000 to 4,500 is announced by the town bugular sitting on the end of the exhaust pipe.

I will try S4 next weekend. I would love for the truck to hold a constant 3,000 to 3,300 rpm range.

 

You really expect to tow 3500 lbs up any hill at 70MPH?

And to top that off, you're comparing towing it with a Ram HEMI?

 

I do and always have. Thousands of miles towing. Besides I am referring to the slightest incline. A steep incline or mountain pass is something else altogether. This truck will gear down to fourth and sometimes third with the cruise control going up hills on one of our Oklahoma turnpikes. Without any load.