Pro vs Trd

Excited. I'll post pics of trailer rigs when I get it. I'll try and post some real-life towing experiences as well.

 

I feel more comfortable in my 17’s seat that in my moms range rover

 

Now thats an interesting build thread: “The little taco that could (tow)”

 

This was a big decision. I've been towing something for 19 years. So, I think you could say "experienced". Never much weight, but different combos. I will say, with both the Titan and my Tundras, I could pull easily, maybe too easily. I never look at the guy with the big ass 250 and the toy hauler pulled over with a blown tire and say, "wow, a guy with all that towing experience had an issue?" I don't hurry when I tow. I don't have to keep up when I tow. When I do tow, if it's the work trailer, I'm not in a hurry to work. If it's the skis or the 4 wheelers, I'm already in relax mode.

 

I may have purchased it just because I love how you guys call them Taco's. Who doesn't love a Taco?

 

I sure do

 

One of my dads friends was towing his motorcycle trailer when his f250 gave out. Then his son caught up to him in his taco and finished the 350mi trip

 

You will be fine towing anything with a single 3000lb axle.

If you need two axles, maybe a full size.

If you are taking a livestock trailer with 4 head of cattle or a dump trailer with 6000lbs of rocks maybe you need a 250, 2500 etc.

 

My 6x14 is a tandem and my jetski trailer as well. Very light trailers, far more stable, track better. Electric brakes on 6x14, surge on jetski trailer.

 

What I meant was dual axles are rated for higher weight because it is distributed over the 2 axles and four tires.

As long as you don't exceed the weight limit of the load on the trailer or the load on the vehicle you should be fine.

The people who care most about towing capacity seem to be the Ford Truck month commercial guys

 

Exactly. I only got the tandem because my single 6x12 beat the shit out of anything in the trailer. Tandem is a Cadillac trailer. It has a 5000lb cargo capacity, but I don't put that in it ever. The only concern I have at this point is squat. So, I'll see what that looks like soon enough.

 

I worried about squat also. In my case, it has not been a problem.

I would be delighted with 14mpg. The enclosed trailer has a lot of wind drag and is shadowed by our Transit Van which got near 15mpg today on the exact same trip. I’m not berating the Tacoma, as my first 4wd, I expected a little better economy. Truck isn’t totally broken in either. I love the Tacoma!

 

Even if I were towing everyday I would not "think" about a Ford, all their trucks are 10 speed automatics. I own a '03 Mustang GT and it's been a great car throughout it's 173k miles, the only major problem was the clutch which I changed myself, if it were a automatic I would have sold it 100k miles ago. "I'm not a fan of automatic transmissions"

I'll stick with my Taco with the manual transmission towing everyday or not.

 

Nice setup!
You answered my question, I was hoping a V nose (whatever its called) enclosed wouldn't be too bad. I was going to borrow my friend's for a few trips before I bought. Later down the road, I thought about making a simple camper/4 wheeler hauler.
What are the specs on trailer please?

 

Chew, I have had a few trailers over the years. When we got our van, I thought we wouldn’t need one an sold our 7x 14 tall roof Haulmark tandem which weighed a bunch and was hard to park in our driveways “U” turn. Motorcycles smell like gasoline and we camp in our van so I bought the pictured trailer, which is a somewhat optioned out ATC 6x12 + the 2ft v nose (14’long tip to ramp inside) which is all aluminum construction. I am very pleased with it! It is equipped with the 3500# axle because it has electric brakes. I put it on the CAT scales empty with options and the spare tire and it weighs just under 1100#. I consider that impressive. The Tacoma tows it effortlessly with three dual sport bikes and gear. We scaled it loaded on our way to Moab last year and it was 2300 lbs. I can still lift the tongue by myself to do minor maneuvers when empty. I like the ramp door and stand-up height along with the very light weight compared to similar non aluminum trailers. Some of the options include 16” center frame, walls and roof and aluminum “C” track. I epoxied the floor with a high end floor paint. Aluminum floors drove the price up towards what I consider astronomical.

Gas mileage with an enclosed trailer and a pickup seem to suck. I base this on the fact that our old F350 dually towed a 12,000 lb 33’ Scarab and got the same or better fuel economy than when towing the 5-6k loaded Haulmark with AC on the roof. I think the gap to the trailer due to the bed messes up aerodynamics in a big way. The Transit Van is slightly taller and shadows the trailer from the wind. Without a strong side wind, the van is affected only a couple miles to the gallon or less. A cap on the Tacoma may help, I don’t know. It is as stable as can be behind either tow vehicle and with the electric brakes, the Tacoma drives like the trailer isn’t there. It is a joy to tow save for the gas stops. I do not tow slow, I’m either going somewhere fun and want to do it ore I’m late getting home. Nothing crazy but I’m usually going faster than 50 to 80% of the cars on the highway. I don’t overload trailers (particularly aluminum trailers). This one uses the Dexter torsion axle which I have had great luck with on other trailers and provides a non bouncy ride that’s easy on my stuff. I will camp in it if we camp with the Tacoma. The trailer may need a lift kit

I hope the information helps. I have been towing all kinds of stuff but mostly boats, motorcycles, snowmobiles and campers for more than 45 years. Trust me, there is much I do not know and I keep learning. I’m not sweating the crummy towing mileage on the Tacoma as that isn’t it’s prime function. I am happy with how well it tows. Second time out the transmission didn’t hunt as bad and was fine on mild grades. I-40 on both sides of Asheville NC has some pretty steep and long grades. My Tacoma is the TRD OR with stock size tires but AT Duratrac tires.

 

I'd get a ram rebel or a tundra pro! Even with the bed fully loaded and 4 people onboard I feel like the 3rd gen taco struggles up hills and feels sluggish

 

Should get truck prepped next week. Tires are ready, TRD pro grey wheels on their way, black topper ordered.

 

Very much so Rick! First hand knowledge is great, thanks!

 

You are comparing trucks costing almost twice as much as the Taco, The Taco does very well carrying a 5000lb frame, when I pull my 1400lb trailer up a 45* grade it will actually gain speed going up it, maybe a 6M pulls better than the autos.

 

When we tow our motorcycles out west, we tow with the Transit and camp in it. Around here, riding with buddies, I can hook on and comfortably seat 3 guys, tow the trailer with three bikes and all the gear. It’s super convenient to back the Tacoma down around the steepish drive and turn the corner to pull it up. For the Transit (which has only 2 seats) I need to use the Tacoma or our tractor to pull up the trailer to a staging area where I can switch vehicles.

I’m making this point because everyone has a little different need. I’m thinking I could also camp in the trailer if I were to go 4WD exploring somewhere. I’m also wondering if a lower profile pop-up camper wouldn’t get a lot better mileage due to less wind drag. Regardless, I don’t go a lot of places with out a Motorcycle with me