7000lb pull

i have a 2010 double cab 4wd 4.0l with off-road and row package and I know the max load is at 6,500lb but I have a 30ft camper trailer that weighs roughly 7,000 to 7,500 pound and I only need to tow it about a 40 minute drive and I was wondering what yalls thoughts was

 

I wouldnt

 

Not even for the short distance?

 

You're not going to hurt the truck and the truck will do it. Whether you can do it safely is on you.

 

My thought is that I'd either get a full size truck or a half size trailer. You're flirting with danger there, trailers that size will wind up driving the truck instead of the truck driving the trailer. That much weight can't safely stop, it can't recover a sway, and it can't survive the rare event of a tire blowout.

Yesterday I saw traffic backed up for miles because of a flipped three-axle 5th wheel, being pulled by an F150. Both looked absolutely demolished. If it were me, I sure as hell wouldn't take the risk.

 

Any hills on the route? High speed or high traffic roads? Temperature in your location this time of year? Trailer equipped with brakes and brake controller installed in your Tacoma? Tongue weight reasonable?

Think if you're not considering these angles and including those details in your question it's likely a "if you have to ask, you shouldn't be doing it" situation.

Edit - if we're talking flat country roads in the midwest from one farm to another etc and you have the option to really take your time - I would probably do it myself. If you're talking Walnut Creek to San Jose - hell no.

 

Don’t forget that by towing over your max tow rating or over your gross combination weight rating are you risking damage to the truck as well as increasing the chances of having or causing an accident, you are also opening the door to personal liability in the event of an accident that causes injury or property damage. You could be on the hook legally if anything were to happen. Sure you could probably tow it without having any issues but god forbid something unexpected happens and you are found to be over the legal weight you may be in some pretty hot water. I just wouldn’t do it whether you are actually able to or not.

Where I work I’ve seen quite a few fatalities from accidents and personally towed in more than one myself. Also have seen more than one fatality from improperly secured trailers detaching from a vehicle. One local landscaping company lost their trailer going down a 4 lane road and it crossed the median and struck a lady head on and killed her. That was one of the nastiest things I’ve ever seen in an accident. The car was on our lot for a week while they investigated and looking at that every day was terrible. The two kids towing the trailer were in some SERIOUS trouble and I don’t think the whole thing has even been settled 10 or so years later.

 

You can tow it sure, but can your brakes stop it safely?most likely not

 

I for sure would not tow it. You are not only flirting with danger to yourself or your family, but to everyone else on the road. You are asking or inviting trouble in. Please don't tow it, think safety for you and everyone else on the road.

 

Most states require that the trailer have brakes if >3000lbs - at 7000lbs I'd be shocked if it we not equipped. Their condition and if he even has a controller I couldn't even guess.

 

Here's the catch - aftermarket brake controllers rely on accelerometers to determine how much voltage to send to the trailer. So if you slam the brakes on a 5000 pound truck that has a 7500 weight behind the rear bumper, it's not decelerating super quickly. In turn the controller is only sending a moderate signal to the trailer, which means you'll never get full brakes. Not unless you remember to blindly reach for and activate the manual override toggle or you have the settings so ramped up that it jerks you to a stop every time you lightly tap the brakes. Either scenario is dangerous.

I dunno. Occasionally I see people show up at the state parks with combinations like the OP is proposing, and I make a mental note to peace-out well before they do or well after. I do not want to be sharing the roads with people who overload that much. Frankly, I secretly wish the park ranger would hassle those folks instead of enforcing the stupid alcohol-container-in-public rule.

 

If you do this and get into an accident, your insurance will most likely not cover you for any part of it, since you're knowingly exceeding your trucks capabilities.

 

Rent a full size from uhaul for 20 bucks. Or rent the truck at home depot for 20 bucks. Better safe than sorry

 

Shameless waste of a good guardrail.

 

I wish trailers required special licenses. That way if you're over you can't dispute ignorance.

I would never tow that much with a Tacoma. Likely the truck will have it's own cargo as well, pushing it way over.

 

Just go nice and easy. With a bit of common sense it’s no issue. You’re already ahead of the curve by knowing the limit.

 

unloaded it was fine, huge blind spot behind as it’s wider than the mirrors.

loaded it was horrible, i felt every bump in the road, no way i’d haul it down the highway.

loaded with band equipment it was right at if not over capacity.

I pulled it from the football field to the band room on the other end of the property, about 3/8 of a mile.

wouldn’t do it again.

 

Nobody ever has a problem, until there's a problem. I can pull 10x what my truck is rated for 99% of the time and never have a problem. But that 1%... And the neat thing about probability is you never know when that 1% chance is going to pop up. It might be the first time. The point of having ratings and of preparing accordingly is so that in a majority of situations you have a safety margin. And in the minority of situations you have capability. By ignore them you are intentionally stepping into a realm where you have neither safety margin nor capability and are relying on luck.

40 minutes is a long time for bad luck to happen. My 2 most memorable driving issues happened on a 40 minute drive, with no warning whatsoever. Once, driving from Cheyenne to Ft. Collins I had a Ujoint plow and drop my driveline into the interstate at 80mph. While the catapulting vehicle thing is a myth, you definitely catch some air and it is quite exciting.

2nd time was driving my f250 diesel and lost OD in the tranny. It stayed together, but diesels just LOVE going up redline at the drop of a hat...

Both times I was enroute to trade in my truck on a new vehicle. Moral of the story, don't go car shaping in ft. collins.