RV towing

We bought a Tacoma SR5 (2019) with factory lift. V6.
Manual states we can tow 6400 lbs.
We are looking at an RV that weighs 5900 lb.
Is this cutting it too close?
Thanks in advance!

 

That is very close. By the time you add water, food, gear and toys you'll likely be overweight. That's a lot of work for your truck.

EDIT: Welcome to The Forum!

 

You’re better off with a full size. As stated, after loading up everything else you’ll be working your truck at its limits which will more than likely fry your drivetrain exponentially sooner than normal, especially with your lift on now. You’ll be white knuckle driving the whole time.

 

Way too heavy for comfort and anything other than flat ground for short distances.

 

That only leaves 500 lbs for all your supplies and family. Your almost certainly to be overweight once you load up.

 

Factory lift?
6k lbs dry and unloaded is not a good start, another big factor is the frontal area, essentially how much drag is being created.
Of course there's others too, like terrain being traveled, elevation, etc.
I'd throw at least 500-700 lbs of crap in the bed, then take it for a long hilly test drive.

Growing up, my parent's had friends we would travel/camp with several times a year. I still remember the shit show of stopping everywhere to pick up items in small amounts, like diet Coke and ice, because they were so close to max. They'd argue over buying souvenirs, cause everything weighed too much. I think that guy put several transmissions and a couple engines in that poor old van.

 

You’re probably going to be sorely disappointed and, well, disappointed.

You’re probably at a tongue weight of 700lb+. Add 450lb of people and you’re at 1150lb of cargo already. Limit is 1175 I think. That’s with no gear at all. I’m assuming with 5900lbs of trailer you’re taking family.

 

I bought the Tacoma over the 4runner just for the extra towing capacity and I’ve concluded I’m going to max trailer dry weight at about 4200lb when we buy.

That will leave me about 1000lb of spare towing capacity and about 200lb of spare cargo capacity after I add on all the other ‘stuff’ that invariably goes along.

 

I'm normally in the camp that thinks people here are overly conservative when towing. But you're going to be right on the edge If not over especially if you're new to towing and having a lift and assuming larger tires do not help you at all. Look into a smaller trailer.

 

Agreed. My 3000 pound pop up has been known to be a pill sometimes. 5900 is just asking for a miserable white knuckle drive. Nobody wants to be in a bad mood before they even get to camp.

This is just my opinion, but whatever the towing capacity is, cut that in half, 60% tops, when selecting a trailer. You don't want the truck to just barely handle it, you want the truck to easily handle it with power to spare.

On my most recent big camper trip (I've tried to take one high mileage trip a year) I got caught in a monster of a headwind while attempting the rather small mountain pass between Yuma and San Diego. It took everything the truck had to climb that interstate at 45 mph (and 7 mpg ), towing the previously mentioned popup. It was the first time in three years of ownership that I even came close to challenging the truck like that. But I'm so glad that I didn't buy a bigger trailer in that moment. If it was anything bigger I would have been toast, I would have needed to turn around, reroute, and the whole itenerary for the remaining 9 days would have been rewritten. That's an admittedly extreme case, but it's one that caught me by surprise. I question whether the guys I see at camp with absolutely maxed out capacities have ever gotten surprised by weather like that.

 

Mine weighs about 3700# dry and it’s honestly to much for the Tacoma anywhere except flat backroads.... it does it fine but I’ll be upgrading to a 1500 before next spring!! Just for safety with the wife and kids it’s not worth the risk

 

Hazards, S4, ECT, right lane.... no problems.

 

Check out:
https://www.tacomaworld.com/forums/towing.34/

 

What model is that?

 

18rb something or bother coachman zinger

 

S3, actually. When I say headwind, it was 50+ mph straight line winds. Had to stop several times from the dust storms. But again, that was a rare case of extreme weather.

Having said that, with no wind and in the same trip it's taken some of the high altitude passes in Colorado like a champ. Wolf Creek pass, 65mph without complaint.

 

We’re planning on an airstream. A bit more weight per usable interior space, but also much gentler on drag coefficient donut sort of washes out. Likely to get a 21’ or 22’ foot depending on new or used. 19’ is just a bit small for our wishes but would obviously tow easier.

OVTune SC may be in the cards as well. Currently tuned and it makes a huge difference in drivability.

 

Check this out www.hollywoodvintagetrailer.com

 

What octane is your tune?

 

You need an F-350,not a little Tacoma.