Help a girl out...

I have a 2006 Tacoma crew cab with a 4.0L V6 engine. I bought a small one-axel 17 ft Coachmen Clipper last year believing the towing capacity on my Tacoma would be sufficient. i know nothing about trucks or towing and this is the first thing I have ever attempted to tow in ANY vehicle. On my maiden trip, over fairly flat terrain, it felt like my Tacoma was really struggling. Again, I have nothing to compare my experience to so I am just expecting too much from my little truck?

 

How much does the coachman weigh total and how much does it’s tongue weigh?

 

Campers are always a challenge since they are generally tongue heavy. Whereas most trailers are best at a 10% tongue weight, campers tend to be more like 20% tongue weight or even more. You may be suprised to see how many FULL SIZE trucks are even pulling beyond their GVWR due to a heavy tongue weight.

The weight of the trailer means nothing, you will exceed GVWR far before your rated tow capacity. Tow rating is a number that is only useful for car sales people and the suckers that believe them. You need to know three things... A): The combined GVWR of your vehicle (this will be found on the sticker inside your door jamb), B): the total weight of passengers and gear inside the truck, and C): the tongue weight of the trailer. B+C can not exceed A. On a 1/4 or half ton pickup truck this will be far lower than the tow rating.

Beyond that, you have to realize a small wheelbase vehicle with a low torque motor is not ideal for towing- period. The truck will likely pull as much weight as you can put towards it, but it will be slow and powerless. Especially with the massive wind resistance of campers.

 

Hitch weight is 298 lbs and total weight unloaded is 2731 lbs. water tanks were empty too. GVWR is listed at 3518 lbs.

 

Also does your truck have a factory tow package? Watch the transmission fluid temperature (assuming an automatic transmission). See: scangauge II

 

That helps your cause in a big way. It's less than 12% tongue weight and well within the hitch weight rating.

 

So I shouldn’t worry that I am pulling too much and the dogging I am feeling is to be expected when towing??

 

If your water and transmission temp are not overheating you should be fine, you prob know but you need more stopping distance so allow that.

 

When I tow, I also don’t let the transmission go into overdrive. That seems to help.

 

Not sure about a towing package. Bought it used and the hitch was installed with a 4 pin connector but had to install a 7 pin and electronic braking.

 

I've towed near the max rating also have towed flat decks with a few quads on it. either way I found my truck struggled, personally don't think Tacoma's are good at towing In the first place but you are well within the specs for that truck so you will be fine. I would keep it in 4th though.

 

Its a v6 its not going to be real responsive when towing, not to mention the wind drag on the vehicle and trailer. You may get 8 to 9 miles per gallon towing

 

I was contemplating getting a new vehicle anyway but I REALLY like the Tacoma. If I were to get a newer Tacoma, is there anything other than the tow package that I should be looking for? I don’t really want to go bigger for a V8 with the Tundra....

 

Look for one with a supercharger is your only other option

 

You 4.0 is listed at 226 hp, the new v6 is listed at 278. Bit more. I’d ask them to let you pull your trailer with a used one before you buy

 

The weight of the trailer is important, as you want the tongue weight to be 10-15% of the total loaded trailer weight.

 

HP sells cars, torque actually moves cars. The HP of a 3rd gen (Tacoma) is higher than the 2nd gen. However, the torque is about the same. For towing not sure you will gain much with a 3rd gen.

 

I tow my T@b Boondock all over the US. Dry weight is approx 2200lbs. Traveling, I'm probably around 2700. I pulls fine but I feel it. Also, I made a couple thousand mile trips without the topper while it was on order. It felt like I had a brick behind me. Upon adding the topper I picked up 2-3 mpg on the interstate. That alone doesn't justify the cost of a topper but I put them on all my trucks to keep my stuff mine. So the mpg pick up was a benefit. Your Coachmen trailer is probably shaped like a brick.

 

@Andr7022 - Is your truck automatic or manual transmission?

If it is manual, try running one gear lower than you normally would to keep the engine revving higher. Yes, it will use more gas, but you'll have more power in that range.

If it is automatic, DISABLE overdrive. I don't remember how to do it on the 2nd gen Tacomas, but my 1st gen (2003) has a button on the side of the shifter and then a light on the dash illuminates telling me "O/D OFF".
If you do not disable overdrive, bad things may and probably will happen to your transmission with that larger of a trailer. Overheating your transmission fluid leads to a ruined transmission. It is not cheap to fix.

Longer term, I would recommend taking a look at the older Tundras with the V8. They are much smaller than the newer Tundras, which in my opinion are ridiculously large.

 

Canopy on my truck significantly upped my fuel mileage while towing. I would say it's worth it if you can find a used one at a decent price. Also, the wind resistance seems to be a way bigger deal than weight, at least in my experience. I can pull my flatbed car trailer and atv/utv from state to state and feel fine (4500lbs), but towing my sis's empty (less than 2000lb) enclosed trailer sucks in comparison.