Towing With my 3rd Gen! Advice and help request

Truck and trailer look great! What model wolf

Man, truck and trailer look great! Good to hear some more towing experience. What model Wolf pup is that? How many does it sleep?

 

16bh can sleep up to 5 (2 bunks, queen bed, dinette into a bed)

 

I also looked at the rockwood geo pros, their biggest is a 20 bunk house. Its 3500 pounds dry 455 hitch weight I believe. Their 16 bunk house was my favorite (wife didnt like the bed) and a little more than I wanted to pay for a tt...

 

A bunk and a murphy bed can be a good set up and saves weight if you're looking to sleep a larger family in a smaller RV. Geo Pros and RPods have some good floor plans

 

I picked this up yesterday. Dry weight on sticker was right at 4300#. Hitch weight is listed as 490#. Weight distribution hitch and water tank was 2/3 full (approx. 20 gal- 175#ish) on they way home. It is a No Boudaries 19.6 that has a murphy bed/slide and breakfast bar with 2 stools to sit at. It checked every box for me. I know I will be pushing my limits, but I likely won't be doing long hauls like I used to. I plan to be minimalistic in loading the trailer and find places to fill the water tanks close to the campsites if there is no hookups. A generator will likely be my biggest weight addition if I have to dry camp. I don't get people that add 1500# to their load. Stop bringing cast iron pans and get light weight plastic plates, etc.. and find a grocery store nearby the campgrounds to shop so you don't have to haul heavier weights long distances. It takes some planning but it is doable.
I have towed gooseneck 3 horse slant trailers with living quarters/ (3) 1200# horses/several 90# bales of hay and loaded tack room with my F350 dually crew cab. Anyway you cut it, when you are dealing with a lot of weight, you are going to feel it. Nothing worse than going down a 6% grade with horses shifting their weight forward. You know that trailer is behind you. I think it really comes down to comfort level and proper equipment to tow. Even that F350 with a diesel engine only got 10-12 MPG on a good day going to California from Phoenix, and could only manage about 45-50 mph going up steep hills on either the 10 or the 8.
So when I see people complaining about 10 mpg with the Tacoma, it makes me laugh as I am convinced that is universal number anything pulling large loads ever gets.
Good luck in your search. I would read through the towing section of the forum for some other good advice.

 

Thanks for the information, this is about what the weight of anything on the top of my list is. I feel like 4300# dry is perfect, and than I will just watch my load as well. How did it tow home? How far were you going?

 

Also, great looking trailer and rig. I like that trailer alot.

 

Nice combo

 

10mpg is about what everything seems to get except for the diesels. i'm on a few different travel trailer sites and thats about it for mpg no matter what truck they have.

 

It towed as I expected. Could definitely feel it behind pushing a bit on the streets when you hit low spots. Reminded me of the horses shifting around a bit. Not bad. Got better gas mileage on the street than the highway.
There was a bit of wind, about 12 mi/hr, based on Weather channel app. I did not get any sway. Passing and being passed by semi's had no effect on sway. The hitch did its job and having dual axles also helps.
I averaged between 60-70 mph on the highway as I wanted to see how it did keeping up with some traffic.
The dealership was 65 miles from my house, mostly highway. There were some small hills to go over and the tranny would kick down to 3rd and go.
My RPM's averaged about 2500-3000 except up hills. Drove in sport mode with ECT on.
I think people are afraid to let these engines rev. They were designed for higher RPMs and should hold up fine if you take care of them.
Back in the day before OD, cars like my 67 mustang, transmissions were only 3 speed and normally traveled at 3000+ RPM on the highway. People have gotten spoiled with OD.
If you realize that this truck is performing a job and do not have smooth sailing in OD on your brain, you will be happy if you are looking for a weekend hauler and not a cross country traveler.

This is the other trailer I was considering. The build quality as not quite as nice, but the floor plan was somewhat similar and a little lighter.
https://www.keystonerv.com/travel-trailers/passport/floorplans/199mlwe-express-travel-trailer/

 

A picture of the first trip.

 

Nice!

 

Don’t sell yourself short Gilly, that sucker is a 16BHSBL. Just bought the same one a week after you.

I was surprised. Everyplace listed it at 3091GW but I got home and saw the sticker says something like 3500 and change.

 

Too bad the 1000 lb ft of torque/450hp/10 speed F350 dually wasn't around back then...You would have got better mileage and absolutely flown up those hills. The new combo is a beast!

 

I've towed with everything from two door wranglers to F350 diesels. As long as you keep your expectations reasonable, you'll be fine. For example, the sweet spot for the Tacoma is roughly 4000. Anything more and you will really start to notice the weight and handling changes. That's not to say it can't be done, but it won't comfortable at high speeds or up hills. If you a only tow a couple times a year, you can get away with it. If you're towing 5000 every day, get a larger truck. Remember, there are three things to worry about; getting up to speed, maintaining that speed safely, and slowing back down. Just because the truck can do the first doesn't mean it can do the other two.