Advice on Towing a particular Travel Trailer

Hey there!
I know there are a ton of threads about towing here, but they are so skewed with so many people saying either they can't tow much or some that can tow just about anything or obscene amount of weight. I am just trying to get a feel if this would be a good idea or not and want to make sure i don't destroy the truck. I love this truck and I plan to keep it for awhile and / or continue with getting tacomas if i can help it lol. I have already done some basic to extensive research; So I already have the WDH, Tekonsha P3 Brake Controller and a bluetooth ODB2 dongle to watch my transmission temp and know what gear to stay in etc. My problem is mostly that I tend to second guess everything lol.

Some Back Story:
It was already decided that no matter what we are getting a camper, but i want to make sure if the weight of this one would work or should i be looking at getting something smaller. The reason we choose this one is because it doesn't seem as much weight but has alot of potential for growing the family and would be comfortable.

I don't really plan on taking this across country often, but i wouldn't mind doing a trip or two year every few years that is further away maybe like Colorado, Montana or somewhere undecided (coming from IL). although it will be majority stuck around me which we do not have a ton of inclines.

Travel Trailer in question: 2019 Coachmen Apex Nano 213rds
UVW Dry Weight: 3806 lbs
Payload Capacity: 2194 lbs
GVWR: 6000 lbs
Hitch Weight: 467 lbs

What we are packing:
Should only be myself, wife, and 1 year old (around 475 lbs) and maybe two medium to large sized dogs (60 - 70 lbs). so i want to say no more than 1000 lbs (if even that) loaded with minimal gear and ourselves.

My Truck
2017 TRD Offroad Double Cab auto. Still rocking the same stock Bilstein Suspension for now.
Only modifications that would affect the weight that i know of:

• 31" Falken Wildpeaks with stock TRD OR 16" rims
• RCI Steel Transmission skid plate.
• Caliraised Bed stiffeners

Future Plans:

• Bigger tires probably 33".
• Bilstein lift with slightly heavier coils and AAL
• Additional skid plates

Any advice will be extremely appreciated and thanks for taking the time to read this book i wrote. lol

 

Regear is not my default response to most parts, but you're already heavy and wanting to add off-road equipment, definitely regear.
Thankfully most of the rest of the world isn't as flat as IL.

 

Gears for sure

34 gallon fuel tank would also be nice

 

Disclaimer: This turned out to be a windy response

I can’t say whether or not I’d be happy towing this particular trailer with the weights you’ve stated before actually weighing everything. There’s no getting around weight and it adds up fast.

My rule of thumb approach is if you already have the truck (in this case Tacoma) then purchase the camper to fit (my choice would be max loaded weight 4500 or below and appropriate max loaded tongue weight). If you already have the camper then purchase a tow vehicle to fit. (might not be Tacoma). That said, do the tow weight math before buying anything then decide. It’ll work out for the better.

However, if your weights are good to start and then you add other stuff to the tow vehicle later you’ll have to
re-calculate (reweigh) and you’ll sacrifice some truck payload to compensate.

So if you can, before you buy, take the combo to a CAT scale and find out exactly the weights you’ll be dealing with. You’ll be surprised how little leeway you have for truck payload once you get tongue weight, driver, passengers and dogs figured in.

 

Thank you everyone so far. keep them coming. Also, i found this video using the same travel trailer. this truck is way more kitted out than mine is. Thoughts on this?

https://youtu.be/HKMJdwJWggI

 

Your payload is around a 1000 pounds. You say you're going to hit that without the tongue weight of the trailer even factoring in? If that's the case per Toyota you're at about the limit of your truck before you even factor in the trailer. Do what you think is best.

 

He could put some/most of the gear in the trailer.

 

I've towed pop up campers, A frame campers and I'm now pulling a Teardrop camper.
My heaviest camper was my A frame camper, fully loaded around 3k pounds.

Based on my experience I would not recommend pulling a trailer that heavy. Can it pull it yes, but your truck is not going to like it and your going to hate it if you have to pull any long grades.
I would seriously look at a full size truck or a smaller camper.

 

Great idea! Kids are annoying, haha!

 

I'm towing a 5190lbs trailer (empty) and have minimal issues. Don't expect to be able to hold 60-70 mph and you'll be fine and a weight distribution hitch is an absolute must in addition to the brake controller, etc..

 

A stock truck will pull it. Personally I would not want to tow something that size after tires, armor, and lift.

 

According to this, to be comfortable a Tacoma shouldn’t pull a travel trailer with a dry weight of more than around 1500lbs. Sounds ridiculous to me.
https://gotraveltrailers.com/what-size-travel-trailer-can-a-toyota-tacoma-pull/

 

Beware of sites that generate their revenue by providing hyperlinks to the products they "rate." They write just enough empty fluff to get you to read it, and its worth every bit of that weight.

 

Well you can tell it’s bullshit because they list Tacomaworld as one of the resources.

 

Right that why its so difficult to find real resource stuff. everything is in the air and thats why im trying to get some real world experience with these trucks.

 

Thank you for the advice. Im okay going slower if i need to. Slow and steady wins the race with these things ive heard in general. I already have the trailer brake controller ready to go as well as a weight distribution hitch (went with a Eaz lift R3 Recurve 1000 lb rated). Just a few questions though if i could. btw love the look of your truck. I wish i could of found a long bed.

1. whats the transmission temp usually at when towing it?
2. do you notice any difficultly braking even with the Brake controller or do you have some high performance brakes?
3. how are your rpms with just normally driving with it?
4. what is usually your maximum payload?

 

It will do fine, that is a great trailer for the Tacoma...almost bought the same one myself. I tow this (Apex 249RBS ~4800 UVW) with a 2019 OR, stock suspension, Firestone ride-rite airbags, Tekonsha BC and trans temp monitoring. The brake controller is great. Granted I only tow relatively short distances (<300m) in Florida, yours should do much better on longer trips. Along with the WDH, make sure to have sway control.

 

Part of the difficulty is that everyone uses their trailer at different frequencies. Every one of my posts is an insane rant on how you should go lighter than max rating, because my camper sees somewhere between 100-150 hours of >65 mph highway every year (plus the occasional few hours of dirt). Meanwhile someone else might only drag their trailer an hour away three times a year at 50 mph, and they will insist that towing above max rating is fine. Intended use is a big factor that a lot of people omit, which I agree makes it difficult to compile and compare information.

If you plan on doing the once a year pull into the paved Rockies, I would consider capping my wet weight at no more than 4500lbs. Maybe even a little less if you are towing on 33's. I have no scientific basis for that opinion, just experience pulling a 3100 pound popup on 31's, and reading what others have dragged into the hills.