Advice on Towing a particular Travel Trailer

Thank you for the advice and great looking truck and trailer! What trans temp monitor are you running and what your average temp you get when pulling? I would mostly be traveling to camp sites around me for right now. Another thing, what are the air bags for if you have a WDH.

 

You may or may not have seen some of my posts regarding towing. I'm rocking a 2019 DCSB 3.5l Auto Trans. I had a couple tows with my trailer bone stock and most recently after modifications and re gear. a little about my current setup. 2015 Rpod 182G, 3100lbs dry weight and about 3800lbs loaded up, around 450lb tongue weight. Trailer is about 20ft long. Truck 2.5" lift 285/75/16 (33"s) 5.29 Gears and OvTune. Towing mods, Prodigy P3 Brake controller, Firestone Ride right Airbags, Weight Distribution Hitch and Sway Friction device.

In stock form with stock tires my truck pulled the trailer very well. Once i started adding tires, lift, and weight, gears will be a necessity if not already. They make a huge difference and with your setup and the trailer you're looking at i would 100% look into re gearing as your next mod. With my current setup my truck can just barely hold 5th down the highway rolling 55/60mph and averages around 10/12mpg, once i hit any hill or headwind i downshift to 4th and run around 3100rpm at those speeds and average around 8/10mpg. I think you'll be fine but i HIGHLY recommend both a Weight Distribution Hitch and Airbags both. The airbags will help compensate for weight/gear carried in the bed, while the WDH compensates for tongue weight. Any weight rear of the rear axle counts toward tongue weight as far as the WDH Spring bars are concerned, so the different loads you carrry are what the Airbags will be for. Also i love the Prodigy P3 Brake Controller its been fantastic and the brakes always feel perfect.

edit: also i recommend a Scangauge 2 so you can monitor Trans temps and what gear you're actually in.

 

Thank you so much! I get where you are coming from. now that everyone is starting to weigh in i dont think i would pull this at steep incline like in mountains or whatnot, it seems my wife only wants to use this as a gateway around us maybe no more than 3 to 5 hours away from IL a couple of times of year. she has been reading all these responds with me and just told me about 5 minutes that is what she is looking for. LOL. Ill just reserve those small trips to Colorado with my Rooftop tent.

 

Approaching a 500 lb tongue weight multiple states away from home with family members?.. I'd recommend either installing Ride-Rite airbags or replacing the stock springs with something heavier. (Note: either/both will stiffen your ride when empty and not towing.)

If something were to happen to your WDH system you could still tow that trailer without your truck terribly squatting the rear.

 

Thanks for your Advice! I probably have seen it, I've been combing over stuff for towing on this site like crazy and there is usually about 2-4 people giving actual detailed information where others don't give much information or no additional information at all.

I thought about regearing the truck in the future, but i never would of thought with a camper which now makes total sense. (light bulb triggers) Ill def look at getting some airbags to help with weight as well. I just wonder what air bags look like with a lift manly with just a AAL pack. do you have any additinonal photos with your setup?

 

I’ll try and get some pics of the airbags setup. I’m using daystar cradles and wouldn’t recommend the cradles unless you have atleast a 2” lift. I ran them with no lift and was bottoming out constantly.

 

What Tacoma has a 1600 payload capacity? I bet his is more like a 1000... if not less.

 

Thanks for your advice! it seems that from my door jam that is say i have a 1000. I dont know if that is with the stock tires or not and i dont know if the Falken Tires i have have made it better or worst.
I think the decision is now, that we would just be doing camp grounds that have full hookups and at this point it would be mostly around the IL or Missouri areas is where we are leaning towards now. Also, the dogs may not always come with depending on the trip. because they do not like long car rides, so that weight will always fluctuate. Most gear im thinking is obviously food, beverages, light cooking gear and toys for our kid.

yeah thats why i always get so confused when people can tow way more than what some others are saying. there are so many mixed things in this which then lead to me making this post.

 

Very good points!
I usually add "comfortably" too, everyone's comfort level is different, some (myself included) want a safety factor, and some are comfortable with running on the edge of safety and reliability.

 

Agree. I've pulled WAY too heavy in the past and it sucks. You won't do it long before you stop using the trailer because it sucks to haul.

 

Thank you everyone on the advice so far. It’s been amazing info. Keep it coming.

Sometimes I wish their was a place that just allowed people to test different weights without committing fully. Lol unless anyone in the alton IL or nearby area would be willing to let me try theirs

 

Thanks! I need to pay more attention to the temps because half the time I forget to plug the reader in, in fear of giving bad information I want to say 190-200? Hitting 205/210 at the hottest? Id really have to watch it again to give accurate temps.

But you are right @ the air bags....they should not be carrying most of the weight as it wouldnt allow the WDH to be doing its job. I usually only have them at 10psi when towing the travel trailer. They are installed for other stuff I do mostly, bed loads / boats etc.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XBZu39pQ8Gg

 

You will be easily over Payload between the family, dogs and hitch. 6000 loaded is getting too close for me tow capacity. I like atleast a thousand pound buffer but many laugh at that idea.

To me it's too much trailer for a Tacoma. 20 minute tow ok. But any real distance it's too much and will beat the hell out of the truck in my opinion. My trailer is 5500 pounds and I thought that was beating the hell out Of the truck. For a Tacoma I say keep it under 4000 pounds loaded and even then it's most likely over Payload.

Oh and the Tacoma having such a small gas tank sucks too. It will only be getting 8-11 mpg when towing depending on terrian so it's not giving you much range between fill ups.

Get a smaller trailer Or bigger truck and you'll be much happier.

 

Seems a little low but probably not all that far off.

 

Sounds like you are getting plenty of good first hand reports. I have a Forest River Vibe 26RK that goes a little over 6200 lbs plus gear. We glamp so we are not carrying water or a generator. I added Sumo Springs to keep the rear of the truck more level with the camper attached. I found it helps keep the rear of the truck a little more predictable. Now for the parts abut towing near the limits of the truck. Mine works better with the transmission in Power mode and you can expect it to labor to get to speed. It will go 60-65-70 ok after it gets up to speed. I tow in the flat Midwest so no report on the steep grades yet. Stopping is the biggest deal in my experience. I have to plan stops to give adequate distance. The trailer will lock its brakes before the truck ABS kicks in. Panic stopping will be a much longer distance than without the trailer. That big thing really pushes the truck. I find the towing meets my expectations. If there were an easy way to significantly upfit the brakes it would happen. Still totally satisfied with the Tacoma. But towing to the limits, and the truck will meet the limits, you will find extended full throttle runs to get to interstate speed from the on ramps and fairly long stopping distances. Enjoy, its an awesome country to behold.

 

Thanks! i appreciate your feedback on this. Do monitor your transmission fluid temp at all when towing? is there a benefit of adding springs vs Air bags?

 

both just bandaids.