4400lbs dry? Help

Hey guys I know this is kinda repeated over and over BUT here’s my dilemma.....

I am currently looking at a purchasing a Passport 239ML, going into it I thought it weighed 4189lbs at 25ft long. Turns out it’s 4420lbs, I know this is not drastically different however I thought the 4189 was truly the max for this truck and wanted some advice.

Taking the truck on a 4 week roadtrip, Glacier NP, Rocky NP so mountains will be part of my trip(For some of it). Is 4420 too much to do SAFELY? I know the truck will be working, I will not be hauling any water I won’t be traveling past speed limit and I will have a WDH with anti sway, brake controller, and possibly Sumo Springs (are these needed you think?). Even with all the precautions is this realistic? I know a Tundra would be easier but not in the market for a new truck UNFORTUNATELY. Has anyone done similar with their truck? Anyone running similar set up / weight? Can I make this safe!!!!

thanks in advance

 

Can’t answer your questions without knowing about your truck. What year, what model, what engine, any mods, tow package??? What is the max tow capacity of your truck?
I can tell you though when you load that trailer up , and it will be loaded if you are going on a 4 week trip, you’ll be around 5000 to about 5400lbs. No matter what Taco you have it’s going to be unpleasant and a real hassle towing that around the Rockys.

 

Have a read on this
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/about-to-give-up-on-tacoma.672910/

 

Sprig I have a 18’ TRD Sport double cab short bed. 6400lbs towing / 640 tongue / 1150ish in payload. I’m thinking as long as I pack light I should be able to keep it to 600lbs, 700lbs max. That puts me right around the 5000-5100lb range.
I have read on many sites other then Tacoma that there is an unwritten rule of towing should not exceed 80% which for me is 5120#. While people say this is ok I think this may be a little stretch. But I see people on here towing even bigger, while others tow 2500#s and say it’s too much.

I’ve read so many contradictions and people arguing how much this truck can actually tow, that I think I’m more confused then before I started reading

 

What's the tongue weight of your camper? Definitely something to consider.

With other numbers listed, It's doable, but it wont be pleasant. You'd have to drive cautiously. The sumo springs will help level you out too so your nose isn't pointed to the stars.

Tacoma's just aren't great towing trucks. Unfortunately.

 

Read through this one to get some real world experience similar to your weight range.

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/my-3rd-gen-towing-experience.672612/

 

If you have some experience towing, you will be fine.

 

With the right equipment (trailer brake controller, sway bars, etc.) and being careful I'm sure you'll be fine. Will it be a pleasant experience? Absolutely NOT, given the type of terrain you'll be driving through. We pull a trailer that's 1k pounds lighter than yours and it's a PITA. You also need to consider the profile of the trailer, which can be more of a problem than weight. Ours is pretty tall, which might account for some of the difficulty towing. Wished I'd kept our popup.

 

I agree with skeighter. You will 'probably' be 'fine', but it's more than I would be comfortable with. But you may have more towing experience than me. We tow just around 3200 loaded. Would I do more. Sure. 2000 lbs more. No way. Some of our roads are completely jacked up around here which is also some of the problem.

 

+1 on yes you can,

also +1 on it won't be anywhere near fun doing it.

I towed a 26 ft, 4500 lbs Travel trailer thru the Smokeys, and that was all the Taco wanted.....

 

I never go past 75% of my tow capacity. Heck, I try and cap it at 50% most of the time. It "can" do it, but the closer you get to max capacity, the more severe the wear and tear you're putting on the truck (suspension, driveline, etc.). If you're towing near your limits, then your truck is also working near its limits.

Then consider braking and safety, and this goes for any truck, HD or mid-size, can you and the truck and the trailer combination together handle an emergency maneuver or emergency stop out on the highway or on a mountain road in a controlled and safe manner? Not as easy when you're at your limits, on up and down mountain passes, trailer brake or no. Which is where the enjoyability of the drive really starts going away.

So consider how hard you want your truck to work, how hard your driveline and suspension will be working and the toll that takes on longevity. And please consider the rest of us on the highway when you drive - drive slow and leave a LOT of braking space.

 

Just get a smaller trailer. You're going on this trip to explore, not to sit around inside.

Something like the R-Pod RP-179(https://forestriverinc.com/rvs/travel-trailers/r-pod/RP-179/974) has pretty much everything that Passport has but weighs 1500 pounds less. Using that R-Pod as an example because I know someone who tows one very comfortably with a Taco(3rd gen TRD Sport) but there's a lot of other trailers around that size. Why endure a stressful driving experience for a little bit more floor space? I've been to all those places you're going and trust me, even on the interstate driving legs you want to be able to relax and enjoy the ridiculous views on the way down mountain passes instead of spending the descent worrying about your brakes.

 

Hey thats my thread lol.

I have a 4800lb i towed over continental divide. You add two adults and all the extra camping crap and you looking at around 5500 lbs. i would say my taco towed it just fine. Coming down hills...different story.

To OP..But you better have brake controller and brakes in good cond. my brakes where smoking when i came down the continental divide. I had to dial trailer brakes to full on to get down hill. So just spent $1200+ on new top notch after market brakes and was honestly hoping for better braking. So i started the thread asking if a Tundra would make a difference. Then the thread promtly turned comical.

 

Agree. Geopro / EPro is in the same category as the Rpod. Give those a look. Seven wide, tacoma comfortable towable, and not lacking in a thing.

 

Ooh I hadn't seen the E-Pros before, I like. Especially that mini toyhauler.

My philosophy as a 70+ night/year camper is that if I find myself outgrowing a midsize I need to bring less shit, not buy a bigger truck. Gear is there to enhance the experience, not dominate it. Buying a trailer that strains your Tacoma is a slippery slope. After a few years you'll bump up to a half ton that'll be much happier towing your trailer. But then you can get a bigger trailer too, after all you've got 10,000lbs of towing capacity. Next thing you know you'll be dragging a fifth wheel around between KOAs hardly having time to see the stuff you're supposedly traveling to see because you're spending all of it screwing around with the studio apartment you've decided to bring along.

 

Look at the Forest River No Boundaries line too - nice build quality, off-roady bent, with surprisingly lightweight trailers. I like the 16.6 bunkhouse.

 

Ha so true my friend! It's just the wife and I, and we decided we wanted the smallest thing that we could still stand in. Pulled the trigger on a Geopro 15tb and couldn't be happier.

Edit. It has an offroad package option. Small lift, bigger tires. Does it really do much? Eh.. not sure, but it looks cool.

 

I'm fine with pretty spartan accommodations but I totally get why people would want some more creature comforts like a toilet, shower, proper kitchen and someplace nice to hang out when it's crappy out. I don't see why you'd want to drag around anything more. My parents like to travel a lot and have some money so they've been thinking about getting an RV to still get some travels in during covid. I successfully steered them to looking at Sprinter vans from full on RVs with the simple argument "well what happens when you want to spend a few days in a city? A short wheelbase Sprinter's no bigger than an F150 and cities are still designed around vehicles that size. Have fun street parking even a small Class C in Seattle."

For just camping the most I'd really want is a wedge camper(like GoFastCamper and similar). I like camping off uninproved roads and IMO any trailer would just be more of a pain than it's worth for that. But a friend's trying to get me into dirt bikes(successfully, he has a spare bike I get to use if I transport it myself, fuck is it fun) and that mini-toyhauler sure looks pretty nice for dirt bike trips, it's not like I'm going up sketchy roads with a motorbike hanging off the back of my truck on a hitch carrier anyway. Plus it'd be quite the upgrade from my RTT for ski camping.

 

To add to this, I towed a 1500 lbs teardrop through the smokies and it was fun ripping around corners and enjoying the scenery. I'm 100% in agreement with everyone who says you can, but it will suck.

 

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads...st-to-coast-tow-test-mission-complete.524857/

Not a 3rd gen but similar situation.
~6,000lb trailer, 13,000lb gross weight