Towing Jayco Jay Feather

Thanks for the feedback!

 

OP you'll need a WD hitch and brake controller. I have a Tenkonsha P3 and been very happy with it.

As far as WD hitches I went with a Recurve R3 hitch. It has the WD bars and sway control built into it so you don't have to hook up a separate sway control bar. Looks like this.





You can see the adjustment bolt for the sway control in this pic better. It's the single bolt in front of the R3 label.




This is the newer style hitch that doesn't use the chains like the old style and the bars go on the top side giving more clearance under the tow bar. Very fast to get hooked up and ready to go or get unhooked at your destination. I'll never use the chain style again. If you buy them at the trailer dealers you pay over $600 for them. Buy it on Amazon and bring it with you. A buddy of mine saw mine after he got his and was very impressed with this setup over the style he has. I actually got him one of these not long ago to replace his setup.

They aren't hard to setup just a little confusing at first till you do it one time. After that you can adjust them easily. When you set it up you'll want to have it loaded like you're going to be using it so you can set it correctly. In other words after you bring it home empty and load it you may have to adjust the way it sits just a little. All vends on the trailer you buy and how the storage is setup on them.

Your taco has a plug under the dash to plug the P3 controllers into so that's a very easy setup. Just look up the pigtail number for your truck. It's a 3ft cable that goes from the brake controller to the plug under the left kick plate next to the parking brake. Plugs right into the truck.

Other than that if you've never towed anything this big before take it easy till you get used to it. For the taco on the brake controller I ran mine around 7-8 but I'm also towing a lot bigger and heavier trailer. When you start to pull off pull the lever on the brake controller without touching the trucks brake pedal to check your trailer brakes. Make sure you check your brake lights and signals before leaving. That will make sure you have lights and that the trailer brakes are working. Just remember to not get in a hurry and give yourself plenty of time to get there. I always try to travel during the daytime for 2 reasons. 1) If something ever happens places are open to get a tire or part. 2) It's easier to get your trailer backed in if you can see outside (Not a necessity once you have experience but helpful if you're new to doing it. But then again at night you're relying on someone to help you back up and they can miss something easier.) Other than that have fun and enjoy it but with the taco you're going to know it's back there and the fuel mileage kinda sucks. I just bought a 3/4 ton that I tow with now because we're planning on going bigger and I get double the fuel mileage with it and wouldn't know it's there if I didn't see it in the mirror.



Taco setup:

 

This is about 4500#
Get the wd for sure and brake controller.
Taco does fine, not a roadrunner but you'll get the job done. I did 17 states in 2 months this summer.
9 to 12 mpg
2800rpm at 65mph

Enjoy it!

 

Brake controller is a must. Your truck will do fine. I tow 4,500 pounds up and down a windy 6% grade with mine and it’s fine. I replaced my rear bump stops with sumo springs and that kept my rear end from sagging and bottoming out on big bumps. I wouldn’t want to tow more than 5,000 pounds.

 

Thanks for all this information, definitely will take a look at this setup. The advice is great as well.

The person I’m renting from has a WD hitch so he will let me borrow it with the rental, I’ll just have to install the brake controller before the trip. Depending on how it all goes, I might have to look into buying a WD hitch for myself especially if I’ll be doing more towing after this first experience.

 

You are going to love it. My family enjoys taking our trailer on trips.

 

I tow my camper with no problems. Hitch weight is 395#'s, Dry weight is 4,000#'s, I use a break controller, using the ECT and WDH. You will feel it for sure but I do fine taking my time and not going over 60 MPH.

 

I would recommend reading your owner's manual...specifically the section regarding towing and the equipment required. My 2019 owner's manual wants to see a brake controller and weight distributing hitch as requirements (not suggestions) for max towing. You are smart to rent first!

 

that’s a tad bit heavier compared to my 2020 Jayco. My truck tows it fine with 12-14mpg, but I’m OVtuned and have 4.88 gears. My trailer and gear comes out to about 4100-4200lbs. I did suspension and airbags upgrade, rotor and breaks, and a very nice dual bar sway control hitch setup..

I think the trailer you are looking at may be a bit much considering you don’t want to really tow 5k lbs with a Tacoma, especially since you still have to consider the water and gear weight you would be adding for the trip.

 

I'm glad this was brought up, kinda, but the trailer weighs 3700 empty. I dont think that weight includes RV batteries, propane and or propane tanks, fresh water, all of your food and drink, all of your clothing, and other gear you load into it (fold up tables, chairs, umbrellas, dishes, etc). Not sure about the batteries and propane, but I know when they weigh them, they always show the lightest weight possible. Its deceiving. Good luck on your trip! (FYI, I tow my boat a lot and it weighs about 4000 ish, and my truck tows it fine. But boats cut through the wind, travel trailers dont.)

 

The ad shows max weight rating of 4650 lbs. That's everything: water, propane, gear, food, etc. This is do-able with a Tacoma. Your UVW of 3700 is the "dry" weight (e.g. without all of that stuff). The brochure shows a 7' wide trailer width, if that is the case you most likely do not need tow mirrors. I don't use them with my rig (7' wide here) but I can see them being needed for wider trailers.

As others here have said, a brake controller is a must! A good weight distribution hitch will make the trip go a lot smoother. I'm running a Tekonsha P3 controller and a Fast way E2 WDH for my trailer.

I highly recommend going to the "Towing" section of this forum and taking a look at the "towing bible" thread there. Some of the info is dated but a lot of good noob tips.

 

consider your fluid temps and the temperamental trans shifting (if not OVTuned) going up hills. I can’t imagine it being fun towing that much (full/everything) without a re-gear, not to mention the risk with family in the vehicle.

 

Brake controller, WD hitch and don’t overload the truck bed or trailer. And have fun

 

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Much success on your trip