New SR5 camper towing experience

Just finished a successful first camping trip with our 21 SR5 4x4 double cab, and thought I'd share my experience in case it can help someone. Our trip was almost 400 round trip mountain miles and included driving over 2 high altitude mountain passes of 9,426' and 11,991', starting at 5,280'. Daytime temps were 92 for departure, and 80 for return.

Max towing capacity for this truck is 6400 lbs. Dry weight of our single axle camper is 3160 lb. We purposely bought a light weight camper when we were previously towing with a Ridgeline. Camper is a 21 Ameri-Lite 199-DD. Max towing for Ridgeline was 5k and we occasionally had to stop for a rest when we'd see Transmission too hot warnings, and that's how I got my new truck.

Important equipment/tools:

• Weight distribution hitch - https://www.fastwaytrailer.com/e2-hitch
• Curt Echo Smart control wireless brake controller (bluetooth) https://www.curtmfg.com/dm/echo-mobile-brake-controller
• Weigh My Truck android app (CAT scale) - https://catscale.com/cat-scale-locator/

Noteworthy weight items:

• 2 adults, 2 kids, 1 dog
• Firewood
• 2 bikes
• 2 inflatable paddle boards
• Ice chest full of water, beer, sodas
• Camper water and black/grey waste tanks were near empty - I fill up fresh water once I arrive to campsite, and dump before leaving

Upon departure I used the Weigh My Truck app at a local truck stop to get these readings:

• front axle 2880
• rear axle 2860
• trailer axle 3540
• TOTAL = 9280 lb

Setting up the hitch and getting the brake controller to work properly were key before departure. Once the fully loaded trailer was hitched, the front the Taco tilted up by 1". After distro hitch installed/adjusted properly the front end comes back down to starting point. The brake controller wasn't working correctly at first (only 1 blinker would work, brake lights didn't work). Turns out all I needed was a bunch of dielectric grease into all the trailer connector pins of truck and the device itself. Had previously used this brake controller with a Ridgeline and F150 without any grease needed, so there must be something funky about Taco connection points or connector seating.

While you definitely feel the trailer behind you, it was smooth sailing. I was able to pass slow semis when needed, even on some inclines. Going over the 12k' pass was when truck was putting in most work. At some points I was down to 40 mph max, but that wasn't a problem as speed limit was 40 or 45 mpg. I made sure to NOT use cruise control for entire trip and kept it at 60/65 typically. I kept EC2 Power button engaged for entire trip because it just drove better that way.

Things I really appreciated about my truck: rear view camera for backing up to trailer, side mirror warnings when a car is in blind spot, EC2 Power (although I wish they just had a tow mode button instead), engine oil & transmission cooler that's included with this model, and of course the built in 7 pin round trailer electrical connector.

Overall the truck tells me I was getting around 11 mpg for the trip.

Happy camping/towing!

chris

 

Looks good! Drive safe!

You going to put a lot of miles on loaded up like this? Or just a short trip like this a couple times a year?

 

Most of our trips are about this length or shorter, about 5 per year. Although this year we do have a bigger trip coming up (550 miles each way).

 

That is a sweet setup!

 

Nice work. Impressive results at those temperatures and elevation for a naturally aspirated mid-size truck.

 

Awesome. Sounds like a lot of fun. Can't wait to get our camper (hopefully sometime between now and December!).

Just in case you don't already know, make sure to lock the transmission out of 6th when towing, possibly 5th, too. I'm not as well versed with the 3rd Gen, but it'll help your transmission.

 

Thanks. How does one lock it out of certain gears?

 

Put it in drive than bump it over to S mode. This will automatically put it in S4 mode which means it will only shift up to 4th gear. If you bump it up once, it will be in S5 mode meaning it will shift up to 5th gear as needed. It will give you a reading in the dash display to let you know which S selection you are in.

 

Very interesting. Thanks.

 

Thank you! I wasn't sure what the process was.

 

Thats towing a lot more than i'd ever try, but yeah S5, or even S4 with the ECT on would likely all you'll ever need.

 

ECT is effectively Tow/Haul mode. Same idea, different name.

 

Great write up I can't wait to get a camper.

 

Great info! And great set up and write up OP

 

Thanks for the info. We traded our 2018 4R for a new TRD-OR-4X4, gets here next week. I was a little concerned about the 3.5 vs
the 4.0 in the 4R. We switched to a 19FD Flagstaff E-Pro from the TearDrop. Same weight class as you describe.
We use an Equalizer E-2 hitch, + proportional brake control.
Trailer Guy, your info here is appreciated. Picture of the E-2 attached, easy hook up.

B 1

 

I'd throw an add-a-leaf pack in the back, nothing crazy, but it will be the best $250 you can spend to fix that sag and improve drivability when heavily loaded like that. Stock suspension sucks at handling heavy load. Even if it's fine now it will start to fade in a few months. I had mine loaded to max and it was toasted after a few trips, should have added a AAL pack much earlier. I put one on recently and it's like a different truck.

 

BUT BUT tHe taComA CaN’t tOW!!

Awesome write up and results! Valuable info and very well written/broken down.
Thanks for this, appropriately named @trailerguy

 

S4-S5 modes FTW sometimes S3 when needed

 

Unfortunately Toyota discontinued the external trans cooler on the ‘21s. It still has the internal trans cooler in the radiator... which as these trucks age, is something to consider bypassing and installing an external trans cooler because the internal one can rupture eventually and cause your coolant and trans fluid to mix together (google “pink milkshake”, which is one of the few, but big issues with 3rd gen 4Runners). I was pissed to find out my ‘21 TRD OR 4x4 didn’t come with the external trans cooler that ‘16s-20s had, but at least they are pretty cheap and easy to install yourself. With as much towing as you plan to do, I would definitely add this if I were you. You could still leave the internal one hooked up for now and get double cooling too; the pink milkshake risk won’t be an issue for several years (and if/when you ever replace your radiator, you’ll be replacing the internal trans cooler also).

 

Nice setups for sure -

This was from a test drive-about to check the brake controller around the neighborhood -
Camping trips were cancelled due to fires out here in Arizona so I gotta wait now until temps
drop below 110 to get out and about... but I do look forward to it.

The Subaru Forester towed this thing like a champ I suspect the Tacoma will as well. I believe
it tips the scales at around 1,100 loaded up... no sag but then again no cooler in the back or
other items.