Tow weight for Camper

Hey guys,

I am trying to figure out what size camper I can tow, and having read through the tow thread here I am still a little confused. I called up two dealerships and got two different answers as to what my truck is rated for...

2016 Tacoma TRD Sport- access cab-longbed, 4x4 manual transmission, 3.5 L V6.
According to the sticker-
GVWR: 5600
GAWR F-2910, R-3280
Model- GRN 305L-CRFSHA

I don't know if the truck has a towing package (how can I figure out?), but it does have airbags+lift. So not sure if has the higher or lower GCWR and TWR.

Would really appreciate some guidance on limit for what I can tow, and what you all think is manageable for long distance.

 

It's complicated!

Your truck has a max tow rating; most are around 6500 lbs assuming you have the tow package. Without the tow package it is around 3500 lbs.

You also have to consider what the factory hitch is rated for. Most are rated for around 500 lbs tongue weight. Tongue weight should be about 13% of trailer weight so around 4000 lbs will max out the factory hitch.

Then you have the trucks payload rating. It is printed on a sticker on the driver's door jamb. Most 4X4 trucks will be 1000-1200 lbs. Being an access cab with a manual yours could be a little more than typical. That includes tongue weight, the weight of any passengers and cargo in the truck. If you are pulling a 4000 lb trailer that is 520 lbs on the tongue. That would leave 500-800 lbs for passengers and cargo.

Where you tow matters too. You reduce tow rating by about 3% for every 1000' you're above sea level. If you're towing at 5000' reduce by 15%. In the Rockies where you will have to cross 10,000' passes reduce tow weight by 30%.

The payload rating is usually the limiting factor so look at that 1st. Lifts, and bigger tires reduce power and should also be considered and the amount you tow reduced

Real world; about 4000-4500 lbs is as much as you want to tow with any Tacoma. And at that weight you probably don't need any adult passengers in the truck and you'll have to pack carefully to not overload the truck.

 

Your 2016 v6 will have the tow package. To confirm look for the 7 & 4 pin connectors to the left of the rear license plate. Also, you’ll have a small rad (atf cooler) just in front (lower right) of your main rad.

@Marshall R appears to have covered your weight questions (post #2).

 

Marshall and Wiljayhi,

thank you very much for that useful information! I am sorry for my tardy thank you.

Looks like truck has towing package, payload 1100lbs looks like the limiting factor as you said. 4000lb trailer would really be pushing it up here in the Rockies, with around 500lbs left over for cargo and tongue weight. What I have seen about rated tongue weight is 10% of TWR, so 650lbs for my truck, does that sound right?

I am confused because it seems like there is no way you could get close to that max TWR of 6500 lbs because of payload, and weight on axels...

 

If your loaded trailer weighs in at 4000# then, depending how you’ve loaded it, 10% to 15% of that weight would be your tongue weight (don’t go under 10 nor over 15) and that tongue weight becomes part of your payload weight. Find out the actual tongue weight and do the calculation to find out how much cargo you can take in the truck after passenger weights are factored in. You can always haul some cargo in the trailer, just distribute it properly.

So, 1100-400=700# left for cargo + passenger weight.

6500/650 is what you could do if the truck carried 0 cargo and 0 passengers

 

Thank you Wiljayhi, makes sense. I was looking for some kind of hitch weight max specified by Toyota, but couldn't find anything. Probably not relevant, as you said, payload will be limiting factor.

 

according to toyota the max tongue weight is about 680 lbs (from what i found)

wiljayhi is spot on with everything he said.

 

Tongue weight is 10% of max towing capacity.
So the trucks with 6500# have 650# as max tongue weight, 6800# would be 680#.
As others have said, your limiting factor will always be cargo capacity regardless of tongue weight. If you use a WDH, that weight will be part of the equation too.

 

A cheap way to check if you need some rear suspension help fo towing is have a few friend’s equaling an approximate tongue weight stand on your rear bumper. Not the bed, but bumper. See how much truck sags.