New owner and Towing

Yo!

1) I just got my 2015 Tacoma via mail (freight). I am considering towing a boat. I've looked into threads and know the towing weight is 3500lb. Also the Truck is a 4cyl, 2wd.

Has anyone had issues on a boat ramp with the same specifications? or Has it been relatively easy for you guys?

2) Im also thinking about getting a topper (250+ pounds of constnt weight).. would that create enough stress to where i would need to re up on leaf springs?

Thanks Ya'll!

 

5 lug or 6 lug?

 

5 lug, Thnk you, forgot to clarify

 

How big is the boat?
Auto or Manual trans?

The 5 lug isn’t really geared for towing.
But it can be done.

 

boat would be a 15 foot Boston whaler

 

If you bought this truck knowing you were going to tow this boat and add a shell, you probably should have done more research. Yes, it will tow the boat, you probably won't be happy with the towing performance. Boat ramps can be tricky. Underpowered, 2WD on a slick ramp (w / 2200 lbs of boat and trailer) ....... make sure you carry a tow strap.
....."boat ramp spectator sports" ...... LOL

 

We had a first generation 2wd automatic. An 8ft trailer with a residential ZTR mower in town was all I would want to tow with that truck. I wouldn’t have considered pulling anything much larger or heavier. Surely you are familiar with loading ramps. I launched one pf our boats, 19ft IO 350 V8 with our Jeep Wrangler ONE time. I needed 4 WD to get up the slick ramp and it was a good ramp.

Two of my coaches would fill an ice chest, take two lawn chairs, and sit at the edge of a multi lane loading ramp at one of our large lakes at the end of holiday weekends. The stories they would tell the following week were captivating.

 

= "boat ramp spectator sport"

 

We can mail order Tacomas now? Is there a catalogue that I can subscribe to?

I'm looking up the specs, and getting a weight that is roughly 1500 pounds wet. So you're pulling 2000-ish pounds up the ramp (2500 if you forget to drain the bilge ). That for me is a big gray area. The truck can tow it on paper, but tow capacity and pull-it-out-of-the-water capacity are two different things. Sure, it can pull it up a dry ramp, but when was the last time you saw a dry ramp? I'd advise caution.

 

I wouldn’t “re up on the leaf springs”, I’d re up on the entire truck. You made a very poor decision on buying that truck to tow 3500lb boat and trailer (plus passengers and equipment). You can tow, launch and retrieve the boat but it won’t be fun. It’ll be a hassle and problematic every time you tow.

 

I have the 4.0 V6 4WD and I tow often.
The 4.0 doesn’t like 3,500 unless you run it hard. I can’t imagine what a 5 lug would be like towing. Especially with the higher gear ratio.

 

HEY YALL thank you! I honestly bought a tocoma solely based on the 5 lug forum. IM thinking about a jetski now

 

The few times I ever towed a jet ski, the trailer was short. It required me to back the truck down the ramp more. Just be cautious of that, not trying to scare you off from towing. The truck will definitely be better suited to pull a jetski.

Good luck on your purchase.
Don’t do like me and run over a rouge plastic bag and suck it up in the intake.

 

I may spend a few extra bucks for an extended neck trailer or something along those lines

 

I'd look into one of those extend-a-hitches. That way the trailer stays reasonably short for towing and storage, but then it can also launch without submerging your bumper.

My dad had one of those back in the day for his 15 foot sailboat. Worked great, except that on at least one ramp he launched it beyond the concrete. That was a fun swim, trying to pick up the trailer axle to set it back on the ramp.