3rd gen + travel trailer

Wife and I decided to test the waters with a travel trailer last year right when the new models were coming out. We set out to get the smallest and lightest trailer that we thought we'd be comfortable in. After looking at used ones we purchased a new 2022 Vista Cruiser 19RBS for right under $20k in Sept 2022(when 2023's were coming in) and happy with it so far. We made three trips last year with my 2000 Tacoma 2.7 as the tow vehicle. The old truck did OK but the experience pushed me to purchase a new Tacoma. I know that even the new Tacoma isn't an ideal tow vehicle so no need to debate that here. The 2000 Taco with the 2.7 is only rated at 3500lbs.

Current Set up specs:
• Gulfstream Vista Cruiser 19RBS, 23' OAL, 7.5' wide, UVW is 3408 lbs, GVWR 4380 lbs.
• 2023 TRD Off Road, 1.5" lift via Bilstein 5100's, 3AAL, 265/70r17's
• WDH: Eaz-Lift Camco R3 with 1000lb limbs
• Brake Controller: RedArc Tow Pro Liberty
• Tymate TPMS sensors on trailer valve stems
• OBD Fusion app for monitoring Trans fluid & Torque Converter

2000 Tacoma Experience:
Here's a pic of the 2000 Tacoma hook up last year. We made three local trips last year with the furthest only being less than 40 miles round trip. Got 13mpg. This truck pulled it OK but didn't like going up hills. I also never installed a brake controller on this truck because I quickly learned that I'd be purchasing a new Taco:


First 2023 Experience:
I waited until we had over 1500 miles on truck before I towed with it. This was our first venture with the 2023 Taco as the tow vehicle. Went to local Lake Guntersville St Park(25 mile round trip). This truck pulled the camper much easier. I REALLY enjoyed not having to endure all of the clutching when parking/setting up the camper. This truck still doesn't really like the hills but not bad and considerably better than the 2.7L/5speed Taco. The 2023 has 5100's set to 1.5" and a Headstrong Progressive AAL in the rear. Got 11.1 mpg(calculated old school) on the exact same trip that my old truck got 13mpg on. The '23 computer calculated 11.3 mpg so it was pretty close.

 

By comparison, when I purchased the camper, I pulled it home with a DuraMax dually. It pulled it VERY well... but only got 12 mpg. So really, both Tacoma's do OK in the gas mileage department.

 

Thanks for sharing this. We might do a small travel trailer some day and all the "Tacomas suck at towing" commentary had me nervous. I think some folks just want it to feel effortless.

Nice trailer for only 3400 pounds.

 

Tacos do suck at towing compared to a 2500 class truck. But in all honesty…it hs a pretty respectable payload and can even pull a horse trailer. A small camper, adventure or teardrop would be perfect behind a taco, even a 3400 like this is just fine.

 

Sounds like the Tundra would be a better choice.

 

The trailer has an aluminum frame, Azdel siding and one piece figerglass top. The weight is listed on the MFR website as 3100 lbs but the sticker actually says UVW is 3408 GVWR is 4380 lbs.

We're pulling it to Tim's Ford TN next weekend which is 89 miles each was including a mountain pull.

I don't regret the Tacoma purchase. The Tacoma does so many other things well and I really love the size of the truck.

 

I don't want to deal with the Tundra size, price or gas mileage. I'll deal with the Taco's short comings in towing in order to keep it's benefits. I suspect the Tundra would not get any better mileage than the Tacoma while towing.... the Tundra would just do it easier.

 

I agree. I'm not sure I'd want to use the Taco to pull a camper across the country... but there's folks that do.... and I might.

 

Lol I’d pull an adventure teardrop but noting more than a few thousand pounds

 

FIFY

 

I wouldn’t worry about a cross country pull. There’s no difference vs travelling 20 miles. I haven’t bought a trailer for my Tacoma yet but I do have lots of experience pulling trailers and a ton of miles pulling a heavy 5th wheel with a half ton. It all comes down to expectations. You’re just not going to have that extra oomph that makes you feel like “it’s not even back there”. But towing is a test of driver skill. Knowing when to just let it chug in the right lane. I’ve been in the slow lane doing 45/50 up a hill and I’ve never once felt like I was “gonna get run over”. The motor is gonna rev and it’s going to get the same fuel economy as a 3/4 ton but if the truck isnt over modded with big tires and accessories, you’re not pulling something too far out of the truck’s comfort zone (IE < 4000), loaded correctly with the truck under payload , use a WDH/sway control, and are driving at a reasonable towing speed like 60 (less on hills, that’s just how it goes), you can tow pretty much anywhere. And that’s without a regear or a “tune”.

 

I'm also in the process of setting up and learning Fusion to monitor the trans Temps from my phone. Here's a screen shot of my current "dashboard". It will be a work in progress for a little while.

 

I appreciate your sharing your experience. One of my concerns is having a single axle. Although I've not experienced it, there seems to be more concern if a blowout or flat is had. I bought Tymate TPMS sensors for the camper and that's added piece of being able to see the pressures and temps of the tires. I've set alarms for both temp and pressure too.

I'm also looking at a KDMax 9.0 tune in the near future.... already reached out to the closest tuner to me.

 

I pulled a single axle trailer from San Diego to eastern Canada in 1984 and never gave it a second thought. I don’t even think WDH hitches or sway control had been invented yet. It’s all about staying at a comfortable speed that gives you the time and opportunity to recover in case something happens. Check out the trailer crash compilations on YouTube. Its always a) GCVWR was exceeded b) excessive speed c) just a shit driver.

 

Makes sense to me.

 

At best, I get 10 MPG in my 7.4L C3500 Dually. I would love to see 12 and may see better numbers once I swap the 4 speed for a T56 6 speed. Not having an overdrive crushes my mileage.

I think you are going about things the right way. Tune first, then 4.88 or 5.29 gears to give the Taco more mechanical advantage if the tune alone doesn't fix all the performance issues. I am taking a similar approach. Interested to know how this works out for you. Please keep this thread updated with experience/lessons learned.

 

I will certainly update this thread.

Funny, I already sub'ed to your truck thread back in Jan. You have posted some great in there too.

 

I hooked up this mourning to head to Tim's Ford St Park in TN and snapped a few pics showing where I have various components. The Fusion app, Tymate TPMS and the Dohonest camera seem to check the boxes for my needs. I want to keep the clutter to a minimum and remove the TPMS and cam monitor when now towing. I intend to hardwire a connection point for the RV cam in the future.


Here's a screenshot of the Fusion app that's displayed on my phone to the left of my steering wheel. My main concern is trans Temps but I'm monitoring a few things that will come in handy if I take a screenshot at any point in time. The circle with the gear will show green when the converter is locked and red when it's not.... well at least most of the time it does. It's a work in progress.

 

@rybern thanks for the update. I bought my Taco in September and got to do my first towing trip longer than towing the boat 1/4 mile to and from the marina. I towed a 8x11 snowmobile clamshell trailer with two sleds in it about 160 miles round trip and we went up about 1500ft along the way. I'd guess the trailer is about 2000lbs fully loaded. The truck did OK (not as good as my Hemi Ram did) and got about 12.5mpg IIRC, but I've gotta cut it some slack because that trailer is just about as aerodynamic as a refrigerator. I'm going to be really interested to see how the Taco does pulling the 24' speedboat. It's long but narrow, aerodynamic, and fairly light for a 24. I think eventually I'll go to 4.88's.

 

Here's my first trip across a CAT scale.




Here's my truck which includes: me (150lbs), wife(140 lbs) and small amount of gear. My 2023 TRD OR has a GVWR of 5600 lbs.



Travel trailer VC19RBS has a GVWR 4380 lbs and combined should be GCVWR 9980 lbs. We are certainly under weight due to being light packers.