Towing Small Travel Trailer 5K or Under

Looking for a midsized truck to tow a small travel trailer like the Airsteam Bambi or Tab 400. Looking at all the trucks, specs and real world towing can be confusing. I need midsized so my wife can drive it when we reach our destination. I also want a good and reliable truck because it will be my daily driver for 8-10 years. Is the Tacoma a good truck for this application or should I consider other models? Frontier Pro-4X? Something else?

 

been towing a 4000 lb loaded camper for all of 1 month, and i say get a full size, especially if youre towing long distance. it will be much more enjoyable. I am already thinking about upgrading. You will get all sorts of opinions and suggest you read up on them, plethora of threads on this.

 

Thanks. Been reading a ton. Lots of conflicting testimonials but many are negative. Full sized is out of the question for my wife. Dry weights are around 3,000-3,500. GVWR’s range from 3,000 to 5,000. The search continues. Maybe smaller trailers.

 

she'll get used to it. My wife doesnt like driving my tacoma either thinking its big, but its all what your used to. A few trips and she'll be fine

 

Thanks.

 

I bought this trailer https://coachmenrv.com/travel-trailers/freedom-express-select/17BLSE/7543 and use my 3.6L manual trans Tacoma to tow it, and I am *right* at the limit of that little truck's capability. The trailer is a freaking parachute. On a recent trip through the southwest states I averaged about 5-6 MPG and had to carry extra gas since I ran out in the desert of NM at one point, a few miles before the next gas station. Also, unable to pass semis unless I was going down hill. So think hard about a midsized truck if you will be towing anything more than a farm trailer.

 

Either get a smaller trailer or get a bigger truck. Unless your spouse has some disability she can drive a full size truck, just like the zillions of other women who do so. I know a 5’3” petite woman who drives hers spouses F150 4x4 all over. Your spouse likely can drive a full size but just doesn’t want to. May take a little practice but she can do it. Good luck.
(2 examples - I know a 50 year old veterinarian who drives her F250 every Fall from Montana to Utah pulling a horse trailer with her 3 horses and spends 6 months there. I also have friends who have a horse ranch in Utah and the wife who just turned 70 drives their F150 and their Dodge 3500 dually all the time and also pulls large trailers.) I’m not trying to start an argument between you and your wife but she can learn to drive a full size truck.

 

I love my Tacoma, but if I was going to do it again, I would get a 1/2 or 3/4 ton.

My (just under) 5000 camper has my truck at its max payload- and I have to to take my spare tire off of the truck and put it in the rack on the back of the camper just to get to that point. I also have to get groceries/water when I get to my destination. Depending on your model, you may have more payload and that may not be an issue for you.

Remember to check your payload (your tongue weight goes against the payload) and not just your tow rating.

 

How often are you going to be camping? Do you like camping? Is it comfortable for you and your wife to get packed into a small camper? How much does it cost for you to do this 3,4,5…187 times a year? Do you have a place to store it? Have you ever towed a trailer, emptied a grey or black water tank?

Too little information to offer really helpful suggestions.

 

i tell everyone, add up your payload. Its the likely limiting factor. Some people dont follow it, but if you do you'll realize you cant even take an extra snack pack in the cab while traveling

 

The real question is just what do you use the Truck for ?

A work type truck carting tools . construction supplies ?

Where would you be driving lots of up and down or flat country.

How serious is your camping loading up every weekend drive a 100 miles or more hook to the trailer and just go return weeks or months later. Then only a few trips a few miles away in 4 or 5 months.

I have Towed with my Tacoma within 100 miles not real bad. For serious Towing I use my F250 night and day difference. Braking and handling not even close .

Again I have known many women That have no issues with full size trucks.

Happy Shopping

 

We just bought our first camper. My criteria (family of 4) was lightweight (under 3500) and enough room for everyone. We ended up with a Bushwhacker Plus, dry weight is around 2K. We are new so we didn't want to invest a crazy amount, Bushwhackers are definitely "budget". Here are some light trailers with space that might work for you. Most of these sleep 4 but there are other options from these manufacturers.

https://www.braxtoncreek.com/model/bushwhacker-plus
https://intech.com/rv/models/sol/horizon/
https://nucamprv.com/tab400-camper
https://www.airstream.com/travel-trailers/bambi/
https://golittleguy.com/lg-max/

Casita and Escape also fit the bill but the lead times may be long depending on how quickly you need it.

Plenty of people tow bigger with a Tacoma, I personally would not go bigger. Lastly, get a WDH, pin the transmission thermostat open, and get OBD Fusion and a Veepeak OBD2 or

$147 ScanGauge - SG2 II Ultra Compact 3-in-1 Automotive Computer with Customizable Real-Time Fuel Economy Digital Gauges , Black , 5"

scanguage. It can be done it's just more work, you need to pay attention to the details so you stay within the limits of the Tacoma.

 

Rent a full sized truck for your wife to try.
Back in the 80's I had a 4'11" 90 lb. girlfriend who was afraid to drive my full sized conversion van, until she tried it. After that she always drove it, I think it was a compensation for being so small

 

I pull a 2,000 pound teardrop trailer just fine with the Tacoma. If the trailer were any bigger, I’d definitely want a bigger truck.

 

Watch what your payload (weight you put on the truck) including you, other stuff, trailer tongue, ect. Things like 4x4, engine size and cab size have an effect on a truck's payload. A mid-size truck is not going to be as fast or as capable as a full-size but they can do it. Not at 80mph though.

 

I concur, i would only pull a teardrop trailers with my truck. Right now with a canopy, rooftop tent and gear adding up to 400-500 lbs it struggles. If I'd do it over I'd buy a Tundra.

 

My suggestion is to take your wife and go for some test drives. Test the Tacoma, F150, Colorado, and Tundra.

I personally would lean heavily towards the 150 as a commuter/weekend tower. Not only does it have more tow power, but it's one of the easiest driving pickups on the market.

You want your trailer to be about half the weight as your tow rating. Here's why. In case of emergency (let's say you strain your back or roll an ankle) where a spouse has to take over driving, you need the truck to have enough spare power in the bank so as to not completely intimidate them. The F150 has that. The Tacoma... Eh... It tows my small pop-up well enough.

Also, I would recommend doing something that's on my personal to-do: once the trailer is purchased have the spouse log some miles in the truck and then have them log some towing miles Just in case one rolls an ankle.

 

YES^^^^^^^^

 

I’ve had a couple of full size trucks. The biggest issue with towing with a full size truck is when you unhitch, you’re left with a full size truck. I had them for a couple of decades and in both cases after a while I was always opting to take the car because the full size trucks were a pain in the ass when I wasn’t doing truck stuff. The Tacoma is always my first choice for errands or a trip.

Get a trailer that is light and aerodynamic and it will be fun. But 5k is a no go.

 

Getting a Casita Spirit Deluxe on Tuesday and will tow it with a 2023 Tacoma Sport 4X4. This trailer is 2500 pounds dry and allowing a 1000 pound load weight you will come out well under the 6400 pound limit of the Sport. Check out the Casita (www.casitatraveltrailers.com) blogs on Facebook and you will find people are towing with various Tacomas without problems. As a note, the Casita we are getting is being sold because the current owner is 6' 2" and it is just too short for him (so if you are tall). The Spirit Deluxe is 17 feet long,6 feet wide, has a bath / shower / toilet, kitchen, full fiberglass hull, and fairly aerodynamic. A final note, I drove my 2008 Tacoma SR5 for 289,000 miles. Only problem I had was two wheel bearings, when I made the mistake of trading it, it was still running like, it did the day I drove it off the dealers lot.

My wife won't drive a full size pickup either.