Towing Advice

I just bought a Tacoma SR5 2021 and I want to know the tow capacity, I need to tow a 5300 pound RV for about 250 miles, I been watching videos and reading forums where everybody say the same thing, but I want to hear a personal experience and some advice that you could give me, also is the first time that I’m going to tow something, so I want to make sure that I won’t fuck it up. I’ll appreciate it, thanks

 

I tow a 4200 lb micro Minnie. I think you need a weight distribution hitch and a brake controller. Also some kind of rear spring help - air bags, bump stops, or helper springs. I don’t have those but my camper is 1000 lbs lighter so you will have a tougher time.
Here’s a brake controller install thread.

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/redarc-tow-pro-elite-install-and-bs-thread.773205/

 

Welcome to TW.

Since you're a new member here, try this section also, for some personal experiences that other members have been through with a trailer that size.

https://www.tacomaworld.com/forums/towing.34/

 

Welcome
Your truck’s exact numbers are on a sticker in the driver’s door jam.
At 5,200 #, you need a WDH and trailer brakes/controller.
If this is a one time trip, take it slow. If moving this trailer repeatedly; buy the right truck.

 

Assuming you have a tow package, and your truck is rated for 6400-6500 lbs towing you're near the practical limits. The thing you need to watch is your payload. There is a sticker on the driver's door jamb with a statement that says something like "The weight of the passengers and cargo should not exceed XXXX lbs). Most Tacoma's are 1000-1200 lbs. +/- about 100 lbs.

You use 13% of loaded trailer weight to calculate tongue weight, so you're looking at almost 700 lbs Figure another 100 lbs for a WDH and that will leave you 300-500 lbs for passengers and cargo inside the truck.

I think you'll be OK as long as you don't try to load up the cab and bed with more weight. Remember an adult male driver and one passenger can be 400-500 lbs.

Towing at altitudes over about 5000' come into play too. Your engine loses power due to less O2 in the air. You start to notice loss of power at around 5000'. If crossing high mountain passes in the Rockies at 10,000' you're engine is going to be really working.

For an occasional pull I'd be OK at 5300 lbs as long as you don't overload the truck too. Normally for long term use where you do this a lot and want to take family and other gear I like to keep trailer weight closer to 4000 lbs.

 

Tow with the ect button on, if you have a manual you should be able to feel the gear you should be in. At highway speeds it'll become a wind sail. Also double your normal fuel consumption and double your following distance. You'll get a feel for towing it quickly as you drive

 

If you have an automatic, tow in 4th with ECT on

If you have a manual tow in 5th

 

With a 5300 pound trailer he won't ever get to 5th except going downhill.

 

This is true. My camper weighs 3600# empty and I couldn't pull it in 5th until I got the OTT tune. Now 5th is what I'm in most of the time.

 

It will pull it, but you'll hate it. I pulled 3500lb, to 4000lb. It was ok. But expect 10mph, and alot of choice words. Wait till you have across wind... Ideal no, not at all. Full sized truck, is way to go. That's what I went with now.

 

First gotcha of towing, is never, ever, ever, put any meaning behind the dry weight of a trailer. Always judge a trailer by the gross capacity (GTWR). Dry weight is pure sales bullshittery. Keep in mind that dry weight does not include propane, battery, furnishings, soft goods, accessories, optional extras, or anything else that isn't physically bolted to the trailer. Most 5000 pound trailers sit on twin 3500 axles which puts their gross cap in the neighborhood of 7000 pounds, and the actual curb weight will probably be over 6000 pounds before you fill the tanks. Any way you shake it, that is way too much trailer for the Tacoma.

I would not want that combo as my first towing experience. I hate to say it, it's not safe to hitch something that my napkin math says will weigh 40% more than the vehicle you are pulling it with, and then immediately go 250 miles as your first time out. Sorry. That situation is beyond the limits of a novice puller. I'm experienced with all sizes of pickup-trailers, from 7 foot mulch haulers to triple axle goosenecks, and a 5300(dry) camper in a Tacoma makes me uncomfortable.

If you absolutely insist on doing it anyways, 1) read the towing bible as a start: https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/the-tacoma-towing-bible.4031/

2) budget two days to go 250 miles in a combo that large. Don't try to do it in one go. You'll thank me when it's time to back that pig into a narrow pad and you still have the less crowded daylight hours to do it. Seriously. 250 miles might be four hours on paper, it's actually closer to six with a trailer. And as a first timer white knuckling it for six hours, you'll give yourself an aneurysm.

3) have an experienced friend there that can guide you into backing a trailer. Don't be that guy that manages to knock over a post, a tree, and a picnic table in one swift motion. I just watched a guy do that last week. I made a mental note to stay clear of that guy.