Family wanting a trailer

Maybe you just know of the only dealership with a functional moral compass. Even if it's commercial, they are not responsible for what you choose to tow it with. If you tell them you have a Ford F350 and they sell you a 30 foot gooseneck, it's not their fault if you hook up to it with an F150 and wreck it.

 

Heeeeeey. I have a RTT and it lives on the bed rack year round because I have nowhere to put it and no one to help me put it there. I feel attacked.

 

Anyone can hook up a trailer to anything and be stupid, my question is would an RV seller at the actual place of business put on a in bed camper into a truck they obviously know cannot support that weight?

 

I'd say you'd lose money if you bet they won't.

Look at it this way, how many dealership sales people know more than the model name of the car/truck they are trying to sell you? I can tell you, I have known more about every new car I've bought than every single salesperson I dealt with.

 

Yep when I spoke to my insurance company they said they would cover the trailer I was looking at (6500lb) but I wouldn’t be insured if I towed it with the taco (6400lb max) doesn’t matter if the TT was only weighing 4500lb on the scale. They go by the max gvwr.

 

GCVWR

 

A dealer is definitely assuming you can haul the biggest camper on the lot when you pull in with an F350 Dually. When in reality, a lot of them don't come close to being within spec. Those triple slide campers are nuts. Eagle Cap 1200 has a wet weight of 5,590 pounds. The highest capacity F350 dually is the 2wd Work Truck version, with a short cab and a gas engine @ 7850 pounds payload. You get a Lariat trim crew cab 4x4 diesel and that number tanks FAST. Below shows max Payload for F-350 DRW 4x4, and it's 6530. If you go diesel, that's about 500 pounds of payload lost. You're down to 6030 payload (not even talking about options), minus the 5,590 camper gives you 440 pounds left for people, food, beer, pets, clothes etc. And how many people add a boat or small trailer behind?




The OP is smart to be looking into all this. It's really something people should think about. At least weigh the risks and understand the issues.

 

I know cali does have some weird stuff going on when it comes to truck/campers, etc. I used to want to do a chassis cab truck with a flatbed for a big truck camper, then I found out California could be an issue. Like any time you unload the camper, you are pretty much now considered a commercial vehicle and need to stop at scales and such. Camper on, no problem, camper off, big problem, lol.

 

Not sure what you’re meaning by this…

 

Maximum combined weight for the truck AND trailer. That’s another number that can get you into trouble.

Some people don’t realize that if you put a big SxS in your bed, that’s going to affect how much you can tow…

 

The max that you were speaking of is the Gross Combined Vehicle Weight Rating. GCVWR is just the combined GVWR of the tow vehicle and the trailer.

 

sure i know what it means, it just didn’t really have much “point” about it or anything to do with my post.

When I’m towing I’m running about 10klbs, with a full tank of gas I’m about 40lb over on payload. Once I take the morning shit at the first rest area I’m usually back within limits…

 

Ah. I think @YF_Ryan was just clarifying that you were talking about GCVWR and not just GVWR. Your post about not being sure made me thing you might not have been familiar with the term/acronym because you used GVWR in its place in your post.

 

Nope, my trucks GCVWR is 11,290. The GVWR for the truck is 5,600. GVWR for towing is 6,400lb. Those numbers do not add up, each are specific to how the other is loaded. You can tow 6,400lb with an empty truck. Or you can tow 5,690lb with a full truck.

What I was saying was my insurance would not cover me if I bought a TT with a sticker GVWR number higher than what the truck is rated for even if I towed it empty and well below the GVWR of the truck.
So if the TT GVWR was 6,500lb but only weighs 4,000lb when I was towing it I would not be covered.

Maybe clearer this time around

 

No one misunderstood what your insurance company's stance was.

 

I guess all I was getting at is I’ve come across people that get a TT with a higher GVWr than what the Taco is rated for, but they justify it by saying they don’t tow with the TT at full weight. It doesn’t matter in the eyes of the insurance company.

So it’s not really about GCVWR, that’s why I was confused… and apparently the only one at that.

Plus the 6,400lb TT rating is based on the hitch not GCVWR

 

I've towed and pulled every kind of trailer with every type of tow vehicle. As a practice I would not tow more than half the trucks towing capacity if it was something on the regular. The Tacoma is not great at towing but not horrible. Pulled a loaded U-Haul thru the Catskill mountains with my Tacoma. Guessing it was around 4k lbs. It did fine but sucked up gas like a hole was drilled in the tank. If I were looking at RV trailers I'd keep it as light as possible. Maybe an under 3k lbs R-Pod or 17' ultra light camper. I would carry the lightest load possible too. No onboard water, waste etc. Those extra pounds will be felt dragging on the V6. Had a 3/4 ton 8.1L Silverado that you hardly noticed the loaded 5th wheel behind me. This is not that but definately doable for weekend camping trips. Sway bars, weight distribution hitch, BRAKE CONTROLLER and a properly loaded RV are a must.

 

Biggest thing about the Taco is getting something with an aerodynamic front nose and less than 7.5ft wide. Headwind is the biggest frustration I’ve come across.
Well that and 3rd gear not locking up sucks.

 

If anyone is looking for an easily towed trailer for the Tacomas, “Livin Lite” is no longer in business but their trailers are great due to being all aluminum(there’s a FB group too, people list theirs for sale all the time across the US). The company was bought out in 2013 by “Thor motor coach” and then retired in 2019. I picked mine up for 5k on FB back in October 2023, did some mods and have used it 14 times since then. Weighs under 1k, easily customizable if you can weld aluminum(or know a buddy). It allows me to keep weight down to ensure i can pack all my camp gear(mostly in trailer) so the dogs can have the truck bed. The model(popup style) is called “Livin lite Quicksilver” 6.0(6ft).
They offer a 6ft(single queen bed), 8ft(queen and full bed) and 10ft(dual queen beds, sink, stove, ac)

 

I towed a 20' jayco travel trailer, 3400lb dry iirc, all over the country - especially Wyoming, Montana, Washington, CA mountain ranges - with a 2004 expedition with tow package. Would never attempt it with a Tacoma, as the 5.4L really huffed and puffed on inclines. The transmission would blow up before the motor, and you also really want big brakes.

I would, however, absolutely buy a casita or scamp (2.2 - 2.5k dry weight) to tow if I find one for the right price someday.