The Tacoma Towing Bible

Hi guys, towing rookie here. 2010 Tacoma V6 Tow Package, 203k miles, recent transmission service, running great.

I've got to get a non-running Frontier (4300 lbs) about 150 miles through a decent amount of steep hills. If you know Maine you know what I am referring to. My setup (please feel free to suggest) would be to rent a car dolly from U-Haul, head out, load up the truck, and head back. I do not have access to a flat bed.

Any suggestions, things I am not considering? It would make me feel a lot better to have trailer brakes. Might be worth renting a full size.

 

You'll have to check with U-haul, but they may not let you tow a Frontier with a Tacoma. If they do, just keep the trans in 4th gear while you're towing and you should be fine. If they won't let you then rent or borrow a full-size truck.

 

I wouldn't wanna do any towing like that without brakes. I've had my 7-pin come loose in 20 mile per hour stop and go traffic and it freaked me the F out.

As @KRAMERICA said, you'll want to stay in 4th. And if going DOWN a hill, use 3rd to help slow you down, even 2nd if wanting to come to a stop. That way your brakes aren't doing all the work by itself. Really though, I'd suggest renting a bigger truck or finding something with trailer brakes. I actually loaned my trailer out to someone on TacomaWorld before. Had never even met the guy. I think he hauled a sports car from Washington (where i'm at) to his new home in Wyoming or Colorado. It all worked out. Maybe you can find someone local to borrow a trailer from? A trailer brake controller would be needed, but they are SUPER easy to install.

 

Thanks Ryan. I don't think I will do the towing without a flatbed. Just checked with U-Haul, they won't let me tow the setup like KRAMERICA suggests. My buddy's old man has a Sierra 1500 that would work - he's a hard guy to convince though. Next options will be to look into a shipping company or renting a trailer from a local guy.

 

You can rent trucks from U-haul, as well as most all of the typical auto rental agencies. It seems like the trip is short enough you could get it done with a single days rental.

 

This looks like it'll be a nice trailer to pull.

https://autos.yahoo.com/u-haul-car-...UKgbLu0fXMbbAvmSo_KPzIFc3JK_LrHi&guccounter=1

 

Ha! I read that earlier. It does seem great. Maybe I need to upgrade to full size...

 

Lol. For the heck of it I went to the U-Haul site to see how much it would be to rent. They want you to enter the tow vehicle and the car to tow. I put in my truck (2008 TRD Sport v6 with tow package - rated to tow 6500 lbs) ) and the car I'd be towing (Porsche Cayman - weighs 2900 lbs) and it came back with No, not compatible.

 

Sometimes there's just no understanding uhauls towing rules.

 

is it recommended to adjust hitch height for load?

empty trailer all was fine.

but loaded, truck squats.
Front of the trailer dips.

Debating finding a jack to unhitch
And move the tow ball one setting upward to see how much that helps even things out

it almost looks like this now (loaded): “nose down”



Jack is buried in the trailer (oops); worst case I can dig it out.
Or am gonna call see if Uhaul or Autozone have one to use there for a minute (lift up trailer to reposition hitch)

it’s currently on lowest holes

 

Yes, you want the trailer to be level when towing.

 

It might help, but it won't fix it if the problem is too much weight in the front of the trailer. If the problem is a weight imbalance, you'll need to move a few heavy items to behind the axles. What you describe sounds like weight issue. The tongue weight should not be so great that you need floor jack to unhitch the trailer, the trailer's own jack should be sufficient.

 

I don't think those uhaul trailers have a jack. They're made with a handle to lift it up and mount to your ball by hand. But yeah, sounds like he didn't balance the trailer very well. Needs re-arranged most likely.

 

you’ve got a point.

On one side, I once had a trailer I couldn’t lift and needed to floor jack.
that was squatting 225x20 ATG

on the other side, I then pulled that trailer 2300 mi without issue



I guess lesson learned next time I will try to ignore Uhaul cockeyed “heavy to front”
And put major weight in the middle above the load supporting axles, leaf springs, and tires, which makes more sense

it appears it may be too late.