My experience of towing 4,700lb travel trailer, which now weighs closer to 5,000lbs… maybe.

Hey Ryan.

Yep, same everything.

I’d love to compare the 4th gen in respects to towing, I imagine it would be a huge upgrade, all that extra torque where it should be. I understand the non hybrid is enough of an upgrade. I would definitely still want my long bed though and likely a stick shift.

When I bought my current truck in HI we only had so many options and a OR LB manual gearbox was not one of them, not sure if the 4th gen allows that config?
However I would also be tempted to get a Tundra, I personally prefer the styling of the Tundra more.

Alas a change of truck is not in the foreseeable future right now.

 

Cool. You have your 3rd gen package all set up and I'd keep enjoying it like it is.

I have lower back issues and the 4th gen 8-way seat option is amazing and is a huge factor in my decision to move to 4th gen. The seat and the drivetrain together really sold me on the truck. I also like that the 4th gen has a 5" longer wheel base without making the truck any longer(this alone should make towing a little bit better compared to my 3rd gen SB). FYI, the 4th gen long bed has the same wheelbase as a Ford F150(would be a con for me in a smaller truck). But being empty nesters, the Taco fits our needs pretty well.

 

First few hours are a success, shall see how the overnight goes

We have a very adventurous little girl and she is loving camp life so far. Looking forward to exploring tomorrow and chilling… I may not have packed enough beers.

 

So what colour are you wanting?

It is silly how small trucks become big trucks. I was talking to a guy yesterday with an older Tundra and he of course commented on how big my rig was but he comes to find out that his old V8 only has about a 1000lb of extra tow capacity compared to my Taco, plus I bet the wheel bases were pretty damn similar.

Bolting on a supercharger would make me happy I think although losing a bit of payload would not… is there a perfect truck?

The new trail hunter has something like 1400lb payload and 6,000lb tow capacity but you could probably get a nice tundra for the same money!

Do you know what your 4th gen has for capacities?

Yesterdays drive here…

 

Hey Mark, I'm getting Celestial Silver (1st choice) but wife and I also like Terra. I like the Oxide Bronze but wife is not a fan.

I still have a 2000 Tacoma and can attest to the size difference. Funny they the 2000 seems a little larger then the Toyota trucks from the '90's.

I actually looked at a supercharger for my 3rd gen but couldn't justify spending $8k on it. The Trailhunter seems like an awesome truck but it's about $14k more than I'm paying for my incoming TRD OR Premium. The truck I have coming in should have a towing capacity of 6400 and a payload capacity of 1200-1400lbs. Max payload is 1700lbs but it's a bit unclear how Toyota is calculating this (with driver or not).

The 4th gen has some nice towing features like an actual towing mode, integrated brake controller (std on Premium), trans temp gauge(although not sure if it shows actual temp) and other useful towing goodies.

I have 25k on the 3rd gen and it has been a great truck. I typically keep vehicles for a while but the 4th gen has won me over.... hopefully I won't regret the switch.

Here's a few videos that show folks towing with the 4th gen(the one pulling the tractor is also comparing to a 3rd gen).

https://youtu.be/ITFRHZthfLU?si=tGbYRMdygfbg3Fzv
https://youtu.be/e0o7v8BiHAM?si=HCVX2W-8ZpQrn9G7

 

Thanks for the videos I’ll watch them sometime soon, currently prepping to head out in the RV for the second time within the week

14k over an OR, that’s crazy. I’m sure you’ll be happy… as long as you like looking at it personally there are few too many crease lines. The tundra I don’t mind so much but the Taco is a bit much for me.
I’d love to drive one but then I’d want one! Same goes for a tundra, a Barcelona red with black trim in a well specked SR would have me sold I think.
I have never used the crawl control or the locker in my OR and we’ve been through some pretty good terrain. I think I could do without the OR and be happy with an SR in the Tundra.

Heading out for a couple of nights dry camping at Lone Pine campground on the Crooked river here in OR. About a 45 minute drive from the house and right on the river. Taking my fishing gear and will try to snatch a trout or two for the wife.

I’m wanting to run over some scales with our current setup/load to compare with previous scale trips. Found out that the public can use Oregon DOT truck scale locations on the hwys even when they’re closed, the scales are left on so you can drive through at 3 mph to get your axle readings.

Last time out we were at 10klb GCVW, the truck is around 5100lb loaded. Front axle was 2820lb, rear axle 2840lb and trailer 4340lb. This was fully loaded for our trip out East. Have since swapped the 80lb dog for the baby. Give or take it’ll be near the same weight because the rear seats have gone back in and the addition of the child seat and baby stuff. Either way I want to get stuff weighed so I know where we’re at.

 

Sorry it's taken me so long to respond.

Funny, I was not drawn to the 4th gen Taco at all when they came out. But after seeing them around here and there I've gotten use to the look. I now think it's an attractive truck from most angles. I didnt even drive a Tundra or any full size truck. I like the size of the mid sized truck and the full size trucks loaded out the way I like are $20k more expensive than the Taco. I'm certain there would be things I'd like with a full size truck(I owned a '01 Sierra Z71 about 10 years ago).

I'm enjoying the truck so far but I gotta get a few hundred more miles before I tow with mine. We already missed out on one camping trip due to not being able to tow with it yet.

I agree with you 100% about weight. Its comforting knowing we're within the limits of our equipment. By comparison, my last weights were 2720 front, 2840 rear and 3740 trailer.

Catch ya later.

 

I tow a rig just over 3,000 lbs loaded and agree with the OP regarding the Anderson WDH. I think it works well but the jury is still out regarding say control, that’s not an issue because of the Tacos built in sway control.

I went with Road Active Suspension as my rear suspension enhancement. Smooth ride unloaded, excellent when loaded.

 

Don't sell the Anderson short. I have experienced sway multiple times on the interstate with my '23 TRD OR with a Camco Recurve(with built in sway control). I attribute the sway to the short wheelbase combined with a single axle trailer. I considered buying the Anderson but have since traded the 3rd gen in on a 4th gen. It will be interesting to see if I still experience sway on the interstate (4th gen SB has a 5" longer wheelbase).

 

Just a quick thought....Looking at your pic. Your trailer carries a lot of weight behind the axel and the front is slightly elevated. That could explain the sway. I have never experienced any sway with my Casita. There is not a lot of the trailer behind the axel and my tongue weight is just over 400 lbs.

I have started paying closer attention to my tongue weight after picking up a scale to measure it.

 

Good point. I haven't actually weight the tongue.... might need to do that.

 

My tongue weighing system. I use the jack to make sure the reading is taken with the trailer in the exact position, regarding level, as when it is hooked up.



To little tongue weight is generally considered the primary cause of sway.

fun video

https://youtu.be/w9Dgxe584Ss?si=dZyJhgyBM2dznEiG

my system

 

Haha, I recall coming across that same video several years ago when I was researching travel trailer stuff. We're going on 3 years with our camper and I've logged 1736 miles and the only time I've experienced sway was on this interstate. I've never experienced it on back roads where speeds are 55-60mph.

 

In 15k miles I’ve never had sway. The only time the rig felt wallowy was leaving Phoenix to Tucson with a 15 mph crosswind and semis coming past at 80mph.
I pulled over and double checked the Anderson and found I had not tightened up properly. When I hooked up to the RV I tightened my usual number of turns on the nuts but forgot to raise the tongue jack 2” before doing so. Once I redid the WDH setup all was good, night and day difference.
During my trip I’ve come across a few other Anderson users that did not know about this part of the setup.

 

I have to say slightly jealous of your new rig, would love to compare with the V6.

Officially we’re supposed to turn off sway control on the truck if using sway control on the hitch. Never had any ill effects from it though.
Like you said wheel base may make a difference, I have the DC LB.
One thing I swear by is upping the tire pressure of the truck tires by 10 psi. Makes a huge difference to the side to side action but also the tires should be inflated more to accept the extra tire load. The max weight allowed of the tire coincides with the max tire pressure on the sidewall.

 

I miss the simplicity of the 3rd gen truck. I have much of the 4th gen figured out but still learning. I never messed with the sway control setting on the 3rd gen and forgot that it even existed.

Thanks for the tips on the Anderson.

I agree 100% on tire pressure (something I severely overlooked until I starting towing more with the TT). I do run SL tires but I learned to air them up to max pressure of 44psi(when I'm towing) which does make a big difference. I know XL or even C rated would be better for towing but I don't want to give up the advantages of the lighter tires.

 

I like the nifty tongue scale you bought but I came across an alternative for the frugal man.

https://youtu.be/2qm89zxWOPM?si=rsRg-jPVzgIOgTXP

 

The purpose of raising the trailer when tightening the chains is done for the same reason you raise the trailer up to attach the load bars in a more traditional WDH, it makes it easier to put the bars on and puts less strain on the components. In the case of an Anderson it puts less strain on the threads and nuts, especially if the riig calls for extremely tight chains. It has nothing to do with how well the WDH functions once the proper number of threads are showing.

 

That makes perfect sense.

 

That’s not necessarily true.

If you hand tighten the nuts without raising the tongue you might for example only have two threads showing. If you then raise the setup the chains will go slack and you will have maybe 4 threads showing after hand tightening.

You would then tighten 3-4 thread from that point ultimately showing 7-8 threads not the 5-6 threads without raising the jack.

Without raising the tongue and then following the tightening process you will end up with a less effect from the WDH.

I like the idea of counting the threads after tightening to ensure you have in fact got to the right point. For some reason I have never done that…