Can a Tacoma tow a 28' travel trailer comfortably

We are looking at getting a Surveyor SP260 which has a dry weight of 4200 and has a total length of 28ft. I am concerned on whether our Tacoma can handle it comfortably in mountains and long drives. We bought the 2006 extended cab 4x4 long bed with the tow pkg. and will be getting a great WD bar/anti sway bar and brake controller but I am worried the length may be too much for this truck. Any advice would be appreciative

Thanks

 

Yeah, a tad much for a Tacoma.
Fill the trailer with water, food, and your gear and now how much does it weigh?

You want to tow comfortably, seriously?

 

Well not so much comfortably as much as not dreading every time we go out to camp that is the whole point of getting a TT, to have more fun and enjoy it. So is the weight too much or weight and length?

 

I think it's way to much and very dangerous.
I have a toy hauler trailer that is 6000+ dry and would never consider using my Tacoma to even move it. The tongue weight alone would put the number on the ground and front wheels in the air.

What's the tow rating of your Tacoma?

 

yeah i think that's a lot. Just a couple of weeks ago our family towed a 30 foot trailer with our f-350 powerstroke and it dropped a good 4-5 inches in the back. weight was about 11,000 lbs. I don't think it would be a good idea.

 

The towing capacity says it can go up to 6500lbs with a tongue wt. of 650lbs although we don't want to go to the upper limit. I am thinking that the trailer is going to be too much too. We are just new to towing and trying to get as much information as possible to make sure we make a safe and right choice. We are a family of four, two boys 5 and 3 and a Golden that goes camping with us. The family with the dog and big/tall boys weigh in at 460lbs so I know that has to be considered when towing. That weight is currently too so I know it will fluctuate with the boys growing and not taking the dog. I am still a little confused as to how to calculate all the weight towards the towing capacity.

 

It seems like the weight adds up quickly. What would you recommend as a dry weight and length to start with as we thought a dry weight of 4200lbs would be good but doesn't sound like it?

Nice truck by the way if that is yours in the picture.

 

The dry weight quoted is also with all the options added but not with water, cargo etc.

 

If you want to tow comfortable, get a full-sized. They're wider, longer and heavier (diesel would be best but not everyone wants to sink that kind of money into a truck to tow a couple times a year). As far as the rated limits of the Tacoma, your trailer is within the Tacoma's limits but it won't be real happy towing it. That's a long, heavy trailer but if you take your time the Tacoma will drag it but it may be a white knuckle drive at times.

 

That is a long ass trailer and towing that thing through mountains with a Tacoma is a really bad idea. You need a fullsize truck and a 3/4 ton would be much better than a 1/2 ton for towing that on a regular basis.

 

Don't do it. Get a Tundra if you want to tow anything above 4000+ pounds. Or look at smaller trailers.

My buddy tows a ~3500K trailer with his '03 V6 4x4. He's lucky to hit 45mph on the hills, and he's 1500 pounds under his max weight.

If the DRY weight is 4200 pounds, you're easily looking at 5000-5200 pounds for the total weight if you're putting any gear in the trailer. Then add in passengers, etc... in the vehicle, and you're quickly approaching the MAX gross weight (truck + trailer + cargo + passengers).

I don't plan to tow anything heavier than 3000-3500 (total, with gear/water, etc...). Yes, that's a fairly small trailer (a tent trailer), but it's also a fairly small truck doing the towing...

 

Its not even something that is even remotely to be considered. Chop that trailer in half and then you will still be near the upper limit of the tacoma. 28' is fullsize only.

 

I just rented the JLG T350 towable lift for a painting project. I have the 4.0 with tow package and I'm telling you what - at 3,400 lbs I wouldn't even think about hauling much heavier. I'd say anything over the 4000 pound range is completely unsafe with these trucks.

 

It's the GVWR of the truck only (not the GCWR - truck + trailer + cargo + passengers) that is usually the limiter with the Tacoma. The payload is just too low, especially with the 4x4.
The problem with the Tundra is that in the 4x4 configuration, it really only adds 200-250 lbs of payload, not enough to pay the price to upgrade IMO. There are other half ton trucks that add much more capacity.

 

Go to the towing section and look at.the.thread "show us what you tow". you will seem some decent size.travel trailers people on here tow.

Sent frum mobul fone soe don't freek out about my speling and grahmar.

 

Not safe, get a pop up or something that when loaded is under 4500 lbs. You will need to get air bags and a brake controller for anything you tow. Look up the tacoma towing bible.

 

I tow a 25ft TT with a dry weight of 4400lb and it tows nicely with my 07 v6 access cab. With any grade I have to down shift to fourth or fifth and can't stay in sixth gear but towing with full size trucks in the past they down shift just as much.

 

So are you saying it's comfortable / safe?

 

I have firestone air bags on the truck and use a weight distribution hitch with a friction sway control and the truck pulls fine. One trip I had the fresh water tank filled and it did slow me down but that was through hilly and winding roads. Regular trips with a two full propane tanks half a bed full of firewood and a 120quart cooler full of beer and ice plus all the other camping goodies in the camper and it tows nicely. I have to utilize the powerband of the engine depending on the grade of the road but I haven't been on a hill yet where I couldn't match a gear and rpm to pull the hill. A stock truck would even pull better than mine since I run 265/75r16 and loose some pull out power to spin the taller rubber. 25ft with the proper hitch at a little over 4000 dry weight seems to present no issues for me and stops even in emergency conditions with the trailers electric brakes.

 

It's not the length you should be concerned about but the fully loaded weight of the trailer. I'm towing a 26' trailer right now with a Chevy 3500 and have issues: overheating pulling grades in the heat, serious brake fade with long downgrades if I have to use the truck brakes as well as a small drop in the rear suspension. These issues arrise not because of the length but because of the fully loaded weight of the trailer; usually around 10,000 pounds give or take.

My biggest concern would be the braking system of the tow vehicle; do you think the Tacoma could stop a 5000+ lb trailer on a downgrade if the trailer brakes went out?

Just my .01 cent...