Another towing/load question

I have a 2015 Prerunner, and I tow a boat that combined weight with the boat,trailer,gas, equipment is about 4k. Its a single axle trailer with 10" stainless disk brakes.

Driving on local streets is a breeze. I can go anywhere, and the truck will pull great. My issue is on the highway the truck gets pushed around in crosswinds, and bumps. I have done some reading, and I see that stiffening the rear will do the trick.

I was thinking to get either an AAL or some firestone airbags. Thats the cheap option.

The expensive option is buy a whole new tandem trailer.

Has anyone had experience with this, and can help?

 

Leveling the truck is a good idea, but probably not the problem. I put Hellwig 2000LB 990 EZ helpers on mine. Easy install. It took me about an hour and was reasonable in price. Made a world of difference in leveling the truck with and without a load.
http://www.sdtrucksprings.com/hellwig-helper-springs/toyota/tacoma

You need to make sure that your tongue weight is correct. Many times improper tongue weight will cause what you described at the higher speeds and guessing at tongue weight is almost always wrong. It needs to be within a 10 to 15 percent of the total weight of the load you are pulling and that is a small window to play with.
http://www.gmc.com/trailering-towing/tongue-weight.html
They make a tongue scale which makes it easy to check.
http://www.sherline.com/lm.htm
This is the cheapest fix even without any leveling, and most likely the problem. One more thing. Most people estimate their gross weight. Very few even come close to getting it right and are surprised how much they are off once they weigh the load so I suggest that you weigh everything once loaded at a certified scale and then adjust the tongue weight accordingly.

 

@savendone I ended up trading the truck in for a TRD Offroad Tundra. I got a killer deal. Now the boat tows like a dream! Thanks for the help!

 

Lol thats one way to fix it. So since 10am this morning you bought a Tundra, loaded up all your gear into it, hooked up the boat, tested out the towing, and reported back to TW.. I like your style.

 

LOL, I towed the boat to the dealer very slowly,lol. Then bought the truck, and towed it back home. The people in the lot thought I had lost my mind.

 

You're my hero! LOL. Congrats!

 

Haha that is AWESOME! You will love that Tundra man.. Congrats!

 

LMFAO.

That's a funny story. Congrats on the new truck.

 

Which color? Here's mine...

 

I had to edit my post, it isnt a Pro, Its a offroad.

Came with Entune, Spray bedliner, sick wheels, tow package, upgraded wheels, chrome exhaust tip, Nfab running boards, and some other stuff,lol.

Its light silver. Ill take pics in the morning.

 

Double cab or Crewmax?

 

Well, that was fast. Lol congrats!

 

Install a TRD sway bar on it. Cost is about $220. You can install it yourself. Handles much better.

 

@Black Taco Its a Double Cab, but still has more room than my Crew Taco. I really didnt need anything more. Ill look into the sway bar.

 

I'm a member of Tundratalk.com You can research it there.

 

Here are some pics..

 

Congrats on your new purchase, she's a bute. Boat is awesome too. I have to say tho, I wonder why you struggled with that thing behind your taco? I pull 4100 dry lbs worth of boat and single axle trailer real easy with my taco. add gas and all the other crap its probly more like 4700 lbs.

I have a leveling kit and BFG load range E tires... and my boat might be better balanced than your setup but at the end of the day a Taco should be able pull 4k pretty easy.

 

I'm gonna assume tongue weight was his issue.

 

Having owned a pop-up camper for years, we recently bought a single-axle hybrid travel trailer that I towed home 60+ miles with the family 4runner. What a harrowing experience. I learned that:
- trailer tires were significantly underinflated, and were also 15+ PSI different between them
- tow vehicle tire pressure was far lower than it should have been
- heavy tongue weight meant the front of the TV was unloaded and squirrely
- improper hitch drop (coupled with the sagging rear) resulted in a strong nose-down attitude and made the trailer squirrely

Addressing 1, 2, and 4 helped measurably. Didn't have helper springs on the 4Runner and semi-coincidentally traded my car for my new DCSB. Added airbags to my Taco and between that and an added foot+ of wheelbase, my truck towed like a champ during our last outing, including highway speeds and up some decent hills.

 

Consider air bags if towing frequently.