New Taco Owner - Questions about Hauling Stuff/Weight...

Good afternoon, everybody,

After what I thought was much thought, I went ahead and bought a Tacoma (my first). It is a 2006 Base Model 4x4 with the 2.7L 4 cylinder engine. I'm really happy with the truck!

But now I'm worrying - part of why I bought the truck was to haul water to water trees in parks in my city in Northern Virginia. Before I bought the truck, I saw that there are water tanks available online that hold 210 gallons and fit in the Tacoma, and used taller, rectangular plastic water tanks inside a metal cage available on Craigslist - that all sounds good!

But now that I have the truck, I have come to the realization that even with the 210 gallon tank, the weight would be more than the 1400 lbs the manual says is ok - i.e. - you take my weight, just under 200 lbs, and add 45 lbs for the water tank and then 1750 lbs for 210 gallons of water, and you end up with almost 2000 pounds!

In addition, there is an open recall on this truck for the leaf spring breakage issue.

What would most people do here - by aftermarket leaf springs? upgrade the suspension?

Haul a trailer? There are weight concerns with that option too because I got the 4 banger Taco...

Thanks in advance for any words of wisdom...

 

No way that is going in the bed, that is more than most 1/2 tons are rated for. A google search says all 2005's are rated to tow 3500 lbs and some up to 5000 lbs. Probably going to need a trailer.

 

Thanks, that's what I was thinking... it's a no-go to haul water in the bed. Of course it might be challenging to find a trailer that can haul 200-300 gallons but have a combined trailer + water weight of less than 3500.

I had a couple of guys I know say "oh, don't worry about the weight, you'll just be driving in town," but I don't want to ruin my truck...