Crunching the numbers

Hello!

First post here on a topic about which I suspect many first-time posters inquire. I've been doing a fair amount of reading on the Forum to get somewhat up to speed, including the Towing bible, but am curious as to experiences and advice on our specific circumstances.

We have a 2011 Tacoma 4x4, V6 with access cab and the towing package and are currently towing a nice but basic Starcraft TT. To facilitate doing so, my husband installed a brake controller, the specifics of which I could find out if that would be beneficial. We are looking for a modest upgrade to something a little more spacious and have landed on hybrids as we enjoy the tent feel.

Anyways, we're mulling over the options currently presented to us given our so-so budget. We're a family of six so we're considering listings with two or three bump out beds and zero to one slides and varied configurations thereof.

Dry weights, to cite several examples, have varied from 3271 lbs. for a 2007 Starcraft Travel Star to 3391 lbs. for a 2013 Forest River up to 4169 lbs. for a 2008 Flagstaff Shamrock. Lengths are generally between 22 and 24 feet. I imagine the hitch and TT itself would hold the propane tank(s), the typical household items and ideally whatever food stuffs we're bringing for the trip. We will not be going off the grid or anything like that, although that's super cool.

In terms of payload in the Tacoma, it will mainly be my husband and maybe one of our kiddos, as well the kids' bikes and beach gear, if needed. The rest of our crew and our stuff will be with me, following him, in our Toyota Sienna. We will like likely be camping within a 3-4 hour radius from home here in the mid-Atlantic region.

If I understand what I've read so far correctly, we should aim to be around 3500 lb. for the TT, which seemingly lends desirability to the first two options listed above. Would towing the 2008 Flagstaff at 4169 lb. dry be hazardous? Should we even be considering towing anything other than a pop up given the aeordynamics of a Tacoma and a hard-sided TT?!

We thank you all in advance for any insights provided as we respect the body of knowledge and experience contained in this community!

 

Welcome. Pulling 4200# will certainly not be hazardous if done properly, that difference over 3500# should be pretty negligible. Having a brake controller & WDH are non-negotiables that will make the full rig much safer. You probably already have towing mirrors. I've found that payload (total passenger & cargo weight) of our smaller trucks becomes a bigger issue than towing capacity but if you're putting humans in a different vehicle, you should be fine there. A lot of towing is just checking the small things: tire pressure, watching tire wear, taking your time on the road, etc.

 

Welcome to The Forum!

 

I went through heavy deliberation on this topic before purchasing our travel trailer which we picked up Thursday and took out for the first camping trip on Friday.

Your truck _can_ tow at the tow limit. That said, the target number should be GCWR. On our way back, I drove over a CAT Scale with the full load out at a Love's along the route. Steer axel was 3100 lbs, drive axel was 3260 lbs, trailer axel was 3760 lbs for a gross weight of 10,120 lbs. That is 1240 lbs under the vehicle GCWR. I'm really glad we didn't get the ~4200 lb trailer we were considering and settled on the ~3500 lb one.

Also, running a brake controller, WDH, and trailer TMPS, which are important for a safe and pleasurable experience on the highways.

 

Thank you each for the responses!

follow up question regarding the GCWR - Does our Tacoma with just the access cab contribute less to GCWR than say the 2020 TRD off-road thereby more favorable for us to pull a slightly heavier trailer? I wasn’t sure if that model truck was a full cab. Echo Delta Sierra - Are you glad you went with the lighter trailer because 1240 is too close for your comfort to the max vehicle GCWR?

If the camper in question has a dry weight of 4169 and a GVR of 4808 and according to the sticker, our Tacoma has a GVWR of 5350 and a GCWR of 11090, is any of that promising?!

Given the time of year and current world conditions, we are finding used but solid campers like we are seeking incredibly hard to come by and seemingly actually have a realistic opportunity for this one if it would work.

Thank you again to all! We are intimidated and don’t have money to lose and want to make the best decision!

 

We've spent the summer searching for a hybrid for the same reasons you listed. Yes, they're hard to find. The first one we purchased is a 1999 Trail-Lite Cub, 21', about 2800 lbs. It has two fold out beds and a wet room (toilet and shower combined--hate it!). We've been pulling it with our 2013 Sienna without any problems at all. The camper's not quite enough for us, though, so we're buying something a bit bigger and heavier, a 2006 Jayco 25E, 4175 lbs, with a small slide out and a real bathroom. We are also upgrading to a Tacoma double cab 4WD. I'm 64 and will be doing the majority of the towing, driving, set-up, etc. due to my hus
band's health issues. One of the info sources I used was RV Consumer Group where I found a lot of excellent and detailed info about towing as well as RV safety and dependability reviews by model and year. Like you, we have no money to waste. Still, I bought a Hensley Cub articulating hitch. It was very expensive but worth it to eliminate virtually all sway in all situations. It apparently also allows for safe towing close to or 10% above the maximum. I'm curious: don't your Tacoma and your Sienna have the same towing capacity?

 

Yes, an access cab will have more payload (because it weighs less) than a dcsb. 4x4 takes away a bit more. If you load your taco to capacity, and the trailer to capacity, you’re about 900 lb short of your gcwr, so not a lot of margin.... but still under limits. Add ~75lbs for a wdh. Look at your planned travel; are you loading up all kinds of accessories, do you travel light, will you keep the water tanks full, are you traveling long distance for weeks at a time, mountains, or 200 miles to the weekend state park?

Personally, I’ve set ~4250 as my dry weight limit, and will tend to pack light. And it’s just two of us although I do have about 225lbs of armor I’m toting around and I’m tuned. I think you’re starting to push the limits a little. But that only means that you need to recognize that 60-65 should be your target speeds for highway. The few times I’ve towed so far, I find that the Taco does pretty well around town and accelerating. It’s when you start getting above 60mph that air resistance starts to kick in. For example, whatever wind resistance you’re experiencong at 60mph, it’s 56% higher at 75mph.

 

The others have you covered on the “can it”.
I’ll expanded on the “do you want to”

First off, ask if towing the camper a short distance before purchase is possible.
I found after about 4,500 lbs, the towing experience was not enjoyable.
The truck liked lower gears (4th and 3rd) and wet condition with wind made me nervous.

My point is, if you get something too large or heavy, it may make the experience no fun.
Go as light and small as you can and still be “comfortable”.

I love my Tacoma, but I truly believe a lather truck is the way to go for 20’+ campers.
Obviously this is not an option for most people (myself included).

If you have the chance to tow the camper before purchasing, do it.