What are you towing?

I’m thinking about getting a travel trailer to haul with my 2021 TRD OR.
I’m just kinda confused as to what this thing can realistically haul. I see the towing capacity is about 7000lbs(ish)
I was figuring with that I could get something around 4000+ pounds.. but I just stopped at a trailer dealership and the sales guy straight up said there is no way my truck could haul a 4200lb 20’ trailer. And if I tried to get a trailer that size, I could only take it on short trips that involve no hills? I want to take his word for it as it’s what he does for a living, and why would he try to lie and NOT be able to sell me something?
On that note, what kind of trailers are you guys towing? How big are they? What’s your experience with them?

 

Ehhhh..... The truck will pull it.

But I’m kind of on the side of the sales guy.
I wouldn’t want to haul a +4,000 lbs empty weight trailer far with a Tacoma.
Short trips with trailer brakes - maybe.

No Thanks. I’ll pass.

 

Well you should never tow at the max capacity IMO, especially if there are lots of hills. It will put a lot of stress and wear on your taco. The towing capacity for a 4x4 DC V6 is 6800# i believe.

Where i live, we have a lot of hills. I wouldnt tow anything more than around 4500#.

 

Towed a ‘68 Chevelle on a car trailer about 325 miles with some inclines. No issues, but don’t think I would want to do it across country.

 

Is that 4500 fully loaded, or dry?

 

I really would not want to tow anything over a total of 5000 pounds very regularly or over long distances. The truck can do it but won't be happy about it nor will you feel very relaxed or comfortable while driving.

 

Fully loaded.

If you wanna tow 6500-6800# regularly, then full size is the best bet.

 

20’, 2800/296 dry, 3250/400 fully loaded. Perfect weight for my 2018 OR with helper springs.

 

That's the first anecdote I've heard of an RV sales guy turning away a customer. His cup must have runneth over this past year.

He's right though. It technically can, but really it shouldn't. RVs are different animals than other trailers. They're low density wind catchers that will bully the snot out of your truck. If it were me, I'd cap the dry weight at 3500. Actually if it were really me I would be happy sticking with a gross weight below 3500.

 

Landscape trailer with my Kubota BX-2380 - somewhere north of 3500 lbs total weight.
With my '06 TRD OR AC 4.0 V6 MT no trouble (no brake controller though).
Haven't yet towed it with '21 TRD OR AC 3.5 V6 AT - not until the brake controller is hooked up.

 

12” cargo trailer or 22” boat - both <4000lbs

 

I agree with the other guys. The rv is a different animal but I towed a load of commercial mailboxes a couple hours to a job site today in the rain at 70mph and it did well.

 

Usually the trailer/camper guys will tell you "yeah yeah yeah,,, it'll be fine!" So if he's telling you don't, them don't! Also, you know you have an honest salesmen. 4k dry, 20ft long, and probably 10ft tall is way too big in my honest opinion. Look at your tag in the door jamb, you'll probably be at max before gear and family.

 

I tow a dual axel, 4,200 lb (dry) 26' travel trailer with this truck and it can do it. With water, generator, passengers, firewood, etc. it gets really heavy. Surprisingly that engine has extra power left in it to accelerate when already at freeway speeds up very steep grades. On to the negatives... the transmission absolutely burns up, even with the tranny cooler and a secondary aftermarket one. Lets not forget about the 9mpg I get towing this thing. I have no desire to tow that trailer more than 300 miles. Stopping for gas that often gets old very quickly. I was gifted the trailer after I bought my truck and if I had the choice I would have a smaller trailer or bigger truck. All that said, I'm still happy with the truck and still take the trailer out.

 

Works fine for my 2k dry pop-up...