Tacoma towing

I have a 2019 Tacoma dclb TRD off road and I have a friend that needs his 21 ft ranger bass boat and fishing gear towed from Northern CA to Kentucky. My truck has totally stock suspension and 265/70/17 wheels and tires. The best I can figure is the boat and gear weigh about 3100 lbs.will my truck do the job or am I in danger of having problems and possibly screwing my tacoma up

 

The truck will most definitely do the job. I regularly tow 3500# off-road trailer. My recommendations:

• A trailer brake controller - I use Redarc's Tow Pro Elite since they make a plug and play harness for the TRD tow package. This is necessary as every state you will be driving through (IIRC) mandates trailer brakes for your size load.
• An OBDII monitor like the scan gauge two to monitor your trans temps (TP1 coming back from the cooler and TP2 going out of the Tq converter) - this is optional of course but I wouldn't want to tow without being able to see, in real time, how my temps are changing as driving conditions change
• Drive in S4 and with ECT PWR mode to change the shift points. On the freeway be cautious of S5 and S6 OD gears as temps can get dangerous real quick -- read the towing bible linked below for more on this

Please leverage the search function, a derivation of the question "I'm looking to tow ______, will I be able to?" gets asked every couple of weeks. Threads that may be of interest:

• Towing Bible
• Do I need a weight distribution hitch
• Looking to tow 4500# + 2-3 People
• New to Towing

My rig: 2022 Vorsheer XOC (3500 GVWR - 2800# pictured here)

 

Tacoma should tow perfectly fine. Been towing a boat about the same size last summer and had no issues.

 

I hate to be that guy but your towing capacity is in the owners manual...isn't it on the door jam too? But it should be 3500-6400 pounds tow capacity, load capacity (bed of truck) is like 1600 (v6 with tow package), tongue capacity is like 600

I believe the tow package amounts to just having a tranny cooler added...mine has a 4 fin cooler, it sits in front of the condenser and radiator, I can see it through my grill so that's the easiest way to see if you have the tow package.

I've used a car dolly towing an 06 ls430 (gross weight 5100 pounds and it had a bunch of my crap in it

That felt like a lot, granted I was probably at or near the max rating...either way it was noticeable weight...but I didn't feel unsafe at higher speeds either. the truck accelerated and stopped decently,

I would say you're good but if you aren't comfortable towing keep in mind you'll also have to be able to back up and direct the trailer away from obstacles. also turn off over drive. I think I was getting 12-13mpg when towing that car. towing such an expensive loss isn't a good idea for any novice though, if you're only towing 3100 pounds I think you'll be fine, it's just the navigation that you can't account for difficulty wise

 

As @mic_sierra said above, check out the Towing Bible. In short though, you should be fine. A brake controller might not be necessary if his boat trailer has surge brakes, so that'll be important to find out. If it does have electric brakes, definitely get a brake controller.

 

Can it tow it? Yes. How it will behave is another story.
Your DCLB has a payload capacity < 940 lbs so the trailer's tongue load will reduce that. Assuming that the 3100 lbs you mention includes the trailer, then you should have about 10% on the tongue, or 300 lbs. Now your payload capacity just got reduced to < 640 lbs. Payload includes everything you put in the truck, including yourself. You are not likely to exceed the truck's total combined vehicle weight rating, assuming the trailer's weight is included in the 3100 lbs AND you don't pack the bed with another 1000 lbs of stuff.

 

Bass boats are very aerodynamic and easy to pull. A pontoon boat of the same weight is much much harder. My 5.0L 2012 F150 would absolutely not pull our 22’ pontoon boat at Texas interstate speeds, so we upgraded to the 5.7L Tundra. Please have your friend double check his trailer tires, trailer tire air pressure (probably 45 - 50 psi), and grease the trailer bearings / hubs. If the trailer tires and hubs are well maintained you will have zero issues with the tow.

 

The truck can do it just fine.

The question is, how comfortable are you with moving someone else's boat through traffic at high speeds, over multiple days?

 

Thanks for link to the scan gauge!

 

I’m sorry but how is 3100 pound load is gonna damage anything? Max tow rating is 6800 pounds, I wouldn’t go over 5k though, that’s for sure.

 

Should be fine, i aim for not over 80% of max towing. This case about 5400lbs.

 

This boat has the 7 blade round connecter to flat 5 plug and has the electric/hydraulic brake system the does not require a brake controller

 

I towed a 5,000-ish pound trailer from Colorado to Alaska. Drive smart, and you should be fine. I'd recommend two things though:

1) Install a brake controller if the trailer has braking capabilities. It's pretty simple. I installed this one, and it worked just fine: https://www.amazon.com/Reese-Towpower-8508211-Proportional-Brake-EVN/dp/B01M59QRWK/ . You also have to get a relay to plug the controller into an existing plug in the truck.

2) Get a quality tune. My favorite one, especially for towing/hauling, is Overland Tailor; but really any good tune will make a huge improvement.

 

Will be just fine