Long distance towing input

Hi all, I’m new to the taco world as I recently purchased a ‘21 Tacoma.

Since the new truck the wife and I pulled the trigger on a nice used camper. Now we are debating whether we should cancel our plane tickets for a planned vacation and take the taco/camper on a long tow from MA to FL.

Here is the relevant info:
Camper weighs 4,400lbs dry, 5,600 packed to the gills.

The truck is a SR5 ‘21 Tacoma double cab, obviously with the tow package. Myself, wife, a 5yo and 9 month old will be occupying the cab (about 430lbs with clothes and car seats).

The trip will be about 1,600 one way 3,200 total over 2 and a half weeks.

By my estimation, I’m within all the printed capabilities of the truck but don’t have much wiggle room. I’d be towing with sway bars, and be doing under 65 mph down I95. I don’t believe elevation change is a major issue.

So my question is, am I significantly shortening the life of my engine/transmission doing this type of trip? Am I better off keeping the plane tickets?

 

Tow bro. The only way to go. That is just me though. Stupid rhymes aside, I'd say do it although you are pulling a hell of a lot of trailer. Other members have towed similar weights without issue.

• Note: at that weight you will need a brake controller and the install is simple since you already have the towing package. Check out my build thread linked in my sig if you want to see my setup and brake controller install thread. I use RedArc others have had great success with the Tekonsha and others.
• I would seriously consider installing sumo springs, a helper spring, or air bags - at that weight you'll have some serious sag
• I would also get an ODBII reader app or device like the scan.gaugeII and program in TF1 and TF2 temperatures so you can monitor the trans temps leaving the pan (hottest) and returning from the cooler.

My $.02. Read the towing bible that is stickied in this forum and check out my towing post in my build thread if you want more detail. Post pics when you are on the road.

 

Enjoy the road. My camper is a little smaller/lighter than yours, but I have towed it annually from Texas to Charleston, then to Malibu, then to the Black Hills, to the Rockies, back over the Great Smokies... No issues whatsoever.


The one great big caveat is that you have to enjoy long hours on the road. If the thought of 6 to 8 hours of windshield time sounds miserable to you, keep those plane tickets.

I also recommend getting off that big ugly interstate and taking the secondary highways at every opportunity. Thats the whole point of driving. You won't be going fast with a trailer anyway, and remember that the interstate system was purpose designed to bypass the interesting parts of America. Seize the moment and go explore the back road.

 

This thread has sufficiently been answered. Thank you sir.

 

This 100%. This get's to the core of @Pescador710 's question perfectly. If OP is the "get there then the fun begins" rather than "the fun is the drive and the destination" then he needs to keep the plane tickets. Quickest way to figure out if you are that type is to avoid interstate travel. If he is stressed because he is not making good time then he has his answer.

 

I may have an unpopular opinion here but I do have 45 years of towing experience ( for a living not just twice a year). Safety wise you should probably stay under 80% of your max capacity. You are getting close to your max and any road hazard you encounter could end very poorly. With kids on board you also have distractions to deal with. Car manufacturers also overstate some capabilities of their veh.( MPG ,and towing come to mind) . Ram claims37000lbs behind a 3500, that's what I pull behind my Western Star,can it be done,yes but only under ideal conditions. That is just my 2 cent opinion not meant to incite debate.

 

Agreed. Part of road tripping is to drive by a weird museum, hiking trail, farmers market, or even a coffee shop, and having enough wiggle room in your itinerary to say "hey, lets stretch our legs and find out what that's about."

My friends always ask how we find all the cool stuff. Simple. I don't make good time.

 

Thanks for all the replies!

So far, no one seems concerned that I’ll be doing long term damage to the engine/transmission which is my primary concern along with the usual dangers of being on the road.

I am not turned off by long drives but I’ve never done more than 6hrs with the family. I’m willing to give at least one try.

I have installed the trailer brake controller and towed the trailer home and to a tire place (about hour total). So I got an idea of how it feels and how often I’m going to be stopping for gas! But again I’m concerned about stressing the transmission and causing problems down the road.

Also we are packing relatively light. I’m not filling any water tanks, or bring any thing that’s all that heavy. The propane tanks will likely be the heaviest items. My guesstimate is the trailer will weigh just over 5,000 lbs once packed. But still closer to Toyota’s written capacity than I’d like for a 3,000 mile trip.

I’ve been towing with the sway bar hitch that the previous owner passed along but I am considering weight distributing hitches- if any one has any suggestions…

PS I’m slowly making it through the towing bible

 

Seems like you've done/are doing all the responsible things, so I assume towing it to a tire place meant you got a spare tire or two for it? Besides that, I can't think of too much more you need, other than proper means to jack it up if you do have a blowout. I think the truck will be just fine; as long as you've got your backup supplies for your camper, since you plan to be in it for most of the trip, sounds like you're about ready to go live the American Dream!

 

It’s not ideal, but can be done. Keep it at 60 or so, over 60 it starts to guzzle fuel. Take extra gas cans, you will have a 160-200 mile range. I’m 2/3 through our 2500 mile trip. It does it. Towing is subjective, but I will eventually go full size.

 

Well we made it! MA to Disney in three days. Then Orlando to the lower keys! Hope the return trip goes as smoothly… but forget about that for now, where’s my fishing pole!

 

One small thing I’ll add, hopefully I didn’t miss it somewhere in the responses….you might also want to go with 5K mile oil change intervals instead of the 10K that Toyota recommends for certain drivers and driving conditions.

You probably already know that, but a lot of people around here seem to think the 10K oil change interval is for everyone regardless of driving type. Just my 2 cents!

 

Just did a CT to Seattle, WA road trip towing a full 6x12 Uhaul, almost 3000miles in total with my new 22 TRD OR.

We took the north route with stops in PA, Chicago, Minnesota, SD (Badlands National Park), WY (Yellowstone), MN, ID, then finally WA.

I was glad I bought the manual for certain parts of the trip the Yellowstone/Badlands parts had drives up/down elevation at 10 percent grade on twisty windy roads! I was white knuckling it through those parts, but other than that it was a joy to drive.

 

Ah man, Big Fish, one of my favorite movies, along with Second Hand Lions. And farther up the chain, "take the secondary highways". Someday, it would be great to converse over coffee

 

I was in process of responding, "holy buckets, Disney from MA?!?! Then I realized it was the FL Disney, not the CA Disney. We did a road trip last fall to see my daughter at U Mass Amherst, from Phoenix. That was quite the trip, but it was 4 days, every day another hour earlier!

 

Fantastic choice in movies there.