Towing 3700 pounds long distance, how comfortable?

I’ve asked similar questions before but I’m getting closer to pulling the trigger on the trailer. I’m looking at an Rpod 180. 2900 pounds dry. Fairly aero dynamic. It’s just my wife and I so payload shouldn’t go over 800 regularly.

Truck is a 2020 sport with no external cooler. A few points:

• I love my Tacoma. I have no interest in a full size again.
  
• I know gas mileage will suck but even for the amount of kms I’ll be towing it’s still not too economically relevant.
• I’ve towed a very heavy fifth wheel with my f150 years ago so I’m not new to the performance hit that towing puts on a truck.

I’m going to travel 10’s of thousands of kms with this trailer across Canada a few times and there will be hills. Northern Ontario, eastern Quebec and at least once across the Rockies.

I’d like opinions on this combination. Thanks!

 

I’ve done it with my 2020 Trd OR
That exact model the 180
It’s not ideal because the trailer is far from dry weight when we used it.

All that said… it was no problem with a good brake controller and taking my time/being willing to do 50mph in the right lane on passes

Id do it again

 

You’ll be fine. Get a good brake controller and a weight distribution hitch. You know the downsides already - poor fuel economy and a gutless engine. I towed a lot with my 3rd gen and it was never unsafe or unstable, just really slow.

 

My general advice: I think you'll like it.

I won't speak much on technicals, because you already commented on the very reasonable expectations of towing. Your assessment is accurate.

Spend some extra money and work on converting your Rpod to be a fully independent boondocking machine. A 200 Ah lithium battery bank, charge monitor, and a portable solar panel go a long ways. You are living the small trailer life now, take advantage and get away from the crowds, go places that your 5th wheel couldn't.

As far as pulling it, my general experience is that as long as I don't try to keep up with traffic, life is good. I stay in the slow lane with the slow trucks, enjoy the music and scenery. I try to detour away from the main highways as often as possible, and put in as much "fuck around" time as I can into the itenerary. You never know when you randomly roll up on an unexpected coffee shop, farmers market, street festival, county fair, or whatever. It's awesome to have the freedom to say "hey, that looks weird. Let's check it out for a minute."

Point being, if the map says it's an 8 hour drive and I have a 9 hour schedule, it kind of sucks. 6 hours of driving under a 12 hour deadline? That's a bit more fun. When the trailer is hitched, the more freedom you can budget into your drive time, the better off you'll be.

I put several thousand miles on my popup annually. It's taught me to find enjoyment in the unexpected, that the less you plan out your vacation, the more you improvise on the fly, the more fun it can be. That's the joy of small trailers. It's a wander enabler. I think the more you embrace that idea, the more you'll enjoy the towing experience.

 

My only other input is th add the cooler that you mentioned the truck not having. You don’t want to ruin your transmission.

 

I assume you mean tranny cooler. If you don’t have one then you don’t have the tow package. If you don’t have the tow package then you are towing over tow capacity limit. I thought TRD’s all came with the tow package (but I may be wrong on that). First thing you need to do is verify you have the tow package (with both external tranny cooler and engine oil cooler).
My rule of thumb re towing weight is not to exceed 2/3 tow capacity loaded. By not exceeding 2/3 your tow experience will be less tiring, less stressful, less hassle, less anxiety.

 

Sometime in 2020 Toyota stopped installing the external transmission coolers.

 

It’s got the the tow package.

 

Wow! Thanks for the info. Seems kind of dumb of Toyota not to include them with tow package.
OP definitely install an external tranny cooler.

 

We have a 178 and love it. With r pods you don't want to over load them, I don't carry any water in the tanks, I bring a 6 gal jug and fill up at the camp site.

 

I have a 3500# (Gross) Vorsheer XOC and an RTT on my Taco with a Decked drawer setup. OME-005 Heavy suspension on 275 70 17 KO2s. You'll be fine towing at that weight, just remember the TRD Sport comes wired for a brake controller so installing one is on you. I went with a Redarc Tow Pro Elite and it has performed well this past year that I have been full time living on the road.

 

My wife and I pulled a 5x10 Hiker for 2000 miles (Indiana to Phx via ColoRADo) two weeks ago. Flat, 65 mph and no wind, 18-19 mpg. Add cross wind, drop to 14 mpg in a hurry. We had 370 lbs of gear (weighed all when we were home on a bathroom scale as we carried stuff in) and the empty Hiker with a 115 lbs tongue. I added blue Sumo Springs before the trip, glad to have them once I was pulling (they made contact when the trailer was hitched). I didn't feel any need to do more than 65 mph, but @Rock Lobster and I have a similar mindset to travel. I didn't do trailer brakes and controller, but after this trip I will be adding - had a somewhat fast required stop going through Lincoln NE.

 

I am looking for some advice on suspension upgrades, and this seemed like a good thread to revive for it. Please let me know if I should start my own thread and if I should go to the suspension sub-forum too.

I have a 2021 TRD OR. Everything is stock, but I do have the OTT tune. I am getting a camper this summer that weights about 3600 pounds dry. I estimate it'll be no more than 4100 fully loaded the way my wife and I camp, possibly under 4000. Otherwise, this is just my daily driver. I'm in Alaska so there won't be much camping unless its May - October.

My plan so far:

• Redarc Liberty brake controller
• Monitor trans temps (I have a Carista/OBD Fusion already)
• Probably add a trans cooler (I believe the 21 doesn't have that in the towing package anymore)
• E2 Fastway WDH
• Upgrade suspension (more below)

Now on to my questions... I have no interest in a lift, I just want to improve the ride and sag while towing, even though the WDH will already help with that some. I'm thinking about doing Bilstein 4600s and blue Sumo Springs.

Would the 4600s and Sumo Springs work well together? I'm just not sure about the travel I'll still get from the 4600s.

My wallet tells me I should just do these upgrades in the rear - any advice on whether its worth it to do it in the front too?

Anything I'm overlooking here?

 

Update on this. We’re leaning towards a 171 instead of the 180 after checking them out which gets weight down even more. It’s just the 2 of us 95% of the time. It should be a pretty good pairing with the Tacoma. Again, not expecting a sports car.

 

A good WDH was fine with my 22 OR. At 65 on 2 lane highway, no sway even with semis in opposing lane. It was the powerband/trans gearing that sucked.

 

Your setup and goals are very similar to what wife and I have done. I have a 2023 TRD OR, camper with a loaded weight of 4000lbs, Redarc Liberty, Fusion and a good WDH with sway cont'l.

I highly recommend going to 5100's because they drastically reduce body roll in both front to rear and side to side. I'm not up to speed on the differences between 4600 and 5100 so the 4600 may do the same thing. I HIGHLY recommend doing both front and rear. Doing the front too will absolutely help with nose dive and body roll reduction.

I'm also interested in a trans cooler but haven added one.

Here's a link to my thread in case your interested in a few more details:
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/3rd-gen-travel-trailer.795383/

 

Have you spent a little time in both and visualized how you live in each? I like how the 171 doesn't have the slide out.... simple but the bathroom is a little tight. Bed is the same. Something my wife and I remind ourselves of is "we're doing this to spend time ourside.... not inside". The more space we have inside, the less time we spend outside.

Also, go back and look at both on a different day after you have studied them. There's a good chance your realize some new things.

 

That’s our thought too. We won’t be inside that often. It’s mostly to sleep and shelter. We don’t really need the slide out space and it just seems like a weak point as it ages. Bathroom size is something we can deal with. We aren’t really big people and I mainly want one with a bathroom because my 58 year old prostate hates a full night of sleep.

 

This is a nice setup!