Seeking towing advice.

Keep in mind trailer tires like to blow out, on a double axle it’s a bit of a pain, on a single axle you’re dropping anchor and lucky to get it stopped under control..

 

if this thing is going to be used often for a biz, I'd defiantly go double axle.

 

Hmm ok thank you for advice.

 

Didn’t think about that, that’s a great point!

 

for sure 'true', but as a 'tower' you can expect that entertain yourself with it. It would be so boring otherwise if you couldn't get mad at anyone - imagine that. Just make sure you have a dash cam taking nice videos.

 

Im over exaggerating a bit. I did swap out the Tacoma master cylinder with a rear disc conversion. Big difference in braking power.

I pull with a diesel and would never consider my tacoma to pull anything.

 

@Junkhead You decided on a double axle with brakes yet or what?

Personally I think its a no brainer, 1000+ miles hilly terrain with your truck that is probably over or close to max payload as it is and especially if you're using it for business.

One other thing that makes towing easier is the wind resistance, even a little trailer like the one in post 1 is a sail, if it works I'd look at a v-nose.

Safe travels...

 

Yes gonna look at some trailer places on Saturday

Double axle and brakes.

Thanks man!

 

In my experience, the Tacoma does fine in the mountains. Where it is miserable is the southwest desert where you will have a slight grade for 20 miles.

 

Worst towing experience I had in 8k miles was the climb leaving Las Vegas south on 95 into a headwind, that was a perfect time I wish the torque converter locked up in 3rd gear.

 

asterisks mean stuff….

 

Original post edited to include asterisks

 

I’ve towed many different trailers for tens of thousands of miles and not once have I had a blowout. If you take care of your equipment it tends to take care of you. Still prefer a dual axle but for other reasons more important than a blowout.

 

Update:

Decided to go with single axle, 6x12 enclosed trailer with brakes. 3500 pound axle and trailers dry weight is 1400.
I have installed Teconsha P2 brake controller as well.

I used it for my move and miscalculated how much our furniture/stuff would weigh. I would say trailer was 4K pounds at least, but I kind of had no choice. That thing was packed to the brim.

I towed that thing for 500 miles through mountain passes. About 60% of the way I was fighting strong head and crosswinds, truck got 11 MPGs (22.5L per 100) The rest of the way I had tail and crosswinds and managed to get 14 MPGs (17L per 100) All of this was expected since I also had at least 400 pounds in the back of my truck and a mattress that acted like a sail.

Well I’ve got 33s, sliders, front stump bumper and winch too. I’m really glad I went with 2” lift and upgraded my rear leafs to medium Dobinsons. By the way, I do not have a sway bar.

I will say I love this little truck even more now. It does everything I ask it to do, not once it failed me. I did not need to go past 4K to climb hills there, I wasn’t flooring it either. The engine didn’t seem to care much as long as it was 3k+ RPMs. A lot of 3-5, 5-3 shifts and 4th gear used a lot. Did not use 6th gear. I’m running premium SFOB tune on 94E0 chevron gas.

I never went faster than 60, maybe for few seconds here and there on straight roads with no wind. Otherwise 50-55 max most of the way, was a 10.5 hour drive. There were a few times where it felt very uncomfortable due to very strong wings driving at 55 or so but I just slowed down to 45-50 and it was all good.

I definitely would not want to do this often, well I won’t need to for a long while because I already moved and planning to stay at my new place for a long while.

Anyway here are some pics, if anyone has any questions I would be happy to help.

First pic, I’m climbing a pretty steep and long hill. Second pic shows RPM and speed when climbing that hill.

 

@Junkhead . Thanks, Serge. Appreciate the detailed update. Were you climbing that hill in 3rd or 4th gear?

 

You are welcome man.

It was 3rd gear.

 

Good choice on the single axle trailer. For something small, it's the only way to fly IMO.

1: only gotta buy 2 tires every few years instead of 4
2: Only 2 hubs to babysit
3: Way easier to maneuver by hand (or with a cheap manual dolly) into a tight spot for storage than a dual axle trailer.

#3 is the most important. I have a boat that I keep tucked behind the garage when it's not summer time. There's no way I can get it where it goes while hooked up to the truck. It's a bit of an ordeal getting it where it goes, and requires either 4 big buddies or one powercaster type thing. As such, it ends up sitting where it shouldn't be because it's such a pain in the ass to get where it should be. My old boat was on a single axle and I could get it put away on my own in 2 minutes. If it's easier to deal with, you'll use it more. If it's a pain in the ass to deal with, you'll jump through a lot of hoops coming up with workarounds to get jobs done without having to deal with that damn trailer....which is also a pain in the ass.

 

Funny you mention that.

While I was still living in my condo, I had to get a stall at the storage yard. They ended up giving me the absolute worse stall, it was impossible to back it in all the way by truck so last couple feet i had to maneuver it by hand.

Not sure if I would’ve been able to do it with a double axle.

So far I’ve been using my trailer quite a bit for home Reno’s and my business and it’s been working out just great.