Towing while Exceeding Max. Payload by about 200 lbs. Yay or Nay?

I’m looking at towing a camping trailer which exceeds my payload by about 130 lbs. at present. By the end of next 5 years I might be exceeding payload by 215 lbs. assuming the kids still tag along with us before they realize mom and dad are completely and totally uncool. We're in a 2021 TRD Sport manual.


Bad idea or ok with appropriate suspension/towing preparation?


Here’s my scenario. Trailer would be approx. 3,700 lbs wet. This figure counts almost everything including trailer, fuel/water, camping gear, bikes and items down to average pantry/groceries we take for longer trips. We weighed most of the usual gear we take with us, less the tent and sleeping equipment the camper would be replacing.


Passengers, including the those in car-seats are about 490 lbs, plus another 30-35 lbs of the inevitable flotsam and jetsam that ends up inside the cab, amounts to about 525 lbs. I’ve calculated the tongue weight at 15% of the trailer wet at 543 lbs.

Total payload, with tongue weight, is I think around 1,075 lbs. (I’ve round up some of the numbers by a few lbs.). My sticker payload is 945 lbs.


We see the trailer being towed around for up to 6 hours at a time before reaching a destination and being unhooked. We’d likely make 8-10 trips a year. So I wager say 120 hours or so annually of driving with the payload being exceeded by the 130-215 lbs range. We hope there'll be at least a few longer trips where we’d be putting in 8-12 hours days of driving as well. 80% is ashphalt of variable condition encountered in Eastern Canada, remainder is a good deal of washboard and fire-roads.


I’m guessing there are two camps on this one. Some will say I shouldn’t be towing/hauling exceeding payload by any degree, including by 130-215 lbs. Others will say no problem as long as I make the appropriate suspension mods etc. I was always in the former camp, being careful to not exceed a payload of 90% of my sticker maximum.


Obviously I’m asking because we really want this trailer but won’t be getting a bigger and better tow vehicle for at least 6-7 years down the road. Hoping I can get some seasoned insight from both sides.


After a good deal of research, here is my initial plan:

1. Suspension Damping – Dobinson MRA / OME BP-51 / Elka damping so I can play around with compression, rebound, etc. to adjust for the truck being loaded vs. unloaded as the case may be

2. Suspension Springs – Heavier-duty all around, especially in the rear. New leaf pack designed for constant load exceeding 800-900 lbs.

3. Firestone Ride-Rite or similar air bag type helper in addition to heavy duty suspension to assist when trailering.

4. Weight distributing hitch – no brainer for me


I know heavier springs for high payloads means a rougher ride when not trailering or hauling at max. payload. But as a daily driver I rarely do more than 30 km daily in the truck, so even though I won’t be trailering 85% of the year, I’m ok with a stiffer ride. As a younger, much dumber man, I drove a VW that sat barely 3 pancakes worth above the asphalt.

Am I crazy to think I can still do the daily commute with a leaf pack designed for constant loads exceeding 800 lbs. mated to adjustable shocks without hating the total 45 minutes sitting in the truck?

Am I correct that airbags/helper springs like Ride-Rites allow me to have a slightly less hefty leaf pack (say 600 lbs contant load) when trailering?

As for budget, I am fortunate enough to be able to afford a good bit of the above stuff. We’re looking at buying a trailer after all. But I want to spend that money intelligently (as much as I can still claim to be intelligent by proposing to haul in the above scenario in the first place…).


Be brutal ladies and gentlemen, with your insights, advice and criticisms. All this is the product of super-sized dreams, with enough spare change to make them come true.


Cheers!

 

I'm not gonna specifically say yes because technically you're over capacity... I will say that assuming you're a cautious driver as your family will be with you and that driving in the maritimes is already an adventure... take a short jont to feel out everything. Also know that i've carried about the same with no issues. Only two mods to your truck I would recommend is Road Master Active suspension and a tune. I'm biased but trust me.

The aerodynamic of your trailer will be a huge influence on the trip. To get around the payload concern, trip pulling more things in the trailer that wouldn't be needed while in motion

 

It's generally frowned on to suggest anyone do something unsafe on this forum.
We can can't/won't tell you to break the law either.

I know a guy that would tow it.
Especially when you are "that close" to being ok.

I can tell you you, "You and the truck will NOT enjoy it".
You'll need to let the engine do the work. Let it eat.
Like 3,000 RPM eat.

Best of luck to you. Enjoy the time with the kids while you can
It doesn't last long.

 

.,.

 

Don't forget to add a transmission cooler.

 

I've done a bit of camper trailering. I also noticed that the manufacturers gross combined weight ratings are a bit exaggerated compared to real life at least with a wind sail camper. I had a 2500 series pickup towing a 36' double slide camper. 9500 gvw. Everything was within the rating for the truck but it didn't feel like it. It wasn't scary but you could feel it. When I sold it the purchaser had a 1/2 ton pick up. He said it towed it great no problem. I doubt he was within all the parameters of the truck. Some people have a better tolerance to overloaded. I myself wouldn't be comfortable going over 80% of max on any one of the parameters. You might want to look into legality of overloaded. Something tragic were to happen, they just might blame you for being overloaded.

 

It’s doable
It will be slow
Use 4th gear only
Stopping distances will need extended
Becareful
Have fun

 

You are going to get opinions from "it is good for twice that weight" to "your truck and family will die five miles out of town".
Neither is probably accurate, the truth is (as almost always) in the middle.

My take:
The truck will do the job.
That said, it will be a tiring, uncomfortable & stressful drive.

This engine has the off idle torque of a moped, you need to keep it spinning at 3000+ rpm to make power although this doesn't seem to hurt it.

Driving in town & slow speed maneuvering will be a stressful pain in the @$$ -- highway driving gets old real quick listening to the engine scream and having to downshift for every hill and even in windy conditions.

On secondary roads you might find yourself howling along in second gear on a hill with a long line of traffic cursing behind you because it won't pull the weight in third. You will of course have electric brakes on the trailer, good thing as the truck brakes while fine for normal use aren't confidence inspiring in heavy duty service.

It will also suck gas like it is going out of style, think single digits.
My ancient F-250 with a 460 V8 will get similar mileage while doing the same job effortlessly.

Part of the problem isn't the weight but the wind, you are trying to pull a huge box down the road, lots of big flat surfaces for the wind to play with - much different than an equal weight of a flatbed with a car on it for example.

Rather than super springs the Roadmaster kit or airbags would probably be nicer to live with for daily driving. Get a 2 low kit as well.

 

Have you looked at alternative trailers to tow? - smaller?...
Going solo or with 1 other person is one thing, having kids around is another.

I'll tell ya now that this little 'hut' weighs in around 1,000 ~ 1,200 and for the most part the truck doesn't know it's there,
until it does. I run ETC and 4th most of the time but have had to drop down to 3 to pull an incline - quite surprised actually,
and gas mileage was in the teens. Probably carry 300-400 pounds of 'stuff' in the truck bed and 200-300 in the cab.

 

I think I exceeded the payload in my old 2nd gen. I towed a Mk4 jetta across town with a heavy equipment trailer. It did it ok, but stopping is sketchy. I wouldn’t do it for a road trip for sure.

 

If your tongue "calculations" are closer to 10% than 15% then you are ok.
A lot of us carrying bigger trailers in here: https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/show-us-what-you-tow.27460/

Our Hideout is 3800lbs dry, and 5000lbs ready to camp. EQ hitch, brake controller, Friction-Sway, E loads and it's been fine for over ten years with our 2005 and now 2017.

Have fun camping.

 

Dude you are over complicating things. Just bag the rear and drive like you have some sense. When I had my MT Tacoma I pulled 6K a few times. Way too much to pull even once a month. 3K is a good weight. 4K is about the max I would pull as a monthly thing at distance. You don't need 3/4 of the stuff you listed. Have fun and don't pull into a place you have to back up the trailer. Reverse is too tall for backing up a trailer without slipping the clutch, or put it in 4lo.

 

I'd pass on this, but not for safety reasons. I have a manual tacoma, no way I'd suffer trying to tow and haul that much with it.

If you have to reverse, what are you going to do? Ha. Seriously, bye clutch.

 

All of that is just band-aide solutions. Seriously just get a bigger truck…and all of those worries go away. A Tundra DC6.5’ bed has a payload of 1800 lbs. Simple rule of thumb for hauling and towing always get twice what you need, your nerves will thank you.

Have towed (earth moving equipment) most of my life, overkill=peace of mind.

 

Manufacturers advertised weights are way lighter than they truly are. Also, batteries and propane are typically on the tongue adding quite a bit. You won’t know how far over weight until you weigh it.

 

You need to weigh on the scales to really know the tongue weight - in your case being so close especially. I tow a 4100 lb micro Minnie and it does fine but so far shorter trips. Not fun though. And don’t forget the weight of the weight distribution hitch.

 

This comment is offensive to mopeds...

Seriously though, I pull a 3k boat and trailer combo. That engine screams with just that load. Pulls it great though.

 

It is possible, but I might not with my whole family in it.
I had a tundra. It was awesome for towing but sucked in just about every other head to head battle with the taco. I do miss the towing capacity though.
I tow at near capacity with the taco once or twice a month during winter picking up firewood and downed trees here in Big Sur, CA. Its all winding coastal highway and up and down steep dirt mountain roads. It does fine. But these are short trips and I'm the slow guy on the highway esp out of stoplights, and creep in 4lo on the mountain roads. I used to cruise around like there wasn't a trailer attached in the tundra.
Just be slow and smart. Use the ECT button so it doesnt search for gears constantly.
I mean if you blow it up towing you will know for sure not to do it with the next one you get.

 

If you scroll through the threads regarding camping photos I think you will find many beautiful Tacomas with great looking rigs with things like big front bumpers, winch's, roof top tents, etc that must exceed the max payload when the people and camp gear are added. They survive.....Not saying it is a good idea.

 

It’s only illegal if you get caught.