Traveler trailer towing

Greetings everyone,





I hope this message finds you all well, this is my first post in the forum and it’s regarding towing with the 3rd. Gen 2019 Tacoma 3.5 double cab with tow package. Can anyone be kind enough to share their experience while towing an RV-traveler trailer? I understand that mid size pick ups are not the best for this type of application, but there are RVs that can be towed with the Tacoma if one stays with the hitch weight, and the GVW of the trailer being towed. That being said, I have done some research on the web (mainly youtube) and found a mixture of good and bad. I have found people that are towing 4,500 Lbs. Travel trailers and are doing so with proper precautions of monitoring transmission temperature, and basically going easy if you will where it calls for. There are people that are full time RV travelers pulling trailers that are 3500-4000 lbs using cross over SUV’s and are doing long hauls. But then again I have also seen others who don’t have great things to say about the Taco, one in particular had negative comments about his experience; this person was disappointed about his truck slowing down going uphill and not going more than 65 mph, BRUH!!!!!!! Pulling a trailer even on a flat road is already tough, not to mention uphill and going to what I would consider unsafe speed. What concerns me are the people that have towed trailers that are considered within the tolerable specs and have addressed the need to upside to half ton pick ups. I would like to hear from anyone who’s had experience while towing, and their trailer type, weight, and the whole enchilada. For your input, I thank you in advance CHEERS!!!!!

 

Welcome!
I’m not being snarky here, but there’s a long thread w lots of experience.
I will say; often overlooked is wind resistance and length, most focus solely on weight, but the other two are just as important.
GL

 

Towing | Tacoma World

 

Welcome to the forum

Start here: https://www.tacomaworld.com/forums/towing.34/

 

Thank you guys for the information and for the link, I’ve busy looking/reading at over 20+ pages of information regarding this topic. I was able to find what I was looking for, and have determined what my truck can and cannot tow.

 

I tow a 5100 lb Grand Design 17MKE. Great option. Have towed in mountains of WA, ID, MT and OR. Have the KDMax Pro tune, Roadmaster Active suspension, and replaced the factory transmission cooler with a larger one, and Teknosha P3 brake controller.

 

Towing performance is subjective, and also varies from region to region. My experience was it did wonderfully in the mountains, decent on interstate, but was miserable in the southern Nevada desert’s long gradual grades. It won’t hold any speed in 4th, but has a ton of power in 3rd. It needs a gear between 3-4. It is a “best case scenario” tower. It will do ok as long as all conditions are ideal. Throw in a headwind, and it will be a miserable experience.

 

I have a 2017 Off Road, 6 speed manual trans, double cab short bed. I just posted this, my first experience with towing a 20' travel trailer from California to Kentucky.

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads...ng-experience-with-my-tacoma-ca-to-ky.776498/

 

Welcome to TW,

GVWR!!!!! Stay under your vehicle GVWR and you will be fine. Most people don't pay attention to the GVWR, just the max tow rating of 6,500lbs. I tow a 3800lb trailer fully loaded and I am right at my GVWR with just my wife and myself, recovery box, chairs, 6 gal of extra water, full tank of fuel and my little generator. My Tacoma tow's it fine, feels no different than towing my fully loaded 12,000lb fifth wheel with my Ram 2500. I can't think of a time when I was anywhere near the Max Towing capacity on any of my tow vehicles, but usually right at the GVWR. Like Wire4Money said, those long gradual grades will kill you, I just leave it in S mode and keep the Taco in 3rd and cruise around 3000 to 3500 rpm's, no worries unless you want to go 65 mph. My Ram had trouble on those long Gradual Grades keeping 65 mph, heck even 55 mph. I love my Tacoma for towing a small trailer (18' Starcraft Satelite) and when I get to my destination I can offroad in area's that I would not or could not do with a larger tow vehicle.

 

Thanks to everyone for sharing their experiences, I have found a common denominator on everyone’s opinion; take it easy where needed, monitor your transmission temp and stay within your gvwr

 

I tow a pop-up camper with my mostly stock v6 4x4 sr5. While its smaller and lighter than what many tow I stay under 70 mph. I take it easy up inclines and allow extra room to stop. My trailer is under 2000 pounds but still has trailer brakes. I'd recommend a good brake controller like Red Arc towpro Liberty, which is what it have.

Just drive a bit more defensive when you tow because other drivers aren't always aware of how your vehicle needs more time to stop or maneuver than they do.

 

I wrote about my first experience with a NoBo 19.6 here...
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/my-tow-experience-with-a-nobo-19-6.690623/

 

What trailer is that?

 

It's a Starcraft Satelite 17rb extreme without decals.

https://starcraftrv.com/rvs/travel-trailers/2018-satellite-travel-trailer/satellite-17rb/

 

I tow this setup at 4000lbs and the Tacoma does great.

 

I keep dropping into these threads in hopes that I'll corrupt one of you into making the same bad decisions.

Pop up trailer.

Roomy as fuck.
Fits in the garage.
Goes off road.
Gets amazing gas mileage.
It's towable by a Tacoma.

 

That's a great trailer but towing that isn't the same as the OP's traction on a flat trailer. Loading the tractor and it's position effects toungewieght and how it will handle. Also it needs strapped on so it can't move.