Tacoma vs 1956 F100

We're comparing the weight of the 56 f100 to the tacoma?? I must have missed that when he said he was questioning towing the 56 f100 with the tacoma

 

I had a 76 F100, 4wd, V8, 4sp manual transmission with super low, 8’ bed etc. It weighed 5300+ lbs. Don’t know what a 56 F100 weighs, I assume it weighs less than my 76 F100. But in any event all F100’ are all steel beasts and are no lightweights. However much it weighs it’s too heavy to tow without brakes behind a Taco. The weight without brakes would make dangerous to tow 800 miles on highways and on downgrades. If it’s towed on a trailer the combined weight will at least be close to tow capacity. Towing that 800 miles especially if you are not an experienced towing is going to be problematic, stressful and not a real good idea. Bottom line I wouldn’t tow that with a Taco.

 

Pickup trucks are notoriously difficult to correctly load onto a trailer, and that's my concern. They're long and wildly front heavy. I looked it up: the 55 with a 390 motor was approximately 2300 on the front axle and 1300 on the rear. There aren't many trailers that a Tacoma can tow and is long enough to balance a pickup with such a huge delta between axles. To properly load a pickup you basically need enough room on the deck to center the truck over the trailers axles, and then you want the f100s front axle to be halfway between the trailer axle and hitch receiver, minimum. But the truck is big and most car haulers are too short to have options on balancing.

As I said earlier, if you front load it, you're going to exceed the tongue weight and thrash the Tacomas suspension. If you rear load it you're not going to make the first mile.

 

We weren't, I was just musing.

 

Agreed. . . Way too many variables .. . Too often there's inexperienced towing newbs who see the brochure of our dinky trucks "6,400 pound towing capacity" but don't consider tongue weight, GCWR, payloads, braking power, mountain downgrade stability, and more.

Anybody with towing experience with Tacoma's , half tons, and 3/4 tons will tell you this isnt a good idea (me included).

People who have only towed with Tacomas, Frontiers, Siennas , and Ridgelines will tell you 'you'll be fine" .

Who would you take advice from.