4500 lbs camper too much?

Well said. I have a Chevy Suburban 4x4 for towing the big stuff.

 

The Appalachians are not the scale of the rockies but they are hills none the less.

 

That's not fair! You're an Islander made from the grit of red dirt roads and know nothing of limits. I too am made from the red dirt of Old Town Rd in the Baltic.

 

I'll skip the debate on if it's possible, because sure it is. If it was for a one time vacation for two weeks, ok. But for a few years? It's not going to be a pleasant experience towing in the Tacoma or living in a small camper with a family.

If you are going to live in the camper for a few years, get the bigger one that you want, and then get the proper vehicle to tow it. Don't do it the other way around and buy the small camper for the existing truck. You are going to want the space to live in since you're not going on a two week vacation; it's going to be home for a long time. Sell your Tacoma and buy the full size truck of your choice.

And if you have to tow over a real mountain pass, like 10k feet, good luck with the Tacoma; you might be able to go 20 MPH climbing to the Eisenhower Tunnel in CO while praying you don't join the other people on the side of the road with overheated tow vehicles.

 

7.5ft x 27ft 4600lbs empty 5-5500lbs loaded. upgrade to larger trans cooler is recommended

 

Probably not.

 

Exactly.

 

Do you realize you're on a forum for Tacomas? It's not the toy truck that's stupid.

 

There are a lot of factors to consider. Absolutely. I towed a 25ft 5,000lb camper once or twice a month for a year. I have the towing package , trans cooler...etc. weight distribution hitch and trailer brakes.

Yes you can do it.

will your truck be happy about doing it....probably not.

my wife and son and the pup always followed in her 4Runner.

it’s not that you can’t do it, I just wouldn’t rely on it to go “across country”

Our trips were no longer than a 2-3 hour drive.
Gas mileage is awful and you have to keep it in 4th no OD or it will be searching for gears.


I like to be realistic. People on here seem condescending in my opinion throwing calculations at you.

Moral of story is I wouldn’t do it long term. Just not meant for it.

Weekend trips sure. Long term...just wouldn’t do it.

 

A fellow I worked with had several different truck trailer combinations over the years - a couple of family campers and a hunting rig with 4WD. His advice was pretty good - take the tow rating and divide by 2, then go trailer shopping. I violated that rule - once - and regretted it the first time out. Borrowed a lighter trailer that fit his formula and sure enough, the truck (F150 4WD) was way happier. We were living in Wyoming - so it had to deal with mountain grades, derated HP for altitude (3% per 1000 ft) - and the infamous Wyoming wind. Ended up selling my heavier trailer and downsizing to make it work. Lesson learned $$$$$$

 

All cars and trucks are junk. Buy a Donkey if you want something to last. Toyota makes a great product, but for towing a big trailer, it's a pile of shit.

Mine works for what I use it for, small trailer works great for me, it's really just a base camp for when we get back from a good day of wheeling.

I like a smaller trailer, because I can get in places that you can't get to with a large trailer. Check this out, 8250 elevation and no one around. You would never get here with a 25' trailer being towed by a Tacoma. Huge cliffs and tight turns, a big trailer would send you to the bottom of the mountain in a twisted pile of junk.

 

26 ft 4400lbs empty, about 5200 ready to camp. And my 06 airbags and WD hitch.

It is all it wants, 8 mpg and feels like killing my truck.

Long story short, kept the Taco for work and back, got a 14 GMC YukonXL for towing duty.

 

YukonXL....Real nice vehicle there. Well said.

 

Couldn’t agree more.

I have the tacoma still and now I pull the camper with a 2020 3500 duramax. Truck doesn’t even feel the camper. Makes life much easier.

 

Damn there's a lot of dumb pu_____ on TW.

Lmao

 

We pull a hybrid camper that's around 3100 lbs with propane and batteries (but unloaded). Likely closer to 4k when loaded. It tows fine. But it's a total PITA when you're on a long trip, especially in hilly areas. You have to constantly have your foot on the throttle, cruise control in these trucks sucks when towing. It either backs all the way off or mashes on the gas. Gas mileage is around 10-11 mpg. We've done 1200-1500 mile trips each of the past few summers. I think I'm retiring the camper to jaunts under 100 miles round trip up and down the coast. When we hang it up in 12 or so years I'll likely pop for another larger camper mated with a larger diesel pickup. It won't handle as well as my tacoma when uncoupled, but will make for fewer headaches when out on the road. I do think that the profile of the camper makes a huge difference. Our hybrid pop out camper is a bit taller than most trailers and has a blunt front. It's almost like you're towing a sail. A lower profile would definitely handle much better.

 

None of the trailers I've seen on here are "big" lol, more like fun sized that you can easily pull behind a tacoma. A 40 foot 5th wheel triple axle is a big trailer.

 

But a Tacoma can pull that just fine.
Up mountains and down the other side.
I sure would like to see that.

 

About a decade ago, I met a guy at an autism 5K/fun run who owned an '06 AC SR5 4x4 V6/auto and was using it to pull a tandem-axle food trailer/chuckwagon with relative ease...

 

It's ok there's a lot of pompous panzis on here. Definitely pushing it on the weight though. I would be pretty concerned about the longevity of the drive train and the practicality of getting maybe 10mpg