Another “How’d it tow?” Thread

I’m not going to lie, I was nervous. I just bought (or should I say “stole”) a used camper from an action site and hauled it back home today. It’s a 28’ Gulfstream weighing in at around 5300lbs. I was worried about the towing capacity on my ‘21 Tacoma and whether or not it would make the 3 hour trip on I-64 from Kentucky to West Virginia. I was pleasantly surprised. With the weight distribution hitch, I was able to negotiate the hills at around 55-6mph while maintaining under ~2700rpms. Was it a comfortable drive? No. But it’s doable. Just don’t look at your fuel economy. Next trip is a long haul to my Florida property, but that might be a job for my Silverado. Happy (and safe) towing!

 

That’s just a disaster waiting to happen. I’d definitely use the Silverado to tow down to Florida.

 

Maybe that’s why the RV says “emergency management” on the side!

 

Steering sure looks light lol.

 

Should be fine if you add a bottle of this in there: 100% Pure SnakeOil, anti-friction for engines up to Big Rigs

 

Peanuts compared to this guy

 

W...T...F...

 

Really hoping this is just a troll post and that nobody is silly enough to think towing a 28' trailer with a midsize is a good idea.

 

I see that shit all the time here in my part of Pennsyltucky.

 

I'm not at all surprised that you see all kinds of weird shit. I've seen your memes. Weird is your jam. Lol

 

I would hope so, but we see that stuff so often.

I towed a flat trailer with pavers for a friend, slow backroads, same side of town. Maybe 6000 pounds behind my Tacoma. At five MPH, without the trailer brake, it was as if the truck brake pedal did almost nothing. I would expect catastrophe in a similar situation at 55 MPH. Yes we use trailer brakes, but we are one piece of debris from deactivating them. Imagine this scenario going down a long grade - one will hopefully end up in the runaway truck gravel pit!

Comparison - wife and I took the quads and our travel trailer camping recently. Camper is around 5000 pounds and is shaped like a brick. Our Sequoia MPG went from 13 to 10-11. The Sequoia is basically a 5.7 full-sized truck. Wife drove the Tacoma with a flat trailer and two quads - probably 2500 pounds and very little wind resistance. Mileage went from the usual 22 to 9.

I am not even going to get into payload issues...

I have become a happier person by regarding my Tacoma as a car with a bed. It has little in common with the full size Toyotas, Fords, Chevys I have owned.

 

That’s a lot weight to tow .. your truck looks really compressed In the rear . You are way over the towing rating .

 

no disrespect intended but, with that trailer and weight i am very suspicious of "I was able to negotiate the hills at around 55-65mph while maintaining under ~2700rpms."

the only way i believe this is if those hills are not steep and long.

i have regularly towed 3-4K pounds in a 6x10 dump trailer less than 20 miles and for me, that is the limit with this truck. i live at elevation with fairly steep and long hills, maintaining 2700 RPM's is a pipe dream.

 

Terrible advice. That trailer belongs behind a significantly more capable vehicle. Leaf packs or airbags do not fix the problem, they just.make it look like less of a problem.

 

Oof didn’t realize it was a sr5 he’s way over the max towing capability.

 

As long as the trailer was empty and really was around 5300 lbs as stated I think you were OK for a short distance one time pull. Once loaded you definitely need a bigger truck. And without knowing the specifics of your Silverado there is no guarantee it will be any better.

1/2 ton trucks are all over the place, some won't tow as much as a Tacoma, and some will come close to matching a 3/4 ton. It all comes down to how they are equipped.

 

I tow my 6x10 box with my motorcycle and other equipment totaling at most 3000lbs. I didn’t like the way the brake pedal felt, but it was good. At what point do trailer brakes become a “must have”? My little trailer has lugs on the axles for brakes but no brakes…. I doubt I’ll ever get over 3000lbs if that helps with any recommendations.

Edit: I’m considering an Ecoboost for the situation but I’m not into all of the US brands…

 

https://patents.google.com/patent/US7977265B2/en

 

Trailer brakes are always good. "Must have" depends on state laws. For example, Arizona REQUIRES brakes for 3000 pounds or more gross weight.