From Tundra to Tacoma

I've been reading, reading, reading...

I've found a few similar scenarios in other threads, but I figured that I'd throw my specific situation out there for discussion. I currently own a 2011 Tundra 5.7 4X4 TRD Rock Warrior 4 door. It's a very nice truck with tons of power, plenty of creature comforts, and a smooth ride. Unfortunately, it's HUGE! Now this is subjective...most full size truck guys will disagree wholeheartedly...citing the lack of dualies, a turbo-charged diesel, or an 8 foot bed...but for my tastes, which lean toward Willys Jeeps, motorcycles, and tiny foreign roadsters...it's a behemoth. I simply don't enjoy driving it, parking it, or washing it...it takes up the entire trail on offroad excursions and it sinks like an anvil in the muck...it's overkill for just about everything else I do...Home Depot...runs to the dump...groceries. The only time it even comes close to getting a workout is when towing my 24' boat...about 6 times each year...to and from a lake 10 miles from my house...at speeds below 45mph...on 2 lane country roads...with a few substantial hills. It weighs just under 6000lbs with boat, trailer, gear, and a full tank of gas.

What I'd really like is a V6 Tacoma Doublecab 4x4 with a manual transmission. I loved my last Tacoma and I miss driving stick day to day (I don't have stop and go traffic on my commute...or any traffic for that matter). For 359 days out of the year, the Tacoma will do everything I could possibly want. I'm just a bit nervous about those 6 days of towing. The trailer has brakes and the Tundra moves it like its not even there, weighing close to 6000lbs itself, but I don't want the boat to push me off the roads in the corners.

Should I ditch the Tundra for the Tacoma?

 

Welcome! I love the tundras my brother has an ’11 trd off road.


the v6 taco with factory tow package is rated to tow 6500 LBS. dose the trailer have trailer brakes? I think you would be ok for going as far as you are and the speed you going. maybe have a little hard time depending on how steep the hills are. trailer brakes would be a great thing and almost a must in my opinion. I have towed little over 3k with my taco and no trailer brakes and could tell emergency stopping would be/is hard.

 

You'd be getting close to the max towing rating on the Tacoma, but I think with as little of a distance your hauling it you would be fine.

 

I would def take a test drive and run home for a quick pull.That is a lot of weight to pull with a Tacoma.At that weight u will prob be over your GVWR.U have to factor in people, coolers, and fuel also..It will pull it but IMO that's too much on the Tacoma.

 

If you can afford it park the tundra in front of the boat, and buy a taco. I see people every time exceeding the the weight limit on there truck gong to glamis, but those people are killing there truck.

 

Seriously, 10 miles below 45 mph is not going to kill the truck with that weight.

 

I tried towing my 24' Sea Ray DA with the Tacoma, it was to much for it. Going down the launch ramp was scary to say the least. It drug the truck down the ramp and could barley stop it, front tires locked and skidding. On flat ground it did good but launching and stopping was not good. I picked up a 2005 F150 just for the boat and travel trailer, and now use the Tacoma for my everyday running and minor hauling. The weight your planning on pulling with the Taco will be white knuckled. Sometimes you just need the bigger tow vehicle.

 

Trailer definitely has brakes and the 6000lbs is with gas, gear, and the whole shooting match. My thinking is that the corporate lawyers at Toyota would never let them publish the 6500lb limit unless it can actually be towed safely. That would be leaving themselves open to some significant liability. The Tundra is rated to tow 11,000lbs and the truck only weighs 5,800. That's a much scarier ratio than a 4000lb Tacoma pulling a 6000lb load.

However, this all theory. I'm hoping to hear from someone who has actually towed at the high end of the capacity and what their experience was.

 

That's exactly the kind of feedback that I was hoping for! Thanks. My boat ramp is awful steep and the surge brakes don't work in reverse. It could be an interesting ride down the ramp.

 

Mostly you will get people saying they can and will "easily" tow that load on these forums. My 06 was a DC manual transmission and one thing I hated about it was getting going up hills with a trailer. And in the rain, that was the worst. If you're saying your boat launch is steep then you will have an interesting time with a manual to say the least. 6000 pounds for such a short distance can be done with the Tacoma when properly set up. But the boat launch is the scary part, there's so many videos on Youtube of tow trucks pulling big diesel trucks out of the lakes, I dont even want to think about it.

 

The most I've towed with my Tacoma was about 4,500-5,000 lbs (car and car trailer). It did fine on flat land, but with another 1,000-1,500 lbs on a wet and steep boat ramp, I wouldn't feel comfortable. I launch our jet skis all the time with my Tacoma with no problems, but that's obviously only about 2,500 lbs total. Not to mention the drag that water has when trying to pull an already heavy boat out. I think it would do just fine towing it there, it's getting it out of the lake that would be your biggest issue. Honestly, I'd stick to the Tundra, but I tend to err on the side of caution and having too much truck, instead of not enough.

 

My biggest concern would be the strain getting your boat up the ramp. I don't know bow yours is buy a lot of the ones we have are pretty steep.

 

FWIW, I towed a buddies 23' Chaparral, which I believe was around 4k lbs. Truck didn't struggle at all.

I would have to assume that you would be fine for those 6 days towing less than 10 miles. The tow package comes pre-wired for a brake controller, and as previously stated is rated up to 6500lbs. Obviously, safety is your primary concern, and I would be hesitant to to tow something that weighed more than my truck, but I would think that it can handle it.

 

also, FWIW, I pulled that Chaparral out of the water (wet ramp fairly steep ramp as far as boat ramps go) and never got about 1500 rpm. I did engage the 4 wheel drive though, but that was to avoid any embarrassment because my friend didn't think my truck could do it at all.

 

Seems like the most dangerous thing to consider is that boat ramp.. Otherwise id say go for it with the taco

 

If the dealer really wants to sell you the truck, take it home, hook up the boat, go drop the trailer in the water and then try to pull it out.

 

LOL. The lake is a block of ice right now. I do appreciate the feedback from everyone though. I'm thinking about going with a smaller boat. I'd rather downsize the boat than live with the Tundra any longer. The boat's a porker.

 

What do you use the boat for mostly?

 

Napping and reading magazines in the cabin while the wife tans and the kids swim...

 

One thing I would suggest if you decide to go with the Tacoma, is to add air bags. They are amazing. You can adjust them to the load and the truck will handle much better. Also there is no negative to them unless you do serious off roading that requires max tire drop.

As far as the boat ramp I would use low range to make it a little easier on your clutch. Along with having a good brake controller.