How much trailer can my 2006 with towing package tow?

I have a 2006 Tacoma access cab with towing package.
I'm looking at travel trailers.
How much trailer can I safely tow?
I'm looking at one now 23' around 4100lbs.
And then there'd be gear and water.
I'm not as concerned about fuel milage as much as tearing up my truck. I love the truck.

 

they state 6500 lbs. But honestly thats WAYYYY to high for any mid sized truck. IMO 4000lbs is the upper limit, especially in a big sail known as a travel trailer.

 

Are you looking for the rated towing capacity or the realistic towing capacity? In my personal experience with Tacomas, there's a pretty big difference there.

If memory serves me correctly, the rated capacity is a bit over 6,000 pounds. In the real world though, that doesn't matter because the Tacoma just isn't very comfortable towing much over 4,000 pounds. For instance, I have a 22' high performance boat on a single axle trailer (with brakes) that probably tips the scales at 3,500 pounds. That's well under the rated capacity, but I wouldn't want to tow much more. I just completed a one way 265 mile trip with the boat in tow and averaged about 10 MPG. The truck didn't like anything more than moderate hills even with the transmission in 4 instead of D. To put it another way, the truck wasn't very happy and never has been with the boat.



If you go to a taller (less aerodynamic) trailer that weighs more, I think you're going to find it to be towable, but not fun. Just my 2 cents though.

 

Keep it under 4500lbs, and keep your speed under 65mph.

Too many people in here complaining about fuel economy while towing at 80mph lol

 

That's exactly what I normally do. Still, 10-12 MPG. On the brighter side, I'd hate to see what the new 3.5 liter motor would do in the same conditions.

 

14-16, 65mph, 5000lbs. Stayed in 4th or lower. Deff hang out in the right lanes as opposed to the left lol

My 16 with the 2.7 towed about 2500lbs through the Appalachians no problem, got around 18 with careful driving, 12-14 stop and start in the city (with the trailer)

 

I'm guessing 4100 is the empty weight and not the gross. At 23' and 4100 empty, you're really pushing the limits. Expect to add 1000 in payload before you even fill the tanks. Can it do it? eh, technically. Should it though?

 

This. 4100 dry and you will EASILY add 1k more lbs of shit in there with gear etc then you fill up at 8.5lbs per gallon of water. Not to mention you are towing a big ass sail.

 

I tow about once a week with my 4.0 V6 auto Tacoma since it was new in 2012. I've towed with everything from small cars up to a semi over the years so I have a decent feel for what towing feels like on different platforms. The Tacoma in general can be a lot more capable than I think it usually gets credit for. Sure it's nice to hook up to your 1 ton and have it feel like nothing is back there, but really that's because an empty 1 ton drives like garbage. There are some tradeoffs you have to be willing to live with if you're going to do a lot of near capacity towing in a Tacoma. Generally speaking I think the Tacoma is more than capable of towing regularly right up to the owners manual limits under most conditions without serious difficulty. That being said the Tacoma comes from the factory with suspension and tires setup for comfort not towing. It'll do it's full 6500lb towing straight off the showroom floor, but in my opinion you won't be happy and might not even really be safe in some conditions. It's way too squishy and bouncy at full weight to be comfortable. The 2 big changes I've found to make towing in a Tacoma way better are suspension, and tires. Specifically LT tires at the proper pressure, springs(or airbags), and stiffer shock valving. If you REALLY want to be happy towing re-gear too, but that's definitely not required. The other factor that doesn't get talked about much is frontal area. Most of the towing manuals for the domestic brands lists a weight and frontal area limits. I can load 7k lbs on my flatbed and 4000 in my travel trailer and the travel trailer is noticeably more difficult to pull down the road and it gets worse the faster you go. I've got a Winnebago 1700BH travel trailer and the Tacoma pulls it beautifully the way I'm setup, but I really wouldn't want much more frontal area than I have if I want to maintain speed limits. I get around 11mpg towing on flat country and it feels to me when you dip well into single digit fuel economy that is when the truck starts to feel like it's working real hard.

 

I tow a little over 3000LBS with my SxS and trailer. The truck pulls pretty well but imagine anything over 4000lbs would be difficult for the truck.

 

Yeah i think general consensus is 4000lbs fully loaded is about the safe upper limit of the small light tacoma.

 

My chime in is not necessary- towing bible thread.

Basically you can tow the weight when equipment is properly maintained and monitored. Lots of people are towing 20-24’ trailers with Tacomas. If you look up pictures there plenty of them crashed, with Tacoma and other mfg trucks and suvs.

It’s exhausting towing long distances when not properly equipped, and hard side camping trailers have a lot of surface area to catch wind making your truck have to work more to tow the trailer; non-technically speaking.

 

4810 dry and 25’. Pulls like a champ but it will slow you down some on long inclines. Get around 8 mpg and I can’t figure out why the hell all you people want to load up the tanks with water. If you want to use the bathroom on the trip throw a few gallons in there. Should not be any reason for you to be hauling water and taking up load capacity with it. You’re just wasting gas. I never got in a hurry and drove 60-65. I’m running a 3” lift and 285’s on stock gearing. As long as you’re not going to be climbing mountains the taco will be fine with what you’re asking about. The main thing is everyone on here is different in their comfort zone of towing. We’re planning on moving up to a 5th wheel so I just bought a 3/4 ton to tow with. Now I use less than half the fuel towing the camper. It’s all about what you want out of it. I’ve towed a 4000 lb camper with the taco also. It was fine but we’re not the type to bring half the house with us to go camping.

 

Read the door jamb sticker for your payload. Your hitch weight on a 4k camper might be 400lbs + 100 lb weight distribution hitch + propane bottles/batteries not included in manufacture's numbers + passenger weight + cargo. It adds up and you will quickly end up with an over the limit trailer, not for the engine's tow capacity but by the payload.

I ended up with a bigger truck after my first tow on my Wolf Pup 22ft camper. Towing with it was white knuckle experience and safety hazard. Now I have no issues with bigger truck.

Tacoma's aren't really made for towing campers....with a family. Family takes up half the payload. Tacoma be fine with just me hauling a flatbed trailer to the dump though.

 

Some Tacoma's only have about 950lbs payload including passengers, hitch weight, hitch, etc. Ridiculously low. What is yours?

 

Had an '06 double-cab, short bed, and once towed a 5,500# camper with 3 200# guys in the truck - that was WAY too much. We now have a '14 DC long bed and own a 3,500# camper and I'm really happy with it. I don't think I ever want to tow over 4,500# again. Mind you, I've always had a weight-distribution hitch, which helps, and now have Firestone RideRite airbags on the rear suspension pumped up to 40 PSI when the trailer is hitched. HIGHLY recommend you upgrade the rear suspension for towing. I also noticed that dual vs single axle makes a difference - I felt like the dual axle trailers masked what might otherwise be some bad tendencies to "wag the dog". Our current single axle does a bit more bouncing and it gets transmitted to the truck. Rent a trailer or two and decide for yourself...

 

It’s a lot better towing with tandem axles. Safer also.

 

3rd gens have a bit higher, 1100 or so but it's goofy since you lose 500lbs payload when adding 4x4 (yes I know, components = weight)

 

I'd have the 4x4 one, but that's nuts. I'm already balking at my F150's 1,574 lb payload lol.

 

Towing capacity is marketing horseshit. Payload is what matters.

Payload capacity is less than 1,000 lbs. That means, you, your wife, your two dogs, all the shit you've packed in your truck,

Then you add in tongue weight. A WDR helps a lot here. At no point should you ever exceed the payload capacity of your truck. Bad things happen.

Most people will exceed the payload capacity long before they exceed towing capacity.