My experience: 1700 miles with a 6x12 Uhaul trailer

I recently took a job back in Oregon where my wife and I are from. We decided to sell a good bit of furniture that we knew we didn't want in our new home, pack up a good portion of the rest in a POD and tow the rest behind my Tacoma on the way out.

The journey was 1700 miles from Omaha NE to Corvallis OR. We would be crossing 2 mountain ranges and driving at pretty high elevations for extended periods of time across Wyoming. My wife followed me since I was going to set the pace as the truck was pretty loaded down. I was nervous as we packed up the trailer since the majority of it came from the garage (IE: Heavy tools).

This post is mainly to document my experience as I couldn't find too many posts that detailed what exactly I was looking for. This was my first time towing for a significant distance with a significant amount of weight.

Truck specs to start: 2016 Toyota Tacoma TRD OR 6sp ~60k miles
Mods: ADS 2.5 clickers, SPC controls arms, OME Dakars HD, removed sway bar, dual batteries with solar, Leer topper, Prinsu racks, ARB fridge, BAMF sliders, 255 Copper tires, stock gearing.
Extra weight: CVT tent, CVT awning, FULL truck bed, 1 doggo in the front seat
Trailer: Uhaul 6x12 dual axle. Empty weight 1900lbs. Loaded weight ~3500-4000lbs? Optimal hitch height 18.5" per website. Total cost ~$900 including insurance, dolly and moving mat rentals.



Things I learned and tips that I was told that are very true:

• Always position the truck so that you don't need to back up. Of course there are times this is unavoidable, and I did get good at reversing the truck over the 3 day journey, it is something you want to avoid. Small truck inputs translate into large trailer movements when backing up. The manual Tacoma also has a very tall reverse gear so backing up can be challenging.
• Check vehicle fluid levels before leaving and check tire pressure regularly throughout the trip.
• Balance the load properly (60% in the front, 40% in the back). I actually took the truck on little 15 mile drives as I loaded the trailer to make sure I had it properly balanced.
• Take your time. We broke up the 1700 mile journey into 3 equal days. With a dog in each vehicle we made sure to stop often so they could stretch and also for us to talk about if we needed anything.
• Expectations. Realize that you are not going to set any land speed or MPG records. I averaged 65-70 mph almost the entire way out. I never tried 6th gear and was regularly using 4th over steep grades, sometimes dropping into 3rd. At times the truck needed 4k rpm to maintain speed, which is fine, as the engine is designed for it. The truck got 10-12mpg no matter what terrain we were going over. Yes there are other trucks out there that will do better, but this is probably the only time I will use the truck this way and I was ok with taking the route slow and safe.
• Passing semis (or them passing you) will create a wake of air that the truck and trailer will respond to. Keeping both hands on the wheel ensured I had control the entire time.
• Road conditions matter. Most of the freeway we traveled on was great, but at times we would run into rutted out concrete that would do all sorts of crazy things with the trailer. Slow down and just get through it - the road will get better.
• Check the weather daily. We were very fortunate to have great weather the entire trip out. My main concern was wind but it rarely got over 15mph.
• Know your limits - the truck will behave differently with a 4000lb weight attached to it. No reason to go beyond what you are capable of if it will ultimately end up injuring you or someone else.
• Brakes - use the gearing in the truck to help slow down over mountains. Going over HWY20 in Oregon I could tell my brakes were getting a workout. I pulled over to let other vehicles pass and could smell that they were hot. Went slower until we were off that part of the mountain. As a side note, the trailer does have surge brakes which operate based on momentum from the trailer pushing on a brake cylinder located on the neck of the trailer. These are more for emergency stops from my understanding.

As a bonus your truck will feel like it has double the horsepower once you get the trailer off!

Hope this helps anyone else looking for this type of information!

 

Nice write up. Great information for people who haven’t done a drive like yours before

 

After smoking my clutch the first time I tried to back up a trailer, I learned to put it in 4 Low before engaging reverse gear.

Good write up

 

Well written. Did DC to Seattle in my little first gen pulling that trailers little brother. I was lucky to hit 10mpg at any point along the way.

 

I’ll be making a similar trip in a few days with the same trailer. Did you use any specific weight distribution hitch or anything special?

 

Nope nothing special, however I did think about it. Loading the trailer appropriately is key and I felt confident after a few jaunts down the highway before heading off.

 

What tires?

 

255x85x16 Cooper ST Maxx

 

This write-up summed up a lot of what I may be looking at here in the coming weeks.

With that and a thank you to the OP out of the way, I am going to ask a few questions:

If I was interested in doing this, but in a stock 4x4 DCSB Sport - what necessities will I need?

• Brake controller? From what I can tell since it's a UHaul it's got those surge brakes negating the need for brake controllers.

• Weight distribution hitch? I will need to pick up a tow hitch and a 2" drop from what I can tell.

• I don't have an OBD2 reader of any sort so I won't be able to keep an eye on transmission temperatures... I will look into getting one if this is something people will truly suggest. I know my 5.0L '14 F150's tranny got above 205 and flirted with 210 going through the Mojave without a tow, I was hauling though. AND this time I would be staying out of the desert.
• I should also mention that this trip will be from San Antonio Texas to Boise, Idaho and should therefore be fairly flat.

I know, like OP mentions, this kind of towing and trip isn't what a taco is built for; I, like OP, am in a position where this would be the one and only time I would be requesting this kind of work from my Tacoma. The entire reasoning behind looking down this path is the astronomical increase in the price everything right now - including pods/trailers/uhauls. It is $180 for me to rent a UHaul to tow, it's $1,700 to get a 10' UHaul truck, $5k and upwards probably for a pod system unless we are willing to wait 18 days for our pod to arrive at the new apartment.


One of the few unknowns I have at this moment is how much weight I will actually be trying to load into this UHaul. I may be able to get away with the 5x8. At this moment the only large and heavy item we will be packing is going to be our couch. We are returning our box spring and mattress to Costco, getting rid of most of our smaller furnirture (end tables, dresser). With that said we have an entire kitchen's worth of dishes/pots/pans (gets heavy).

The rest of the cargo is regular household equipment, not nearly enough in the end to be able to fill up more than a 1 bedroom apartment. The wife will be driving behind in her POS Honda that she can load up with some items as well of course....

After looking it over with the wife I really don't think weight will be a problem, mainly volume and TW input will be deciding factors in 5.8 or the larger UHAul

 

I should also mention:

I am running a stock truck, but am considering pulling the trigger on a lift and AAL before this trip (IF I can find all the parts in stock!?)

I would be open to hearing how I could properly and better set myself up for this trip if I got myself a 6112/5110 with some sort of AAL.

 

I would not add a lift before your trip, you could introduce a problem right before your drive. IMO a weight distribution hitch, an ultragauge, trailer brake controller, and leaf spring helpers would be the best things. If you're only going to buy one thing get an ultragauge or a scan gauge. Stay in manual mode and drive conservatively.

The towing bible should have all of the info you could need.

EDIT: Oh and we don't have an auxiliary trans cooler, they got rid of it in February 2020. That's why I think the scan gauge is the most important

 

I've got 2888s & AALs w/ 5100s on my DCLB and recently pulled a completely full 6x12 Uhaul trailer. It was only ~110mi but I intentionally avoided interstates and I left it in S4 and had no problems. The bed had stuff but mostly lighter items and a kayak on the roof.

 

I am seeing most individuals here who are towing anything worth mention have an AAL or Dakar Leaf replacements. I am under the assumption that that is of benefit when towing larger payloads.

The reason that the lift/tires/AAL came into conversation at all between the wife and I was - Effectively for the cost of a 10' UHaul I could buy the parts for my lift. I would still need to cover labor of install (apartment life and few tools, smart move is to pay labor) and tires. Still, makes sense to spend the $2100 the lift/tires/AAL I already intended to place on the truck a few months after we arrived than to spend that money on a UHaul rental.

I was under the impression that the added leaves would aid in towing though - am i completely wrong?

 

That 1 trip is just a bit less then my truck has on it now and I bought it in 11/2020.

I couldn’t not picture doing 1700 miles packed out like that. Trailers make me nervous as is. But, ya gotta do what you gotta do.

 

Gotta do it..... I am at 3600 miles now, so roughly half of what is on it.

These are trucks, and they're Toyotas. These babies aren't meant to be babied. They're gonna run 2-500K miles, a few hundred miles towing won't hurt it in the long run.

 

I would get a set of air bags if I towed regularly. I've done enough heavy loads, 4-6k trailers, or payloaded out bed loads, that if it was a common occurrence it would be a must.
Maybe HD springs would help but then the ride suffers the rest of the time, unless you get an overload only setup.
Also the right hitch is important, the hitch on these trucks is lower than a lot of other rigs.
Trailer brakes really are a must with these trucks as light as they are, unfortunately not an option with the uhaul stuff, but thwy make all the difference.

Edit : I should add theres a post in the 3rd gen forum right now about a rig that hit 200k, and he tows heavy almost all the time. These trucks are perfectly capable of it as long as you stay within their capacities.

 

AAL, air bags, roadmaster active suspension etc can definitely help. I'm just thinking about a tight timeline here. You could throw some Bolt on helper springs on in a pinch and replace or discard later. A weight distribution hitch would give you similar results and probably drive better.

 

Exactly, I’d you too often airbags are great. Weight distributing hitch is nice too. And try and get as much weight over the Axles on the trailer.

 

I completely agree with @907rx7. If you decide to put a lift on, wait until after the move.

Personally: I don't normally have much payload other than the cap and I was hitting the bump stops more than I liked so I just threw an AAL on it. To be sure, it's a firm ride w/o any additional payload but worth the tradeoff to me.

 

I am a bit disheartened to hear that people are recommending waiting on the lift but I do appreciate the input and won't shy away from it.

Is an AAL going to assist in towing capability or overall experience or no?
If a lift before moving isn't something I should be looking at, then: recommendations on weight distribution hitches? Tow hitch setups for either the small or large UHaul trailer? (I'm leaning towards larger only for volume and double axels not weight)

Won't be adding airbags as I stated I don't intend to tow much else in the next 30 years. Friends and family can rent a truck

I would definitely consider get a roadmaster system installed - however as I intend to lift either prior to or very shortly after arriving.... I do see it as a waste of money.


So is the bottom line/end of the day/ consensus that I can make this trip with a stock rear end?