Need advice on 2nd gen. camping (truck bed or small camper)

Sorry in advance for the long read!!!

Im looking for someone who has done a build out on their 2nd gen 4.0 4x4 Tacoma with a bed platform, topper, roof rack or racks and has traveled with full gear(like Kayaks and bikes plus a couple passengers and other camping gear/water). Im just wondering if the truck maintains road speeds well. If it needs to be ran with overdrive off like you do when towing and if it needs to shift into 3rd when pulling long grades at say 65.

Trying to decide if I want to keep my small camper or go with a truck bed setup.

Camper is a Taxa Tigermoth. Even empty(1200 pounds) with just me and no gear etc. the Tacoma doesn't like pulling it up hill at highway speeds. Ends up downshifting to 3rd and then even if you let off the gas it doesn't want to shift back to 4th until you crest over the hill. I can only imagine that would be worse with another person and prob 1000 pounds plus of gear added in the mix plus more wind drag from Kayaks. The Tiger Moth trailer is known for being un aerodynamic. Owners have reported getting better mileage pulling a 500 or 1000 pound heavier camper just because of less drag.

Truck is a 2015 with 60k miles. I dont think the plugs have been changed(the only "tune up" item it might need) but its in great running order and well kept up.

 

I get 10mpg and sometimes have to drop it in 2nd to maintain 60mph going over the passes. My trailer is 8ft wide, 23ft long, and weighs 5,500lbs loaded.

If the options are trailer or sleeping in the bed I'd pick the trailer 80% of the time. I'm not a fan of having to unload everything out of the bed to sleep. Sure a sleeping platform will help but then you can't sit up and you're probably still going to have to unload the top of the sleeping platform...especially if there is more than one person.

*edit* I saw zero difference in gas mileage or transmission temps with two kayaks on top of my truck when towing.

 

If you’re going to be towing a lot, I’d recommend switching the dif fluid over to Lucas synthetic. It’s cheap insurance and peace of mind while you’re on your journey.

 

Stay with the small travel trailer, or even to to a bigger TT if you want. Tacomas have such small payloads that you'll quickly overload your suspension going with a bed mounted camper. With my small cap plus my weight and my wifes I'm only left with about 600 lbs for other gear in my Tacoma without going over max payload. I figured out on the day I purchased the truck that carrying anything of any size in the bed was going to be a waste of time compared to my previous full size trucks. I burn a lot of wood every winter and the 2nd thing I bought after the cap was a 10' utility trailer for carrying heavy or oversize loads. I can haul twice as much wood in the trailer as I could in a 3/4 ton truck with an 8' bed and it is easier to load and unload. I don't even know my 3000 lb pop-up is behind me.

Your truck is performing exactly as designed when towing. Your truck has 5 gears and it was not intended to stay in 4 and 5 all the time. It is perfectly normal to drop to 3rd or even 2nd gear when climbing inclines when loaded heavy or pulling a load. When in mountains, even unloaded, I drive mine like a manual. It is best to anticipate the gear you'll need to go up an incline and manually downshift BEFORE the engine starts to strain and you lose momentum. And just leave it in the lower gear until you reach the crest. In fact you'll likely need to stay in the same gear, or lower going down the other side to take advantage of engine braking to slow you. Don't be afraid to drop down to lower gears and let the engine rpm's run at 3000-3500 rpms if necessary. Doing that is actually less stressful on the engine and keeps the engine cooler than trying to go up at 2000-2500 rpm's in higher gears.