RV towing

mine is a bullet 2070BH

 

I was curious too, I don't know of a factory lift, but I've been wrong before, OP never returned....

 

i just had a white knuckle tow over the teton pass out of jackson hole towing my 4800 lb rv. NEVER AGAIN. Flooring the throttle was maxed at at 20 mph till the top. Then Lost almost all brakes going down the mountain. Had to dial trailer brakes to full touchiness and basically use that to get to the bottom. Seriously considering trading in for like a tundra next spring

 

My yearly trek west. We drive between 5-6,000 miles each summer. We stay at hotels. I got the wife on board for a camper. I’m trying to stay at 2,100lbs for travel trailer. (No pop up)
Looking at 17 foot ones. my wife wants one that sleeps 8! She’s never towed anything . Don’t think I want to deal with the mountains every summer towing a anchor. Also I’m planning my 2 week drive to Denali.

 

Yeah lessoned learned. One thing I never factored in is the mountain routes + towing. Just orderd the ovtune to see if that helps but I suspect before next cross county trip I am upgrading to a Tundra, that was close as I came to crapping my pants.

 

It's not totally flat, but like I said it cruises no problem usually in S4 or S5 with ECT on. I go over two small passes of about 1500 ft each and it does like to rev to keep speed. But I also don't try to stay at 70 going up hill, I'll let the speed drop into the 50's so I guess I'm patient too lol!!
I think it comes down to expectations versus reality. If this truck really towed as poorly as some people say it does the the press would be all over that. Instead sites like TFL did their Ike Gauntlet tow test a couple times with a couple different Tacomas and each time said it towed better than they expected...

 

lol thats pretty subjective.. better then expected huh.. did they expect it to tow like a 4 cyl? then yes it would tow better then expected..lol

i expected mine to tow better then it did. that being said i was always able to keep at 65mph but revving to 5500 at times climbing. i could always pick up speed on inclines but damn that motor was spinning hard.. i never felt unsafe or whit knuckled in mine towing but it did wear you out..

 

man thats a light trailer. what are ya thinking hybrid? freaking popups are heavier then that these days..lol

 

Serro Scotty S188RBR Trailer

2017 model.. sleeps 3/4

 

Yup, we're looking at getting a travel trailer and I'm trying to stay around 2000 - 3000 max dry weight. I mostly go camping with my two sons so I don't need anything to big. Looking at this Rockwood https://forestriverinc.com/rvs/travel-trailers/rockwood-geo-pro/G12SRK/4394 now just need to convince the wife that this is what we need and not something bigger

 

Good luck I’m trying to stay at 2,500lbs sleeps 3. My wife thinks a 20 ft camper with bunks in back, 2 seat areas that fold down into beds, and a queen bed for us. (Enough room for wife, kid, kids friends, dog, several grandchildren, adult children and me)

She said it’s a truck. She has no idea on trying to pull that weight with all the stuff (clothes, food, gear) in a Tacoma.

She’s like why did you buy a small truck?

I laughed and said I didn’t want to spend $80k on a full sized new truck

 

LOL, sounds like my wife who wants a home away from home when we go camping. I've mentioned the weight to her but not sure she understands. We tent camp now, but want to do more of it in the summer and that's why I'm looking at getting something. I really just want something for to us sleep in that has A/C because we spent most our time outside doing things when camp.

 

As someone who has thoroughly enjoyed their Forest River for three years so far: spend a lot of time testing out that gaucho before you make the purchase. FR tends to really cheap out on their mattresses and sofa cushions. Swapping out a bed mattress you don't like is easy, swapping out a gaucho involves a bit of creative fabricating.

 

Thanks for the advice.

 

My wife no longer likes camping. We just went on a quick weekend trip a few weeks ago.
Something about sleeping on the ground..blah,blah,blah. In her defense we used cardboard/Toyota bed mat /2 sleeping bags as out sleeping mattress pad

Lol. Suck it up butter cup! It’s camping

I can sleep on a wood floor. The wife on the other hand can’t sleep without our craftmatic adjustable bed! Lol

 

There is a "towing" forum on Tacomaworld. Check it out for towing questions.

 

Geo Pros are pretty nice little campers! If you want something a bit bigger but that a Tacoma can still handle, try the Apex Nano series.

 

You are very patient sir. To put it into perspective, imagine half your drive is at that reduced speed going over much higher and longer hills. That’s where the complaints come from for most of us.

You are correct on people’s expectations being off and no on the press because it really does tow that poorly, but all trucks do in relation to their rating. The problem is many are trying to tow 80-90% of the trucks rating. That would be the same as trying to tow 9k+ lbs with an F-150. I will bet it tows that just as bad as a Tacoma tows 5k lbs. However real world people know that if you expect to tow 9k you buy a 3/4 ton truck. Because a Tacoma is very close to the size of a 1/2 ton many people expect it to perform very close to a 1/2 ton and that’s just not the case.

You seem to have a situation that works well for you and that’s great. But with the advances in modern trucks people expect more. We just want to hitch up a trailer, hammer down and cruise along at the speed limit comfortably. With the inflated rating of newer trucks that just isn’t going to happen if you tow more than 50% of the rated capacity.

 

This. I wanted to just get a little RPod and tow with the Taco but my wife wants a rolling mobile home. So I broke down and bought the Tundra. PITA to drive around town, park, and sucks gas, but worth it if I can get this circus on the road.

 

Let us know how it goes Ringmaster.