Set up for Long distance towing with Tacoma?

Hi everyone, I'm new year and hope to learn a lot.

First off, I did do a search but the shear volume of 100's of postings that came up was overwhelming. Perhaps I didn't perform the search correctly, if so I apologise.

My plan is to retire in the next year and travel. I want to set up a Tacoma for overlanding and I'll also be pulling a holiday trailer behind that will weigh about 5500-6000 lbs (I would love to get a smaller/lighter trailer but my girlfriend won't have it) when it's loaded and being pulled. I plan on wild camping mostly, setting up camp with the trailer as a base camp and using the truck to explore dirt roads, forestry roads and trails, no serious rock crawling as the truck will also be our sole source of transportation for years to come. The truck will have a 2 inch lift and 33 inch tires, bumpers, canopy, winch, probably close to max GVW before any tongue weight of the trailer, but I really don't want to start trying to squeeze down narrow trails with a full size pick up, but will if I have to???

I was thinking about an 2nd gen Tacoma Auto DCLB with the Toyota Supercharger to better pull the trailer, as I don't think the stock 4.0 would be happy, thoughts? Will the supercharger do the job or will it also be over whelmed? How about the automatic transmission? I prefer not to have the engine screaming at 4000-5000 rpm at a hint of any slight incline.

I plan on spending most of my time in the central western USA, Oregon, Colorado, Idaho, Washington, California, etc. Generally in the desert, mountains and forest areas. I will be putting on about 20,000 miles on per year with this set up.

MY other option is to go with a LX470/Landcruiser 100 series with the 4.7 V8. I've thought about the 4runner with a V8 but they're basically the same price up here in Canada as the 4runner is, but is not near the vehicle that the LX470 is.

Thanks you in advance for your time!!

Jesse

 

What won't your GF do without to allow some weight reduction on the trailer? 5500-6K is more than I'd want to pull off-road, even on mild trails, for any length of time. With a few heavy-duty upgrades, I suppose it wouldn't be too bad on long-term wear and tear, but lightening the load would sure be better. Plan on a heavy-duty transmission cooler at the least if you go with an auto.

I can't speak for the manual tranny, but the auto, when towing out of overdrive (4th) has the 4L V6 engine turning about 3000 rpm at 70 mph. Totally do-able, and at 55 mph in 4th you're around 2250. On extended inclines running 3rd will jack the rpm's up quite a bit if you try to maintain interstate speeds, but not too bad otherwise for shorter periods. These speeds are based on the tire size you go with; I have 265/75-16's on my truck. Expect a substantial drop in gas mileage, though. The naturally aspirated 4L has plenty of grunt; I pull a flatbed with a tractor that weighs around 4K, and have no issues at all with available power. I've been pleasantly surprised how well the Taco does with a trailer behind it. My previous truck was a crew dually one-ton with an older generation diesel, and the Taco does as good, maybe even better, at pulling the same loads, because it weighs a little more than half what the dually did. However, if you need an 'excuse' to install a supercharger, I understand. ;-)

 

You'll have to reduce your trailer weight based on the weight of the mods you install.

 

Thanks for responding, I was getting concerned after 40+ views and no one was responding. lol

The 5500-6000 was loaded weight, 4500 - 5000 empty. It will also be an automatic. I don't ever plan on driving over the speed limit but have concerns the drive won't be very relaxing if the motor/tranny is constantly having to downshift and be screaming away to maintain any sort of a respectable speed so I don't become a danger to other traffic on every little hill.

I would also consider a newer 3rd gen if it would do the job but didn't think it would after watching the video below, as the truck seemed to working really hard, which is why I though the 2nd gen with a supercharger would be better, but then is the weak link the tranny, having to use premium fuel, or just simply too much stress on the engine?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uS3PZpkSkdA&t=681s

OR maybe a 1st gen Tundra with a 4.7 V8, even though it has basically the same max tow rating.

 

2nd gen 4.0 will be working just as a hard as a 3rd gen if towing heavy or uphill. There is only 600rpm difference in peak torque for the 4.0 and 3.5. Supercharger will help a lot for either but you are still limited to 6500lbs on either truck.

 

Sounds like when all is said and done you will be at or over the max tow weight and will exceed the GVWR. That is Not good, in fact that is very bad. With all the miles you plan to travel and all the weight you’ll be towing I think you’ll be unhappy with a Tacoma due to performance, handling and gas mileage. You would be way better to get something like a F150 with the ecoboost engine. You’d get better performance, better handling with the trailer and better gas mileage.

 

That's exactly what I thought but then I read other Tacoma owners say they can pull 5000-6000 lbs all day long, so I wanted to see if I could get some direct opinions from this forum?

 

If you were a weekend warrior towing that trailer on a few trips a year you would probably be ok with a Taco. But you are planning major trips , lots of miles and all different terrains. I love my Taco but it really isn’t truck enough for what you are planning. Keep in mind that the areas you plan to drive include multiple high mountain ranges. You have the Rocky’s, the Sierras and several others. Your performance, handling and gas mileage will really suck pulling that trailer around those mountains.

 

That's what I thought, I was just hoping I was wrong.

 

I think you would be much happier (and safer on long downhill grades) with a Tundra. It will do everything better with that much weight behind it.

 

i rented a t.trailer this summer at a weight of about 3600 lbs. i was lucky to get 24l/100km driving from TO area up to Manitoulin thru Sudbury.
if you get 300 km per tank you'll be lucky as the taco has an 82litre tank approx.
carry some extra fuel tanks

ya might want to look at a diesel setup if you're gonna do that many km a year

 

Options are really either a bigger truck or a smaller trailer (or a different gf). A big trailer REALLY limits how far away from people you can get, even to set up a base camp. On some logging roads here, turning around can be a major issue, so you might be backing out a long way, when I was in Moab, some 4wd roads are only passable by smaller trucks with maybe a 14ft trailer. Height of vehicle makes a big difference to towing as well, as aerodynamics are almost as important as weight, especially to fuel economy. Tall trailers can get smashed by branches if they are talker than the tow vehicle.
Have you looked at A-Liner or similar folding hard sidewall trailers? They're quite nice!
I always count myself lucky that as long as i bring her coffee in the morning and she was warm and dry at night, my wife doesn't care about too much else. (No toilet needed or wanted, a shovel or a bucket if its leave no trace camping are fine with her.)

 

Tundra or F150.

 

I haven't towed a heavy load for a long distance yet. My tractor on my flatbed has been short trips around my local area. I also have a 5x8 foot cargo trailer, and I have towed it a long distance. I recently went from western NC to south Florida (Homestead area) pulling a load of furniture. The trailer weighs 890 lb. empty and I had about 700 lb. of bedroom furniture, mattress/box spring, packed boxes and a bicycle in it, plus the bed and back seat were also loaded, so towing and hauling was maybe 1800 lb. of stuff, not really a heavy load. On the interstate, travelling in 5th is a lost cause at 70 mph. The tranny constantly hunted, the torque converter would unlock, then downshift to 4th, then upshift on downhill, then downshift again. After 100 miles of that, I pulled it out of 5th and drove in 4th, where my rpm's stayed around 3000 rpm. I got 13.6 mpg running 87 octane E10 for the trip to Fla., 825 miles. Coming back with an empty trailer and truck (just me), I still kept it in 4th because it still would not tow in 5th (and all the prevailing wisdom with towing on a Taco is NEVER tow in overdrive with any significant load). I got 14.1 mpg going home with an empty trailer. This tells me that the aerodynamic drag rather than the load was dictating fuel economy. My cargo trailer is a V-nose, but it is about 2 feet taller than the top of the cab.

I can only imagine a 5000+ pound load, plus the aerodynamics of a travel trailer (similar to towing a barn) will make your mileage more like what the guys in the video were getting. They mentioned their rpm's were over 4000, so I guess they were driving in 3rd, which would have been about right at 70 mph, maybe the load and drag were enough to keep the tranny from shifting higher.

If you supercharge the engine, you'll not only increase horsepower, but torque as well, and that's really more significant for towing. I don't know much about the TRD supercharger setup for the V6, but I imagine it runs at around 5-6 psi boost if it isn't intercooled, so you're not going to make a crap-ton more power, just a nice pick-me-up amount, and that shouldn't be too hard on the engine. I don't know what the transmission can handle, there are many here who could enlighten you better on both the S/C and tranny.

I'm leaning the same way the others are who are recommending the Tundra, or another full-size, with a V-8 if you plan to haul that heavy a load for any length of time. I think you could get by with the Taco if you stayed off the interstates so you could keep the towing speeds down a bit. Your best bet is still to convince the GF she doesn't need that big a trailer.

 

What's everyone's thoughts on a 1st gen Tundra with a 4.7 or a LX470? Are the front brakes on the Tundra going to be an issue? I'm just trying to stay with a slightly smaller vehicle for overlanding but will go full size if I have to.

 

Some have suggested a smaller trailer and ordinarily I’d agree but not in your situation. You will be traveling days, weeks or months at a time. The trailer will be home for months at a time. You will want size and comfort, it’s your home. You may want to go a little smaller but not much. You want comfort on long extended trips.
As far a trucks let me say I’m a Toyota guy but I wouldn’t get a Tundra for what you want the truck for. I had a Tundra and I like them but they are expensive (I think over priced) and they get lousy fuel mileage. I still say look at a Ford F-150 4x4 with a V6 ecoboost engine with tow package. They put out around 375 hp, and 470 foot lbs of torque. Tow capacity is over 10,000 lbs. It will pull your trailer no problem, they are comfortable and dependable and will get better mileage than a Tundra.
Problem with that size trailer is you won’t be able to tow it into the boonies. You’ll need good roads and dirt roads that are flat and in good shape. You may have to end up staying in RV Parks at least some of the time and that will get expensive. Your planned trips sound like a dream come true to me but the whole venture is going to be expensive. Fuel will be really expensive. Gas in parts of the US is closing in on $4.00 a gallon. What ever you calculated your expenses at add 20 to 50% which will probably give you a more realistic number. In any event I’m envious, your trip sounds awesome.

 

I tow with my tacoma all the time, and it's not bad at all, but I'm towing an open deck car trailer with a few thousand pounds of ATVs (4k-ish total). When I hook up my sister's 14ft enclosed cargo trailer it's an entirely different animal (even empty). That wind resistance make a huge difference, and makes towing far less comfortable.

On the hills/passes here in WA I can tow my open trailer at 70mph if I want to, and it feels fine running 3k-4k rpms, but if I want any semblance of gas mileage I'm better off towing 45mph in the right lane with the tractor-trailers on the inclines. Doing this can bump up my average from 8.5 to 10mpg from Seattle to Moses Lake WA.

I've towed my trailer from Seattle to Southern Utah in a day and a half. It was fine. But doing that with a 5-6k travel trailer day in and day out... just sounds stressful, on the passengers and on the truck.

I'm going to add my vote for a F-150 like @Sprig . I'm not the biggest Ford fan, really, but you guys would be infinitely more comfortable in one of those. And more importantly, SAFER.

 

So if I have to go full size, do I go 1/2 ton or bigger? I calculate that even the 1/2 ton will be close to max gvwr (My current truck 2015 GMC Sierra 5.3L 1/2 ton is rated at 1700+/- payload, 7200 GVWR) with passengers, cargo(fuel, canopy, etc) and a 600+/- lb tongue weight, it all adds up quickly. Or, do I go with a 3/4 or 1 ton which give me extra payload cushion but weigh about 1000-1500 lbs extra with a diesel engine and HD powertrain? This is beginning to snowball on me. lol

 

Your 1/2 ton as is will be much more comfortable towing near rated amounts than the tacoma. That extra size/weight of the tow vehicle will help.

It's always a pain trying to find something good at everything. You want to do some light and possibly tight offroading, tow regularly at freeway speeds, and pull a more luxurious/larger TT.

Are there particular amenities you and your GF want in a travel trailer? or just want the extra square footage? Or do you already have a trailer, or have fallen in love with a particular one, perhaps?

 

Dude! Just use the truck you got!!

It's gonna do the job much better than a Tacoma!

Reading your plan above, especially with 33"s and lift towing at max for 20k miles a year sounds like a really bad idea to me.
FYI, 1st gen Tundra with 4.7L motor has only ever so much more wheel base and weight than the DCLB Taco but same brakes and wheel bearings really. It might do a little bit better but it's archaic inside.

Again, sounds like you already have the truck you'll need.