Show us what you tow.

Well it comes down to a few things, such as how cautious you are and how much money you have to spend. Personally I feel that an occasional pull of 6,500lb with a Taco that is rated for that much isn't a problem - hell the engineers who designed the truck say it's ok, and they know more about it than any of us.

Of course a 3/4 ton diesel truck is better suited to pulling it, but owning one of those doesn't fit everyone's budget/lifestyle.

 

TOWING!!!!! SAG???
I find it amusing with all the taco owners towing massive boats, trailers, and heavy loads and complaining about a bit of rear sag! We easily forget that these are not FULL SIZE trucks! These are compact pickups!!! The fact that they can even tow up 6500lbs is impressive. if you taco sags an inch with a 5000 pound trailer hooked to it bothers you, get a tundra, or an F350. LOL

 

I totally agree! We seem to forget that these are NOT full size 1/2 ton or 3/4 ton trucks. tacoma's are compact pick ups!!! Would you tow 6000lbs with a 1990 toyota pick up? NO...The comfort and power of the New tacoma is deceiving

 

My tacoma gets the job done fine for me, and as stated a few posts earlier, I agree that it tows better than my full size Chevy pulled the same loads:





The reasons I dont have a Dodge quad cab 4x4 Cummins:
Price- i'm a college student
Size- They simply arent fun to drive around town, and park in parking lots/structures
Offroad- I 'wheel my truck a lot, and a big dodge's physical size/weight would be a hindrance off highway. It flat out wouldnt fit on some trails i've had my truck on.

 

Also, might note the dates on all the pics I just posted. Thats how often I tow, really thats not even close, thats just a few random pics. I haul a lot more. Probably 200+ miles/week average over the last 3 months. Actually, one particularly busy week about a month ago I logged on nearly 1000 miles of towing between 2000-max capacity loads over a 3 1/2 day period.

 

I agree. I tow my 6,500lb boat once a week during the summer from the boatyard in my neighborhood to the gas station (gas hog) and then to the ramp, also in my neighborhood. Total trip is around 2 to 3 miles. Occasionally I will tow to one of the public ramps but that is typically only around 10 to 20 miles away. I am not sure about the shortbed Taco's, however I can say that the long bed, double cab Taco's pull the weight very well and I feel perfectly confident in my trucks ability. 4WD is also a plus for slick ramps. LOL....I can't tell you how many, 2wd's, Volvo's and Mini-Vans etc. that I have seen stuck and spiining on boat ramps.

FWIW, I would like to have theV8 option that is offered in the 4-Runner.

Cheers

 

For me:
Price: I'm in the military. I wouldn't even be able to afford filling that 35(??) gallon tank up let alone car payment and insurance.
Size: Would not be able to fit in the garage. Currently I fit 5 quads, 1 trailer, and my taco in there w/ no problem.
Package: I don't need to compensate.

But I do wish I could tow a 23 ft loaded toy hauler every once in a while.

 

These toy trucks are fine for towing the occasional load to 6500. Making a habit of that is not good. I love my truck and it fits what I am using it for but if I was towing heavy a lot, I would have to have a truck made for doing that. The argument about "towing heavy" with these trucks is relative to one's perceptions and people are gonna do what they are gonna do regardless of common sense. It's like discussing motor oil. At least a million opinions on that...

I feel like these trucks are pretty seriously underpowered with a V6 and I also think the fuel mileage backs that up. I can tow my boat from Corpus Christi to Port Mansfield (about 180 miles) and the mileage will drop from a little over 17.5 to around 10.5 to 11 mpg. And this is not a real heavy boat either. That means the engine is really working hard to maintain speed (all totally flat). These Tacoma trucks are basically a 2005 Tundra re-styled. I think they need a 4.7 litre V8 or a 3 litre turbodiesel to be properly powered. They would get better mileage with correct power and GEARING as well as be more functional towing and every-day use. Just my opinion.

I will say that this truck does pull my boat better than the '07 I had. That one had the auto trans; however it beat the pants off the '09 std for gas mileage. Oh well.

 

Not true. A truck made for towing heavy has a beefier frame, better brakes, longer wheelbase, and adequate power and can better handle the demands and safety requirements because it is engineered to do that.

I once pulled a (big) tractor with front-end loader on a triple-axle trailer for a buddy with my '99 dodge and that load weighed around 18500. The cummins knew it was back there...but it pulled it great because the truck is made to do that. Of course the twin turbos and enhanced fueling didn't hurt either [625 hp @ 1325 foot/pounds torque, not bad for an inline 6 cyl.]...anyway a tacoma is better used with discretion when towing near its rated capacity. Whereas with a big diesel it is generally OK to just go ahead and go to capacity since that is what they are made to do.

Damn I miss that '99 dodge. Hearing those twin turbos spooling up while rowing through the 6 spd box is one of those things in life that just can't be replaced by a gasser. The taco is OK too. But once having driven a performance diesel, it's hard to get over that...

 

this post has veered way off of the intention of having a gallery to show off your towing

 

True. OK guys go back to showing what you tow; the heavier the better!

 

That Airstream (pictured earlier) I pulled to CO & back (2,400 mi trip) is at 4500# (max).
I had to run in 4th most of the time. and keep it under 70 mph.
I can't imagine much more weight than that. I would guess we were closer to 4,000 lbs with everything loaded.
Just my $.02..


Jeff

 

I love seeing a tacoma put to work!!! And you really work yours it seems.

 

This is what I tow. It's light, has excellent build quality and hopefully won't leak for 20+ years!!!!!

 

This is what I tow. It's light, has excellent build quality and hopefully won't leak for 20+ years!!!!!

Is that a Casita trailer? How do you like it?

 

It's like a Casita but has no rivets through the skin and the two halves are glassed together while in the mold so it is a one piece shell. It's called an Escape "escapetrailer.com" . Made in Chilliwack, just east of Vancouver where I live. My wife and I plus my two kids love it. We bought it a year and a half ago and have over 20 000km on it with no problems. This is the
17' model: sleeps 4, big fridge/freezer, stove, full toilet with inside and outside shower, all plywood or solid oak interior and the company owners will customize just about anything for you.
Escape now makes a 19' tandem axle model that wasn't available when we bought this and we're thinking in a year or so to sell this and get the bigger model.
They are not cheap but the quality is unbeatable and they hold their value much more than a stick built trailer.

Cheers

 

Nice looking trailer. I have been checking into the Scamp trailers, Casita (made in TX) and basically any trailer that is light and aerodynamic to enable realistic towing with my Tacoma. Does your truck pull it OK? What kind of mileage do you get while towing the trailer? Thanx for the post and reply.

 

do actually tow with the tailgate down like that? I have "inches" of clearance when it's down, looks like you have enough there. any problems?

 

Sweet set-up. Looks like your headed off for a lot of fun.

 

The truck pulls this set-up quite easily. On the flats with no headwind it'll stay in 5th with the torque converter locked up. If the transmission hunts I'll pull it down to 4th. Usually I drive at 110km/h (65 mph) even if the speed limit is 70 mph or 75. I've never had a tire blowout but have read enough about trailer tires to not sustain high speeds (75+) in the summer for very long.
While towing I usually average 12-14 mpg US. I have dropped into the single digits while driving into a brutal wind in Nevada last year. We dry camp with a large group of people just about every other weekend and ride dirtbikes etc. There are people there that drag up some big toy haulers that obviously have more room but really nothing that we don't have in our "little" trailer. All we really do (!!!!) is sleep in it and having a tiolet makes my wife and two daughters happy which allows me to be happy!!!!!!!
There is lots of room under the tailgate when loaded however I did move the tongue jack back about a foot.
Last summer we lived in it for 5 weeks and 9000km. Did most of the western states. This past summer was another 5 weeks and 7500km trip mainly in southern Utah (going back next year for sure!!!) It handles all types of road conditions very well. I did order, for no charge, a high lift axle and 15" wheels. The extra clearance ensures I won't drag anything.
There is nothing I would change. We love it.