So, I bought my first travel trailer and...... questions...

A single AAL will help dramatically with its load carrying. Adding two would be a lot for any normal use.

I towed my pop up with stock springs and struts, and with 5100’s and the AAL. It towed better but it was still fine with the stock suspension.

 

It’s a 6k lb square box. The truck is gonna hate you.

 

Good to know that trivia. Thanks. I wonder if that was part of the design philosophy or if that’s common.

 

Also for OP, be cautious and careful on your return trip and you’ll get a good sense of what you might need to upgrade. A good WDH can mitigate most if not all of the need for additional springs. Check out the roadmaster setup for stiffening the back. No experience here but the reviews are almost all positive.

The other thing you’ll learn is your tolerance for the Taco’s performance. If 4K rpm drives you bat shit crazy after 2 minutes, you’re going to be shopping or selling. If you’re okay letting the truck work in its natural powerband, then that’s not a problem.

I did a test run with about 3800 lbs of tall trailer. Drove an out and back camping trip in the hill country in Texas that was about 300 miles one way. I wanted to see what the truck could do (wouldn’t do) and it definitely looks for the lower gears. Mpg was about 9.5. But I wasn’t babying it either. Surprisingly, 3rd gear in the hills really pulls if you’re ok with the rpm.

Watch your gas gauge though. It’s a 20 gallon tank at ~10mpg.

All in all, I decided that for my 3-4 times a year, I could deal with the Taco’s shortcomings and enjoy its natural positives the other 350 days a year.

If it turns out the Taco's large enough to travel comfortably in, I may invest in one of the FI kits for that extra peace of mind. Just add ~$6k to the cost of the trailer. Alternatively, “Honey, we need to take your Disco for hauling the trailer”.

Good luck and do report back in this thread how it went.

 

Thanks for the photos of plug under kick panel, Phich. That plug looks the same as the one under my dash below steering wheel. I wonder if for some reason it was re-routed on my truck. I’ll be able to tell if the pigtail I ordered plugs into it. But I might look behind the kick panel to see if there is another unconnected plug, just to be sure.

 

@Roscoe Taco

I think people are just trying to tell you there experiences with towing with a Tacoma. The TT you picked out is awesome! It's perfect for you two, based on your age and what you want to do.I don't think you could have made a better choice. You just have the wrong truck to pull it lol. IMO after a few hundred miles towing that TT you're going to want something with more power. Most people who pull TT's year round will tell you the more power you have the better the towing experience.

I rode with a buddy of mine in his Tacoma last year while pulling his covered dual axle trailer with a ATV and a Razr Side By Side 500 miles to Tennessee, total weight was estimated to be 5500 but it could have been pushing 6K. His Tundra was in the shop and all he had was his Taco.

It just wasn't a pleasant experience. The Taco screamed down the highway in 4th Gear at like 5000 RPM at 55 in a 70 with trucks cars and other TT's whizzing by. It was white knuckle. His Taco was set up with the "tow package". It was all over the road.

By contrast I rode with my other buddy who has a F350 Super Duty Diesel and we pulled his 15K 36 foot TT 1000 miles and it was like nothing was on the tow hitch.

It's all in the vehicle =)

I wish you all the best and truly hope you have an awesome time. You're doing what I plan on doing in 10 to 15 years =)

Happy trails my friend.

 

Mine was pretty buried, but it’s under the kick panel.

 

Thanks Harmon. Some people say “no problem “ some say “big problem”. We’ll consider all comments and in the end, make our own decisions on good idea or not. I’ve never been afraid to try something new, but with proper precautions. This trip will probably be the longest we take, at least until COVID-19 is no longer a problem. We’ll mostly be taking it to Ruidoso area to escape the heat and maybe some winter camping within 2 hours from home.

 

this is the plug underneath my dash. Does anyone know what it is for?

 

That's perfect you will not have any problems at all =)

 

That big white plug? That's your OBD2 port, for pulling diagnostic codes or monitoring the truck. It's not the port the brake controller plugs into. The port for that is under the kick panel, like others have said.

I have an Ultragauge plugged into my OBD2 port to monitor my transmission temps. If your state does emissions, that's the port they plug into to check on the truck then too.

 

What is the highest temp it should be?

 

Well of course. I should have thought of that. Thanks for bringing it to light. I don’t do maintenance on the Taco but I do all the maintenance on my classic British cars, which don’t have OBC, so I never considered that. Duh...

 

Average Tacoma tranny temps are 185-199, winter or summer. Slightly higher for short periods of time while towing is no problem.

 

Cool, thanks. Maybe I’d better get a scan gauge, living here in the high desert.

 

I'd consider a Tundra, but I don't think they will get 13 mpg going down hill with the engine off! Lol
Get it together Toyota. I appreciate the reliability, but you have to get somewhat competitive in the mpg range.

 

Just don’t leave it plugged in when you shut off the truck!
It’ll drain your battery.

but yeah, it’s a good tool to have.

 

I have my P3 mounted below the switches on the drivers left side. I take it out when I am not towing so I don't hit it with my knee.

 

I pull a very similar trailer. 20' 4400lbs dry Zinger.

I use a weight distribution, anti sway hitch, ETC, and stick to 65 mph max. I have brake controller and I feel comfortable driving slowly with it. Will I pull it in a storm? Nope. Will I drive across the country all year? Nope. Will I pull it a few hundred miles at a time all summer long? Yup.

Feel it out.

 

I have to say been towing for years with small vehicles. I have a pop up camper and I love it. I like the feel of being in a tent but being off the ground. They are so much lighter and easy to tow, low wind resistance. I just got my Tacoma a few weeks ago. Actually knew it was coming in the week after my last trip.
I been towing with a 2006 Jeep liberty CRD. That is a 4 cylinder turbo diesel. The Jeep is shorter and shorter wheel base than the Tacoma. It was rated at 5000 pounds and that even with the mighty and efficient diesel engine I wasn't going over 3500 with anything I towed except a friends boat once. I believe the Tacoma will to a little bit better due to being longer wheel base but I think you are pushing to far to be comfortable on longer trips. It may be ok if you don't travel far or I could be all wrong.


I believe you will want to get a larger truck or smaller camper after the first time out if you go far. And you are in the west where they have more mountains than the east coast where I am.
I would suggest a tear drop if you can go that small, a pop up camper, a small hybrid with out a slide that's 18' or less or something like the T@b. All those campers will be more comfortable to to long distance with a smaller mid size truck or SUV.

Another issue I see is that rv dealers talk people in to campers that are at the upper limits of the tow vehicle and don't care because they make commission on selling more trailer.
I do know Im soon going to see how the Tacoma tows my camper and I don't think I'll have trouble.