The Tacoma Towing Bible

j4xjar3 - what's the weight of the trailer you have been pulling? Any issues come up that you didn't expect? forgot to mention I also got an equalizing hitch, which from what I understand is a must with the higher weights.
A little concerned about the 8 foot wide trailer though.

 

Take a look at the Mekesh mirrors. A little pricey but well worth the $$ with easy on/off after they are adjusted. I love mine after trying som of the cheapo's,I can't imagine using anything else. They do pull on the window molding but they bounce back with-in 5 minutes after mirror removel. When I'm towing I use the stock mirrors a well as the add-ons for a full view. Well worth $$, did I say that already..... These are the older model that I got off Ebay for $45 shipped

Paul

 

Great truck with plenty of power. Pulled through the rolling hills of Penn. last weekend and got 12mpg. Just like your RV rep, people can't believe I use "that truck" to haul my trailer. I sometimes put my 350# motorcycle in the back of the truck just to give it a little more of a work out. As long as I'm with in the limits of the truck and the WD hitch is adjusted correctly, it all good.

Have fun on your maiden outing!!

Paul

 

I use these mirrors, they work great.

 

All Toyota's require a weight distribution hitch to reach their maximum capacity... they're just good practice anyway even with some of the bigger trucks out there.

My trailer is 26' and 4300# dry so fully loaded I'm guessing about 5000-5500# depending on if I'm going on a long trip or not. I really haven't had any issues that I didn't expect but I did once enounter a 30mph head wind and had trouble maintaining 50mph. Sucked gas big time that day and got about 5mpg. Had to make one extra unplanned fuel stop. Speed limit for towing in CA is 55 anyway so I didn't slow anyone down. Even the big rigs were slowing down though due to the high head wind. Probably the only time in 6 years of towing I had to use 3rd gear to tow on the flats. Otherwise it stays in D most of the time.

As for mirrors I echo all the McKesh fans. Depsite the fact that Camping World sells something similar the McKesh have the option for the round mirrors as well which work great with my setup. Fugly yes.. totally functional and safe.. definitely. I'll take functional and safe vs cool looking any day.

 

My owners manual for 2003 tacoma with v6 says that depending on the color of the fan clutch you can tow either 3500 or 5000 lbs. This post in the beginning however makes no mention of this? From what I can tell my first gen v6 is rated for 3500 based on the color of the fan clutch.... Looking at a 2600lb trailmanor.

 

I am trying to contact you about an unrelated topic. Do you have an email? If so please email me at chopperbbt@gmail.com. I have a Tacoma brake controller question.

THank you,

 

QUICK QUESTION!
I have a 1972 cj5 jeep, that i wanna tow to off road so i dont thrash my truck. it weighs no more than 3000 pounds, but i have 35 inch tires with stock gearing on my 3.4 v6 how would i do towing it?

 

I think this thread is dead

 

Probably ok on flats. Hills might be a bitch since you lose a lot of torque going up the 35's. I had 33's on my stock 4.0 v6 and could feel a difference without towing.

Edit:
One thing though, towing the jeep on a trailer? Or with a bumper hitch? A trailer will add 2,000 lbs or more to that. What's the tow rating of your truck with stock tires? It'll be less with the 35's.

 

NO trailer its just a bumper hitch, and there arent too many hills that im worried about, worst case scenario i do 25 in the right lane with hazard lights on

 

Give a shot, see how it works. You're not going far I assume. Do a short haul to see how it works.

 

just about an hour away, we'll see how it works, theres only 1 hill thats a worry for me

 

What is missing in the towing bible (maybe I missed it?) is a reference to the truck's GVWR. You should also stay within that limit, and it is much easier to go over that IMO than to go over the GCWR (which is mentioned).
With the 4x4 DC short bed there is a payload of 1,200lbs. Say you have a trailer tongue weight of 550lbs (very typical for an only under 4,000lbs total travel trailer), plus the weight of the WDH (80lbs or so), then you'll have 570lbs left for everything else, including people, gear, bikes, etc. Not much at all.

 

We have a 2006 Dbl. Cab 4x4 long bed and are looking into getting a traveler trailer. We haven't towed before so this is a new thing for us. We are looking at a 2012 Forest River Surveyor SP260, which has a total length of 28ft but the dry weight is good at around 4200lbs. Since you have towed so much do you think this would be too much for the Tacoma? We bought it with the towing package but we want to take it up to the Tahoe mountains and don't want to put a lot of strain on the truck or feel uncomfortable towing it from the length. Do you think we should go shorter in length?

Thanks

 

I haven't towed anything that long, but seems like a few guys on here have towed 28ft ones. I would suggest a WD hitch to help balance out the weight once you start adding gear and supplies, and to help cut the sway down. Biggest challenge might be maneuvering it. I didn't have much trouble with 6000+lbs when I towed, but they were shorter trailers. You have an auto so keep it out of D except on flats and down hills. If it keeps switching gears on you, drop it down one and leave it.

 

Take it from me and my experiences. If you're going to tow that trailer regularly up to Tahoe (Truckee I assume) then I would get a smaller trailer or a bigger truck. I trailer is 26' and 4200# dry but once loaded it's around 5000# or so. The truck will pull it up the grade from Roseville and Auburn but you won't like being in 3rd gear and pushing 4000-4500RPM to maintain 55mph. I'd say if this was a very occassional trip to Tahoe you'll be ok but like I said, if you want to do this regularly I strongly recomend smaller trailer or bigger truck. I just finished a 2200 mile trip from the Stockton area to Austin Texas (forced relocation) and I pulled my trailer with a bed full of bikes and extra fuel. My family rode in another vehicle so I was pulling alone. The Tacoma did surprisingly well through Arizona and into the Colorado mountains but hitting that small bit of headwind in New Mexico where the speed limit is 70mph I was lucky to stay at 55... on and gas mileage was anywhere from 7.5mpg to 12mpg. PM me if you want more information.

 

Thanks for the information, we have decided to go with a smaller trailer. We are now looking at a rockwood 2306 or comparable that is only about 23ft, so total length 25, and lighter so the truck won't have to work so hard.

 

do the straps leave marks on the side of the truck?

 

Wow, what a great thread. I'm still confused about something, though. I have a 2009 I4 2.7 Prerunner and would like to pull a trailer that has a dry weight of 2800lbs (the FunFinder X 189). I believe I'll need a weight distribution hitch system, but I've looked at these and still can't figure out something: is this system in *addition* to the receiver hitch that you install under the Tacoma, or does it replace it? I don't have the tow package of the V6 so I'm doing all of this from scratch. Am I correct in assuming that I'll need the following?: Receiver hitch (@$200) Weight Distributor (@$300) Towing ball mount sized appropriately for trailer (@$30) Towing ball (@$20) Wiring harness ($??) Electronic Brake controller for trailer brakes ($??) So I'm looking at around, what, $700 just to get the truck "tow-ready" before I buy the trailer? I don't mind spending the money (just got a great job that'll pay for it), but I want to make sure I do it right (and not spend unnecessarily) So am I right here? I've done the rear leaf spring TSB and have a shell on the back (about 200 lbs). I'm not planning on loading the trailer up until we get to our destination, so except for propane and batteries on the towing tongue, I shouldn't exceed 3000# by much. The max towing weight on my taco is 3500. I'll put the camping gear/clothes/food/and a little bit of water in the bed of the truck. Maybe 500 pounds?