The Tacoma Towing Bible

This. Except I use an OBD scanner, and TorquePro.

 

Question to the Master Towers here-
I have a 2017 Tacoma 4x4 AT DC with Tow Package. B Panel says 5600 GVWR capacity. I have seen and heard a lot of different things. I am considering this tailer - 21ft and tandem. GVWR is 5900lbs and max cargo is 1834. So, that puts the trailer at about 4100lbs dry. Can I get some thoughts on this? Too much? Right on the edge? Thanks in advance.

 

Thats a little heavier than the trailer I bought in December (3800 lbs wet but empty, 4500 lbs gwr), and I towed it from Dallas to Reno, NV to Santa Cruz with my Taco 4x4 (6500 lb tow capacity rating) on the mostly empty side of things (call it 4000 lbs). The taco did OK but the gas mileage sucked. Worse part was the size of the gas tank with the bad mileage meant way too many fuel stops when we were trying to cannonball our way home... I've since gone and bought a bit beefier truck for future towing adventures...


2002 Ford F250 Supercab (extended not doublecab) longbed 4x4 with the 7.3 Diesel...

this one has a 2100 lb payload, and 12500 lb tow, and 8800 lb GVWR and 20,000 lb GCWR. basically, it will tow ANYthing, and gets at least as good mileage as the Tacoma, with a 38 gallon diesel tank.

 

A different truck isn’t an option. I love my Taco and have done quite a few mods. I’d get a different trailer first. It was just a smokin deal on the trailer.

 

then keep the payload in the truck to a minimum, watch your trailer's tongue weight closely (it should be about 10% of the trailers actual weight as loaded), and use a WDH (weight distributing hitch) suitable for the gross weight of the trailer, and drive one gear down all the time so the RPMs stay in the 2000-3500 range, maybe even 4000 RPM climbing long steep hills at speed. make sure your trailer brake controller is carefully adjusted and the trailer brakes are in top condition, and you'll be OK.

the tongue weights advertised for trailers are usually pretty optimistic.

oh, and figure towing miles are double regular miles in terms of service intervals. if you normally change your oil every 5000 miles, if you do 100% towing, then change it every 2500 miles. same for everything else. if you have an automatic, get a transmission temperature gauge and monitor it, any time things start to get warmer than normal, back off, downshift.

 

Your towing capacity is listed as 6400#. A good rule of thumb is to go with 80% capacity. So that gives you a good/safe trailer weight around 5120#. Our camper has a pretty similar dry weight with the large cargo capacity that you're looking at. When I scaled it, it was under 5000 almost fully wet. We don't carry water, so that is not an issue. Ready to camp I figure we are at around #5200. You have to watch the GCWR and tongue weight as LeftCoast noted. If I push it, I can guarantee I exceed the GCWR. And if I don't distribute weight in trailer, I can guarantee I exceed tongue weight. FWIW, I use a WDH and have an extra tranny cooler on top of the tow package one. Definitely a necessity. And yes fuel mileage will suck.

 

Hello everyone.

I have a 3rd gen with tow package and a travel trailer that has a max weight of 3800lbs and a max tongue weight of 480. Can anyone recommend a good weight distributing hitch for cheap?

Thanks, Brian

 

any WDH with a 600/6000 lb rating would work. that said, the conventional ones with spring bars and chains are a pain to hitch, and a real pain to get on and off the truck because they weigh a bunch.

the /good/ one is the Andersen, which combines weight distributing with natural antisway.

here's the documents and stuff on the Andersen,
https://andersenhitches.com/Catalog/weight-distribution-kits.aspx


I got a cheap bar-n-chain WDH and regret it, wish I'd gotten a Andersen.

$310 Eaz-Lift Elite 600lb Weight Distribution Hitch with Height Adjustable Forged Shank (48051)

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0024E6XBA

Then I put airbags and better shocks on my Tacoma and found I really didn't need the WDH with my 2500-3500 lb trailer, I even towed a ~4200 lb trailer from Dallas to Reno to Santa Cruz, California without the WDH....

 

Hey Left coast,

Thanks for you answer. The Anderson hitch is a little expensive. Is there anything in between?

About the air bags, what kind do you have?
And a question: I thought the airbags only level the truck and do not compensate for the rearward shifting of the weight from the front tires. What do you think?

Thanks, Brian

 

indeed, they do just that, but with the back of the truck stiffened up, my 3500 and 4000 lb trailers no longer cause the truck to pitch up and down, and they just generally drive nicer, without the hassle of having to deal with a WDH.

that inexpensive one is as good as any other conventional WDH in its weight range.

My airbags are the Firestone Ride-Rite kit specific for a gen2 Tacoma 4x4.

 

in the market for a travel trailer or pop-up for the family - we intend to keep the dry weight <2000 lbs. we have the option of renting the models we're looking at for a decent rate so before we buy we're gonna do some testing over the next couple of months.

haven't towed with my Taco yet. have a 17 DCSB OR w/ towing package. when we buy I'll probably get some airbags but will probably forgo WDH for now. that said and I'm sure it is in here many times on the thread (search didn't give me anything conclusive)...

Recommendations for a simple height-adjustable receiver / ball to get us started on our rental shenanigans?

 

i'd skip the height adjustable, just measure the height of the trailer hitch when the trailer is level, measure the height of your reciever, and figure out how much drop you need. non-lifted smaller trailers, probably 3" with a OR...

and yeah, airbags, made a huge difference in ride comfort on my 08 TRD OR towing a Casita 16' which is 2100 lbs dry, 3500 max.

 

whoa, unless you're tacoma is WAY taller than stock, that thing is way too big.

a 2" drop worked OK for me, I got a 4" drop hitch, which seems to work perfectly with my Ford SuperDuty, but might have been an inch too low for the Tacoma.

now, if you get a WDH, most of those are height adjustable.

 

Looking for updated information on good tow mirrors for a 2017.

 

In the "Show Us What You Tow" thread it sounds like ProEFX may have 3rd Gen mirrors out soon. I will be using the below until I bite the bullet on a set of ProEFX mirrors.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001AJH1HK/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s02?ie=UTF8&psc=1

They're just cheap clip-ons but several good reviews here on TW & online.

 

@Spoon93 thanks for the information

 

yeah, I've used these,

$20 CIPA 11950 Clip-On Towing Mirror,Black & Silver, 15.75"

https://www.amazon.com/CIPA-11950-Universal-Towing-Mirror/dp/B00029WRKA/ ... whihc look like the same thing as Spoon93 suggested. they stay on and work reasonably well

 

@LeftCoastNerd thanks Frt link and information.

My biggest concern is the mirror bouncing around to much to see clearly.

 

I'm not sure which brand they are, but they look like the CIPA and the FitSystem ones, they came with a bin of trailer stuff the original owner of our Escape trailer gave us, and they worked much better than the ones I'd originally bought. quite steady on my gen2 all the way from Dallas to Reno to Santa Cruz.

I had bought these, https://www.campingworld.com/cipa-universal-tow-mirror and they kept loosening and slipping, not good. with my Casita 16' I really didn't need mirrors, but with the wider Escape 21, they were much more useful. now I have a F250 and its factory mirrors extend way plenty wide enough.

 

I have to tow a 5k lb trailer 200 miles this weekend over 3 mountain passes so I will let you know how the Fit System mirrors work. They're supposed to be delivered by brown santa today.