Tow limit - is this too much for a short haul?

I've towed between 3K and 4K pounds with my V6 4WD MT tacoma and there is no way in hell i would tow any more weight. i know the truck is rated for more and some have towed that much but me, no thanks. it is too dangerous and hard on the truck, i don't care what the imagineers say.

 

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OMG the chicken little comments posted in this forum is palpable. I get it, everyone has an opinion but i was terrified my first tow after being on this forum and it ended up being a nothingburger. I never felt out of control at anytime with my towing experiences which most here would frown upon. I DID have a WD hitch properly setup however. Just do it, you'll be fine, especially on a flat surface. You people crack me up.

 

It can be done.
It can be done safely.
Don’t drive like a jackhole and you will be fine.
Start stopping early and expect everyone else to be idiots.

 

Yeah, its 6400 otherwise with the V6

 

My favorites are the ones that give their expert advice on something they have never actually done.

 

Your right, if you have not towed livestock in a livestock trailer at or close to maximum capacity for your tow vehicle without trailer brakes your opinion is not valid.

Towing a heavy travel trailer...nope not valid
Towing heavy equipment...nope not valid
Towing cargo trailers at capacity..nope not valid

Thanks for the reminder, I would be curious to see how many are left after you eliminate any opinion that does not include livestock...since none of the other tows involve a load that is constantly shifting and can change your toungue weight with a shift of an animal or leaning one way or another.

 

I would agree but I have done it. That's the ONLY reason I would ever comment because a lot of people comment sight unseen. No problem.

 

Maybe if it was a static load, shifting livestock no way, could run into trouble. Gotta ask if it is worth killing the cows, and anyone else for that matter. My father-in-law runs cattle, I could ring him up on the current cost of beef.

 

I mean...you can make 'em a static load pretty quick.

 

But the load is still within the Toyota specified load limit. Do you think they don't account for that? And if not are you assuming that these animals are moving forward and backward at an accelerated pace? Accommodations can be made so this movement can't happen and is probably standard procedure with how the trailers are setup with dividers

 

LOL Dead beef is not desirable but I get what your sayin'

 

Do you know how the livestock trailers are setup? I didn't think so.

 

Ok..you are right...they never ever shift their weight from one side of their body to another...

 

It would be helpful for you to quote the posts you feel are chicken little comments.

Tell me you have never hauled livestock without telling me you have never hauled livestock. All one of those moo cows needs to do is shift its weight from one side to the other (without movement) and you will feel it in your tow vehicle. How much you feel it depends on your tow rig and the size of your trailer.

 

I've pulled a trailer with a scissor lift right around my towing limit and surprisingly it did fine. I didn't feel like the truck was struggling at all. Also it was my 2nd time pulling a trailer at that time so i took it real slow, I drove similar to how I would drive on icy roads. Only modifications I had at that time was heavy duty brakes, 12 ply mud tires, and a 2.5 inch lift, so idk how much that helped

 

Absolutely not safe. Just considering load capacity..... 5400 lbs cattle. Trailer to handle cattle is going to be way more than 1000 lbs. Maybe like 2-3000 lbs. I have an 5x10 utility trailer that weights 750 lbs empty. Now I don't tow livestock but I can imagine the moving load with high CG would be scary in a mid sized pickup. Even a full size truck with 10000 lbs tow capacity would be sketchy. Diesel dually is the only acceptable way IMO. Plus why would you want to risk damage to your own truck for a one time tow. Also, how is 170 miles a short tow?

I do tow a boat about 40 miles a couple times a year. Trailer plus boat is about 4000 lbs. Would not want to tow anything heavier. You can definitely feel it. Truck does fine but the weight is not unnoticed. Can't even imagine a half ton animal back there moving around.

 

Yeah it is still within limit, even with individual stalls, you’ll still get a little movement. Hauling livestock is like hauling water even if the tank has separate chambers it will rock a bit. After towing heavy equipment for decades, always have to think of worst case scenarios, can you get the vehicle stopped in an emergency situation? Can almost guarantee that some knucklehead will stop short or will cut you off. Always on those “short trips, we’ll be fine!” way of thinking.

 

I've towed tons of people. But the issue wasn't so much the weight or shiftiness of them all piled in the trailer. It was the screams. Towed fine otherwise.