Towing 17 Taco Trd Off Rd. No Problem

I wondered how the 17 Tacoma TRD Off-Road would do Towing and a Heavy load. I went to Atlanta Georgia from Chattanooga Tennessee and picked up a Subaru Forester SUV and loaded it on my 20-foot car trailer. The combined weight was about 6800 pounds. I ran at 65 miles per hour and on level roads the RPMs were about 3000 on steeper about 4,300. I had installed the larger rear bump stops sold by E-Trailer which really seem to help with the weight. Others post that they have problems with Towing but I didn't have any

 

What do you mean by bump stops? Sumos?

What was your mpg?

Looks like there may be a bit more squat than I'd be comfortable with. Is the car sitting forward of center on the trailer? Any guesses on tongue weight?

 

Maybe add a leaf

 

There are bump stops in the rear.

 

Combined weight of trailer and vehicle? Seems a bit high no? Trailer must weigh alot.... like 3000 lbs??

 

Bump Stops-The Rear Rubber Stops that Mount on Top of the Rear Axle up to the Frame.
MPG was right at 15.
Your right there was a little more squat even though the SUV was centered on the trailer, I have now ordered a trailer equalizing hitch which will correct that problem.
Not sure about the tongue weight but I would guess about 700 pounds.

 

A trailer equalizing hitch will correct the squat in the rear.
This is a 20-foot all steel double axle trailer with tool box loaded with tools that weighs about 3300 with no vehicle loaded on it.

 

The trailer is between 3300 to 3500 lb depending on the amount of tools and chains that I carry

 

Were the bump stops you added a dark blue foam?

6800 seems high, a forester is under 4000.

I think I towed (3500 lbs) once without an lb hitch, adding it made a lot of difference.

 

I had bought the Trekonsha P-3 Brake controller from e-trailer "Easy Install". Put it on position 2 dialed it in for the weight it worked great. I highly recommend this controller. My 20 foot steel car trailer has electric brakes so using this controller there is no problem and stopping.

 

The bump stops I ordered from e-trailer are the big black thick Ones rated and 6800 lb it's like adding another Leaf to your rear springs

 

The Tacoma is a workhorse, especially if you add some extra gizmos for towing. I personally would prefer not to tow that kind of weight, but everyone has their own threshold for wear-n-tear and safety.

 

I buy a truck to use as a truck, by using it in my work it pays its own way. If a truck cannot stand the use I bought it for then I will get rid of it and buy one that will.
Of course each to their own on how they want to use their truck.

 

Nothing wrong with that, always nice to see what these trucks are capable of doing.

 

Toyota says this truck has a capability of Towing 6800 lb. I would not go over there recommendation. I bought the Toyota truck because of its towing capacity and it passed the test.

 

Thats what air bags are for. Even 2500’s need bags for towing its an easy fix. Cool review OP thanks for posting. I have no issues towing my 18’ fiberglass bass boat and plan on getting a large tent trailer soon

 

Towed my 67 Camaro from Houston to Jacksonville with about the same results lots of shifting on small hills and lousy gas milage but no problems then or since

 

Never was a fan of airbags because they seem to have a problem often and leaking down, I found the 6800 pound rear bump stops sold by etrailer work well with no worry about air lines.
Towing a larger boat should be no problem.

 

I was hoping the gas mileage while Towing would be higher but for a small truck with a 6 cylinder I didn't think it was too bad

 

If you plan to tow, ditch the bump stops and get bags. They dont usually have issues with leak down if properly installed and cleaned every now and then. You can also add a self leveling setup and not have to worry about filling them up or airing them down.