Towing 24' Camper with equalizer hitch

Just wondering if I should upgrade my suspension to pull this camper. It is about a 4600 pound camper. Should I address my suspension before hauling it or just run with stock?

I have a 2020 TRD sport

 

You are going to get long list of posts telling you to spend all sorts of money by people who probably never towed a 4600 camper trailer with a taco. My suggestion if that you tow the camper and then make your decision based on how well it goes.

Note also that the weight of trailer doesn’t matter much when talking about suspension. What matters more is the tongue weight, the weight pushing down on your hitch. A rough estimate is 460 lbs for a 4600 lb trailer.

Also, you need to consider how much weight is in the truck while towing ,

My personal experience is that truck tows a 2300 boat and trailer just fine in stock form, but it does porpoise a little bit. I think that annoys it spooks some people, but in my mind, if I can’t tell the trailer is there, I’ve got too much truck.

Lastly, nothing you do will change the manufacturers GVWR or tow rating in the eyes of the law.

 

I'll be the first. Upgrade the truck. You will hate pulling that camper with your current truck.

 

I second this, 1/2 ton or a truck that is more capable.

 

Distance you want to go, desired speed, terrain, weather will all matter.

And you'll get a huge MPG hit.

 

I take a big MPG hit towing a 1,000 teardrop - of course it's not exactly aerodynamic either.

 

I have a 2016 TRD Off road, quad cab, and two a 22' trailer that weighs about 4500 loaded and about 1500 in the truck with people and cargo. I added air bags on the rear axle. Operating in sport mode 4 and ECT it all handled well up to about 60mph. Above that it got a little squirrely. Mountain passes were not an issue either up or downhill. I have upgraded to the Bilstean 5100 shocks in hope of better controlling the squirrelyness. We shall see on the next trip.

 

A lot more aero, then a 24ft travel trailer. I take a hit, with a 6x14 v- nose enclosed. Dry weight of 1400lb, loaded 3500lb. Not a true joy to pull. Miss 3/4 and 1 ton trucks I previously pulled that trailer with.

 

Third here. You can throw a ton of money making it marginally better, or take advantage of the terrific resale and buy a truck that will tow better than the Tacoma ever could.

 

run it stock. Europeans do it all the time

 

The truck will do the job, however it is a "tail wagging the dog" situation at best.

By "equalizer hitch" I'm assuming you mean a weight distribution hitch.

This is important - make sure you follow the set up instructions for the hitch to the letter, it isn't difficult, just take your time and pay attention to the details.
Properly setup the WDH makes towing much more enjoyable, I hope you opted for the sway control option.

You won't enjoy a long trip - between the engine revving constantly, transmission downshifting on every rise, the wind shoving you around plus the excitement of passing trucks and not having enough go power to stay out of the way of said trucks you will arrive exhausted.

You will not get cramped and achy however - the truck will positively suck the gas like it is going out of style so you will have plenty of opportunities to get out and stretch.

 

If I was going to pull a camper that size I would ask the guy who's done it for thousands of miles, and really knows his shit. @mosccat is the guy.

 

But the TT can only weigh 75% of the tow vehicles weight, 80% if you're an experienced tower.

 

Have you weighed the trailer? If the manufacturer says it’s a 4600lb dry weight it’s likely a 5100lb or more dry weight in reality. You’ll need about 650lbs on the tongue to have adequate stability leaving as little as 300lbs of payload left to carry passengers depending on your truck’s payload rating.

 

Try increasing the tire pressures in your truck, maybe 10psi over what you normally run (if the tyre allows).

 

4500 lbs dry, or 4500 GVWR? 4500 GVWR seems light for a 24' trailer. Right around 4500 is a reasonable max weight for a Tacoma. But if that's dry weight you're going to be pushing 6000 with it loaded.

6000 lbs is right in the middle of what I'd pull with a 1/2 ton truck. Most of them will handle that or a little more. But at 6000 lbs you have to be careful even with 1/2 ton trucks. Some don't have enough payload to handle it safely.

You're overloaded by about 800-1000 lbs. Almost double what the truck is rated for. That's 400 lbs more than my F150 is rated for.

With light duty trucks, (Tacoma and 1/2 tons) you have to make a choice. You can carry a load in the truck and either pull a very small trailer, or you can pull up to the max tow rating. But if you do, you can't put anything in the truck. You have a little more payload and tow rating with a 1/2 ton, but you still can't do both.

That's what they make 3/4 and 1 ton trucks for. There is very little difference in how much a 1/2 ton and a 3/4 ton will tow. But the 3/4 ton will let you pull the trailer AND load up the truck.

 

I towed a 5klb TT (Loaded) 8k miles last year. Things that made towing a bad experience were poorly balanced cargo in the TT, truck tires not inflated enough (I run 10psi over day to day) and the WDH/Sway not set up correctly. With those things correctly set you will not get a squirrelly feeling, porpoising, sag on the rear of the truck or push pull from semis going past at 80mph.

The big thing is keeping within the manufacturers limits. A 5klb TT allows for two passengers and zero cargo in the truck.

IMO.

 

I actually enjoy towing on long trips because it gives me something to think about rather than just being bored.

 

Driving is my primary form of enjoyment, I'm never bored.

That said I have towed with other vehicles that were far more enjoyable for the job than the Tacoma.

 

I would not tow that trailer without a weight distribution hitch, brake controller and a map marking gas stations at every 150 miles.