Towing a 24ft Yamaha Boat with the Taco

Hi all,

I am new here so please forgive me if this question has already been posted. But I am about to take delivery of my next toy, a Yamaha 242x, and I want to make sure that my truck will be able to tow it safely. The dry weight of the boat on the trailer is 5400Lbs (~500lbs tongue) add 50 gal of fuel and some gear and its about 5900Lbs (I won't town with it full of fuel all the time, probably ~5600lbs most of the time). Trailer is about 25ft long.

My question is can the truck do it safely, I have seen a lot of people say that It can be done with a weight disturbing hitch and a trailer break controller but I just want to make sure that towing it wont't put my girlfriend and friends in danger.

My truck is a 2017 TRD Off Road with factory tow pack.

Thanks,
-Josh

 

Check your manual but it should be Rated to tow upto 6500 lbs. make sure you're including weight of passengers, cargo in truck. Any mods can potentially reduce payload and your available towing capacity

 

I know that is what the truck is rated for but will it actually do it in the real world? I have learned that just because something is rated doesn't mean that you should do it.

 

I wouldn't be interested, but maybe that's just me.

That size rig is Tundra duty IMHO.

 

I tow a lot of boats and looking at the design of the 242x, I would not tow it with a Tacoma. There is too much side hull for wind gusts to catch that boat and things could go squirrley real quick. Yes, a load distributing hitch would help, but that boat is right there on the line of towing with a full size.

 

I'm wondering if it would be able to pull it out the water and up a boat ramp.

 

Its gonna be pushing it and not a comfortable tow but it'll do it.

 

In 4lo maybe, depending on the pitch and slickness of the ramp.

 

I would go for it, but would be in 4WD when pulling it up the ramp for sure.

 

I think Toyota had the 3rd Gen originally rated at 6800 and now their website says 6400, wonder why they downgraded.

 

Well would it even be worth buying a weight distribution hitch and trailer break controller, doing all the wiring just to find out that the truck is not capable of towing that load?

 

Common sense...... when in doubt......Don't You have been given the Sane Safe and correct Answers. here

 

A Duramax Colorado would tow that all day long...

 

I wouldn't. I'm a fairly seasoned tower and I thought 4000 pounds was pretty damn sketchy ...

If you're going right down the street, sure. But if any appreciable mileage or any hills are involved, forget it.

 

When you say 4000Lbs was sketchy was that just with the tuck as is or with trailer breaks and whatnot?

 

Approximately 1800 pound trailer loaded with a 2200-ish pound race car... this was with a load distributing hitch and trailer brakes.

Anyone who tows 6000 pounds with this truck is nutzo

 

Good to know, Thanks.

Looks like I am going to have to jump up to a full size to tow that beast. Kind of bummed, I love the Taco.

 

it's not about being capable... you said it yourself. it's about being safe. that is, at speed, on the road, in traffic, with wind or weather... the unsafe bit is what you don't expect and the manual and load ratings don't talk to this point. if safety for your passengers is the main thing, then you can do way better with a full size. it's about safe handling on the highway. the Taco will get blown around with that load.

 

2wd V6 Access Cab can pull 6800. Double Cabs and/or 4x4 are heavier and reduce the rating.

 

the heaviest thing i have towed in my truck was a skid steer. it was around 6000lbs with the trailer. the truck towed it fine. stopping was a little scary but its flat in florida and if you drive save and give your self some distance it was fine. towing my 20 foot center console on the other hand at 70 mph drags the truck down so bad i was getting like 6 to 7 mpg, but around town it is fine.