Towing a 25ft 4400lb trailer

I have been towing almost everything under the sun from age 16 (53 now). the only time my duramax leaves the garage is when it is hooked to a large snowmobile trailer, boat, same trailer with bikes, etc... with hundreds of thousands of miles pulling big trailers in the winter, with terrible roads, and giant crosswinds. i watched a good friend with a lot of trailering experience get into the wag and whip on the expressway, after passing a tractor trailer and hit by crosswind. he did slow down, he did add the trailer brake, had an anti sway hitch... nothing mattered, it happened so fast, even the tractor trailer driver said, i watched the brakes/lights, he did everything he could, that trailer was driving him due to the size of the trailer, and the size of the truck "trying to control it".

the point of the video is, you need to be careful when trailering, it might not be rocket science but, if you dont have a clue, or respect for your load, you will be in the ditch at some point. and at that point, it is on YOU! people in cars dont have the courtesy to understand, we leave gaps in traffic so we can stop. when you cut us off, there is a good chance the "jammer" is going to get punted.

your results may vary. Ski

 

The one factor I haven't seen mentioned (maybe I missed it) is how the weight is distributed in/on the trailer. See this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w9Dgxe584Ss

 

Towed something 5000lbs-ish with the truck. It wasn't terrible. Was only like 45 minutes away to the track though and never felt extra risky. I wouldn't want to drag things through the mountains or anything.

 

I had quite a bit more than 1380lbs.

 

Looking at this high side, tandem wheel Pop-up camper/toy hauler. Has a WDH and trailer brakes. It is long at 29’. Bike is 232 lbs, all gear food is another 200 lbs. Would this be pushing the Tacoma’s limits?

 

Here’s my 2 cents, with the caveat that I haven’t towed this style before.

lb for lb, a pop up is going to tow easier because of aerodynamics. Tongue weight is low, but realize that’s going to change as soon as you load up bike and gear. Figure 50% of your gear and bike weight so that’s 345 + 216 and you’re at ~560. Not bad. Add in anything else in the trailer such as water, LP, batteries, etc and thats another 50-75lb of tongue. Still okay in my mind as long as you’re not loading the truck itself up with 4 peeps and etc.

With that long of a ‘tongue’ most of what you can store in the trailer itself won’t make much of a difference in tongue weight. It’s also a double axle so you take the weight penalty there but gain the stability and safety.

You’re at ~4500lb dry, so some here on TW would argue you’re already past the Taco’s capacity. I disagree, and say that if you set your performance expectations appropriately for the load you’re carrying, you should do fine. It’s long, but also double axle so that helps. It’s getting a little up there in weight, but it’s relatively low so that helps. My one experience towing about 4K lbs showed me that it wasn’t the weight so much as it was the wind resistance that was the challenge at highway speeds. 55-60, just fine. 60-65, starting to work some. 65-70, now I’m feeling it for sure. Of course, the weight factor will kick in when you hit the hills.

Finding the right compromise is what it’s all about. If this fits your lifestyle and needs, and you’re happy with the towing performance, I think your taco will handle it fine.

 

Tacoma is rated for up to 6800lbs in the right configuration. The trucks all go through the SAE J2807 towing test. Every manufacturer does the same test for tow ratings. The Tacoma performed well enough in the test to earn the 6800lbs max tow rating which I am certain already has a built in safety margin, The real tow rating is probably higher than that which was determined during the tests.

 

Nice. I hauled a 10k enclosed with 4 sleds in it with gear ect and did it in the winter for over 10 years. When I got my license at 16 I was hauling it until we touched the passes here. Not so much for my inability as much as it was for other drivers. After 18 I would haul it and my parents would just ride along. Common sense isn't very common though.

Just 3 weeks ago I was driving the same pass and here comes a 4 door sedan towing a trailer that was way outside its limits. Of course no state patrol stopped them. I was amazed it made it up the pass at all.

 

Well that's a good bit over then 1/2 ton your truck have at it.

 

Tow ratings aren't the issue, a Tacoma will PULL a lot more than 6500 lbs. The limiting issue is payload. It varies, but most Tacoma's will be around 1200 lbs. Check the sticker on the drivers door jamb. If the OP's trailer is 4400 lbs dry, it will be over 5000 lbs loaded. You figure 13% of trailer weight as tongue weight, so the trailer will put 650 lbs on the trucks suspension. Add another 100 lbs for the WDH. That leaves 450 lbs available payload for the driver, passengers and other cargo in the truck.

In a nutshell this trailer is right at the upper limits of what a Tacoma will handle. You can pull it, but you won't be able to carry much in the truck. I weigh 220, my wife 140, but I also have a 180 lb cap on my truck. I'd be about 90 lbs overloaded trying to pull a 5000 lb trailer even with nothing in the truck but me and my wife.

You also have to remember that payload also includes any modifications you've done to the truck as well as any tools etc. that stay in the truck. To find true payload weigh the truck and subtract that number from the GVWR. It will be under 1200 lbs on most trucks. Under 1000 on many.

A 1/2 ton doesn't necessarily pull the weight any better than a Tacoma. The difference is available payload. Many 1/2 tons are just under 2000 lbs payload. About double what Tacoma's are rated for.

You were only about 180 lbs overloaded. Every truck ever made has been overloaded at times and going over by such a small amount occasionally isn't a big deal. The weight was inside the truck too. Not behind the truck pushing it around.

 

The Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) has developed the J2807 spec and the Tacoma has met the standard for the rated load.

 

Also, people like to say a “light trucks gets pushed around”. Many years ago I used to own an HD truck that it’s tow rating was almost 2.5x the weight of the truck. You look at brand new 1-ton trucks, some have 30k+ Pound tow ratings. On a truck that weights 6-7k lbs. Those trucks are rated for trailers 4-5x their weight! Pulling loads that are literally 20-25k lbs heavier then the truck. And people here are worried about pulling a trailer that’s 500lbs heavier then the Tacoma. The argument can be made that those trucks are “designed and rated for it”, but guess whose ratings metrics those big trucks are rated from, SAE J2807, same as a Tacoma.

As mentioned above, common sense needs to be applied when towing regardless of your rig. When you see a huge rig capable of towing a mountain pulling over during a wind storm, take a hint, Mother Nature doesn’t care how much you spent.

 

The standard includes only two (2) people that max out at 150 lbs each on board, a weight distributing hitch weight of 70 lbs total, a limited frontal area, only 10 percent (max) of the campers weight on the tongue, and an empty bed. In other words, J2807 is not a 'real world' rating and highly over rates a vehicle's capacity.

Here is an example of one of dumb things your truck has to be "capable" of in order to pass J2807:

While on a steep 12 percent grade, a truck must be able to launch and travel 16 feet (5 meters) uphill, five times in a row, in 5 minutes or less

Can you get more idiotic than that in a real world towing test? I thought so ;-)

 

Why is that idiotic? You ever been in a steep graded mountain pass in bumper to bumper traffic? Every summer I spend in CO, they use the warm months to rebuild Highways and passes. Frustrating cause it causes bad traffic. I’ve seen guys in rigs struggling to build momentum after stopping time after time, I’ve seen rigs over heat and have to pull over Too. I’ve also seen brakes go out after having to constantly stop in traffic going down on the same passes. Some of the vehicles indeed appeared to be towing outside of their rated weight range. I’ve experienced clutch slippage on a stock rig with no trailer, due to constant traffic on mountain passes too. Pretty scary, and I’ve had to pull over and have a longgggg lunches to give the truck a break. Just because you don’t understand the reason for a test doesn’t mean it doesn’t serve a purpose.

I’m going to side with the Society of Automotive Engineers ratings, just as every major vehicle manufacturer in the country does, not the internet.

 

I grew up in CO when I-70 was an interstate, but I have noticed the last few visits that its becoming a parking lot as those mountain towns are becoming suburbs of Denver. I can totally see the issue with towing heavy and stop and go traffic with those grades. Yikes...

 

Read again: You have to travel 80 FEET in FIVE minutes. It has NOTHING to do with climbing a mountain pass. Sheez!
It is an idiotic test as is the entire spec. Oh and who pulls a trailer on vacation with AN EMPTY BED...Lastly only 1 percent of the adult population is 150 lbs...another idiotic "assumption" from the worthless spec.

 

Bye bye transmission...just don't go on any mountain roads...

 

I wonder how you know this?

 

It's great that you don't mind going over Toyota's quoted limits (guess based on that pic) but that doesn't mean others are comfortable with doing so. But you're right. I've only had my Tacoma for a year and haven't had to tow with it yet but have been towing with other trucks for over 20 years.

Everyone differs.