Towing a travel trailer that is 27'6" and weighs 4546 lbs

Wow, why would you even want to try towing this with a Tacoma? You need a full size HD truck. If you do attempt to Tow this, I hope you have good medical insurance. Good luck.

 

I think that you will probably have a more pleasant experience towing a trailer that size if you use s4 and keep it at 65-70mph. For perspective, I have towed our Jayco popup (about 2500 pounds loaded) pretty extensively and the truck will tow it down the interstate mostly keeping 5th gear.....but anything heavier (and tall like you have), I can’t imagine that the truck would be very happy holding 5th at all. I also used a SSP in program 3.

FWIW, I just recently installed an OVTune.....while I haven’t towed with it yet, the tune holds the upper gears VERY WELL and improves throttle response. It might help your situation quite a bit and make towing a bit more tolerable....helping to hold 5th. The truck is never going to match the capability of your old Ram, though.

 

I would really like to know how the OVTune works for you.

The last 200 miles on our trip were relatively flat and no wind. The truck seemed to hold fourth gear better around 70 mph. Vey little shifting. I was rather happy with that experience.

I will try S4 on the way home.

To the one from Colorado; we are coming your way this summer. I will take it easy going over Raton Pass and other mountain roads in your beautiful state. Not even the Ram topped that at 70!!

BTW I took our 35 ft TT weighing in at 7700 lbs to Dallas to the buyer. I towed at 60 - 65 without any wind and got .5 mpg less than pulling the current TT with the same Ram. Years of experience has shown the frontal area of a trailer impacts towing more than a couple of thousand pounds. We started with a pop up and loved the experience.

 

There's lots of papsses here that not much would be doing at 70, nor would it be safe to go that fast down them either, though much easier!

I don't remember what I average going up our passes here MPH wise. I do know that going up the passes to Leadville I averaged 13.5 MPG but that is over Loveland Pass on I-70 and then up 91 to Leadville. Not easy. I do know I was in either S3/S4 uphill. I never bothered with S5 as there isn't much flat here.

I got 19.1MPG on the way home. So about 16MPG average towing. I have a Forest River MAC 206ST and probably it was around 2500lbs, and several hundred more in the bed of the truck too.

 

You do realize what SAE J2807 is correct?

Not all trailers require a 3/4 ton truck....

 

Found this.... still would not tow a big trailer. Hope it all works out for him.

The maximum-claimed towing capacity of most pickup trucks is bullshit. Those numbers are created by manufacturers and vetted by no one. The Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) wants to change that, with a standard test for measuring truck towing capacity called "J2807."

The standard was written 2008, revised in 2010, and adopted by Toyota in 2013. Every other automaker who sells trucks in the US was "totally going to start using it," but nobody wanted to be first because they all knew the SAE max would be lower than the numbers they could cook up under their own testing conditions.

 

OV tune and Timbren bump stops, weight distribution, a nice controller, you might find its okay for your trailer. The 6400 lbs tow limit, that’s a legit number to work with. Just not fun, or speedy. Stopping really fast, you’re hosed whether it’s a Ram or a Taco.

 

I have been traveling to beautiful Colorado since the mid 60’s. The wife grew up in Simla and her parents later moved to Aurora. Many weekend trips to ski or see parents. We take our time going through the mountains and enjoy the scenery. Mpg’s were always the best in the mountains and leaving Colorado. But for some reason terrible traveling west on I 70.

This reminds me I need to make reservations at Cherry Creek.

Thanks for your input and will give it a try Saturday.

 

Going West on I-70 there are some fairly long stretches of 5-7% grade so it eats gas no matter what.

 

Monitoring your Transmission temperature is a big help when towing. I noticed manually gearing down prior to the automatic switching kept my temperature from climbing past 220F

 

I tow a 27ft TT weighing 5025lbs dry and the Taco does well towing. Cruising around 65mph on flat interstate in S4 mode. Trans temp around 185f. You may want to also consider installing firestone ride rite air bags.

 

This was going up Stevens Pass on Hwy 2 (Washington) on the way to Lake Wenatchee. Fully loaded. Towing a 19' Nash. Speedo is in km's, as in Canadian lol. It was slow. I wouldn't go bigger than a 22' travel trailer if your anywhere near mountains.
Must haves are a good brake controller and equalizer bars.
I also just ordered Ride Rites

 

Most of the "can I tow it" threads here are full of replies that leave me shaking my head from people that I assume have unrealistic expectations. Yes, the truck can tow it if you have the proper setup and run a WD hitch that is set up correctly. The bigger issue is the driver though.

I tow a Jayco X213 that weighs 4,500lbs dry. Most of my trips are over 100 miles one direction and we take it out 6+ times a year. Our house is at 4,500 ft elevation and I regularly tow over passes between 6,200 and 8,000 ft.

I often pass full sized trucks going up the grades and can hold 55mph (in 2nd). Transmission temps get a bit hot in the mountains so I installed a larger plate cooler in addition to the small factory aux cooler. You can't be afraid to make the truck work.

 

Your WD hitch isn't adjusted properly. When it is all set your truck should be sitting close to where it does without the trailer hitched. Was it set up for your truck before toy installed the lift?

If your looking for a trailer check out the Jayco X213 pictured above. King size bed slides out in the rear and there are twin bunks up front for the kids. Its a nice, small trailer for a family of 4 and you don't have to convert the dining area which is a big plus when camping with little ones that'll likely be going to bed before mom and dad.

 

I

It was set up for a Silverado... I just plugged in and drove. Only hauled twice as I got it late in the year. Need to adjust this spring.

 

It'll level out nicely for you once you're dialed in.

 

Already bought a 174BH. The X213 is heavier than I wanted and I didn't want any slides.

 

My rig...2013 Tacoma Limited 4x4 with towing package, Timbrem

$270 Tortun4L Suspension Enhancement System

Tortun4L Bumps, Anderson WD/Sway control hitch, pulling an Rpod 180, 2,700# dry, 3,700# wet (includes 2 passengers, full tank of fuel, etc.). Max hwy speed 65 limits wind resistance. No cruise control in hills limits number of downshifts , easier on tranny, improves fuel mileage. Was considering going to a Retro RV 23’, 3,700# dry weight but decided to stay with the lighter weight, more aerodynamic Rpod!!!! My Taco will last a lot longer.