Towing a U-Haul Trailer with a 2006 2.7L/4cyl?

Apologies if this is a repeat question - it looked like the other U-Haul related questions were for larger trucks...

I'm moving soon from Tucson to Southern CO and could use y'all's opinion on if it's realistic to do it with a U-Haul trailer instead of renting a truck. My Tacoma is the 2006 base model (2.7L/4cyl) in good shape. I'm only moving a bunch of boxes, a full mattress, and a few smaller pieces of furniture (no couch/appliances/etc).

I know I'll have to drive slower and give myself more stopping distance but is it realistic to tow a 6x12 trailer without destroying my truck?

 

If it’s less than 3,500 pounds loaded, you should be fine...

I’ve got a hitch on my 2.7L that I’ve never used for anything but a hitch-hauler and I’m thinking of renting a UHAUL for a few hours and throwing some random shit it in just to see how it performs!

 

By the way, welcome to TW fellow 2nd Gen RC owner!

 

Check the weight the trailer your renting. I moved my daughter back and forth to college a few times using an enclosed one and those things are heavy. Braking was especially interesting.

 

I had a 2011 Access Cab that had 120K miles, the 4cyl and a automatic transmission and I used it to haul the same size trailer from TX to VA multiple times. It’s not ideal but I didn’t run into any issues other than a massive drop in my gas mileage due to the added weight.

 

It’s all about the total weight of trailer and load. The truck is rated for around 3500lbs. I suggest staying below the max, 3000lbs or less and you should be fine. I keep telling people this , look into moving pods and you don’t have to tow. They deliver the size you want , you load it up and they pick it up and deliver to you4 destination.

 

6x12 is going to be slow going if its fully loaded. Did one of these with my v6 nissan and it was fine, but I'd hate to do it with a 4 cylinder.

A fully stuffed 5x8 will be fine though.

 

Thanks for the advice everyone - it's helpful. I figure it'll be slow and I'll be careful about the weight. Even with the drop in mpg it'll still be way cheaper than renting a box truck from U-Haul. I think it was like $1300 for a truck vs $200 for the trailer.

@Sprig: I tried the pods route already. Moving to a town of 800 people in the middle of nowhere means basically U-Haul or the world's most expensive full service movers :/