What kind of camper do you have?

1994 Northern Lite 6.10 Packs it like a trooper 50 Psi in the air bags and the same in the BFG Ko2s..did 4,000 Kms on a road trip to the Yukon and only burned 450 litres of fuel handled the hills no problem and the brakes had no change. camper weighs 1,000 lbs. plus wife dog and all our gear no sweat

 

^^ Looking good, real good.

 

Just the rear AAL and some new ride rite air bags. Works well

 

Update- We took this trailer on our first kind roadtrip over the weekend; about 500 miles round trip.

The Tacoma did great! I kept the speed at 65 and gasmileage was 11-12, but this is in Montana with mountain passes and long inclines. The truck had plenty of power, I had no trouble keeping the speed at 60-65 in the passes.

 

bhunt49 where you using overdrive?

 

Yeah, I kept it in 4 most of the time. I dropped it down to three on a few of the really steep grades.

 

Do you have anything to monitor your trans temps? The snapon driver is letting me demo a used scanner....its can read my trans temp and coolant temp in real time. He wants $600 for it. Not sure if im gonna get it,but im gonna play with it this weekend while towing

 

I don't have anything to monitor transmission temp. I am moving to California at the end of the year and am considering getting a Scanguage since i will be pulling the trailer ~1,500 miles.

 

Ultra gauge. $100. Totally customizable to anything your OBD reads.

 

Tell us more about your Rpod?

 

@melikeymy beer
@Tdkrum5

First off, a little about my truck:
2011 DCLB TRD Sport w/ tow package
Suspension: 2.5" lift w/ Deaver AAL in rear
Tires: 265/70 R17 BFG KO's (~3% larger than stock)
Towing Accessories: Tekonsha Brake Controller (no sway bar or WDH)

And Trailer:
2016 R-Pod, 178 (around 3,000 lbs. dry)

So far I've only had the trailer out on the road twice. Once from Phienix to Flagstaff to bring it home and another for it's maiden voyage to a campground south of Sedona.

From Phx to Flg there is over a mile of uphill elevation change. The Tacoma was definitely tested on the initial drive home with the camper trailer, and handled the load as you might expect: slowly on some of the long grades.
Key things I focused on were to keep the transmission in 4th and take my time.
The truck did downshift to 3rd on a few occasions, but I stayed above 50mph for just about the whole drive drive up on the interstate.
The R-Pod pulled nicely without any issues of sway or pushing the truck around excessively.

Our maiden voyage with the camper trailer was from Flagstaff to Page Springs AZ which is about a 3,500 ft. change in elevation.
For this trip we bypassed the big road and opted for the meandering two lane highway to our destination.
I think this route was much better suited for the whole setup. The road included a series of switchbacks which the single axle trailer pulled well through. Also, the lower speed limits meant that we could drive comfortably without having to navigate both the other slowpokes like us and the speedsters of the AZ interstate highways (of which I'm normally a member of).
A more enjoyable ride than bringing it home for sure.

One thing that I really like about the trailer is how narrow it is. The R-Pod's wheels track wider than what the truck does but the walls of the trailer are just about as wide as the truck. When towing it I can see around it just fine with the factory mirrors.

The addition of a brake controller is a must and I am considering the possibility of a WDH as well. But for now with our short, 45 minute drives to camping spots, I think we'll be just fine as is.

The Tacoma is obviously not a designated tow rig, but I think it pairs with the R-Pod well.

 

That's is very expensive, you can get a scan gauge for 1/3 the price.

 

Thanks for the feedback. Very helpful. I was wondering about the mirrors with the Rpod. Any impressions of the Rpod itself you care to share?

 

scan gauge wont read my 05 tacoma pre-runner trans temps

 

Just bought this

 

Interior shots?
Or did they forget the keys?

 

Just found keys

 

The Gen 3 went out for one camping trip and was replaced by a Tundra. After one trip to 11000 feet the Gen 3, TRD OR, is on the used lot. The 3.5 turned out to be way under powered for my mini camper, at a whopping 3400 dry. Load leveler is must if you don't have one, probably should consider it.

 

Thanks for posting this report. It helps confirm my decision to stay under 3,000 if I decide to get an RV. I told my wife if she wants something larger than that, I am buying a full size truck.

 

No matter what the manual says 3000 lb makes more sense. Especially in the mountains.