Who's towing a travel trailer behind a Tacoma?

GuyB
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Aliso Viejo, CA US
Edited Date/Time 1/27/2012 7:50am
Yeah, yeah...I know...Toyota... spare me the sudden acceleration/quality stuff...I love the truck.

I'm toying with the idea of towing a smaller travel trailer behind my truck to the nationals this summer. Who has a similar setup? What's a good size trailer to be looking at for the V6? What mods should I be looking at?
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swizcore
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Fenton, MI US
2/4/2010 8:59pm
Shitballs GuyB you drive to all the Nationals? Man, you must get homesick. I would... livin the dream though, right.?!
flarider
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2/4/2010 9:03pm
Gonna TFS it?

Gonna grow hippie hair too?
fcr
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2/4/2010 9:35pm
It would be cool to just be able to grow hair.

The Shop

CamP
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2/4/2010 10:01pm
You can borrow my Apache.

MX479Guy
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2/4/2010 10:11pm
CamP wrote:
You can borrow my Apache. [img]http://i.ehow.com/images/GlobalPhoto/Articles/5037409/ApacheatCoonCreek2_Full.jpg[/img]
You can borrow my Apache.

Is that a Z car?
GuyB
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2/4/2010 11:51pm
Yeah...I may do the first eight with the trailer. Seriously toying with the idea.
Racer92
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2/5/2010 4:22am
I have an '04 Prerunner with the 6-cylinder and it doesnt tow too well. With our small open trailer it does okay, but if I put my enclosed trailer behind it it struggles with it - and if you get a head wind forget it. You can tell the gearing is for gas mileage and not towing.

I love the Tacoma, but it isnt a towing truck.
soilsample
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2/5/2010 5:55am
GuyB
Do you have the factory towing package?

If you're gonna tow a serious load, make sure that you have a transmission cooler. The factory tow package has this, but it is a VERY small cooler. You should consider having a good transmission cooler with fan installed.

The other thing you may need is an aftermarket oil cooler.

With these 2 upgrades, and a good hitch, your Tacoma will be ready for 6000# payload. It will not be the same as towing 6000# with a Dodge Diesel.... but the truck will handle it fine.

There are plenty of "feather weight" campers out there. You could be very comfortable in a 22-24' light weight camper, and you could pull it well with a properly set up Tacoma!

Check out that link to Tacomaworld forum.

Good luck
Donald
Kinetic1
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2/5/2010 6:08am
soilsample has two good points but you also need to remember that what makes a camper so heavy is not the camper itself but all the crap you put in it. For your Tocoma I would pack as light as possible. To give you an idea of how quickly it adds up. When I was an OTR truck driver my truck weighed in 1700 lbs heavier with all my crap in it than it did when it was empty. By the time you throw your tools and dishes, clothes and other needed items it adds up very quickly. Of course you could find a small slide in camper for the bed and pull your bike on a trailer behind too.
txmxer
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Weatherford, TX US
2/5/2010 6:16am
OR...don't do it.

The trailer and all is a great idea...if you can get into something with all the comforts of home. You can't tow anything worth staying in practically all summer with a Toy. Just the facts.

If you get a fifth wheel or something like that (with the right truck), you'll be a lot happier.
Larry
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2/5/2010 6:39am
here is what you need GuyB

Racer92
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2/5/2010 7:19am Edited Date/Time 4/17/2016 8:35pm
txmxer wrote:
OR...don't do it. The trailer and all is a great idea...if you can get into something with all the comforts of home. You can't tow anything...
OR...don't do it.

The trailer and all is a great idea...if you can get into something with all the comforts of home. You can't tow anything worth staying in practically all summer with a Toy. Just the facts.

If you get a fifth wheel or something like that (with the right truck), you'll be a lot happier.
Yessir. I cant speak for the '05 and newer models, but the '04 is NOT a tow vehicle. The gearing will keep you in passing gear most of the time, the engine is struggling and the mileage is shit. Unless they changed the engine & final-drive gearing, those things arent any good for pulling. I love our Tacoma; just realize its limitations.

If Im gonna tow, its gonna be with the 6.7 Cummins......
huck
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Mountain Home, AR US
2/5/2010 7:39am
Towing a "small" camper with a "small truck" will suck. You'll hate it and end up spending more in fuel than you would if you stayed in a hotel.


The shower will be way too small, the shitter will be too small to relax, the bed will be uncomfortable...


Better idea....get together with a privateer team and pay them what you'd spend on travel. I'm sure they'll have an extra bunk...and would love the press.


YZKEN250
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Lodi, CA US
2/5/2010 9:00am
GuyB, If you need a place to park your trailer when your on your way to Hangtown, I got a huge driveway about 30-40 minutes from the track. Im right off the 99 Fwy in Lodi. Easy access in and out. Let me know. YZKEN250@AOL.COM
2/5/2010 11:20am
You need a mid thirties divorcee in each national city so the only thing you would need to tow are some rubbers and a box of white zifandel from Wal Mart.
Racer92
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2/5/2010 11:22am
That thing has an even larger wind-block profile than my small enclosed Pace trailer. You pull that with my Tacoma you will get 9-10 mpg at best and it will feel like you are dragging an anchor.

Nice lookin' little rig though.

pitbike502
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Syracuse, NY US
2/5/2010 1:08pm
i was actually just checkin out a "work and play" by forest river. great little toy hauler for under $10k. 2300 lbs dry weight.
CR250Rider
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Moses Lake, WA US
2/5/2010 3:23pm
That 'toy" truck will not make it or be throughly trashed. the running gear just isn't made for that.

My diesel Duramax gets 18mpg with bikes, 14 mpg pulling a 27 foot trav trailer with 3 bikes in the bed. laughs at any hill.
no smoke, quiet, can get a nice used one for 13k

plus no one will laugh at you. Wink




Kinetic1
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2/5/2010 3:31pm
CR250Rider wrote:
That 'toy" truck will not make it or be throughly trashed. the running gear just isn't made for that. My diesel Duramax gets 18mpg with bikes...
That 'toy" truck will not make it or be throughly trashed. the running gear just isn't made for that.

My diesel Duramax gets 18mpg with bikes, 14 mpg pulling a 27 foot trav trailer with 3 bikes in the bed. laughs at any hill.
no smoke, quiet, can get a nice used one for 13k

plus no one will laugh at you. Wink




plus no one will laugh at you


. Well, there is that.Smile
Cygnus
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Hanover, CO US
2/5/2010 3:45pm
CR250Rider wrote:
That 'toy" truck will not make it or be throughly trashed. the running gear just isn't made for that. My diesel Duramax gets 18mpg with bikes...
That 'toy" truck will not make it or be throughly trashed. the running gear just isn't made for that.

My diesel Duramax gets 18mpg with bikes, 14 mpg pulling a 27 foot trav trailer with 3 bikes in the bed. laughs at any hill.
no smoke, quiet, can get a nice used one for 13k

plus no one will laugh at you. Wink




Yep get the diesel and a huge 5th wheel. Think about all the extra ad space!
2/5/2010 4:42pm
Clean pre 76 f250 your golden. Just use it for towing and should last simple to fix. Fuck the tacoma you will just thrash it.
jndmx
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South Kingston, RI US
2/5/2010 5:39pm
I had the 4.0 liter V-6 Ford Ranger which I think is very close to what you have with the Tacoma.
Good all around truck but not great towing over distances.

Short trips were no problem but 200-300 miles at a clip.....not so good.

Anything over 1,800lbs you are working the engine and you can feel it.
You will notice it on the uphill sections and the frequent gas stops.

If you tow something ultra-lite like this maybe.......


[url]http://www.roamingtimes.com/rvreports/tab-teardrop-trailer.aspx[/url]
soilsample
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Welsh, LA US
2/5/2010 5:50pm Edited Date/Time 4/17/2016 8:35pm
The 2nd generation Tacomas have 265hp stock.


That's not a duramax by a long shot....... but it is a capable tow vehicle. If you set up the tacoma with tranny cooler, you will not damage the vehicle.


Believe this:

If your properly equipped Tacoma was not capable of towing a 6000# payload, Toyota would not have rated it for the job. Toyota does not want to see a bunch of their trucks smoking on the side of the highway from doing a job that is Ok'd by their manual.


I have had full size V8 trucks that did not make the HP or Torque that the new Tacomas make.


The Tacoma will never pull like a Cummins Diesel, but if you already own the truck, there is no reason why you can't safely use it to tow a reasonable size camper.


Donald
Racer92
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2/5/2010 6:13pm
Donald, what is the final drive gear on the newer Tacomas? And do they have lock-up torque convertors? Regardless of hp, its about gears. I used to have a B Farmall that was only 18hp and it would pull two large listers in blackland with ease, but it had gearing for the job.

Just curious what they put in them now.
jndmx
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2/5/2010 8:09pm
88sdad wrote:
[img]http://www.vintagebus.com/55westy/55-tent-3.jpg[/img]
End of discussion........

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