2024 Tacoma towing requirements, suggestions and recommendations needed

My wife and I are planning on getting back in to RV camping and are looking at the 2024 Tacoma as a potential tow vehicle. I previously had an 2000 F250 V10 that I used to tow a 31' travel trailer that when fully loaded came in at about 9000lbs. This was back when are boys lived with us, we hauled 4 bikes, 2 canoes, a generator, extra water cans, a 150# dog, and a bunch of other stuff and gear. Towing was not a problem.

It is now just the two of us. We are looking a Aliner that is low profile and will max out at about 3000lbs. I anticipate that when fully loaded with us both and our various gear we should come in at about 1600# payload. Since we live in Colorado at 9100' and regularly camp everywhere throughout the USA, but primarily in the West, we will be travelling a lot of mountainous terrain. Major off-roading is no longer in our plans, but we do plenty of disbursed camping.

My wife really likes the Tacoma, and it is definitely in my top 3 choices. We want a 4x4 with 4 doors. But I have several questions. Will the Tacoma be a solid choice for our situation? If so, what would be the best configuration for our situations? What options/requirements/packages should we include in our purchase decision? Also, we currently have a 2018 RAV4 Adventure which has a tow rating of 3500# with 2.4L 4cyl engine, but I would not necessarily use it tow even half that amount at our current elevation. We are looking at a 2024 SR5 that has a I-Force 2.4L 4 cyl Turbocharger engine and is a 4x4. Is this engine really better than our RAV4's 2.4?

Any feedback will be greatly appreciated!

 

I attached the 2024 Tacoma manual. It should have all the info you need for towing and weight limits.

 

An Aliner will be no sweat to a Tacoma at all

 

What about the I-Force 2.4L Turbocharged engine and weight plus elevation I will be driving/towing in? Will this engine be sufficient? Will there be enough power produced? How will the overall performance of this particular engine be impacted? And what additional packages should I insure are included in my vehicle purchase? What I have read on this forum, and on Reddit, I am not getting real solid warm and fuzzy vibes. The dealer has stated there should be no issues or concerns, but that is similar feedback I received when purchasing my RAV4. I am really seeking some real world feedback from and not necessarily the Toyota company line. I know the numbers and weights I have calculated all fall within the stated ranges, but I just need some additional reassurances from some independent sources with real world experience.

Thanks everyone

 

If you need 1600 lbs of payload I would look at a different truck. Unless they are hiding the 1700 lb payload truck somewhere most of them that are crew cab 4x4 are coming in around 1200 lbs. There are a couple of other mid sizers from other brands that have crew cab 4x4's with the payload requirements you need.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Zn3vkEGlvQ

 

The engine will be fine at elevation, Turbo's work well there, and towing the a liner should be no problem, finding the Toyota truck with the payload you need would be the bigger hurdle. The spec sheets say the trucks exist with the payload you need, but I haven't seen one stickered that high yet.

 

As a fellow former Super Duty owner, with a dually Duramax mixed in, buy the vehicle that’s right for the job not the truck you want to be right.

At that payload, I think you’d be better going to a full size truck. The A-Liner itself shouldn’t be an issue but you have a lot of other stuff planned if you’ll be at that much weight.

When towing, you’ll always be at the max for any Tacoma, even with the more powerful turbocharged engine. It’s the other things that you need to consider, like braking, etc., especially out here in the mountains.

 

If you are at elevation with passes, its best to be at 50% of the tow rating or less. Manually downshift on ascents and descents, no cruise, and no overdrive.

I would recommend tundra for towing.


Source: i am towing daily and i look at full size trucks on marketplace daily

 

I also live in Colorado. Denver area. Everywhere I want to go means over Eisenhower and Vail Pass. Going West is easier. Going East is a higher grade and harder. I tow a 4800 pound loaded camper with a 200 series Land Cruiser 3 times a year over those passes for the past 8 years. I am planning on getting a Tacoma ORD to augment and not replace my Land Cruiser. I wanted to make sure that the Tacoma could also tow if I wanted to take it. I am an engineer, looked at all the data. Watched lots of videos on the topic. Some of the best are from an Australian that goes over the physics of towing. I also watched the video posted above of going over the hardest pass pulling a 10K load which is way over spec. Those guys were pushing it hard to maintain 60, which I wouldn't do. The nice thing about the new Tacoma is you can monitor transmission temps and modify your speed accordingly.

You mentioned 1600 lbs of payload. You may want to shift some of that to the A Liner. Also when I am going east over the passes (Coming home) I dump my water tanks which reduces the load by about 500 lbs

Everyone told me I should get a Tundra. Why wouldn't they? It has tons of power and towing capacity. It is just to big for me and the Tacoma will work based on specs with lots of margin and seeing the real world tests from the TFL gang

I would get the package with a brake controller and make sure your trailer has brakes on it. Electric brakes will help with the downhill towing of your camper

Here is data from Toyota

GVWR is 6,175 lbs
Payload is 1,270 lbs
GAWR front is 3,480 lbs
GAWR rear is 3,275 lbs
GCWR is 11,515 lbs.
TWR is 6,400 lbs

Toyota doesn't provide curb weight but inferring GVWR - payload -> 6,175 lbs - 1,270 lbs = 4,905 lbs.

You usually assume 150 lbs per occupant but if you know actual you could do the math. The fuel tank is 18.2 gallons so 6.26 lbs/gal gets you 114 lbs.

4,905 + 2 x 150 + 114 = 5,319 lbs base weight.

So with no other modifications you can carry 856 lbs of cargo and 5,340 lbs of trailer and stay under their stated maximums.

Or biasing for trailer a 6,400 lbs trailer would let you carry 404 lbs of payload with 2 people and a full tank.

50% of towing capability isn't something I agree with. If it was real I would be in trouble with my Land Cruiser. Experts recommend 10-20% from what I saw in videos

Don't do it because I said it is OK, Look at it your self

Below is the Australian guy I mentioned.

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

 

If you're coming from the v10 F250 experience, towing with the Taco (any Taco) is going to feel like a Corolla.

I'd say aim a little higher with the tow vehicle. You're already looking at maxing (or exceeding) the Taco's payload, and in practice we always bring more crap than expected. You don't want to be one grocery store run away from max capacity.

You're also talking about towing in the mountains, where I'd personally like to have a bit more margin.

If you can move weight to the trailer, and get the payload off the truck, that would be a step in the right direction. But if you don't already have the truck, I'd much rather select a vehicle that is more comfortable with what you plan to do.

 

Hey TallMan

Does the ALiner have brakes
If not check in your owners manual for towing capacity of an UNbraked trailer
The unbraked trailer capacity of my Tundra is 1000#

 

Put all the cargo inside the trailer.

 

This is from 2021 TRD Sport Tacoma manual

 

No one has real world experience because only a handful have been sold, and no hybrids til later this year. First couple years of a new gen always have issues, that comes with the territory.

With that much payload please get a Tundra, the Tacoma will struggle to effectively brake in emergency situations, you could hurt innocent people.

I’ll take this chance for my usual PSA:
If you don’t know what engine braking is, much less do it every time in the mountains or in inclement weather, you have no business towing anywhere! Keep your brakes cool for the innocent soul in front of you.

Have fun with your Tundra and travels! A buddy of mine has the new I-Force Tundra and really likes it.

 

wait, the 2024 has the 2gr fe and 2gr fks engines? hmm

 

I edited the above post to show the specs came from a 2021 TRD Sport
My bad
But I believe the unbraked towing capacity of Tacoma will be less than the braked capacity
Looked at a Grand Highlander the other day , Towing capacity 3000# , unbraked 1000#

 

Get a bigger truck, you don't have the payload especially considering the tongue weight of the trailer counts as payload. I towed a 3500lb trailer with my 2nd gen Tacoma and it was ok. The power was fine the braking was not. I moved items around to make sure I was at or just under payload and the towing experience isn't great.

1,600 payload requirement is a lot of shit honestly unless you're bigger people which is fine, I am too. I currently tow a 29' trailer with my Sierra it weighs around 6500lb empty and when loaded with water for camping I have around 800-1000lb of extra payload. 1,600 is a lot for two people...

 

Put all the payload in the trailer.

 

Another vote for the Tundra - the SR 4x4 Double cab is cheaper than a lot of the 4th gen Tacoma trims.

The engine in the SR is detuned slightly but still has 348 horsepower and 405 lb-ft, about the same MPG (17/23 MPG vs 19/24 for the Tacoma), 1885 lb payload and 8300 lb tow rating. The double cab is the small Tundra, but the back seat has about the same amount of legroom as the Tacoma.