How much tongue weight can a Toyota Tacoma take?

Hey everyone,

Super new to trucks (one week). Bought a Tacoma as my first. The 2020 TRD Sport.
As soon as people learned I have a truck they came out of the wood work asking me to tow some things for them. It's been pretty wild learning all this new stuff so quickly.

Can we please clarify a few things for me. Questions below:

1. When I search the Max tongue weight for a 2020 Tacoma the search results say 175lbs?

That seems really low. I understand that the tongue weight should be approx. 9-11% of the GVWR of the Trailer So if my trailer is weighting in NET at 3k that 9% is 270lbs. almost 100lbs over the search result. Is this accurate?

2. I am then also looking to confirm that the 270lbs in tongue weight reduces the payload available to the tow vehicle, correct?

3. please confirm that the most important thing is to not exceed the GAWR of the rear axle.

Really trying to cement some of these new ideas and with all these calculations I'm starting to think that most humans regularly overload.

Thanks everyone!

 

MOST hitches are rated for 500 lbs without a Weight Distribution Hitch. Can go over 1000 with one but your Tacoma won't handle anywhere near that. I don't know where you are getting 175 lbs, that is way too low. You couldn't pull an empty utility trailer with 175 lbs of tongue weight.

There is a sticker on the driver's door jamb with a statement saying something like (The combined weight of passengers and cargo should not exceed XXXX lbs). The exact weight varies depending on the truck but a 4X4 DC is usually 1000-1100 lbs. A 4X2 will have more payload as will an access cab. Some trucks loaded up with lots of options can be under 1000 lbs. You'll just have to look it up on your truck.

MOST Tacoma's are rated to tow 6400-6500 lbs. That is how much weight the drivetrain will PULL safely. But not necessarily how much weight the suspension will handle. That is where payload comes in. Your 9-11% tongue weight is sort of the minimum. 13-15% is better. A 6500 lb trailer will put about 850 lbs on your truck. Technically you can pull that with a WDH, but the 850 lbs does come off your available payload. You could do it with nothing in the truck but the driver.

A sensible maximum for a Tacoma is around 4000-4500 lbs. That will put 500-600 lbs on the tongue and leave you a few hundred pounds for the driver, a passenger and some cargo. The more weight you put in the truck the less you can tow. That is true of all trucks BTW. None of them will actually pull the listed tow rating with more than a driver and maybe 200-300 lbs of additional weight.

 

@Marshall R gave a good description of what you need to known about towing anything with a Tacoma. What I’d like to know is where you got the tongue weight numbers for Tacoma and Tundra. What you have is definitely not correct.

 

10% is pretty standard but you need to make sure you have a rated hitch for it. Some people install cheap hitches, some tacomas come standard with them.

 

I was searching the web. I am attaching the full page. I appreciate everyone's responses. This seemed a little odd to me too.
So I asked a friend and they encouraged me to sign up here and inquire.

 

I went and measured the bracket that was there and it's 2" so I think a R3 would be fine to tow up to 3800lb?
I appreciate the advise and will shop carefully when looking to buy a hitch setup.


Do weight distribution setups have to be installed by a pro or can a reasonable bright human do it?

 

Thank you so much for this info!

 

This info is from my 2019 Tacoma brochure.

 

The manual says "If the gross trailer weight is over 2000 lb. (907 kg), a sway control device with sufficient capacity is required."
So if I am towing say 3500lbs I will need a sway control system, correct?

 

There are detailed set up instructions. The biggest problem is finding a torque wrench large enough to tighten the bolts after setting head angle.

 

Correct, you would need sway control. WDH has sway control built in. You can install a stand-alone sway control but at 3500 the WDH with sway is a better option.

 

beauty! Thanks everyone!

 

@TacoAdventures What exactly are you looking to tow or are you collecting general information? Your original post says people are asking you to tow things for them.

Your getting into WDH hitches and sway control. This requires setup on the truck and trailer. If a friend was asking me to tow a trailer that requires WHD and I have to install it for them, that's a hard no. You will also need to install a brake controller (in the truck) if the trailer is equipped with breaks.

 

Yeah that looks very wrong

 

I can't say for sure but I was told at one time, that the 2020 v6 4x4 tongue weight max was around 600 lbs.

 

@LFOD A little of both I guess. Trying to get as much info as I can. I am being asked to tow a 19ft trailer weighing around 3800lbs. I have a brake controller already installed in the truck and they are providing the hitch and sway controller. Were going to hook it up tonight and weight it. I just really want to make sure I do not overload and my risk tolerances as a human are lower than low.

 

Thanks to everyone for their input. I towed the trailer and it was no problem!

 

I would get plenty of practice towing that with your truck (assuming you've never towed before) Towing 3800lbs with a Tacoma is definitely doable and within range but you also need to know how to handle the trailer in case of emergency i.e. getting cutoff on the highway, deer running out in front of you etc. It's very different than just driving a vehicle or a small utility trailer.

 

Thank you for this info! I'm considering purchasing this RV, and I was wondering if my 2023 TRD Pro could handle it. It seems it's right about the max the truck can pull based on your (and other's) info, so long as I use the RV for the majority of the additional camping cargo:

https://forestriverinc.com/rvs/viking-travel-trailers/17MBS/9286

Great thread! Thanks everyone!

 

To everyone who responded to this tread...Thank you.
I ended up buying a 2018 Keystone passport with a wet weight of 3100lbs.
I purchased a Husky WD device and completed 2000KM (1200Mi) of safe towing through the Canadian Rocky Mountains and all within the allowable weights for my various capacities.

Thank you again for your input! it was invaluable
The big lesson was read all the manuals and follow all the instructions from the OM!

E