Snowmobile in truck bed?

Im about to sell my 3/4 ton and get a '24 SR5 Xtracab with 6ft bed. Do you think i will reret this purchase if I plan to use truck for 3 months of the year to haul a mountain sled around (500 lbs)? How is gas mileage? I see it done a bunch but dont know anyone personally with that setup.

if anyone can share their experience i would appreciate it.

 

Welcome to TW.. hmmm sounds manageable weight wise but not sure if the wheel wells would be tricky, here’s some 3g discussion from some time ago if you haven’t seen it.

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/anyone-haul-a-snowmobile.779917/


but still get the taco

 

Thank you - I did see this thread. I know on the 3rd gens people thought the fuel economy wasnt great and was curious with the new i-force if it would do better.

 

What are the dimensions of the sled? Weight is not a problem at all and you should get at least 20 mpg while hauling it on the highway.

 

I’m sure you’ve seen the dimensions on the interwebs but just in case, width in between the wheel wells is 44”. Hopefully that helps.
I have zero experience hauling mountain sleds because I’m not as cool as you but my dogs fit back there no problem lol

 

Legit Mountain sled ski stance should be well below 44 inches. Generally 36” stance on long tracks.

 

If the skis don't fit you could build something like this. Then the ramp slides under. I bought a similar setup and it worked great.

https://www.dootalk.com/threads/tacoma-dc-cab-sled-deck-project.1480993/

 

Never owned a snowmobile but I would be concern with the weight on the tailgate during load/off-load.

 

Posted this in another snowmobile thread the other day:
Been running my homemade deck for 12 yrs now. I have a summit 165". Truck rides great, I have HD Dakars, airbags as well as BP-51's (they help for rebound). And I have space for gear under the deck I get anywhere between 16 to 13 mpg. Depends on temperature, wind and road, between 65-70 mph. The second pic was taken when I was fabricating it, before the plywood deck was added. I used superslides, super clamp and built the deck around a Marathon telescopic ramp.

 

I was considering getting a 3rd gen Tundra if the Tacoma couldn't handle my sled. I built this over Christmas, just tested it out yesterday. The Tacoma seemed to handle it well, no big issues, power felt fine (I have the OTT Tune). I have ICON RXT leafs on medium, with Bilstein 5160 and 6112. Its on a hinge so it can fold up when I'm not
using it. I have a 2019 Summit, truck is a 2022 SR5.
The sticker payload on my Tacoma is obnoxiously low (less then 1000lbs), but it seems to be doing okay with the sled, plus me (240), plus gear. The deck itself probably weighs around 130-150lbs.