Talk me off the towing ledge!

Maybe someone can talk off a ledge... I just bought a Coleman Lx 2155BH TT. We’re are very excited about it but also I’m really unsure if I will like towing it with my 2016 Tacoma V6 with tow package. I’ve practically looked at every towing post on here and watched videos and I’m still not convinced. I was looking at smaller trailers but realized they aren’t quite what will work for my family so i pushed the size to 4500#s dry, gvwr is under 6000# and it’ll never be over 5500# loaded with people and gear in truck included. Ive always had 1500’s but found I wasn’t doing enough towing or hauling to justify having one being that I commute over an hour often, so I went for the Tacoma and do love it so far.

I bought the load distribution hitch with anti sway and trailer brake setup. The dealer swears it’ll be no issue. I’m sure it will be good enough but I’ve done a decent amount of towing and hauling and understand that power can be a good friend and enemy when towing. I really don’t want to start throwing money at the truck to make a worthy tow vehicle. I live in New Hampshire and plan on camping all over New England and beyond. Hills and mountains will be a factor to a point, that’s just the way it is here. I don’t want to trade it in but I don’t want to destroy it trying to maintain a reasonable, somewhat steady speed.

Any advice would be great and welcome. I’m new to the site but have already enjoyed the resource.

Here is the truck and the trailer. I haven’t picked up the trailer, I’ll be doing that in a week.

 

Get a gauge to monitor the trans temps. That's a critical factor to the health of the truck.

The trailer has brakes, right? That's a critical factor to the health of your family.

After that, try it and see is your only option. You won't really 'hurt' anything, but you may not like it. Or it may be fine. It's partially your expectations and skills / experience mashed up.

 

We tow this Keystone Passport 2300BH.

4,390 lbs. dry. Not an issue at all. You do need a good sway control hitch. We use the Reese Dual Cam. It is not yet installed in this picture as this was delivery day. One thing this trailer has is the spread axle design to reduce sway. I think it makes a difference compared to towing my Sunline with normal spaced axles. Maybe it does nothing?

Towed a 25ft Sunline for 9 years as well. 4,200 lbs. dry.

All 2nd gens, but not too much different.

 

Thanks for the input!

Clearwater Bill, it does have trailer brakes. And yes I need to just tow the thing see how it is.

TRDZR2, what do you think you’re weighing in at loaded to go camping? I figure I’ll be over 5000# loaded out.

 

I am towing a 3900 (dry) trailer that is just a bit smaller than yours. Very stable with WDT. No question the Taco is lacking in power, but you will get there. I personally would not want to go any bigger than what I got. Actually, I'd like to have a lighter / smaller trailer but it doesn't fit the family so, like you, we upped our self-imposed weight limit and are content with the compromise.

 

Probably around 5,000lbs. For one of our longer trips we buy the food and beverage once we arrive and lighten the trailer by removing nonessential things.

For the local state park runs it is at least a few hundred above 5,000. Food, spare battery, bikes, etc.

It’s Upstate NY so hills are not a real issue. Even in the Adirondacks they are not bad. This towing combo in some parts of the country would be less than ideal.

 

That’s good to hear, I think my setup will
be around the same weight, with similar terrain also. Do you have anything done to your truck? Timbrens or bags? Extra trans cooler temp guage?

 

Trans temp gauge is simple. Use a unit that plugs into the OBDII port and set up the display.

You'll also be able to see anything else the ECU monitors, including CELs and resetting CELs if needed.

I'm partial to the ScanGaugeII, but there are others available.

 

I do not have any accessories outside of OEM tow package.

I plan on getting a scan guage to monitor the trans for our upcoming 6 hour trip to NJ coast. Our last long trip was Moose Hillock in NH right after all the flooding and washouts July 4th. Went smooth with the old trailer even across VT to NY.

I have had air bags in my 2003 Dcab Tacoma. It rode awful and created a point on the frame where it could bend the frame. It was a new frame from the warranty swap and you could see the trailer bend box away from the cab. The 1st Gen frames were weak at that point. Newer trucks are better, but would still concern me.

I traded the 03 and sold the bags for those reasons. Great truck otherwise. They did not seem to work well with the WD hitch. Rode way too stiff and seemingly could not properly transfer weight to front. May have been an illusion, not sure. I just don’t think they are appropriate for this scenario with a WDH. As you can see, I can get the truck to proper rear height with the bars. I am still 1000-1500lbs under max weight so it is not an issue. Air bags are great for hauling weight in the bed like a cap or 4 wheeler and possibly a lighter boat that does not have any WDH by design.

Sounds like we are in similar situations with the main difference being your 3rd gen might spin a higher RPM in some towing scenarios making you think it is too high or annoying sounding. It is actually normal for that motor as that is where some of the real power gains are. The 4.0 is a different animal and comparatively would spin lower rpms for those extreme hilly moments of the trip.

A real concern is getting up above 5,000lbs and exceeding 26 feet or so. Those longer trailers can push the Tacoma around. I think 25-27 is the max range that is safe with around 5,000-5,200 lbs loaded.

One thing I do notice is the aerodynamic front on the new trailer affected gas mileage by 2 mpg over the old traditional flat front we had on the Sunline.

The people we bought it from had your exact same truck BTW. They had no issues.


My last 2nd Gen with our sold Sunline...

 

Good info there thanks. I hadn’t read anything about possible frame issues with air bags, but it does make sense. I am getting a Reese steady flex 10k wd hitch, So we’ll see how that does. And take it from there. I’ll get a trans temp guage right away everyone is saying it’s a good idea.

 

I towed approximately 1000 pounds of rock, 1500 pounds of mulch, and a 1800 pound trailer two weekends ago and I can't imagine pulling a full size trailer. Its not the braking that worries me, its mainly the fact that the truck doesn't have enough curb weight to offset the weight of what you're pulling.

The motor does a respectable job, especially with ECT enabled and s4 engaged, but the tow behind weight knocks you all over the place.

 

I think that is usually the argument guys who have bigger trucks use. I get it and agree with it to a point.

 

I have been towing these size trailers for over 20 years.

1999 S-10 ZR2
2003 Tacoma Dcab TRD
2008 Tacoma Dcab TRD
2015 Tacoma Dcab TRD

With respect to most of my trucks above Chevrolet and Toyota Engineering state they do have the abilty to pull this much...and more. In my experience they do have the curb weight to handle these 5,000 lbs trailers. That is a factor, but not all of the equation. Staying within spec, set up, braking, driving for the conditions and experience towing also have an impact. If one does not feel safe towing something, then by all means they should not. These trucks are fully capable of safely doing the job.

 

That seems to be the consensus, it really comes down to preference, ability and what works for you cost wise.

 

I didn’t pull a travel trailer, but I went 3000 miles at 75mph with 5500lbs. I had no problems and I was pretty comfortable. I used a cheap curt brake controller, and a weight distribution hitch. I had to slam on my brakes in traffic, go up and down mountains, and drive in tunnels with no shoulders. The truck did wonderfully and I’d do it again... I’d just take more than a week!

 

I like hearing that stuff. I was pretty anxious about going with a bigger trailer than i originally planned. Ive learned a bunch about these trucks so now I just want to pick it up and see how it is!

 

It’ll be fine you’ll spend a lot of time in 4th gear, your revs will be high often. Just remember this engine is rev happy and can handle it

 

Yes I’m pretty convinced now. I will have to make some mods in time but I have to see how it all with work out. I do have to figure out a tow mirror set up. I don’t like the clip on ones, and I really don’t want to cob something on either. I wish Toyota had a telascopeing oem one or something.

 

Glad I stumbled into this thread. I was a bit anxious to pick up my hybrid tt this weekend its a 2013 Rockwood Roo 233 that has a dry weight of ~4500 and a GVWR of ~6100 its a about 25' hitch to bumper. Sounds like I will be fine with the taco. I just picked up the WD hitch, brake controller and some new tires. I have towed plenty of smaller trailers (utility, boat, and pop up) this will just be the biggest I have pulled. Thanks for the discussion.

 

Good to hear it helped! Everyone helped me calm down about it. I was in the same shoes as you being that i went bigger than i had planned but I’m glad i did so far. We picked up our trailer last night and I was very pleased with the way the truck performed. Its about 75 miles home from where we got it and there is quite a few different types of driving so I got a good feel for it. Just like everyone says you know it’s back there but with ECT power on it easily maintained speed and handled well. My suggestions would definitely be get something to monitor your trans temps, I got a scanguage which I like, it’s simple to use and good piece of mind for me.Don’t forget tow mirrors I dragged my feet because i didn’t know what route to go with them and it wasn’t safe not having them. Other than that it was great! I can’t wait to get it set up and do some camping.