Towing a Toy Hauler

I’m looking into getting a toy hauler to haul some kayaks and possible ATV in the future.

the one I’m looking at is a Wolf Pup 18RJB

Specs:

• Length 22 ft 9 in
• Dry Weight3435 lbs
• Hitch Weight426
• GVWR4999
• Cargo Weight (CCC)1564

do you think the tacoma would be okay towing this? I do have 4x4 V6 with towing package.

I do plan on getting an OV tune done, a weight distribution hitch and sway bars

 

This is just me and by way of full disclosure I am a conservative coward, but I wouldn't feel comfortable towing anything longer than 18-19 ft with my truck. If I were going to tow what you're proposing on a regular basis I would have a full size pickup with a V8 and trailer brakes. I bought mine to tow, but I'll be hauling a touring motorcycle on a UHaul 5x9 motorcycle trailer. Total weight of the entire package is 2200 lbs and very limited cargo. Plus it's short. Figured anything bigger than a taco was overkill and spending fuel $$ for nothing.

 

Yep, you'll be totally fine towing that. I tow a 20ft Rpod. I'd look into getting Airbags and a weight distribution hitch tho for sure. Dry my pod is 3k, i've had it loaded up to capacity a about 3800lbs plus 2 heavy dirtbikes in the back of my truck. Granted i'm on 5.29's, but I towed the trailer in stock config and it did well. Take it slow and you'll be fine with the setup you're proposing. I'm looking into a toy hauler in my future.

 

Also consider height and width, a small truck doesn't punch a very big hole in the air, so the additional surface area becomes a parachute.
It will pull it, but I think you're in smaller camper or larger truck territory.

 

This.

I had a Jayco 154BH (3500GVWR) that I towed with the Tacoma. It did it. It wasn't the worst thing in the world, but if I did it regularly, I'd buy a bigger truck or regear. My wife and I are looking at campers again...good excuse for me to regear.

I added trailer brakes and I hear a weight distribution hitch helps matters. Good luck!

 

how do you like your rpod?

 

It’s nice. I enjoy it. The design is kinda funky in regards to the axle and I assume I will have issues with it in the future there. But so far I’ve been happy. Tows nicely behind the Tacoma.

 

Depending on what's in the truck too, you should be fine be mindful of payload=stuff/people in the truck + hitch weight. Most tacos have ~ 6500lbs towing capacity at 5000lbs you are at ~75% of that. Considering that toyota with their engineers and lawyers decided that 6500lbs was fine for the vast majority of drivers 5000 if you are reasonably awake seems pretty ok.

At that weight trailer brakes and a controller are non-optional.

Weight distributing hitch is highly recommended for ride comfort, steering vagueness and axle weights.

sway bar...depending on if you are at the lower end of hitch weight for the trailer. The taco's VSC does some sway control and your hitch may have some sway control,so maybe, maybe not needed.

A tune...you are going to be in a lower gear and revving it no matter what you do, tune may help hold higher gears longer but the engine is designed to be turning to make power, let it wind out, crank the tunes and don't worry what the tach says. It's not a diesel so it needs, and can handle the revs.

 

Not looking to be the new guy asshole starting arguments or anything but you do know manufacturers don't come up with the tow rating right? It's a SAE standard, J2807 to be specific and Tacoma is fully compliant.

I don't disagree with anything else you said, just wanted to point out "engineers and lawyers" didn't just "decide" on a number.

I pull a ~5200 pound TT with my OR and it does fine, I also have a class A CDL and drive overweight rigs on the daily (upwards of 110k lbs) so I've got a bit of experience with heavy loads. Having said that, if you're not an idiot and you have trailer brakes and a WDH your Tacoma will be fine at 5k pounds.

 

so trailer brakes and WDH and I should be okay? I wanna have everything ready before picking up the new toy.

 

I pull a 26DJSE it's not a toy hauler but dry weight is 4600. She tows it fine, 8-10mpg highway but my work rig gets 2.6 so I'm not bitchin lol.
Should mention I'm in a 6MT, I hear the autos are pretty bad unless you're tuned.

 

We were looking at the R-pod but in the end bought a Nucamp Tab 400. https://nucamprv.com/tab400-camper/ It was a lot more money but we are very happy with it. How do you like the R-pod?
The Tab 400 is 3000lbs dry weight. No need for WDH. I don't have a sway control yet... not sure if I need one. I do wish I had a gear in between drive and overdrive when towing.
My first trailer was a 27 ft, dry weight 4700lbs. It towed fine but I only took it a couple hours to a campground and left it there for a couple weeks once a year. My next was a 23 ft 3900lb dry weight. Still too heavy for long hauls but was fine for 3 hour tours a few times a year. The Tab400 I will tow across hells half acre several times a year.

 

Yep, I am aware thanks. I'm pretty sure nobody thinks they where sitting around shooting the shit and having a beer and said "awe fuck it 6500 sounds good".

 

While I agree that the Tacoma was tested by the SAE standard J2807, that doesn't mean that what they are rated for was the result of the test. Toyota can make that number lower if they want to.

 

Sweet! I've towed my Rpod with and without my WDH. While it's not required it deff makes a world of difference with the WDH especially on windy roads. I've noticed the responsiveness and steering to be very reactive with the WDH and just feels a lot smoother. With the Regear to 5.29, i've tuned my 5th gear to never unlock the TC and can cruise down the insterstate at 55-65 in 5th depending on the wind.

 

What would your RPM be while at 60 mph? In 4th I'm 2500 rpm @ 60 mph. I would love to be able to manually lock the TC. I would just stay in OD.

 

here’s 4th @60

5th @60

and 6th @60

my truck is on 33’s for reference 285/75/16’s that spec out at 32.9” diameter. my trucks speedo has also been corrected for tire size and is accurate. 5th at 60 is a good cruising gear with no headwind towing and sometimes even 6th if it’s really flat with a tailwind but 5th is mainly where it’s at.
I also tuned 3rd not to Unlock the TC for slow pulling up windy hills. Originally, With my tune (ovtune 2.0final) 3rd gear NEVER locked ever and tranny temps would climb fast. Glad I got that fixed. I run my truck with the Tranny Thermostat pinned open as my climate is very fair here in CA and is rarely ever below freezing.

 

We pull our deck boat with our Taco. The boat & trailer weigh in the neighborhood of 4800-5000#, give or take depending on how much fuel is in the boat tank. Granted, we do not have anywhere near the wind resistance that a TT has but the Tacoma handles the boat & trailer surprisingly well. I too, have plenty of experience driving heavy vehicles or towing heavy but my wife doesn't and she feels quite secure pulling the boat with the Taco. Towing at highway/interstate speeds (65-70 MPH) we get between 13 and 14 MPG. The boat trailer has very effective surge brakes and the combination will stop very nearly as fast as the truck by itself. The rear end sag is minimal at just 2".

Knowing what I know from our experience towing with the Taco you should be good to go if you have a WDH/anti sway system, trailer brakes and if sag is more than minimal you might need a SumoSprings system or an equivalent system. You'll need to install a Scan Gauge II or something equivalent to monitor transmission fluid temperatures and you'll probably need to install a decent sized after market transmission fluid cooler.

Get familiar and comfortable with the towing experience around home before going on a long trip. The wind and larger vehicles getting near you in the wind are going to be a condition that you'll want to be aware of. Use common sense and you'll be fine..............and have fun!!

 

100% correct.

Note that the SAE tow rating is a maximum and very few Tacomas will be able to achieve their max tow rating mostly because they will exceed the Gross Combined Weight Rating of 11,300 lbs or the Taco's GVWR. A tarted up Taco with Dad, Mom and Junior (400lbs), a 400 lb tongue weight, firewood for the weekend in the bed with bikes and other gear, fully fueled with all souls onboard, you can easily end up with a 5,600 lb Taco. That leaves you with 5,700 lb tow rating, not the 6,400 you thought you have. What the J2807 standard is good for is comparing tow vehicles and their tow capacity relative to each other.

To pass J2807 some of the requirements and assumptions are downright odd: You have to come to a complete stop from 20 mph in.....80 ft (!). I dunno, that seems kinda useless....Or this: SAE assumes only two occupants. Driver and passenger and 150 lbs each. Not sure that 150 lbs is a representative number ;-) Or that a Taco pulling a camper trailer is only going to have 150 lbs of cargo in the bed. Most fiberglass toppers weigh more ;-)

The calculation the SAE uses is to take the gross combined weight rating and subtract the total weight of the tow vehicle when it is fully fueled, packed, hitched to the camper, and souls are onboard. If the TWTV is say, 5,600 lbs ready to roll then the 6,400 lb tow rating must be reduced to 5,700 lbs (GCWR-TWTV). If your 4x4 Taco is empty with only you and your thin wife in it and a full tank of fuel 6,400 lbs would be the max

 

The auto does great towing. Just use sport mode and manually select the lower gears on the down hills. Ya, can push that ECT button too, but I don't really know what the hell that thing does?