Towing Lance 2075

Does anyone have any experience towing this model with a tacoma?

Gross Dry weight on it is 4450 lbs with a tongue weight of 440. The GVWR on it is 6200lbs

This is the floorpan and camper that I like at the moment, I would rather pick it up sooner than later.

I am kind of in limbo waiting for the specs on the new Tundra to decide which route to go with a bigger truck, so I would not be towing this with the tacoma forever.

Once the new tundra specs come out I will decide if I am going to go the tundra route or just go with a bigger domestic since I do also want to set up a light truck camper rig for Alaska/Canada. How perfect would it be if the tundra comes in with enough payload for something like a Lance 650 (Like the F150)..One can only hope

The towed camper would be for normal tow to a campsite stay there for a few days or weeks kind of thing.

Anyone have any experience towing Lance dual axles? Do they tow any better than others (like Airstreams tow better)

If I do decide to tow it with the Tacoma for a year or two, I was going to go with airbags and a WDH for sure. Any other advice is appreciated. I know its heavy, and I know that it is right up on the edge of the ratings, if they were not changing the Tundra so soon, I would just do a truck trade and not worry about it, but I think I want to hold on to the tacoma for a while, so I may be looking at just picking up a tundra and keeping the tacoma as well.

 

All dual axles tow better. It just depends if it’s worth it to you. That trailer is too big. You’ll need more truck. Recommendation- set your truck up to tow, the get on RvShare or Outdoorsy.com. Start renting trailers and get a real feel for what it’s like. Before you lose thousands of dollars, since rvs are not a good investment.

 

The weight is within the specs of the truck, I understand it is not ideal, but it is always interesting how a lot of people say to go by what the engineers intended when it comes to fluids, but when it comes to towing, the engineers had no clue what they were talking about,

The weight is within the trucks limits, the GVWR is within the trucks limits, the tongue weight is within the trucks limits....I know there is more than a few people towing with 4500 lb travel trailers. I don't plan to make money but I also don't plan to lose thousands of dollars, Lance and Airstream have some of the highest resale values on the market, so losing is relative. My second choice is a Airstream Flying Cloud 23FB. Its about 300 lbs heavier but still within specs.

 

You asked for info. I’ve towed my 3000 (dry)lb Satelite thousands of miles. Yes I know it’s in specs. Yes it’s also not fun. Yes it does it. 3500 lbs would be my limit. Especially if there are any hills on the trip. I’d definetly be towing a Airstream Bambi 19 if I had more truck. But I’m not ready for a Tundra yet.

 

Tongue weight needs to be closer to 13% of actual trailer weight. Too little and it will sway all over the place when you tow. Too much and you put too much weight on the back of your truck. To pull right you may need to shift some weight around in the trailer. The 440 lbs they show in the specs assumes no propane and no battery which are stored on the tongue and calculated at 10% of empty trailer weight. In the real world you'll have between about 600-800 lbs on the tongue. Around 600 lbs with an empty trailer and about 800 lbs if loaded to full capacity. You also need to figure on about 100 additional pounds for the weight distribution hitch. With a moderate load of around 5000 lbs call it 750 lbs tongue weight. And you'll have to pack very carefully to keep weight to 5000 lbs.

When Toyota figures 6500 lbs tow capacity they assume only a driver in a stock truck. Start adding passengers and cargo to the truck and in the real world 4500-5000 lbs is about as much as you want to tow with one.

The tow rating is only 1 of several factors that need to be considered. One is hitch capacity. With a WDH you're OK on that. The other is payload. Every truck is different and there is a sticker placed on the trucks drivers door jamb after it rolled off the assembly line. They actually weigh the truck and subtract the trucks actual weight from Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR) to determine payload for that individual truck.

Most 4X4 Double Cab trucks will be rated between 1000-1200 lbs payload. Some could be a bit more or less. If your trailer is putting 750 lbs on the tongue that leaves 250-450 lbs for you, any other passengers, any cargo, and any modifications you've made to the truck. You could pull a 5000 lb trailer, but might need to leave your wife and kids at home, or have them drive in another vehicle.

Your trucks engine and drivetrain will PULL the weight of this trailer just fine. But you're cutting it really close on overloading your trucks suspension. While technically possible you'll have to pack the trailer very carefully and not carry any cargo in the truck if you've got any passengers riding in the truck.

Due to the limited payload available with Tacoma's I like to see a trailer closer to 4000-4500 lbs max weight. Which means a 3500-4000 lb dry weight trailer.

 

I hear ya on the more truck, this is the puniest truck I have had in a long time. (I knew that going in) but I do like it for a lot of things, just not heavy towing and hauling. If the specs on the new Tundra are what they should be, I'll pick up a Tundra next year or the next, and use the tacoma for every day stuff that I don't need to haul much or tow much. I do like the size of the tacoma around town. I don't want to get a smaller rig just to accommodate the small truck that I won't need to use in a year or so. Material costs are getting out of control, and as much as RV's are right now, they haven't made their price adjustments yet and I would like to get ahead of that, or let the used market cool off a bit.

If the payload isn't right on the Tundra, I'll just get a ram or ford and tow/haul with that.

 

Thanks for the detailed breakdown, I am familiar with the numbers and factors involved I don't have an issue with pushing over payload with a few suspension mods, I have seen enough Tacomas with 4wd campers in the back of them loaded down to feel ok pushing it a little on the payload,

The number breakdown didn't really put the payload in too bad of shape actually.

 

It'll tow it but it'll fucking suck being the driver. Eight feet wide and probably 9-1/2 feet tall not including the air conditioner; the head winds will have the 3.5L screaming. Knocking on the door of the max towing capacity and every little hill will likely have you with your pedal to the floor in 2nd or 3rd gear trying to maintain 55-60 mph.

Lances are awesome. Should be one of the highest quality stick builts currently being made (I have read that quality has been slowly dropping over the past few years though). But yeah once you get over the 1575 or 1685, it's a whole 'nother ballgame.

I wanted to make it work as well when I was looking at Lances as a trailer upgrade. Hell I just wanted to make the 1685 work but ultimately the math just doesn't realistically add up when you factor in all the passengers, gear, propane, WDH, water, etc, especially taking into account my experience of what it was like to tow a trailer that was 2/3 of the weight already. But yeah, really, aerodynamics are the real killer in a lot of situations when it comes to bogging down puny engines.

I'm impatiently waiting for the new Tundra specs as well. Just put a $100 reservation on a Lightning for shits and giggles knowing I'll probably chicken out once I see the actual price and what the towing figures change. Would be happy to hop into a full size for towing and comfort but damn they're expensive.

 

I have the No Bo 19.6, similar weight to the Lance (really nice rig BTW). The specs on tongue weight are a little heavier than yours. I put about 200# in my storage area and managed to go ultralight weight in the kitchen. With good planning/distributing interior weight, I was able to keep my tongue weight at ~11% or so. You will likely be fine.
You can read about my experience towing 6 hours mostly uphill here.
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/my-tow-experience-with-a-nobo-19-6.690623/

 

I towed a Lance 1475 with a ‘15 Taco for about a year. The Taco did a fair job, but wasn’t really happy doing it. I traded it for an F150 and now everyone is happy. I definitely would not tow a 2075 with a Taco.

 

I have a Lance 2075 and have towed it with my Tacoma, 2019 Pro M/T, Magnuson SC, Firestone airbags, Daystar cups, Andersen WDH. It will tow it but it is really heavy for the truck. The trailer definitely pushes the truck around and you really have to push it on any type of hill. I also live at 7000 ft above sea level. I ended up purchasing a 2014 Tundra to tow the camper so while it can be done it is much nicer to use the larger truck.

 

I have a Lance 1995 with about the same weights, the same GVWR. The Tacoma did it, but not the most enjoyable rides. Sold the Tacoma and got something that was made to tow.