Wonder about my payload and a slide in camper

I have a 2018 Tacoma and I'm loving it. It's a double cab with the 6' bed. I'd like to put a slide in camper and have been looking at the Palomino SS500. However, the payload rating, according to the sticker on my truck says 950 lbs. That doesn't seem to jive with what I've seen elsewhere. Any thoughts?

 

If you want that type of camper I always recommend people go full size, or even HD honestly. Putting that much weight on a Tacoma with the engine power, brakes and handling doesn’t really make sense to me. Not enough safety margin for that type of weight.

 

950lbs then you in the truck 750lbs..... is that really the payload

 

Pathetic, isn't it?

 

Ive seen plenty of tacos with 4wheel campers, i thought the payload was like 1400-1600lbs

 

It is if you get a 2wd access cab 4 banger.

 

3/4 ton for a slide in camper. Seriously. I have a Tundra and I wouldn't put in a slide in camper. Too much weight for a half ton and way too much weight for a Tacoma. It's not so much the camper itself it's all the stuff needed with a slide in camper, including people.

 

I have researched this extensively. For us with short beds, I am convinced there are only 2 reasonable slide in camper options since you are putting more weight behind the axle. Long beds, you might be able to get away with other campers. What I have found is the palomino SS500 (the poor mans FWC), and the FWC are the best options. The palomino is actually a very nice rig for less, with all the amenities. It is the only affordable slide in out ther (if you don’t get a hybrid type shell camper) and was designed for midsize trucks so keep this in mind people. I believe it weighs 1197. Also, one thing people don’t talk much about is the center of gravity of the camper which plays a big part in your hauling comfort. I think it is something like 22” from the bed of the truck. I am in no way concerned about hauling this camper with my shortbed TRD. NOTE, what people don’t realize is even with upgraded rear leafs you really MUST add air bags. Since our trucks don’t have rear sway bars. You’re almost better off just adding bags and not worrying much about springs. They keep the truck flat and level when cornering. What’s good with bags is they are dynamic, you can adjust the psi to whatever your hauling! Hell, most people with half tons should really have bags too if they have a slide in! If I can do it with my Tacoma, a half ton can too, not sure what the haters are talking about, they obviously don’t have bags or never thought they needed them or don’t want to admit it.

As far as pushing the payload, I know some people would rather have room to spare than be pushing or exceeding it. I guess I am more optimistic than most but I really don’t care that I’m pushing it if I have put real thought into what supporting mods I have on my truck to handle it. It does bring up a good question though, I am sure many people with over landing setups or even just a slide in are over “legal” sticker capacity for the truck. If a cop cared you could get in trouble. But like I said if you have the supporting mods and the truck isn’t turning heads because you’re on the bumpstops then no one will question it. Pics below are my friend’s 1st gen and the 3rd he bought the camper from. 1st gen didn’t have bags at the time of the gas station picture.

 

According to the manufacturer, the SS 500 shipping weight is 1197lbs. That is overweight for any Tacoma, unless you are driving it from a chase vehicle by remote control ;-)

That number obviously does not include water or any gear or (important) weight of the "overlanding" mods you might be dreaming about..

Loaded up, the camper, supplies, people, and gear would be at least 50% over the listed capacity of the truck and its components, including transmission cooler, brakes, wheels, tires, suspension, engine/oil cooling and a host of other systems. Can it be done? Sure! Can it be done safely and legally? Nope.

Sure, the camper will physically fit in the plastic bed of your truck, but I would be concerned with the puny brakes (and rear drums), and the weak engine and tranny. The terrible fuel mileage, small fuel tank and greatly reduced range might or might not be important.

Get a F 150 Hybrid and roll with confidence, better power, more mileage and you have a built in 7.2kw generator when in the boonies. The F-150 hybrid can be configured to safely and legally carry over 2,000 lbs, almost 2x the capacity of the Taco (not surprising, full-size vs mid).

Or, grab a 5.0 and get up to 3,300+ lbs of payload and a 2.0kw built in generator (with a 36 gallon fuel tank!). Your fuel mileage will be better than the Taco, you will have an extra 100 hp or so when needed, 4 wheel disc brakes, and a host of other improvements. The entire experience of hauling a camper in the bed might actually be tolerable, safe, and legal.

 

I totally understand. This is all good stuff here that has to be addressed. Hopefully it helps people with their decisions. What I don’t get is if you look at all the threads talking about air bags, or hauling tow behind campers. It isn’t hard to find examples of people pushing the limits and beyond without issue. For some its the occasional yard of gravel or mulch, others its the weekend warrior hauling a tandem axle camper. Ive seen some haul 5000lb (that’s 24ish feet) campers regularly. One guy with a 16 foot tandem axle (more reasonable) with an ATV in the (short)bed! It’s alarming, but you see more threads about this happening than threads about issues occuring as a result of this kind of use. I’m pretty damn confident in the integrity of the 4 liter and the auto trans (at least speaking for my 2nd gen) and also my friend’s 1st gen manual.

My only counter to the issue of pushing payload, I would not worry about engine or trans at all. We have a 6500ish lb towing capacity. On the topic of max payload, it’s really all about the frame and suspension at that point. Like I said, with supporting mods and some knowledge about your vehicle you can do it and it has been proven. Get a scan gage and monitor trans temps, keep her out of overdrive when towing, and just drive accordingly if you’re pushing the tow cap. Same goes for payload really although you probably could use OD when its reasonable. We can agree to disagree too but like I said hopefully this conversation helps others

 

The 950 lb is the cargo limit of your truck.

If you have added any mods? These will alter the cargo limit. The scale of the impact will be the weight difference between what you remove and what you add.

Example: Remove 100 lb bumper, add 150 lb bumper with winch mount + 80 lb winch, will mean your adjusted cargo is reduced by 130 lbs or a limit of 820 lbs.

 

One word.
Brakes.

 

You are correct about the max towing capacity. But......
The capacity is calculated according to the SAE J2807 standard. It is great that we have a standard, and even more awesome that most manufactures reference the standard when publishing their specifications. Obviously, that makes it easier for the consumer to compare different vehicles/configurations to a known constant and make an informed choice.

But, the issue is that for a vehicle to meet this standard and arrive at the max towing rating, LOTS of really questionable "performance" tests have to be met. Meet those performance benchmarks? Great! You get a sticker and a max towing capacity.

But what are some of those benchmarks? Well, they are generally incredibly weak. And for the most part, completely useless. Ok, maybe not completely useless since the standard allows you to compare vehicle A with vehicle B on a level playing field and you can rate them by ordinal number. But, for actual towing weight, they are pretty useless.

To wit:

To reach your max tow rating you can't have more than a 150 lb driver and a 150 lb passenger in the truck. I happen to weigh 150 lbs and find that in a group of a hundred adults, I'm usually the lightest ;-) I have a hunch two people in a Taco generally have a combined weight considerably over 300 lbs, and more than 100 lbs of additional cargo when camping. If so, you need to subtract the excess from max towing capacity.

Frontal area: There is an allowable max frontal area (truck and camper/trailer combined) allowed to be exposed to the airflow. Exceed that and your tow rating drops.

The vehicle must be able to accelerate from 0 to 30 mph in...12 seconds (!) when towing.

Can your truck move 6,500 lbs 16 feet (!) in 30 seconds up a 12 percent grade? Awesome! You get J2807 certified and a 6,500 lb tow rating.

Tow 6,500 lbs up Davis Dam and able to maintain a blistering 40 mph? You get certified...Of course, everyone behind you is giving you the finger and swearing at you the whole time but...you got the sticker!

There are a bunch of other performance tests that have to be met, and some are better than other as far as relating to real world towing but many of them are kinda suspect.

I think it is great to have a standard and commendable that Toyota was the first manufacture to embrace the standard (2011) and use it when publishing their max ratings. It allows comparisons, and is better than no standard, but it might not be as closely related to the conditions that most of us actually face when towing. The Taco can have a max 6,500 rating, but only under ideal (weight/balance) and sometimes unrealistic, real-world conditions.

 

The white sticker that says GVWR is 5600 pounds. The truck with everything in it is supposed to weigh less than 5600 pounds.

The 950 pounds of payload is including you, your family and everything in it. Essentially with 5 average adults, a Tacoma is rated to carry grocery. A SR model 4 cylinder 2wd extended cab is the way to go to get 1500 pounds of carry capacity. On the other hand, lots of guys here claim to have 6000 pound Tacomas with all their trail armor.

 

Saddleback!

(Late to this thread )

 

Even a small 2000 pound trailer without brakes is harder on the engine, transmission, and brakes than running at max payload. I don't think you'd find anyone who says a Tacoma would even struggle to tow 2000 pounds. You'd hardly notice it except when braking. I'd prefer brakes on every trailer of course, but most small trailers don't have them.

Does a full tank of gas count against the payload total?

The limitation must be some combination of suspension, handling, and weight capacity of the tires.

 

Roadmaster active suspension is the bomb for towing and just general driving around with weight in the back. and no maintenance.

 

This and a couple similar setups are all I would feel comfortable with for a Tacoma: https://superpacificusa.com/switchback-x1/ It will get you out there and off the ground; but very few amenities to make camp life more comfortable.

 

This is a 1 ton truck. The owner didn't read the specs carefully enough. He would have been OK with a regular cab 8' bed, but that was way too much weight for a crew cab.



I wouldn't want a slide in on ANY truck, I just don't like them. But especially on a Tacoma. Even if you can find one that will be within the trucks payload, I still think a pull behind trailer is a much better option.

 

Never once had a problem with mine.