Calling All Towing/RV Experts

Woofies

Hi,
We're in the market for a travel trailer. We have a 2006 Toyota Tacoma with towing package. It is rated for 6500 lbs. Now, I know that THEORECTICALLY I could haul 6500 lbs. BUT, is there some magic buffer for safety, to prevent excessive wear on the transmission, etc.? For example, one might say, yes, you could haul a 6500 lb trailer, but in actuality you want to look for a trailer that weighs between 4000 and 5000 pounds. We may be camping in areas that are quite hilly, so getting up those grades is a concern in addition to not wearing out our truck.

Hopefully my question makes sense!

Thanks for any advice!

wire_twister

Towing is never the problem stopping is. Just because you can pull 6500 lbs does not mean you can stop it comfortably. IMHO 6500 lbs is a heavy load for your truck, especially in hilly country. Find the camper you want, find out the weight, get a buddy with a trailer and load it to that weight, go for a test drive. I have a Chevrolet 2500 HD and use it to pull an 18 foot trailer with a vermeer trencher on it about 6200 lbs, it takes a fair amount of trailer brake to make me comfortable when stopping.

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Jimmy

Life is tough, Life is tougher when you are stupid.

NateHanson

Check out the tundrasolutions.com forum. There are a lot of detailed discussions on there about tundra owners pulling trailers, and what weights are comfortable/permissible/safe.

jcalvin

I have a 1998 26' Dutchman full size(for sale) that weighs 5100lbs according to the sticker and pull it with a 1999 GMC 1500(also for sale). Any load behind any truck is going to slow it down but it can handle it. If you have an electric brake control and adjust it properly, it will take care of the camper braking.

I pulled through the DMV weigh station on the way back home from a trip last year and the camper weighed 6200lbs fully loaded for myself, my wife, and three daughters.

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Cal

You hired WHO?
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THEBIGPUNN

weight adds up quick and a lot of beginning campers dont realize that. the dealers will always tell you that your combination will be ok cause they want you to buy the biggest one on the lot. also, truck manufacturers exaggerate as well. if you have noticed lately all the hype between the big 3 has been all about towing power. even the commercials are getting rediculous. dont do what i did, we bought a truck and small camper. small camper was too small once we had children so we got a bigger camper. bigger camper was too big for truck. we got a bigger truck for the bigger camper. bigger truck mileage was horrible with bigger camper so last year we got a diesel.i think you are on the right track. 4000lbs is about were you will want to be comfortably. dont forget a good break controller, weight distribution bars and sway control. i also tow about 5 mph under the speed limit.

Paul Brindel

I bought a Fleetwood Pioneer 21CKS travel trailer a few weeks ago. I’m no pro at this, but I have towed the trailer 4 times since I bought it. So I have had a bit of experience. I realize it is just a little “bit” but my experience might be of use to you as you plan to purchase a trailer, or others who might be looking at a truck.

My trailer is 24’8” long and 9’11” high. Gross Dry Weight is 4,198 lb and it can top out at 6,400 lb when full up with liquid and cargo.
My Tacoma is equipped with the hitch package and a V-6 with Automatic Transmission, extra cooling on transmission and radiator. It is rated for 6,500 lbs. So I am cutting it close.

I went farther and bought the beefed up trailer package with leveling and sway control. I also bought a Prodigy Breaking controller with proportional trailer braking, in either forward or reverse. The Prodigy controller brakes the trailer at the same rate of deceleration as my truck or I can use the brakes on the trailer without using the truck brakes for going down hill.

With all that, driving with a full load of water and all my gear in the trailer I found that I was able to easily go over the mountain from San Martin on highway 101 to Santa Cruz California on highway 1.

I love this truck and it can do the job. That is why I bought it. And why I bought this travel trailer. They are a great match.