19ft choices; Hideout vs JayFlight
We've been looking at a few different travel trailers this fall, so far we are choosing between these two; 2010 Jayco JayFlight 19BH $12,500- 19.5ft, bought new in 2012, camped in 4 times, shower ...
Forum Discussion
My opinion is, the GVW of the trailer means little. The reason those trailers have such a high GVWR for their size is because they "can", due to the tandem axles. If you look at similar trailers that are single axle, you will see GVWR of something more like 4200, because in that case a single axle would likely be a 3500 pound axle.
Back to the two you are looking at, the real question is what are actually going weigh, and therefore is the Tacoma sufficient. The short answer is they will likely weigh between 4700 and 5000, and if so, the Taco will work, but be close. At 5000 you will likely getting very close to the rear axle rating on the Taco, so that is really the "travel trailer towing limit" of your Toyota.
As a reference, I have a similar trailer ( 19' Funfinder ). It too has a GVWR of over 6000 pounds, but it actually weighs 3950 on the scales ( that is "all of it", weight on the axles and the tongue weight). I pull with a Frontier, which as you know is very similar to the Taco. The Nissan pulls it well. I'm sitting in the mountains of Colorado right now in the camper waiting for the rain to stop, and as I said, the Frontier pulls it fine, even up here at elevation. Good hitching is always critical, arguably more so on these smaller tow vehicles. My choice is a BlueOx swaypro, and it works excellent. There are other hitches that would do just as well I am sure.
Back to the two you are looking at, the real question is what are actually going weigh, and therefore is the Tacoma sufficient. The short answer is they will likely weigh between 4700 and 5000, and if so, the Taco will work, but be close. At 5000 you will likely getting very close to the rear axle rating on the Taco, so that is really the "travel trailer towing limit" of your Toyota.
As a reference, I have a similar trailer ( 19' Funfinder ). It too has a GVWR of over 6000 pounds, but it actually weighs 3950 on the scales ( that is "all of it", weight on the axles and the tongue weight). I pull with a Frontier, which as you know is very similar to the Taco. The Nissan pulls it well. I'm sitting in the mountains of Colorado right now in the camper waiting for the rain to stop, and as I said, the Frontier pulls it fine, even up here at elevation. Good hitching is always critical, arguably more so on these smaller tow vehicles. My choice is a BlueOx swaypro, and it works excellent. There are other hitches that would do just as well I am sure.
