Initial towing gear

[19D20]

Hello - I am totally new to this RVing (trailer delivered tomorrow) and Need some help with initial tow gear. I'm getting a 2013 Travel Lite I18 Cobblestone which has a dry weight of 2750. I have a 99 Toyota Tacoma Xtra Cab TRD/SR5/4WD/3.4 V6 with a 5000 lb tow rating.
The trailer is to be used by the wife and I for weekend trips and we won't be loading it up too much. Questions

1. What type brake controller is needed?
2. Will a weight distribution hitch be needed?
3. Anti-Sway bar?

I ordered a HD Class III/IV Reese receiver hitch and will be installing a 7 pin plug. are there any issues with the Toyota I should keep an eye out for. I'll be putting in a trans cooler and I use synthetic lubes in everything. The Toyota was not equipped with the OEM Tow Package. That should get me started till I run out of $$$. Looking forward to doing some sightseeing!

Joe R.

[19D20]

Yep - (forgot that too) I will be adding the tranny cooler and temp gauge. I recently sold a 67 Belvedere big block/auto. Should have kept the cooler.... Also, Synthetic trans fluid seems to run a little cooler too.

Thanks
Joe R.

[Lowsuv]

the advice frm old guy is sound .
get an auxilliary transmission cooler .
it is very easy to overheat the transmission on these light duty pickups.
odds are 50 / 50 that you will have to buy one anyway .
like , when you are having your transmission rebuilt and the guy at the tranny shop tells you that you NEED one anyway .
that is how i purchased my first auxilliary transmission cooler .
during the tranny rebuild .

[dsoucy1]

Here is a link to the store where we got our mirrors. They are not clip on or strap on. They replace your power mirrors.
http://www.1aauto.com/

The mirrors we bought-
http://www.1aauto.com/1A/Mirrors/Toyota/Tacoma/1AMRP01106/688914/2011

I don't know how to make these clickable, but you can copy and paste.

Diane

[old_guy]

get a transmission cooler if you don't have one already, will save you $7000 by not letting the tranny over heat and go out. buy a good sway bar and WDH, sure will make towing less stressful, and a prodigy P2 will do a good job for you. the P3 is over kill for a TT that size.

[gmw_photos]

DRKMinWA wrote:

dsoucy1 wrote:
We found some great mirrors for our Tacoma, let me know if you would like the link to where we bought them. They look just like the stock mirrors, but stick out further and are bigger.

Fred and Diane

I would like to know where you found the mirrors. I'm looking for something for my Nissan Frontier.

To the OP, Original Poster - I purchased weight distribution hitch due to adding second propane tank and dual 6 volt batteries. That added a lot of tongue weight and the weight distribution helps shift some weight to the front axle and trailer axle.

Congratulations and many happy camping memories with your new trailer!

Thank you.

Rick,
Not to hijack this thread, but I too tow with a Frontier, and I can say I have looked high and low for some "stock looking aftermarket tow mirrors" and as far as I can tell, none exist. I have tried three kinds of clamp-on mirrors and settled on these milenco aero2 mirrors as the best so far. These work well.
Now....back to the original thread topics !

[DRKMinWA]

dsoucy1 wrote:
We found some great mirrors for our Tacoma, let me know if you would like the link to where we bought them. They look just like the stock mirrors, but stick out further and are bigger.

Fred and Diane

I would like to know where you found the mirrors. I'm looking for something for my Nissan Frontier.

To the OP, Original Poster - I purchased weight distribution hitch due to adding second propane tank and dual 6 volt batteries. That added a lot of tongue weight and the weight distribution helps shift some weight to the front axle and trailer axle.

Congratulations and many happy camping memories with your new trailer!

Thank you.

[gmw_photos]

19D20 wrote:
Hello - I am totally new to this RVing (trailer delivered tomorrow) and Need some help with initial tow gear. I'm getting a 2013 Travel Lite I18 Cobblestone which has a dry weight of 2750. I have a 99 Toyota Tacoma Xtra Cab TRD/SR5/4WD/3.4 V6 with a 5000 lb tow rating.
The trailer is to be used by the wife and I for weekend trips and we won't be loading it up too much. Questions

1. What type brake controller is needed?
2. Will a weight distribution hitch be needed?
3. Anti-Sway bar?

I ordered a HD Class III/IV Reese receiver hitch and will be installing a 7 pin plug. are there any issues with the Toyota I should keep an eye out for. I'll be putting in a trans cooler and I use synthetic lubes in everything. The Toyota was not equipped with the OEM Tow Package. That should get me started till I run out of $$$. Looking forward to doing some sightseeing!

Joe R.

Welcome to the forum and congrats on the new camper !
Brake controller ? Something like a prodigy P3 would work well
Weight distribution ? Yes probably a good idea. Many to choose from. Personally I use a BlueOx swaypro. It works well, but there are others also that I'm sure work well.
Antisway bar ? Depends on the WD hitch you choose. For instance, with the BlueOx, sway control is built in so you don't have to add anything else for that feature. Other brands are different.

Good luck, have fun and happy camping.

[dsoucy1]

We found some great mirrors for our Tacoma, let me know if you would like the link to where we bought them. They look just like the stock mirrors, but stick out further and are bigger.

Fred and Diane