Tow vehicle for newbie

DSLC,

Congrats on the new rig!!!

As mentioned, in consideration of the potential larger tt in a few years, the biggest obstacle is usually payload of the tv. In the drivers door jamb there is a yellow sticker, stating "All passengers and cargo must not exceed XXX(X) lbs". This figure is the max rated weight that vehicle can carry. This includes all passengers, coolers, firewood, the wdh (up to 100lbs, or ball mount- not much weight for just a ball mount!), any accessories added to the truck after it left the factory (step bars, tonneau cover, truck topper, etc) AND the trailer's tw. While it will be hard to estimate a future trailer's tw, know that a trailer needs between 12-15% of the total loaded weight to be tongue weight for a safe, stable tow. So a 5,000lb trailer (loaded ready to camp) could have between 600-750lbs tw, plus all the other weight as mentioned. So just because a truck can "tow" 9,000+lbs, in regards to travel trailers you can see the payload, and a lot of times the rear axle rating, is/are the limiting factors.

A lot of the newer 1500/150 trucks have about 1,500lbs of payload per the sticker. GM's Twins have a little more it seems starting with the new '14 model. So depending on the passenger weight, and if you can try to estimate what you will carry in the truck weight wise, this will give you an idea of what may be left for the tw of the trailer.

For a possible future trailer, I would guess any of the newer 150/1500 trucks would be plenty pending verifying the payload listed in the door jamb of the truck. Just verify it has the tow package, and the best gearing that was available for the year for towing. Of course, if you want to take a core of firewood a 1500 isn't enough! Lol

IF you may consider a 5ver, a diesel 2500/250 due to the heavier motor can run out of payload because of the heavier pin weight a 5ver has compared to the tw of a tt. Gas trucks usually have more payload.

Future food for thought, the manufacture "brochure" weights for trailers and 5vers usually don't include options, even those "mandatory" options. And the "dry tongue/hitch weight" does not include the weight of the propane tank(s) or a battery.

Make sure you have a good brake controller. A Prodigy P2 or P3 is a very good choice from reviews on here. I was planning on a P2 to replace my old time based Reese controller, but we stepped up to a 2500HD that has the factory controller. Probably the most expensive upgrade for a controller!!! Lol

While you may not need a wdh with the current rig (pendingtongue wright, truck and receiver hitch/ ball mount and ball rating), the Reese HP Dual Cam, Reese SC, and the Equal-I-Zer 4 way systems are very good with integrated sway control.

Have fun with the new rig!!!

Both my Mazda's used to drag a 16' Scamp around. The first one was a 2wd 2.2 liter Perkins diesel with 5-speed and the second was a 4wd 2.6 liter G6 gasoline with 5-speed. Mountain passes were in third or fourth gear 40-45 mph, but they could keep with traffic on most highways. The 4wd had twice the horsepower of the diesel which helped, but the fact I could use 4wd-low for tight maneuvering was the best part of this setup. This same 4wd used to tow and launch 20' SeaDoo open bow.

Your Toyota may get pushed around a little in the wind with that trailer (try setting up a friction sway bar and keep a load in your bed) compared to my egg-shaped Scamp, but it should do fine as long as you are not in a rush.

bikendan wrote:

Old-Biscuit wrote:
Well that POD only weighs 1442# GVWR
Has a dry tongue weight of 81# (Dry weight of 959#)----LINK

So ANY 250/2500 truck ----just in case you what to go larger trailer later on

Otherwise 150/1500 truck would be fine even a Tundra or Titan

OB, the 1442 number is kilograms, not pounds.

dry weight is 2113lbs, GVWR is 3179lbs and dry hitch weight is 179lbs.

i recommend upgrading to a v-8 pickup, since you're considering getting something bigger in the future.
just realize, even with a v-8 truck, you'll still have limitations in future trailers.
if a 5th wheel is in the future, i'd look at a diesel 3/4 ton truck.

HEY at least I got the year right (2010) but must admit I didn't see the fine print in parenthesis (lbs/kg)
Figured it was just one of them really, really light weight tag-a-longs :S

The truck you have is kind of a little mountain goat. I'd just gear down in 2nd, rev it it 5k or 5500 on the tach and you'll make it to the top of a hill no problem.

I towed 3500lbs 10's of thousands of miles with an '88 140hp 2.9 V6 Ford Ranger 5-speed. No issues in 6 years and 150,000 miles, all on the original clutch too.

V6 Tacoma would pull that just fine. If you want bigger you can't go wrong with a Tundra.

I have towed trailers of similar size and weight for over 140,000 miles with an '08 Highlander, and it did well. Only on long grades at high elevations I'd have to gear down to 3rd and take the climb at about 40-45 mph, but otherwise 270 HP was plenty. So if you get a pickup with a V6 you should be good. Even so, a V8 could put a grin on your face at times like that, as you would not be slowed down much. A RAM 1500 with Hemi would be downright fun on the long, steep climbs.

That said, you have an excellent vehicle right now. Don't be afraid to try it out. I believe the weakest link in the drive train is the rear end (due to the relatively small gears that came with the 4 cyl), but if you ever did mess them up it's not hard to replace them with a larger gear set, and get right back to towing.

You'd be fine with a 6cyl Tacoma. I'd try it with your 4 cyl before getting a different truck. I towed a similar trailer with a 2004 6cyl Tacoma for several years. Never had problems or lack of power. That truck was my favorite vehicle ever.

Old-Biscuit wrote:
Well that POD only weighs 1442# GVWR
Has a dry tongue weight of 81# (Dry weight of 959#)----LINK

So ANY 250/2500 truck ----just in case you what to go larger trailer later on

Otherwise 150/1500 truck would be fine even a Tundra or Titan

OB, the 1442 number is kilograms, not pounds.

dry weight is 2113lbs, GVWR is 3179lbs and dry hitch weight is 179lbs.

i recommend upgrading to a v-8 pickup, since you're considering getting something bigger in the future.
just realize, even with a v-8 truck, you'll still have limitations in future trailers.
if a 5th wheel is in the future, i'd look at a diesel 3/4 ton truck.

Old-Biscuit wrote:
Well that POD only weighs 1442# GVWR
Has a dry tongue weight of 81# (Dry weight of 959#)----LINK

So ANY 250/2500 truck ----just in case you what to go larger trailer later on

Otherwise 150/1500 truck would be fine even a Tundra or Titan

2016 R-Pod 172 specs Here

shows a maximum weight of a little over 3k.

I don't think you'll have any problems towing the trailer with your current vehicle. I think you could easily go F150 or 1500, crew cab, and highly recommend a long bed so you can take lots of stuff with you camping. If you get a shell over the truck bed, you'll have all kinds of great storage and will stay dry when it rains. Anything larger is gravy ... for getting a larger camper some day.

That's a cute camper. I found this on Youtube:

Click here!