Pulling rv/camper with a gen 2

taters95yj

Active Member
Alrighty guys, I was wondering if any of you have some first hand experience with pulling a rv with your tacos? I have an 07 TRD sport 4x4 4 door short bed 6 inch lift with 35's. I have the towing package, hitch, tranny and oil coolers with helper bags. Any input would be great I'm looking in the 17-20 foot range 3500-4000 pounds
 
Alrighty guys, I was wondering if any of you have some first hand experience with pulling a rv with your tacos? I have an 07 TRD sport 4x4 4 door short bed 6 inch lift with 35's. I have the towing package, hitch, tranny and oil coolers with helper bags. Any input would be great I'm looking in the 17-20 foot range 3500-4000 pounds
I’d get a drop for the hitch, brake assist and take it easy. Should be fine.
 
I’d get a drop for the hitch, brake assist and take it easy. Should be fine.
Yeah I have a drop hitch but I figured I'd get a load leveling hitch and trailer brake set up when I purchase the rv, more wondering how well it will pull, and if I'm going to go from mpg to gpm lol, thanks for the input.
 
Yeah I have a drop hitch but I figured I'd get a load leveling hitch and trailer brake set up when I purchase the rv, more wondering how well it will pull, and if I'm going to go from mpg to gpm lol, thanks for the input.
You might get 11mpg it will pull it forward just fine. Brake assist will help.
 
Whatever your getting now for mpg cut it in half pulling 3500 to 4000lbs. Also if you haven't regeared running 35's and pulling a RV of that size is doable but you will be struggling on the hills. Your biggest issue will be the transmission heating up. Every time the transmission is out of lock up on the torque converter it will produce more heat than the factory trans cooler will be able to handle. You need to monitor the trans temps with a scan gauge or the torque app using your phone. The trans overheat light isn't a reliable way to monitor the temp because when it does come on its pretty much telling you your transmission has been damaged. I added an aftermarket trans cooler in series with my factory cooler and still had to pull over and allow the transmission to cool down on the long mountain hill climbs.
 
Gears, gears gears....did I mention gears? Oh yeah...anyway, I do a ton of towing with both of mine. On the manual, well, drop gears and watch the tranny temp, but not much of an issue(yes, gauge added). On the auto...full regear, I went a little steep with 4:88 on 34s. But I will be running 35s after the Solo Motorsports install, so I geared once.

Now for the tech stuff. Rated at 6000 lbs roughly. Depending on the package you have, they vary from as high as 6700 down to 5800 on the base model 4x4. Staying between 3-4000 lb trailer is excellent when you consider adding people and gear, ice chests and all that stuff. Obviously, choose a good brake controller, and the wires for it are provided when you bought the truck or, if used, cost $20 and use the existing plug if you have the tow package. Make sure any trailer rated over 1500 lbs have trailer brakes. This is the key, which I will explain...

In the 70-00s, only a half ton (F150 or equivalent) could tow this kind of weight reliably due to the MASS of the truck. More weight on the rear axle, less chance of the trailer pushing you around without brakes. These Tacoma’s can pull, but let’s face it, the ass end is light. It can pull the weight, no problem, and actually has more power and in most cases more torque. But they are a small truck. So trailer brakes are a must above 1500 lbs.

Lastly, 30 years towing gives me a lot of experience with all kinds of vehicles. These trucks are awesome, but slightly small. Mirrors are a must. If you only have some to no experience in towing such things, go to a parking lot and practice...a good driver in tow NEVER uses the rear view, only the side mirrors, even when the trailer is off...I hate having to teach this, but too many peeps never no how to back up or look at blind spots in tow. Practice practice practice...lol

Sorry if it seems a lecture, but I do this daily...and yes, I commonly run a 14’ car trailer loaded to the dunes or a 20’ Kodiak Ultralight...
 
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I’m pulling a 20 ft boat, about 4200 lbs with the trailer. Getting about 10 mpg. With the exception of steep grades, truck handles the weight fine.
 
This is the heaviest I've hauled with it. Heavy framed 16' tandem axle with a 40's model tractor and brush hog. It pulled and stopped pretty well for the short distance i pulled it (8-10 miles). But no highway driving and no idea on mpgView attachment 18805
9N? We've got a couple old trailers with house trailer axles under them too. Handy aren't they? Haha!
 
View attachment 18733View attachment 18734
Nothing says please use the WD hitch like a 56 on the car trailer...lol

Now that’s some real weight. My grandfather bought one like that one only black. He drove it a number of years with pride.

Grandpa would complain about how poorly it ran. My dad would bring it home and the mechanics would scratch their heads. Dad would fill it with Ethyl gas and make the trip back to the farm. It would run like a champ. A couple of months later it was running rough again. Finally discovered Grandpa was filling it with tractor gas. He ordered a storage tank just for Ethyl and it ran fine for 13 years.

1956 Buick Roadmaster 2 door (Four holer).
 
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