Towing with a tacoma(flame suit on)

[Butler]

Since the sale of my last tow rig and the purchase of my first house money has been tight and I haven't been able to buy a new tow rig yet.So I bit the bullet and tried towing with my 05' Tacoma. Seriously, if all you have to say is how dumb I am, just save it.:D The vehicle is rated for 6500 lbs. It has a gvw of 11,500. I hooked up the brakes(both axles on my trailer) made sure they work extremely well and my buggy and trailer together are right at 6000. I really do understand the safety issues involved with towing at the limits of my vehicles capacity but I have this option or no wheeling. I won't tow on the freeway or even on any main streets if I can avoid it.When I tried this for the first time last weekend it went well and I made sure my max speed was 55. The truck has a decent v-6 and is obviously not for the Tehachapi grade or anything but the difference in elevation between the Hammers and my house is exactly ten feet so I think it will work for that. Anything further and I will rent a truck.Have any thoughts that don't include how I may kill a busload of nuns?:D

Edit: pictures aren't working right now, I'll get them up later.

[Travis Waldher]

If you're towing within the limits of your vehicle... I don't see why it wouldn't be safe.

But then again... I'm not part of the 1-ton/diesel nazi clan. :flipoff2:

[4Mogger]

Since the sale of my last tow rig and the purchase of my first house money has been tight and I haven't been able to buy a new tow rig yet.So I bit the bullet and tried towing with my 05' Tacoma. Seriously, if all you have to say is how dumb I am, just save it.:D The vehicle is rated for 6500 lbs. It has a gvw of 11,500. I hooked up the brakes(both axles on my trailer) made sure they work extremely well and my buggy and trailer together are right at 6000. I really do understand the safety issues involved with towing at the limits of my vehicles capacity but I have this option or no wheeling. I won't tow on the freeway or even on any main streets if I can avoid it.When I tried this for the first time last weekend it went well and I made sure my max speed was 55. The truck has a decent v-6 and is obviously not for the Tehachapi grade or anything but the difference in elevation between the Hammers and my house is exactly ten feet so I think it will work for that. Anything further and I will rent a truck.Have any thoughts that don't include how I may kill a busload of nuns?:D

Edit: pictures aren't working right now, I'll get them up later.
I think you should be fine. Add a WDH just be as safe as possible. Is your Taco an auto or do you have the 6 speed? If it is an extended cab then the longer wheelbase will help, especially with a Double Cab. These guys believe in overkill for everything but it can safely be done with less, particularly if you have skill and patience. If that is an auto-- keep the OD off, although I am sure you knew that.

[4Mogger]

I have never seen a busload of nuns.:D I think the likelihood of you taking one out is not very high.:flipoff2:

[Butler]

I think you should be fine. Add a WDH just be as safe as possible. Is your Taco an auto or do you have the 6 speed? If it is an extended cab then the longer wheelbase will help, especially with a Double Cab. These guys believe in overkill for everything but it can safely be done with less, particularly if you have skill and patience. If that is an auto-- keep the OD off, although I am sure you knew that.It is a five speed auto. I keep it in fourth ir third. It is a double cab shortbed. I may drive like a bat out of hell most of the time but I tow like a gradma even when I had my PSD. Again, it's fully not ideal but it worked better than I thought it would.:cool2:

[TRD]

what happened to your other ford?

[4Mogger]

It is a five speed auto. I keep it in fourth ir third. It is a double cab shortbed. I may drive like a bat out of hell most of the time but I tow like a gradma even when I had my PSD. Again, it's fully not ideal but it worked better than I thought it would.:cool2:
I had an '03 DC with the TRD pkg. I would have kept it but the 3.4 is only good for 5K#'s. I'll bet the 130 some odd inch wheelbase makes for a really smooth ride. I think for 6000 pounds that you have a pretty good set up-- enjoy.

[wes8517]

Since the sale of my last tow rig and the purchase of my first house money has been tight and I haven't been able to buy a new tow rig yet.So I bit the bullet and tried towing with my 05' Tacoma. Seriously, if all you have to say is how dumb I am, just save it.:D The vehicle is rated for 6500 lbs. It has a gvw of 11,500. I hooked up the brakes(both axles on my trailer) made sure they work extremely well and my buggy and trailer together are right at 6000. I really do understand the safety issues involved with towing at the limits of my vehicles capacity but I have this option or no wheeling. I won't tow on the freeway or even on any main streets if I can avoid it.When I tried this for the first time last weekend it went well and I made sure my max speed was 55. The truck has a decent v-6 and is obviously not for the Tehachapi grade or anything but the difference in elevation between the Hammers and my house is exactly ten feet so I think it will work for that. Anything further and I will rent a truck.Have any thoughts that don't include how I may kill a busload of nuns?:D

Edit: pictures aren't working right now, I'll get them up later.
i tow 6500-7000 pounds with my tundra all the time. the sticker on the door says 7200, but id say 7000 is definitly the limit.

just ignore the "its only ok to tow my boat that weighs 2k with a 1 ton dually cause its the best towrig ever" guys, i have. my truck works for what i need it for most of the time, although i do need a bigger truck so i can then upgrade to a bigger trailer (horses).

glad to hear it worked for ya, and id feel safe gettin it up to 60-65 since you have brakes and know what youre doin it sounds like

wes

[Butler]

i tow 6500-7000 pounds with my tundra all the time. the sticker on the door says 7200, but id say 7000 is definitly the limit.

just ignore the "its only ok to tow my boat that weighs 2k with a 1 ton dually cause its the best towrig ever" guys, i have. my truck works for what i need it for most of the time, although i do need a bigger truck so i can then upgrade to a bigger trailer (horses).

glad to hear it worked for ya, and id feel safe gettin it up to 60-65 since you have brakes and know what youre doin it sounds like

wes
over 55 it started to sway. Ryan, I sold it. Tags were due-$1200. It was a pile of crap. No heat, no a/c, single cab.:(

[wes8517]

over 55 it started to sway. Ryan, I sold it. Tags were due-$1200. It was a pile of crap. No heat, no a/c, single cab.:(
sway 90% of the time equals not enough tounge weight, im sure you already know that, just sayin

you had an a/c, one of those 2-55 jobs

wes

[rotozuk]

I tow my buggy with an Astrovan and am very happy with it. I figure the towed weight is about 1000 lbs less then what GM rated the van for.

-Wayne

[rsqne1]

FWIW...I have an 03 DC and I have towed my 4000# air nautique ski bota fine. Also, I have flat towed my wrangler, which had no brakes while towing, and it worked well. I just kept my awareness level up, and remembered to take extra time to stop and go...Good luck!!!

[crashnzuk]

Sounds good to me. I think the deal with towing at near max is just don't do it everyday. It sounds like you know what you're doing. Hell, there was a time when I towed with a 78 Dodge D100 standard cab shortbed with an auto and 3.23 gears. Did it suck? Not too bad. Just not something you want to do every day of the week. I just get tired of people in a set up like yours passing me like I'm standing still!:shaking: Morons.
Travis..

[Haole]

Since the sale of my last tow rig and the purchase of my first house money has been tight and I haven't been able to buy a new tow rig yet.So I bit the bullet and tried towing with my 05' Tacoma. Seriously, if all you have to say is how dumb I am, just save it.:D The vehicle is rated for 6500 lbs. It has a gvw of 11,500. I hooked up the brakes(both axles on my trailer) made sure they work extremely well and my buggy and trailer together are right at 6000. I really do understand the safety issues involved with towing at the limits of my vehicles capacity but I have this option or no wheeling. I won't tow on the freeway or even on any main streets if I can avoid it.When I tried this for the first time last weekend it went well and I made sure my max speed was 55. The truck has a decent v-6 and is obviously not for the Tehachapi grade or anything but the difference in elevation between the Hammers and my house is exactly ten feet so I think it will work for that. Anything further and I will rent a truck.Have any thoughts that don't include how I may kill a busload of nuns?:D

Edit: pictures aren't working right now, I'll get them up later.

I'm assuming you have the tow package? If so, you've got a GCVW rating of 11,000.

http://www.toyota.com/vehicles/2006/tacoma/specs_access_cab.html

Without the tow package, your GCVW rating is 8100.

While the difference in elevation is 10 feet, there are some small elevation changes there somewhere in the tune of 1000 feet.

I wouldn't run in OD. And I'd be nervous about that combo in high winds. Especially after the winds we had at New Years.

[Haole]

I have never seen a busload of nuns.:D I think the likelihood of you taking one out is not very high.:flipoff2:

You don't know what you're missing.

http://www.encoreencore.org/1997/Nuns.html

http://www.encoreencore.org/1997/images/Nuns/NunsLeft.jpeg

http://www.encoreencore.org/1997/images/Nuns/NunsJivin.jpeg

http://www.encoreencore.org/1997/images/Nuns/NunsPeggy.jpeg

[Haole]

over 55 it started to sway. Ryan, I sold it. Tags were due-$1200. It was a pile of crap. No heat, no a/c, single cab.:(

$1200 :eek:

Mine are only $500, and IIRC, mine was a year newer.

[Brutpwr]

I've towed alot in the past with Toyota mini trucks and 4 Runners when ever I did not have a suitable alternative...tow rigs broken or torn apart for rebuilding etc. If you have brakes on both trailer axles you will be fine on level ground. If you tow in the hills you will want to upgrade at least on axle to 12" brakes and better yet both. Toyota rotors don't like heat and will warp so bad the steering wheel and whole truck will shake so bad you will not even be able to lightly apply the brakes! This causes a bad increase in speed and the inability to slow down much at all! The brakes are not faded but the rotors are warped beyond use! When they cool they will be usable again but you will be shopping for rotors or living with a pulsing pedal which will get worse with time--I think the high spots in the rotor get worse with continued use/abuse with use. Anyway sounds like you need to get more load on the ball--more weight in the bed especially in front of the axle helps stabilize the trailer when you hit bumps or uneven payment. Make sure you have adaquate gearing and air pressure in the tires. Good stiff shocks make a big difference when your trailer is heavier than the tow rig and its trying to push the truck up and down as it hits bumps. You should be good to 60 MPH and be very careful if it starts to rain. If your going down hill and you notice a loss of truck or trailer braking action immediately slow 15 MPH to give the brakes more time to cool as you go down--Trailer brakes have near zero reserve capacity and Toyota minis not much more so once they begin to heat up they loose a lot of braking capacity. When ever I tow with my Toyota I make sure I have an extra brake controller as you can not tow safely without one--if you have a short etc they can get fried--once I stilled my soda on one and it went out. I have trailer connectors on the back of mine so they switch out easy. Be carefull parking on hills especially on loose dirt as the truck will not hold the load sometimes without the trailer brakes. I always have two blocks behind the seat that I can get to if needed right a way so a helper or myself can put the block down then you drive up against it to hold on a hill.

Jason :)

[Butler]

$1200 :eek:

Mine are only $500, and IIRC, mine was a year newer.
That was for the 90' The owners manual says 11,500 btw.I went looking for the pic from this thread and found new(er) replies.

[woody99]

I towed my 83 Toyota and Trailer (brakes on both axles) with my 99 Supercharged Taco for a couple of years. It had plenty of power but the bed on the Taco is so light it would almost pick it up on a heavy stop. I have had all brakes smoking coming down a really steep grade 1 time. I upgraded and sold my Taco for a Ford F250 Diesel.

[4Mogger]

Be carefull parking on hills especially on loose dirt as the truck will not hold the load sometimes without the trailer brakes. I always have two blocks behind the seat that I can get to if needed right a way so a helper or myself can put the block down then you drive up against it to hold on a hill.

Jason :)
Great idea, thanks!

[Butler]

Well, it's been a few months now and looking back I laugh at that first tentative time I did it. In the last few months I have towed to TDS, about 300 miles round trip, Globe, AZ last weekend, 1100 miles round trip and many times out to JV and have been fully impressed at my little truck. No major problems to speak of and it even gets decent mileage as long as there is no wind.But I'll definitely be getting a bigger truck as soon as I can.:D