2nd Gen Tacoma - Frequent Towing an Issue?

[aCab]

Hi All,

I'm currently thinking of selling my 99' F250 w/ 7.3 Diesel to buy a 2nd Gen Tacoma Double Cab Long Bed. I bought the F250 on a whim as a tow rig and have loved it - but I recently lost my company car and need to condense daily driver duties and towing duties into one vehicle. Last year, I put 20k miles on the truck, with about 15k of those towing my racecar on an open trailer.

The car weighs 2600ish lbs, the trailer 1600lbs - figure 4200 lbs there. I know the V6 trucks with factory towing package can town 6500 lbs, but with what frequency?

Most towing trips are withing 400 miles one way, but the occasional trip is over 1000 miles one way - through some mountains, etc.

I want to be sure that the Tacoma can withstand being used to tow for 1/2 of its lifetime. Say I drive 30k miles a year but 15k of that is towing 4200 lbs.

Anyone done it? Anyone against it? Should I look at a Tundra instead? Any help is greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

aCab

 

[Plannerman]

Shouldn't be a problem. Toyota is pretty uptight about the tow ratings they give their vehicles. And the truck was definitely designed with towing in mind. I tow a lot and the truck is a champ. Also see lots of tacos used as worn vehicles around here towing trailers on a regular basis.


Sent via fat thumb

 

[aCab]

What about if I dropped 400 lbs off of that weight? My other racecar weights 2200lbs, add 1600 lb trailer, you're down to 3800lbs...

 

[Flagster]

I sure wouldn't want to do it with my 2005...

 

[phsycle]

I'd get a Tundra if you're going to be towing that frequently. Not sure if Plannerman has towed before, but 4,200 lbs on a regular basis will be a chore for the Tacoma.

You could buy a Tundra for at the same price or slightly less than the Tacoma. It will be bigger, more powerful and get just a titch less MPG when towing.

 

[98roamer]

I would think hard about what you are use to concerning the easy of towing and not just the data of can it do it. My 98 4Runner pulls a 2600lb popup trailer but it's not very fun. The next time I'm going to pull it to Canada, 1,000+ miles, I'll borrow my dad's 99 F350 CC LB 7.3 and enjoy the drive and less hit in the $$ with 17 mpg (7.3) rather than the 14 mpg (3.4) the 4runner returned.

PS: I topped out at 60-64mph due to trailer sway and trying to save gas. But no WDH or anti-bar.

 

[Martinjmpr]

My $0.02: Unless you absolutely have to buy new (why?) I would look at a 1st gen Tundra. Plenty of them out there, nice 4.7 V8, and only a little bit bigger than a 2nd gen Taco.

Just my personal preference, I don't care for the 2nd gen Tundra. Too darn big! The 1st gen was a perfect size IMO.

 

[p nut]

...I don't care for the 2nd gen Tundra. Too darn big! The 1st gen was a perfect size IMO.

Too big for what? It's not like this guy is looking to go crawling up rocks. His main uses are for towing. 4.7L with 4/5-speed and 6,500lb towing capacity, or 5.7L with 6-speed with 10,000lb? Hmmmmm... Tough choice!

Even for mild trails, they aren't bad at all. I guarantee the new Tundra will be perfectly fine for 99% of the trails people go on here.

 

[wonderfulremark]

or if you're gonna tow a lot.. just get a domestic diesel pick up.. it's no toyota but you won't regret it.

 

[2025 deleted member]

It will do the job. Just remember it would be the equal of towing 10,000lbs. in your F-250 all the time.

 

[aCab]

or if you're gonna tow a lot.. just get a domestic diesel pick up.. it's no toyota but you won't regret it.

I've got one already.


Its not that I tow that often (two weekends a month usually) - but they aren't close trips. That's the big factor is the length of said trips.

Id love to get an econo box - but budget and space limitations prevent me from having a DD and Tow rig. I'm looking to combine those two into one. I've got two road course cars and a miata that I drive - but I can't really drive the miata in winter comfortably - that and I dont want it getting torn up by the salt.

Maybe a Tacoma isn't up to the few times a year long haul (1k+ miles one way) with 5k lbs happens? The track I go to the most is a 160 miles one way from the house, so figure 320 miles twice a month - 640 miles on the low end.

640 miles for 7 months (it is the midwest - do road course stuff in winter
Thats 4480 miles just from back and forth two weekend a month. This year, I've done the Chicago to Road Atlanta haul 3 times - that's 6k plus miles there - so 10,480 miles just from that - going to the track twice a month, and taking the car down to Atlanta three times to race.

Its not that Ive got a trailer behind the truck a lot - its that every time I do, its a decent haul.

For those other 26 days out of the month and through the winter - the tacoma would be the best fit.

 

[2025 deleted member]

It will do the job fine, just dont expect it to haul ** while doing it.

 

[Mrknowitall]

I would really suggest you figure out a way to make the extra car happen- mechanically, the Taco will do fine- I pulled our SM racer on a 1600# trailer with my V6 Tundra- Gingerman, Mid Ohio, Putnam Park- all no problem. Would have been better with a weight distributing hitch though. You really have to watch what you bring though.
Other things to keep in mind:
Gen2s aren't THAT frugal unloaded- 20 highway at the very best. With a trailer, you'll be in the low teens, probably same as your PSD.
If you're going racing that much, you're using up all your spare time, so you make the drive in the dark, no matter the weather. The big truck will be a lot more relaxed.
A $3k car will pay for itself in gas savings over even the Tacoma.

BTW, we have an SM car for sale.

 

[Kayak Taco]

Will it do it, sure. I towed a 4000lb tractor on a 1600lb trailer from SC to NH with mine, along with two people, two dogs, a Kayak and two bicycles on the roof, and the camper shell filled to the brim. Definitely get a weight distributing hitch with sway control. That $300 purchase paid for itself in that one trip. Night and day difference, my Tacoma with the WD hitch was more stable than my previous Titan was without it. Now accelerating was a whole different issue, but it did what it needed to.

Make sure you're doing this for the right reasons. If you want a smaller truck that's easier to live with as a daily driver that will barely get the towing done, then go for it.

If you want better MPGs that will do the towing, get a F150 Ecoboost or a Tundra or Silverado with the small V8. Both will best the Tacoma V6 on gas mileage and tow much better.

My 6 Cyl 6 Speed Access Cab gets ~16-17mpg in mixed driving, and got about 11mpg towing the tractor.

 

[peekay]

People have very different opinions as to whether a vehicle can tow something. IMO, some people are crazy. They expect to tow something and not feel anything back there. These type of people think you need a one ton diesel for everything, including pop up trailers. HAHAHAHA.

Then you have the other end of the spectrum. I tow a 4500 lb travel trailer with my 07. In my opinion, it does it pretty easily. My pop's 4.7 Tundra does it slightly better, but the 4.0 is decent--certainly much stronger than my old 01 Taco with the 3.4. That being said, I tow a 5x8 enclosed trailer with my Prius and people think I'm crazy. It is actually easier than my truck towing the travel trailer.

We, Americans, tend to over-exaggerate what's "necessary." When I go to foreign countries, they seem to get along fine without everyone driving around with F-350 diesels with 650lb of torque.