Quote:
Originally Posted by Bernbob
I currently tow our 2011 3124KS with a Toyota Tundra(small V8 and towing package). Its just my wife and I, and we really dont load a lot into the camper or the back of the truck. I love the vehicle and it tows the TM great, but just the truck alone is difficult to park in some parking lots, and when we are not towing it is really more truck than we need. Thinking of dropping down to a Tacoma (V6 Prerunner W/towing package). Camper weighs 3185 lbs dry according to the manufacturer. Plan to camp the mid west and the Rockies next spring and summer. Anyone towing one of the larger TM's with a Tacoma? And how does it perform in the mountains? Any thoughts or suggestions would be appreciated.
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We towed our Trailmanor Elkmont (4000# loaded) for a year with a 2009 Tacoma DoubleCab 4x4 with tow package in the Rockies and elsewhere.
Our main problem was that it only had 1050# payload and our tongue weight was ~600#. So we exceeded the truck's GVWR by 300-500# all the time. But we carry a lot in the truck: Leer Cap, kayaks, outdoor furniture, tools ... Sounds like this may not be a problem for you.
We also found the truck pretty noisy inside, especially when the engine downshifted into 4th or 3rd and ran at higher rpms. That little V6 doesn't have a lot of low end torque. But with the folding Trailmanors, you will have less wind resistance and downshifts should be less common.
But in the mountains I imagine you will still be crawling up the steeper slopes like we were. This wasn't a big problem with us, I just fell in behind a big truck and enjoyed the scenery despite the noise in 3rd. But maybe the newer Tacomas have added more noise deadening material?
Also the tranny didn't have a Tow/Haul mode like our new truck, so I did try to manually keep the torque converter locked up so it wouldn't over-heat on long mountain grades. Maybe that wouldn't be a problem anyway, but with no tranny temp gauge, there was no way to know.
Otherwise the truck was very reliable for the short period of time that we had it, And had a good stiff suspension for towing.
Bottom line, I think it will work fine for you. But I'm so spoiled by our new truck that I could never go back.
