No Clue About Towing

[blntskul]

Sorry for the cross post in the Tacoma forum. I should have started here.

I've read several great posts about towing with the Tacoma, but I've never towed anything and I need some basic information. I bought a 2007 2WD PreRunner Double Cab without any towing options - pretty much a basic truck. I decided to get a receiver to tow around a small landscaping trailer, but since then we're kicking around the idea of getting a travel trailer and I don't know what I should shoot for. I got a price for the receiver from my dealer and asked a couple different guys to make sure what they're selling me is Toyota original equipment and that it's a Class 3 receiver. They said it is.

So the wiring harness is 4 wire, and I thought, from what's on Toyota's website and what I've seen, that it should be a 7 wire harness. From what I'm reading, I have to add a brake controller to be able to tow a trailer with brakes, but if that's the case, do I have to have the 7 wire harness, or will the 4 wire work? If my 4 wire will work, do I have to go with the $170 Toyota brake controller, or is there something more reasonable that works with what I have?

I want to make sure that I don't look at things that are out of my weight range. Which numbers are the ones to judge by? I see curb weight of about 4000lbs, payload of about 1500lbs, tongue load of 350lbs, and standard towing capacity of 3500lbs, but a GVWR of 5350lbs, and I thought that number was based on some combination of the others. So how heavy of a trailer can I pull, and is that with or without brakes?

Thanks,
Tommy

[Only Toyota for me]

Originally Posted by blntskul

Sorry for the cross post in the Tacoma forum. I should have started here.

I've read several great posts about towing with the Tacoma, but I've never towed anything and I need some basic information. I bought a 2007 2WD PreRunner Double Cab without any towing options - pretty much a basic truck. I decided to get a receiver to tow around a small landscaping trailer, but since then we're kicking around the idea of getting a travel trailer and I don't know what I should shoot for. I got a price for the receiver from my dealer and asked a couple different guys to make sure what they're selling me is Toyota original equipment and that it's a Class 3 receiver. They said it is.

So the wiring harness is 4 wire, and I thought, from what's on Toyota's website and what I've seen, that it should be a 7 wire harness. From what I'm reading, I have to add a brake controller to be able to tow a trailer with brakes, but if that's the case, do I have to have the 7 wire harness, or will the 4 wire work? If my 4 wire will work, do I have to go with the $170 Toyota brake controller, or is there something more reasonable that works with what I have?

I want to make sure that I don't look at things that are out of my weight range. Which numbers are the ones to judge by? I see curb weight of about 4000lbs, payload of about 1500lbs, tongue load of 350lbs, and standard towing capacity of 3500lbs, but a GVWR of 5350lbs, and I thought that number was based on some combination of the others. So how heavy of a trailer can I pull, and is that with or without brakes?

Thanks,
Tommy

Make sure it is toyota equipment on the hitch. Do not buy one that isn't. I found out the hard way with my 00 tundra. The frame cracked on it.
The way you can tell is it will also be mounted to the bumper with 2 bolts.
You must have a 7-pin wire harness which you'll have to rewire for. Have an auto shop do it for you. They can also wire a hot lead for the charging wire to the trailer.
Look up the thread on prodigy brake controller. I think it was $110 or so. It is the best one out there. That thread will give you the website to buy it on.
GVWR is the amount the truck can weigh totally loaded. Look at the GCWR in the owners manual. GCWR is what everything can weigh safely. Loaded.
I am not super familiar with the tacos specs, but i towed my 23' TT that weighed 3800 lbs empty w/ 350lbs tongue with my 98 taco 4x4 manual w/ 3.4L v-6. It did okay with that trailer, but everyone laughed at me and couldn't beleive i was doing it. But hey, it outperformed some 1/2 ton chebbys out there.
Maybe Tomhole can chime in here for you. He will know more about your taco than i do.
I do know that you'd better have a tranny cooler on it though. If you don't you can have one installed for about $90 or so. Unless it's a manual.

[blntskul]

OK, the GCWR value isn't in my manual. It just lists 'towing capacity' at 3500lbs. The Toyota website does list GCWR at 8100lbs and the tongue load at 350lbs for trucks without the towing package. So that sounds basically like the truck weight plus the towing weight plus a few passengers and/or a little extra gear. Unfortunately, in my case I probably could have gotten more accurate information about how this all works from our local RV reseller than my Toyota dealership. Thanks for the tips.

[RC_Av8r]

Here are the specs from the Toyota website for an 07 DC Prerunner 4x2:

Curb Weight - 3380
GVWR - 5000
Payload - 1620
Tongue wt - 350
Tow cap. - 3500
GCWR - 8000

Capacities are a game of balance and 'give and take'.

Your GCWR is the sum of the curb weight of your vehicle, the passengers, cargo (cab & bed) and the total weight of your trailer. Everything added together can not go over 8000 lbs.

Although your truck is rated for a payload of 1620 and a tow capacity of 3500 you can NOT do both at the same time with out going over your GCWR.

OK, to figure out the largest trailer you can tow you need to know the weight of your passengers and yourself, your 'in truck' gear including the bed.

For example, if you plan on 4 people at 150 lbs per and 300 lbs of 'stuff' in the truck then the total of 900 lbs gets added to the curb weight of the truck. You are up to 4280. Add to that 350 lbs of tongue weight for a gross vehicle weight of 4630...under the 5000 lbs rating so far you are OK.

FYI, tongue weight is 7 to 15 % of the trailer weight on average, depending on what you tow. You can play with it a little by moving things in the traler back or forth but be careful. If you shift the weight too far one way or the other your control will suffer and the trailer will sway. Try to stay in the recommended percentage...I belive it's in the manual.

The GCWR is 8000 lbs. Add the max. trailer weight of 3500 to 4280 (you don't add the tongue weight twice). At 7780, you are under the 8K rating with 220 lbs to spare. Some guys do not like to get this close the the max capacity. I however think it's OK as long as you are aware of the vehicles limitations and you know for sure what everything weighs. You may also want to consider how your truck will handle with that much weight on it. Will it be windy, wet or snowing? Hazards are easier to handle with less weight....hmmm is a heavier trailer harder to blow over in stong winds than a lighter one...I'll have to rethink and research that one but lighter trailers are definately easier to stop.

You can get a TT of 3500 lbs (fully loaded) as long as you do not go over 1120 lbs in the truck (people and cargo).

One common mistake people make is that they do not take into account the weight of items added in the trailer. Like food, water, gear, gas etc. When you shop for a trailer they generally give you a 'dry' weight. Boat manufacturers often leave out the weight of the trailer itself! Keep that in mind. Some also forget to calculate the weight of the passengers and cargo.

Hope this helps,

Dave

This is my understanding but please check it out for yourself... I could have made a mistake....that happened once, back in 1986

[funfinder4]

Check out: Cruiser Rv : Fun Finder X Travel Trailer

We have an '05 T-160 that we use to pull with our Honda minivan. Loaded up for camping ours weighed 2600-2800 lbs (1960 lbs "dry"). The 160 floor plan is very versatile for both families and couples. We sleep 4 easily in ours and each kid gets their own bunk. Kids love it!

Don't know much about the new Taco's (use to have a '99), but for my Tundra (w/towing package) installing the brake controller was a simple plug and play operation. If you don't have the towing package I'm not sure if all the wiring will already be done for you. Worse case is you have to run a few wires yourself or pay a RV shop to do it for you.

I thought Taco's had a higher towing capacity that just 3,500 lbs?? If he had the towing package what would be his GCWR be? Can he add the towing package (tranny cooler, oil cooler, ect??) afterwards?

[mxsjw]

I like those fun finders, but they are sure proud of them with the price
I may have to take a second look though after my run in with dry rot on the used Layton we picked up.

[funfinder4]

Originally Posted by mxsjw

I like those fun finders, but they are sure proud of them with the price

In '05 they offered both the "T" and "X" trim lines. The X trim lines have things like LCD TV's, microwaves, wood (looking) floors, ect. Those items have seemed to drive the price up, I agree. It's still all in the dealing. Many of the dealerships that carry the Fun Finder lines are smaller and sell less units per month than a single sales man does at the big mega dealerships. These dealerships try to sell as close to MSRP as possible to make up for the reduced sells.

Anyway.. I was able to pick mine up new for just under $10k. Sure there was cheaper campers new in the $8k-$9k range ('18-'19 Fleetwood "Specials"), but they where almost twice as heavy and lower in quality.

[mxsjw]

Originally Posted by funfinder4

Many of the dealerships that carry the Fun Finder lines are smaller and sell less units per month than a single sales man does at the big mega dealerships. These dealerships try to sell as close to MSRP as possible to make up for the reduced sells.

That sounds about right, when the wife and I stopped to take a peek, it was at a very small dealership.
We chose to buy used, now I kick myself in the bootay. Fricked PO never did an ounce of maintenance, polished up the turd, lied and sold to to me, the sucker. Darn Dryrot.
I can fix it all, it is just alot of work, I should have her back together and all sealed up by next week. All in all, it's a nice rig. Everything works and the rot was only present in one area.
Sorry for the vent and the momentary hijack.