Toyota Tacoma, 2-wheel drive with 4 cyl engine tows fine

[lonlawrence]

I use a 2008 Toyota Tacoma, 2-wheel drive, 4 cylinder engine and 5 speed O/D manual tranny to tow my camper and it handles the load just fine. The truck is rated at 3500 lbs, which makes it more than ideal for a lightweight (2500 lbs +) camper. The truck when ordered with a factory towing package and V6 engine is rated at 6000 lbs, I think. The only problem with towing the Casita 17' SD model is the tongue weight is about 100 lbs more than a 16' Casita. The springs on the Toy are a little light for a better ride, so I had to add a WD hitch to keep the truck from squatting too much. See it here:

I just added the Reese Pro Series WD hitch to my Casita. A lot of the owners have been using the Equal-i-zer hitch, but there were several reasons I wanted to try this one instead... price was one reason. Of course these two mentioned have a built-in sway control you should find interesting. If you want to see pictures of the installation and an explanation, go to my web page here:

http://web.me.com/dr.pepper007/Site/Casita...asita_Mods.html

[Booker B.]

Does your Tacoma require trailer brakes after 1000lbs? That seems to be becoming more common on the newer trucks.

[brian m.]

Link no bueno.

http://web.me.com/dr.pepper007/Site/...sita_Mods.html

[Deb & Chuck]

I use a 2008 Toyota Tacoma, 2-wheel drive, 4 cylinder engine and 5 speed O/D manual tranny to tow my camper and it handles the load just fine. The truck is rated at 3500 lbs, which makes it more than ideal for a lightweight (2500 lbs +) camper. The truck when ordered with a factory towing package and V6 engine is rated at 6000 lbs, I think. The only problem with towing the Casita 17' SD model is the tongue weight is about 100 lbs more than a 16' Casita. The springs on the Toy are a little light for a better ride, so I had to add a WD hitch to keep the truck from squatting too much. See it here:

I just added the Reese Pro Series WD hitch to my Casita. A lot of the owners have been using the Equal-i-zer hitch, but there were several reasons I wanted to try this one instead... price was one reason. Of course these two mentioned have a built-in sway control you should find interesting. If you want to see pictures of the installation and an explanation, go to my web page here:

http://web.me.com/dr.pepper007/Site/...sita_Mods.html

I put RoadMaster progressive springs on my 2005 Tundra. The cost was $325.00 installed. I can haul a ton of feed without the truck squatting.
chuck

[Booker B.]

The correct link is:
http://web.me.com/dr.pepper007/Site/Casita...asita_Mods.html

[lonlawrence]

Link no bueno.

http://web.me.com/dr.pepper007/Site/...sita_Mods.html

Sorry, I don't know what happened, but I re-edited the link and now it seems to work even though this website truncates the URL and puts a bunch of ..... in the link. I just checked it and now it works. Let me know if you still have trouble.

I thought about SuperSprings for the Toyota rather than a WD hitch, but didn't want to affect the good ride when I'm running empty (about 99% of the time), and any extra springs are going to affect your ride, regardless what the ads say.

Trailer brakes? Definitely. All Casitas come with trailer brakes and yes, I ordered the wiring harness from Etrailer also with my hitch (since you can't get the 4 cylinder Toyota with the full trailer towing packing like you can with the V6). It was quite a bit of work to wire up the trailer brakes. You have to also get Etrailer's brakelight kit, patch that in first, then run the other wiring harness kit under the truck to the engine compartment and back into the firewall/cab and hook it to the brakelight switch. There's no real good place to mount the trailer brake controller so it's a knee banger for us long-legged guys. I'll probably unplug it and take it out except when I'm going to travel with the camper.

[Booker B.]

My prodigy JUST clears my knee in our Subaru with the seat full back. I was worried about it when it was installed but my legs just have clearance.

[Pete Dumbleton]

I put RoadMaster progressive springs on my 2005 Tundra. The cost was $325.00 installed. I can haul a ton of feed without the truck squatting.

That's good for a load in the truck, but WDH is superior for a towing-related load because the WDH actually moves most of the rear weight up to the front wheels/suspension (the rest goes to the trailer axle) -- All the springs do is keep the body level; none of the load is transferred to the front end.

I just thought of a way to demonstrate the different effects. Take a wheelbarrow with a soft tire and load it with a bunch of concrete blocks *to the rear*. Notice the tire deformation, then lift the rear of the WB and place something under the rear legs -- Again, notice the tire deformation. Now, stand behind the wheelbarrow and lift the handles so the full weight is on the tire and your feet -- Notice the tire deformation.

[CD Smith]

Deb & Chuck, even if you could put a ton in the bed of your 2005 Tundra, it would exceed its maximu passenger and cargo of 1,475 lbs.

[Pete Dumbleton]

2,000 lbs distributed over the truck bed with a COG between the axles is also a different load than 400 lbs out on the trailer ball behind the rear axle.