Towing advice needed

[IXLR8]

Hi, I have a Toyota Tacoma, towing capacity rated at 5000lbs, the tractor I am considering, attachements, tiedowns and trailer come to just over 4600lbs. I have passenger tires on the truck, not LT tires, trailer shop says I am asking for trouble and I should put LT tires on the truck. I have the money for new tires if they are needed. Neighbor, who is retired from construction, says that since my towed weight is the same or more than the truck.. I am asking for trouble. Are these folks correct? Am I asking for trouble with this setup? I don't have the money for a new truck so I need to work with what I have. Would the best advice be to just hire somebody with the correct equipment to move the tractor when I need to? It will only be a few times a year, about 50 miles one way.

 

[SnowRidge]

I have a 150 HP four cylinder 4x4 Tacoma. I used to haul a fully loaded 6x10 cargo trailer (2990 GVWR, 3500 lb axle) behind it with no control problems -- once I added brakes. I have never had passenger tires on it.

I assume you have the V6. I wouldn't hesistate to tow a properly set up 5K load with a V6 Tacoma, although I would probably go with the LT tires.

I suggest a Tekonsha Prodigy brake controller, assuming the trailer brakes are electric.

 

[Diamondpilot]

Your neighbor does not know what he is talking about. Take my F-350 for example, it weighs 7,600# with me in it and 3/4 fuel but is rated to tow 19,600# or something like that. My F-150 weighs 5,550# with me in it and 3/4 fuel and is rated to tow 8,700# or something like that. I am close with these numbers but would have to check the books. What I am getting at is with a proper hitch and good trailer with brakes you are fine going over the trucks weight as long as you are within the tow rating of the truck.

Chris

 

[George2615]

With the proper trailer that has brakes and placement of the tractor on the trailer for proper tongue weight you should have no problems towing within your trucks capacity.

 

[grnspot110]

I would go with the LT tires, maximum air pressure when towing heavier loads. I agree with the others, brakes on all axles on the trailer & proper hitch will handle up to PU's rated capacity with no problems.

 

[IXLR8]

Thanks for the replies, yes it is the V6. Now you folks have just made my tractor buying decision harder. I had it down to a JD and comperable Kioti. The Kioti is about 1200lbs heavier than the JD and I can't tow it with my truck. But the Kioti is about $4000.00 cheaper, that will buy lots of hiring somebody to trailer it for me.... decisions decisions. If I was going to have trouble towing the JD and would have had to hire somebody to trailer the tractor anyway, I suspect I would have chosen the Kioti for the value. Now I need to rethink this whole thing. Isn't tractor shoping fun.

 

[2manyrocks]

You haven't mentioned what kind of terrain you'll be driving in. If you're driving in flatlands, it's one thing. If you have hills, it could make a difference.

 

[SnowRidge]

Thanks for the replies, yes it is the V6. Now you folks have just made my tractor buying decision harder. I had it down to a JD and comperable Kioti. The Kioti is about 1200lbs heavier than the JD and I can't tow it with my truck. But the Kioti is about $4000.00 cheaper, that will buy lots of hiring somebody to trailer it for me.... decisions decisions. If I was going to have trouble towing the JD and would have had to hire somebody to trailer the tractor anyway, I suspect I would have chosen the Kioti for the value. Now I need to rethink this whole thing. Isn't tractor shoping fun.

Buy the Kioti, and buy a used HD pickup and a heavier trailer than you are currently contemplating. You will regret it, if you go light.

 

[IXLR8]

You haven't mentioned what kind of terrain you'll be driving in. If you're driving in flatlands, it's one thing. If you have hills, it could make a difference.

It is Maine... which means up and down. The more I think about it, I suspect that the Tacoma would have real trouble pulling even the JD up some of the local hills. Going to start looking for a used heavier duty truck, hmmm wonder if I could trade up to the new diesel Tundra... NOT!

 

[john_bud]

If it's only 50 miles and only a couple times a year, why not just drive the tractor? That would save you buying a trailer or a new truck and a trailer.

If you would have to buy a trailer, you may be money ahead paying to have it moved. Might want to determine the costs involved....

By the way, towing 4600# when the truck has a 5000# rating sounds fine to me. You may have to down shift and rev the engine up near the HP peak to get over some hills, but that's within the rating. Should be good to go.

You do need to be able to count on the trailer brakes as the truck would be hard pressed to stop the whole load if they fail. That's just generic advice for most any trailer.

jb

 

[wushaw]

The Lt tires will help but if your current ones are not worn out don't just buy new ones...change them to the Lt tires when you need tires.

Towing at or a little over your tow rating is not the end of the world, you just have to be a little more cautious.

 

[mab]

Hi IXLR8,
I've followed your posts on the kioti site as I myself am looking at a ck20/30 purchase this winter. I also own a tacoma v6 and am thinking about the same issues; how to get it from here to there. My tacoma came with LT tires 31.5 x 10.5 and I have trouble keeping them balanced on 15" rims. The LT does offer a higher load rating than non-LT though. What Kioti are you thinking of? 20 or 30? And will you go with gear or hydro? I'm undecided. Any thoughts appreciated.

Mark

 

[Egon]

The tractor trailer units one sees hauling goods on the road surely have a tractor that weighs less than the load that is behind it!

 

[Rara Avis]

The tractor trailer units one sees hauling goods on the road surely have a tractor that weighs less than the load that is behind it!

Yes and every so often their trailer overwhelms them as well...

 

[drtydeed]

IXLR8, you don't need LT tires unless you are putting the tractor in your truck bed! Standard loads are fine, a lot less expensive and ride much better. Your biggest issue is stopping that trailer. Make sure that you have a dual axle trailer with brakes and a properly balanced load.

 

[gemini5362]

It is Maine... which means up and down. The more I think about it, I suspect that the Tacoma would have real trouble pulling even the JD up some of the local hills. Going to start looking for a used heavier duty truck, hmmm wonder if I could trade up to the new diesel Tundra... NOT!

What new diesel Tundra ?

 

[Rara Avis]

What new diesel Tundra ?

It was a concept vehicle at the autoshow...
SEMA 2007 VIDEO: Toyota Tundra Diesel Dually - Autoblog

 

[sandman2234]

I have always heard the old saying about making sure your towing vehicle weighs more than your trailer, and understand it, but not sure I agree with it. I think that old saying may have come to live in the days before people had trailer brakes and if you stepped on the towing vehicle brakes, the load would "push" the towing vehicle. That is one ride you won't like, BTDT!!! I tried to describe it to a friend who towed a 26' Bayliner with a '79 Corvette. He was lucky and never learned it first hand, but the boat trailer did have good brakes and he kept it below 30 mph.
Before I condemed the passenger tires, I would look at the sidewalls and get the load rating from them and figure out what kind of weight your going to have on them. With a good trailer, most of the load isn't on the truck axles, although you do have to put some up there. Do the math, see what adds up.
As far as driving the tractor 50 miles, that would be no fun at all, but to each his own. If the 50 miles is all Interstate highways, at 55 mph, the tires might get a little hotter than backroads at 30 mph. Consider that also, along with the age of the original tires. The 5K load rating is probably going to be for the tractor and it's trailer, plus all the implements and passengers, so you start eating into that 400 pound buffer rather quickly. Ask me if I have ever towed a trailer over it's rated capacity and I will look you straight in the eye and lie to you!! Never should you do it, but I am not saying it isn't done. (by me!) The chances are you will be fine, but IF something happens, such as a someone pulling out in front of you, etc, and they hire an attorney to fight you, you may loose on the grounds that your vehicle was "severely overloaded" (Doesn't that sound bad?) I knew of a lawsuit where the guy was really close to the weight rating and hit a kid on a bicycle. Nothing the driver could have done, but he was overloaded and the courts blamed that on him. His liability in the suit ended up being 60% instead of 0, which cost his insurance company a small fortune.
Bottom line, we pays our money and we take our chances. Good luck with yours, whichever way you decide to go. Either way, be careful.

 

[Mike058]

Hi, I have a Toyota Tacoma, towing capacity rated at 5000lbs, the tractor I am considering, attachements, tiedowns and trailer come to just over 4600lbs. I have passenger tires on the truck, not LT tires, trailer shop says I am asking for trouble and I should put LT tires on the truck. I have the money for new tires if they are needed. Neighbor, who is retired from construction, says that since my towed weight is the same or more than the truck.. I am asking for trouble. Are these folks correct? Am I asking for trouble with this setup? I don't have the money for a new truck so I need to work with what I have. Would the best advice be to just hire somebody with the correct equipment to move the tractor when I need to? It will only be a few times a year, about 50 miles one way.

You have to have a weight distributing hitch (WDH) like this, Weight Distribution Trunnion Style You don't need LT tires. LT tires are just higher ply tires that can be inflated to something like 50-60 pounds when you're carrying gravel in the bed. With this hitch, there'll be enough weight on the tongue for proper handling, but it won't make the rear end sag. Actually, if you get the bars too tight, they'll actually lift the rear of the truck. If you didn't have a WDH, I can see where having the truck weigh more than the load might be a good rule of thumb. But these things have been around for at least 40 years and they work great. It might be worth it to take the empty trailer with you and have someone locally install it. (not the place that thinks you need LT tires though, sounds like there into selling everything in the place to you) It's not hard, but you want the truck and trailer level when it's all hooked up and that's adjusted by setting the ball mount height. You'll have to have an electronic brake controller too and figure out how to adjust it for your load before you hit the highway. Remember to set the tractor on the trailer so that about 10-15% of the total load is on the tongue. That's very important for the trailer to follow behind you properly. If the load is too far aft, the trailer will tend to stop following you. That's real bad. Nothing quite like having the rear of your truck being pulled side to side by a beligerent trailer going 60 MPH. "Pucker" doesn't even begin to describe the feeling.

 

[dwingert2]

mike058 ive done that before about a week after i turned 16 i was pulling a heavyduty 18ft trailer with a pallet of sandblasting sand on the very back because all i was thinking about was unloading it by hand needles to say when the other bank of the ditch i hit stopped me i realized my mistake.

as far as the truck handleing it you should have no prob. like the others have said just be sure to put the weight of the tractor on the trailer you need a little tongue weight but the trailer should be carring the majority that and a good trailer brake setup.