Tacoma and 16' Caravel

[Mighty Mite]

I have a 16' Carvel. Tong weight "on scale" is 570 lbs with nothing in trailer, including no water and no black/gray tank.


If you truly only have 900 lbs of payload (yellow sticker on door jam) Than, you will run over the 900 lbs. You need to add the weight of the actual hitch to the tong weight of the trailer.



I have a 2020 Jeep Gladiator with a payload (sticker on the door) of 1,095 lbs. NO sway or hitch equipment, other than the stinger that has the tow ball on it. I have to be very careful of what I put into the cap and the bed of the Gladiator, to not go over the 1,095 max weight. Had Jeep BEFORE I bought the 16' Caravel. Live in FL and have towed it a lot in FL, but not in mountains. Be safe, Bob

[northfayston]

Speaking from our experience, we tow a 24 foot 1965 Airstream Tradewind with a 2015 Tacoma with a crew cab and long bed. We use a Reese weight distribution hitch. The trailer fulled loaded including liquids is 4500 pounds, 700 pounds over dry weight. WE typically don't tow with a full gray tank, so lop off 250 pounds. So clothing, food, and incidentals don't add up to be very much in the trailer. Unless you plan to carry rocks and lots of equipment in your truck, a Tacoma should do the trick. I would definitely get an extended cab. It's really convenient for storing various stuff and good place for the dog. Even this size truck I find rather larger to maneuver compared to my Subaru outback or the Ford Explorer I drove at one time.

So let's talk about hills. So it might not have as much torque going up or umph that some folks might want. BUT, the reality is - you will only need that about 1 - 2 percent of the time driving in the mountains compared to the rest of the trip. We did 10,000 mile trip from Vermont and toured the Southwest and part of Colorado. Less than 1 percent of the time was up hill Scenice route 12 in Utah, up and over Cloudcroft, NM, and a few other places. So you go a bit slower. Your speed will be dictated by the uphill curves anyway. On a straight interstate in Colorado, you will have an easier time maintaining your speed uphill. For the most part maximum grades on interestates are 6%. The only time for us it would be nice to have a bit more torque is up our 10 percent grade on a dirt road to our house. Not a lot of fun when the road is wet pulling a trailer, but we also have 4 wheel drive.

Bigger is not necessarily better or safer. Might have "stronger" brakes on a bigger vehicle, but it will still take more time and distance to stop a bigger heavier vehicle. Safer depends on how well your hitch is set up and how you drive.

Enjoy the adventure.

[Kegonwheels]

We picked up our Airstream in TX with a 2016 Kia Sorento with tow package, electric brake controller installed, and sway control bar. We had new tires and were coming back to MN after an ice storm that closed down major highways. It was ok but gas mileage was terrible and we couldn’t accelerate.

With the Tacoma pulling our camper, it’s so much easier. We haven’t been in mountains but it takes the hills in our area well.

I highly recommend getting some sort of sway bar. The drive is so much smoother with it.

[slvrbrd]

We too were saddened to trade in our Tacoma in order to tow our 27' Airstream but safety was our primary concern and not having the tail wag the dog. Another thing you might want to consider is the gas milage and the tank size. Unloaded Gen 3 LB crew TRD 4x4 with cab and bed rack only got 17 mpg on the freeway. Beautiful truck that performed like a gazelle but I feel safer in my F250 even if it feels more like riding a rhinoceros.

Will

[Native143]

As others have written who have experience towing with the Tacoma...yes! With a weight distribution hitch/sway bar combo it is great. I had the Eazlift WD system added to my rig by Can Am and is was perfect drive for 15,000 miles of Tacoma 2x4 and Bambi 16'. (have changed TV and AS since then) but still same WD set up. Never had a problem. W/D helps shift control of rig to steering axle and therefore does take some weight off the hitch too.



Been mostly in the East but there are mountains there too. If your mom is planning to go to Rockies, go for it!!! Plus there are other roads to get there.

[freeski1057]

We tow a 2020 Airstream Nest, which has very similar numbers to the the Caravel, with a 2018 4x4 double cab, long bed Tacoma with the tow package and have no problems. No weight distribution hitch and mostly don't notice the trailer back there. I tend to activate the ECT button in the Tacoma which to my understanding changes the points at which the transmission shifts and on mountainous or hilly terrain prevents it from searching back and forth for the right gear. This is our first travel trailer and my first time towing anything really and I was fairly anxious about it when we started out but it's been a positive experience so far. I'm not a speed demon usually keeping it 65-70 mph on Interstate and slower on two lane roads.

[Mighty Mite]

Agree with another poster, this has always been a most contentious subject on Air Forums. All of the posts here mostly talk about "never had any issues", or "Go for it".



No one (except my post) talks about the LEGAL issue of the MFG's sticker on the TV. That number is what the MFG says you can load on the TV, for this exact TV. Including the hitch weight, what you put in the bed of the TV, what you put in the cab of the TV, full tank of fuel, etc. My 570 lbs of hitch weight of my (2021) 16' Caravel does not even include the weight (usually around a 100 lbs) of a weight distribution & sway bar set up. As I have none. I "tow on the ball".



I am sure the Tacoma will tow OK, just wonder how you will feel knowing that you have exceeded the MFG's allowed payload, all the time.

[dotar]

I towed my 16 DWR to Alaska and back with a 3.6 liter Jeep Wrangler Unlimted that just barely qualified for tow capacity. Cooling was a challenge and so was uphill speed
Currently tow with a Chevy Colorado 2.8 liter diesel. I won’t win any drag races, but it goes up and down hill with ease.

[SWH]

Originally Posted by Mighty Mite

No one (except my post) talks about the LEGAL issue of the MFG's sticker on the TV. That number is what the MFG says you can load on the TV, for this exact TV. Including the hitch weight, what you put in the bed of the TV, what you put in the cab of the TV, full tank of fuel, etc. My 570 lbs of hitch weight of my (2021) 16' Caravel does not even include the weight (usually around a 100 lbs) of a weight distribution & sway bar set up. As I have none. I "tow on the ball".

I am sure the Tacoma will tow OK, just wonder how you will feel knowing that you have exceeded the MFG's allowed payload, all the time.

Actually my post talked about legal payload. I pointed out that Tacoma SR5 4x4 actually has 1100-1200 lbs payload depending on cab. And if she got a 4x2 payload could be close to 1700 lbs. Listed dry hitch weight for Caravel 16RG is 490 lbs, and I’ve read others say that is pretty close to accurate. Assuming 550-570 lbs properly loaded, while she certainly will have to manage cargo in the truck, she definitely could keep within payload limits, as well max tow capacity, hitch weight or GCWR for the Tacoma.

And the experience of lots of people with experience towing the same/similar weight trailer with the same tow vehicle does count for something.

[FurtherAir]

Something that I feel might be missing in this thread is the topic of gas and capacity. My 2010 and now 2021 Tacoma is very capable of towing our 1964 24' AS.
In the mountains 87 gas just doesn't cut it. 91 octane changes the truck from a lug to a perfect solution. Due to the computer though you cant switch gas back and forth when in mountains and in flats. High octane all the time is worth it though.
The tank capacity is also an issue, maybe. I get 13 mpg at full speed, 65-75 mph. Therefore I have to refill every 150 miles. On a 600-800 mile day that starts to add up.

Its worth it though because of the daily driver capability of the Tacoma vs a bigger truck.
Good luck!

[Crasher]

I picked up my 2022 Caravel 20 last week and am towing with a 2013 Tacoma Sport 4x4. It tows and stops just fine. Going through mountains will be the real test. Knowing when to downshift is key.