towing 4500lb tractor with a Toyota Tacoma

[Notforhire]

I did haul a small excavator on it once,and when unloading it raised my back wheels of my truck about 2 feet off the ground lol.

After that experence I hope you learned to support the back end of the trailer when loading. Lots of people go for a down hill ride while sitting on the tractor, on top of the trailer. With the rear wheels of the truck up in the air, there is nothing to stop the entire rig from rolling away.:shocked:
Blocks, and chocks!

Best, Bill

 

[Bfitzgerald3]

Lots of good replies and no difinitive answer... The tractor alone is about 4500 lbs and listed tow capacity is 6500. The dealer... 90 miles away and across the Mackinac bridge. Its feeling like i should get a good trailer for everything i'll need, except for hauling the tractor, then pay to have it hauled, if necessary. Id rather be out a few hundred bucks than wear out the truck or end up dead.

That being said, can anyone recommend a good, fair trailer dealer in north east indiana....near elkhart or coldwater? Private messages, of course, to keep this space commercial free.

Thanks!

 

[PSUTundra]

Lots of good replies and no difinitive answer... The tractor alone is about 4500 lbs and listed tow capacity is 6500.

People will give you opinions all over the place from "no problem I have towed 10x the tow capacity and no damage" to "keep a safe limit of 15% under your tow capacity".

The best advice I have heard over time is make sure you know your capacity and know your loaded trailer and loaded truck weight, if you are near that limit be more careful than you would already have been when towing.

On the trailer, I have not owned an equipment trailer but in shopping for a tractor have looked and 2000# is about the lower limit, there are some slightly less and then lots that go above. You could find a heavy duty landscape trailer that might work as well, but I am not in your area so cannot recommend any dealers, hopefully someone else can sort you out there.

As far as can the Tacoma do it, if you are under the 6500#, yes, but I would look to upgrade the truck in the future for less pucker factor when in the fun situations other drivers put you in.

 

[check 6]

For what it is worth, I had a 2007 Toyota Tacoma with the towing package and sold it as I was hesitant to tow a trailer that weighed 5500 lbs with its load and it having electric brakes. Two reasons, first is i was never happy with the brakes on the Tacoma, the weak point in an otherwise very good small truck. The second was the weight and size of the Tacoma when compared to a 20ft trailer and its load. Would be a tail wagging the dog combination. My .02 cents worth would be larger truck or smaller and lighter load.

 

[RobertN]

I'd double check numbers to see how much the tractor weighs. I was surprised by how much my old tractor, and the current one, weigh when I researched and added all the numbers up. Same with trailer(16' dual axle 1600lbs bare empty). Make sure to factor in all your gear, chains, fuel cans etc.

If I were to tow with the smaller truck, first thing would be spend the extra $ and put brakes on the second axle of the trailer too...

IMHO, towing at the rated limits is not bad. It is the combination of things like towing at the rated limts or over, and doing 70-80 mph etc. Just because you can tow at 70, 75mph does not mean you should.

Another thing... I found once I got a flatbed for the tractor, that is only a small tiny part of what the trailer gets used for. Since having it I have hauled cars, motorcycles, firewood, hay, pipe, lumber, canoes for Scout trip, towed it behind tractor with Cub Scout decorations/float, concrete block, wire panels etc, etc..... Might consider that in your choice of trailer, and how you use your truck or upgrade in the future...

 

[flusher]

Lots of good replies and no difinitive answer... The tractor alone is about 4500 lbs and listed tow capacity is 6500. The dealer... 90 miles away and across the Mackinac bridge. Its feeling like i should get a good trailer for everything i'll need, except for hauling the tractor, then pay to have it hauled, if necessary. Id rather be out a few hundred bucks than wear out the truck or end up dead.

That being said, can anyone recommend a good, fair trailer dealer in north east indiana....near elkhart or coldwater? Private messages, of course, to keep this space commercial free.

Thanks!

You need to weigh your tractor. Rent a trailer, load the tractor and hit the truck scales. Otherwise you're flying blind.

 

[jimrs]

Like the old saying "A man has to know his limitations". The same is true of his truck.

 

[crazyal]

If you get a trailer you might be able to rent a truck that has a hitch and a brake controller. Some of the smaller rental places buy low mileage used vehicles to rent. One may have a full size with a hitch.

 

[TimberXX]

I had a 06 Tacoma, that was rated at 6,700 pounds. I towed a 5000 lbs boat trailer from MA to SC, and everywhere in between. The console would getting piping hot, so hot I need to put on the AC. I had the tranny checked a couple of times and I was told everything was fine.

My 2nd gear went at 86,000 miles. The tranny was totaled.

Those Tacoma's are great grocery runners, but I would be weary towing heavy loads with them.

But on a positive note, the rest of the truck held up well.

 

[crazyal]

The 2nd gear syncro is always the first to go. Normally you're stopped when you shift into first so it doesn't get the wear. But when you shift from first into second it's not uncommon to be doing it under load and since it's straight back it's a quick shift.