Save me some money

[Yambers]

I bought a 2020 242S. Loaded will probably be 5500ish lbs. My current tow vehicle is a 2019 Tacoma 4x4. Rated at 6500 lbs with the factory tow package. Can someone convince me that I don't need to upgrade to a full size? I love my special edition truck, and full size ones seem so expensive.

Im in Indiana, so pretty flat, and towing 100 or so miles round trip on weekends..

And yes, I realize I should have thought about this before buying, and I did, but what can I say? Haha

 

[2kwik4u]

Yea......um......Sorry...... you're gonna need a bigger truck.

 

[F.M.]

Definitely........ bigger truck is needed.

 

[Yambers]

You are not helping me here. Lol..

So if I have to go bigger, sell me on a brand. Chevy Silverado, Ford F-150, or Ram 1500? I love Toyotas, but Tundras are U.G.L.Y...

Anyone purchase these lately? Any good deals on financing or leasing?

 

[ZGhost]

Your 6500lb towing capacity should be sufficient. Why would you need bigger truck? You said flat, 100mi round trip, and you are already within towing rating. I think you are fine.
I tow my 242X with my 5000lb tow rated 2011 MDX for the past 2 years and before that my 212SS for 10 years with the same car, no issues what’s so ever. My route is flat and 20 min round trip on weekends. I know I’m at the edge but I won’t go anywhere longer than 20 min ea way and don’t tow above 55mph. I am looking to upgrade and will move into 6500-7000lb towing range vehicle. My buddy has been towing his 242S same distance for 8 years with also an MDX and recently a Pilot, both rated at 5000lbs. you should be fine at 6500lbs.

 

[F.M.]

If you're going bigger, go really big. International MXT!

 

[YamahaForMe]

You will definitely need the one-ton dually to have sufficient safety margin. Towing anywhere with the measly 15.4% towing capacity margin provided by your Taco would be unsafe un-American.

 

[Ronnie]

I think you will be fine but recommend that you tow a few times with your Tacoma before making a decision to upgrade or not. If the Tacoma seems stressed while or after towing you should know.

if you do have to upgrade consider a used full size SUV like an expedition. 2010s and newer can be had for around $10k, 2003 to 2009 models for $2,500 to $10k. More for the limited or king ranch packages (Eddie bower not so much). All can carry 7 to 8 people and most if not all can tow at least 8k lbs.

 

[marcham]

Round trip, no cross wind, no passengers and nothing in the bed you'll probably be fine.

But.... I'd get a better tow vehicle.

Save some money. Skip the 1/2 ton and go directly to a 3/4 ton. 1/2 ton can pull a trailer or carry payload in the bed but not do both together (read up on payload and axle ratings).

3/4 ton gas truck has almost the same payload as 1 ton diesel....

Tacoma hold their value really well, you're probably looking at 1500$ depreciation per year of ownership so really no major capital loss on a private sale if you can pay only the taxes on the delta pricing.

I imagine you can get into a 2019 f250 xlt 4x4 gas for about the same amount of money as your sale.

You did it right... buy the toy, the toy then justifies the new truck.

 

[Bizywk]

I know what a favorite truck can mean to a guy.

I can help you. As a special favor, I'll trade you for my SX210.

 

[TimW451]

“Save me some money“ Clearly, not here.

+1 Ronnie’s suggestion, try out your Tacoma before buying something new. I think “1/2 ton“ pickup is more than enough. I have a new Ram 1500. Drives great, plenty of space, don’t even know I’m towing a boat.

 

[Yambers]

Saving me money does not mean telling me to buy 1 ton trucks, especially since I drive 60+ miles a day for work, but I appreciate you taking the time. haha

We are going to go shopping this weekend. This thing still has to fit in the garage that has low overhead, as the garage is under the house. I believe it is a normal door opening, but the garage door opener sits lower and I required a special kit to install it all.

If we find the right deal, and can get out of our lease, we might pull the trigger this weekend. If it doesn't feel right, we wont buy yet. I have heard of many people pulling large loads with their Tacoma, and I only have a year left on the lease. So worst case scenario I make it work for 1 year. My biggest concern is not power, or payload, or even the weight of the truck. Honestly my biggest concern is an 8.5' wide boat, and 6' wide mirrors. And extensions look ridiculous, but they are safer.

 

[2kwik4u]

Saving me money does not mean telling me to buy 1 ton trucks, especially since I drive 60+ miles a day for work, but I appreciate you taking the time. haha

That was all tongue in cheek humor. We do that a LOT here

In all honesty, I towed our 190 with my wifes Travese. It was rated at 5,200lbs with similar HP/Tq numbers as your Tacoma, and with 4 adults, 3 kids, coolers, and full fuel tanks it was overloaded and struggled. Not a great experience for the ~100mi round trip I made in Southern Indiana (Louisville Area). We have a few more hills down here than you might elsewhere in the state, but it was enough that I rarely towed with that vehicle again. That's not to say a small SUV can't tow well, just that particular driveline wasn't up to the task. Chassis and brakes were actually pretty decent. My '06 Trailblazer SS towed amazingly well, but was equipped with a 400hp/400ft-lb 6.0L V8. I also had a big brake kit on it, and some hefty sway bars, so it was a bit better than a "normal" midsize SUV.



Keep in mind all the "stuff" you take with you hurts you in two ways. I really suspect your 242LS is going to be closer to 6-6.2k lbs once you have toys, fuel, mods, etc loaded up in there. THEN, you're going to want to take kids, and coolers, and "stuff" with you. That takes off your payload, and subsequent tow rating. Finally have a look at your owners manual. $5 says it requires a weight distributing hitch to get that full 6,500lbs, and most likely that starts somewhere around 2-3k lbs of towed weight. They make specific WDH's for surge brake equipped trailers if you're interested in that I've looked into them before.

Here's what the bed of my fullsize pickup looked like heading out for a weeks vacation. Glad I had the extra payload and capacity for this trip. Granted we had a toddler and were going for a full week to a rural cabin, we still took a LOT of stuff. I'd guess we were 1,200lbs of "stuff" between drinks, cornhole boards, and all the other misc "stuff" in the bed.

We are going to go shopping this weekend. This thing still has to fit in the garage that has low overhead, as the garage is under the house. I believe it is a normal door opening, but the garage door opener sits lower and I required a special kit to install it all.

If we find the right deal, and can get out of our lease, we might pull the trigger this weekend. If it doesn't feel right, we wont buy yet. I have heard of many people pulling large loads with their Tacoma, and I only have a year left on the lease. So worst case scenario I make it work for 1 year. My biggest concern is not power, or payload, or even the weight of the truck. Honestly my biggest concern is an 8.5' wide boat, and 6' wide mirrors. And extensions look ridiculous, but they are safer.

Don't rush into a new truck. Look around and see what you like. Tow with the Tacoma a few times and see how you feel about it. You're on the edge of capacity there, so it's not like you're looking at immediate and sudden death if you do it. Most likely it's just going to struggle more than you like, and create more white knuckle moments than you care to deal with during your leisure time.

You're going to have a rough time fitting a 1500 class crew cab truck in your garage. I wouldn't even waste time measuring any late model 2500 pickups. Likewise fullsize SUV's (Expedition/Tahoe/Seqoia/Armada/etc) are going to be really tall when compared to your garage opening. My old '03 Yukon would touch the weather seal with the roof rack on a 7' opening pulling in. I have an overly deep garage (21'9"), and my 1500 pickup BARELY fits in there. not quite enough room to walk around behind it if it's almost touching the garage door. The Sat Radio Antenna just touches the weather seal on the way in. It fits, but shew-buddy it's tight.



If you can go SUV, the Durango is a great choice that has the towing and payload you need, and will most likely fit in your garage without an issue. I live in a "spec home" type neighborhood (so most of the garages are the same size) and have several neighbors with Durango's in the garage every night. There are several guys here that pull 24' boats with the R/T and SRT packages. I think there are even a few that pull the 23' boats with the V7 equipped Durangos. They come very highly recommended here when asked. Here's a thread I started a few years ago on them.

 

[1WetBoat]

+1 for the Durango. I have an R/T and it pulls the boat with no issues whatsoever. Mine is AWD and the ramp is absolutely no challenge to it at all either. Heck, at idle without pushing the go-fast pedal it starts to creep forward with the boat attached. I was a bit concerned prior to buying my boat also but that went away the day i picked up the boat from the dealer.

 

[marcham]

GVWR and Axle weight rating is what matters. Look for the white and the yellow sticker inside driver's door pillion. The more optional extras you buy (appearance package, crew cab, 4x4, etc... ) the less payload is available.

Tongue weight is considered cargo in the vehicle (luckily, most boat trailers have lightly loaded tongue weights).

Most crew cab 4x4 1/2 ton already have a heavily laden rear axle. Add spray-in bed liner, bed cover, 2 older teenagers in the back seats, 300 lbs of gear in the bed and the towing / hitch weight capacity quickly diminishes.

Payload (basically anything over and above a 160lb driver) reduces towing capacity (weight).

A great in-between truck is the Tundra. It has the comfort of a 1/2 ton, with some of the characteristics (towing and payload) approaching that of some 3/4 ton.

Sales guy will tell you the payload/ towing capacity based on the glossy brochure (base model truck, no cab, no 4x4, etc...). Don't listen to them. Look at the stickers inside the door and look in the manual for actual towing capacity for the configuration you are looking at

If the boat is heavier than the truck, it makes towing in windy conditions kind of sporty....

No one ever said they bought too much truck....

No one ever comes here to get advise on buying less .... the forum should get a commission on the hundreds of thousands of $$$ of stuff we collectively decided we "need"

All that being said .... try your truck first BEFORE you go shopping for another... that new car smell and those slick sales guys/gals will get to you!

 

[kgower]

Bigger is better IMHO. In the "Let's see your tow vehicle thread" on this forum I see a lot of tow vehicles that are probably maxed out on their towing capacity. We are waiting on 19' and I know my Denali is capably of towing it but I want to upgrade to something with higher ratings.

 

[Yambers]

The wife would LOVE another Durango. She had an '01 until 2 years ago and she still talks about it. Motor blew and I decided she deserved her 1st brand new car ever.. And before I am dragged through the coals here for not getting her a new car before, this is the 2nd marriage for both of us. haha. I blame her ex for not treating her right. Damn good thing too.. Because now I have her.

@2kwik4u I got the humor. My response was humor as well. Part of the reason I love this site. It is the only social media I have.

My garage door is only 6"1" tall, but it is super deep at 22'2". I think the garage door opener and hardware is right there at the 7' mark as well. We have 2 separate garage doors. Each one is about 7' x 9', with a 2 foot brick divider between them. Gonna be tight on height, but that's how we like it. lol

There is always the option of adding a garage door to the barn in place of the 12x10 slider, but then someone has to walk out to the barn to get there vehicle.

I know i am pushing it with this truck, and my next one will be bigger regardless. I think it is a matter of now or later.

 

[kgower]

Had a 98 Durango and it was the wife's also. Don't like the new ones, they look to much like mini vans.

 

[Dumbassbass]

I think you will be fine but recommend that you tow a few times with your Tacoma before making a decision to upgrade or not. If the Tacoma seems stressed while or after towing you should know.

if you do have to upgrade consider a used full size SUV like an expedition. 2010s and newer can be had for around $10k, 2003 to 2009 models for $2,500 to $10k. More for the limited or king ranch packages (Eddie bower not so much). All can carry 7 to 8 people and most if not all can tow at least 8k lbs.

I would think your Yota will serve you just fine if your not driving it like you stole it. The most important suggestion I can offer would be to take it to a reputable trailer dealer and have them measure the tongue weight, you may find it may need adjustment fore or aft.

 

[Bizywk]

I would think your Yota will serve you just fine if your not driving it like you stole it. The most important suggestion I can offer would be to take it to a reputable trailer dealer and have them measure the tongue weight, you may find it may need adjustment fore or aft.

Hey Hoosier. Ditto having the Pro's do it as a dialed in setup is a little bit complicated. Remember the rules of thumb are that if your loaded trailer is 50% or more of your tow vehicle, its recommended that you have at least a weight distribution hitch and likely sway protection. Not all weight distribution hitches have sway protection.

If you're a little more cost sensitive and want a less expensive DIY method to dial in your setup, here's what I'm doing. Reference to the original spreadsheet is at the bottom. The best article I've ever been able to find was put out by What is the Best Weight Distribution Hitch for 2021? - Camp Addict Here's a video that demonstrates what a miscalculation will do.

I'm all ears if someone has a better way.