Tacoma Towing

For all of you 2nd Gen (2005+) Toyota Tacoma owners out there....there is a guy that has written a very comprehensive guide to towing with these trucks. Here are all of the chapters in the guide, so you have an idea of what it covers:

Post 1. About your author, Disclaimer and Table of Contents.
Post 2. Gen 1 Trucks, and their options and tow ratings.
Post 3. Gen 2 Trucks, and their options and tow ratings.
Post 4. Calculating the Actual weight of what you want to tow.
Post 5. The proper set up of your truck to tow safely.
Post 6. Brake Controllers, and their install.
Post 7. Weight Distribution Hitches and Sway Control.
Post 8. Extended towing mirrors.
Post 9. Adding hitch and wiring to a non tow package equipped truck.
Post 10. Adding a brake controller to your Gen 2 non-tow package equipped V6 truck.

It is a very, very informative guide - you can check out the entire thing right here.

While you are there, check out the Forum for a ton of other helpful Tacoma information.

How did I stumble upon this wealth of information? I'm actually going to be pushing my own truck to the test. Information on my truck:

2008 Toyota Tacoma Double Cab 4x4
TRD Sport & Towing Package
6 Speed Manual Transmission
RevTek Lift Kit (3" Front, 1.5" Rear)
33" BFG Mud Terrain Tires

The truck is rated for a maximum towing capacity of 6,500 lbs.

We have just purchased the following trailer:

2009 Jayco Jay Flight 22FB

The GVWR on this trailer is 6,000 lbs - which basically means that is the most the trailer can weigh to be within spec - including all propane, water tanks full, beer, etc....all of the important stuff.

To tow this properly, I will have an equalizer hitch and I am also installing a Tekonsha Prodigy brake controller - very easy to install yourself on the Tacoma thanks to a built in harness and some easy connections.

We'll see how it goes! That little Tacoma is going to be working.