towing a 2004 22ft hilo TL with a Toyota Tacoma

Has anyone tried to tow a 22ft hilo tl with a Toyota Tacoma? I have a 2016 Tacoma off road with towing package and was curious how it would handle towing the 22ft hilo.

I don't have a Tacoma but I do have a Frontier. They have similar towing specs. Mine is rated max pulling power of 6500 pounds and my 04 22T is empty around 3800 pounds. 80% of the maximum 6500 would be 5200 pounds.

Although I've never officially weighed it I'd like to get it all packed up (except for the water - as I'll fill up with water when I'm at or near my destination) and get in weighed. Has anyone done this? I'm thinking about my local landfill . . . they have scales.

The Frontier handles the trailer very well but I do use a weight distribution system and of course trailer brakes. It does struggle on uphills that's for sure. I still manage to get 15mpg though! I do have to shift down for steep downhill grades. If i'm on flatland i feel comfortable leaving overdrive off. Make sure you check your tires often!

I pulled a 2404T with my 07 Tacoma plus a 300 lb motorcycle in
the bed. WDH plus air bags but without the mc the air bags would not have been needed. I had the rear springs up grade TSB done but that doesn't apply to your '16. Of course you will need electric brake controller if not part of the tow package. Not sure how the new 3.5 will do but the 4.0 did nicely from Iowa to Texas. I did not have any experience pulling the HiLo in higher altitudes. With no head wind on the level it would stay in 5th.

Thanks for the information. I need to do some research on the brake controller for my Tacoma, I have never had to use this feature before.

Brian

I towed our 2310H with a 2007 Tacoma 4x4 w/tow package. The 2310H is slightly over 4000 pounds dry. We went from NW PA to Bar Harbor, ME with no difficulty. We usually travel light so I doubt that the trailer weighed 5000 pounds nor did the truck bed have a heavy load. The Tacoma doesn't do as well in hilly/mountainous country, it downshifts and slows down a lot. We upgraded to a 2012 F150 Ecoboost SuperCrew and saw a great improvement in performance.

I would say that if you plan on towing on flatter roads and don't take all of your life's possessions with you the Tacoma will do fine. Just don't push it and don't be afraid to slow down and shift down in more difficult conditions. Anything larger than your 22 or a conventional travel trailer would be too much. One of the bonuses of having a Hi-Lo is that you can get away with more weight because of the reduction in wind resistance.

bvilla said:

Thanks for the information. I need to do some research on the brake controller for my Tacoma, I have never had to use this feature before.

Brian

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Your best bet would be to get a Tekonsha Prodigy P2 Brake Controller with the Toyota wiring harness. Here is a link to etrailer.com that shows the controller. https://www.etrailer.com/multi-product.aspx?pc1=90885&pc2=3017-P&hhmake=Toyota&hhmodel=Tacoma&hhyear=2016&vehicleid=201649006&hunter=bc Your truck has a connector that takes the wiring harness and makes the hookup very easy. You just have to find it, it was above the parking brake pedal on my Tacoma. You will have to mount the controller somewhere down low on your dash where you can see the readout and to adjust it.

Note: I accidentally put in the Tundra hookup rather than the Tacoma, so if you are looking up the controller on etatrailer.com be sure to put your vehicle info in and you will be guided to the correct information.

Prodigy 2 brake controller comes highly recommended. With the tow package on your Tacoma it should be just a matter of finding a convenient placement so that you can reach and use the manual slide and plugging it into the factory connector. There is a plus and minus adjustment on the controller that governs how much trailer braking is commanded, the slider allows you to manually add more trailer braking if needed. The controller senses how fast the vehicle is slowing and commands a proportional amount of trailer brake application. Electric trailer brakes are actuated by electro-magnets dragging on the interior face of the drum, the controller increases or decreases the voltage applied to the electro-magnets which causes the magnets to apply more or less force to the brake shoes which do the actual braking. As in the olden days the drum brakes may need to be "set up" or adjusted periodically to maintain effectiveness as the shoes wear, increasing the resting distance between the shoes and drum which requires the magnet to move farther before the shoes contact the drum. Too much distance between the shoes and drum and the magnet may not be able to move far enough to apply shoe pressure to the drums or result in a delayed application and or jerky trailer braking.

I'm towing a 2206 towlite with a 2006 tacoma
On a 2016 tacoma have your transmission re flashed at the dealer this year with the new transmission had problems with hunting for gears
Always tow with overdrive off
Add as I did install a larger transmission cooler 9"x11" this will keep your trans fluid cooler I took my rig over the colorado rockies including a 12,000 ft pass with no problems
Add a larger charge line my factory wire was only putting out 5 amps the refrigerator on 12volts will pull 13 amps while towing causing a drain on my trailer batteries
I added a 30 amp curcuit breaker at my truck alternator ran 10 gauge wire to the back bumper of the truck and replaced the 7way connector on the truck with an aftermarket one that would take the 10 gauge wire the stock one would only take a 18 gauge wire
Aways use a high quaility brake controller and a WDH hitch

We tow a 2001 19TL with a 2000 Frontier 3.3LV6 2wd-auto with a 5000lb rating. Our last weigh in totaled 8440lb and the truck GCVWR is 9500. We're pushing it on the total and the truck works HARD going uphill. We definitely need more cowbell.

That slide on the brake controller also allows you to slow your rig down going down those 7% grades you'll run into.

wdsniderman said:

We tow a 2001 19TL with a 2000 Frontier 3.3LV6 2wd-auto with a 5000lb rating. Our last weigh in totaled 8440lb and the truck GCVWR is 9500. We're pushing it on the total and the truck works HARD going uphill. We definitely need more cowbell.

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Update: We added a Transmission cooler to the truck and it seems to help. But that could just be me like a kid with fresh oil on the bicycle chain. I got much better gas mileage by letting the truck be in OD on flats and downhills and turning it off for the climbs. You have to be one with the vehicle though. Those hills will sneak up on you after you have cruised for several minutes. You need to be "in it" before you hit the hill.

wdsniderman said:

We tow a 2001 19TL with a 2000 Frontier 3.3LV6 2wd-auto with a 5000lb rating. Our last weigh in totaled 8440lb and the truck GCVWR is 9500. We're pushing it on the total and the truck works HARD going uphill. We definitely need more cowbell.

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I THINK I had a 2003 or maybe 2004 Frontier with the same engine, but it was 4WD, when I bought my 17ft HiLo new in 2007. We pulled that trailer up to the top of Mt Graham (10,000ft) in Arizona, for its maiden voyage. And then, we took it to Colorado over Monarch and Red Mountain Passes (11,000+ ft). Uphill, it was in 1st gear all the way and bouncing off the rev limiter just to keep up with the heavy trucks.

I decided I needed a bigger truck when I saw the temperature going up on the 13 mile 7% grade out of Camp Verde here in the summer.

I bought a 2005 F150 with the 5.4L Triton engine, 4-speed transmission and tow package. It had a 3.73 axle ratio. That truck pulled the trailer all right, but it still dropped into 2nd gear on those same uphill runs.

Now I have a 2014 F150 with the 3.5L Ecoboost engine, 4WD, tow package, and a 6-speed automatic. It has a 3.55 axle ratio. That truck never drops below 4th gear on those same uphill climbs.

My advice is, don't try to tow with an underpowered tow vehicle.

- Jack

JackandJanet said:

I THINK I had a 2003 or maybe 2004 Frontier with the same engine, but it was 4WD, when I bought my 17ft HiLo new in 2007. We pulled that trailer up to the top of Mt Graham (10,000ft) in Arizona, for its maiden voyage. And then, we took it to Colorado over Monarch and Red Mountain Passes (11,000+ ft). Uphill, it was in 1st gear all the way and bouncing off the rev limiter just to keep up with the heavy trucks.

I decided I needed a bigger truck when I saw the temperature going up on the 13 mile 7% grade out of Camp Verde here in the summer.

I bought a 2005 F150 with the 5.4L Triton engine, 4-speed transmission and tow package. It had a 3.73 axle ratio. That truck pulled the trailer all right, but it still dropped into 2nd gear on those same uphill runs.

Now I have a 2014 F150 with the 3.5L Ecoboost engine, 4WD, tow package, and a 6-speed automatic. It has a 3.55 axle ratio. That truck never drops below 4th gear on those same uphill climbs.

My advice is, don't try to tow with an underpowered tow vehicle.

- Jack

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I completely understand and appreciate everything you are saying. And I agree that we are on the borderline with power. But we can't just go out and buy a new (or gently used) truck right now. This one will have to get the job done. We aren't climbing the Rocky Mountains or not even really venturing more than a hundred miles from BHM right now. I am carefully picking out routes and watching particularly for hill climbs.