Newbie

My wife and I have decided to purchase a used Hi Lo, 2007 or newer. I'm an ELCA pastor. Located in midwest. Willing to drive to purchase. Looking between 24' and 27'. I have a Tacoma with a 4.0 liter V-6 with the tow package- supposed to be able to two 6500 lbs. I know we're supposed to stay way below that. Anyone know if a 27' is too heavy to tow? We want to camp some with it, but I plan to use it for hunting trips and dog training. As a reputable breeder of Wirehaired Pointing Griffons, I use a great hunt-testing program to determine if the dog will improve the breed in my breeding program. Lots of travel for training and testing. Dogs would be in camper in extreme heat and cold. Weatherize for use in cold weather? Any suggestions for "must-haves"? What kind of ball hitch would be best for height? I think we want power lifts, awning, hitch and leveling. We've never owned a camper before, so any advice you think we need to know would be much appreciated. Thanks

Hello, jimonalog - welcome to the forum.

I believe a 27' HiLo would greatly exceed the load limits of your truck. It would probably "pull" the trailer, as long as the trip was fairly level, but the tongue weight would badly overload your truck's axles, tires and wheels. I think you need at least a Superduty class truck such as an F250 or 2500 to tow a 27' or even a 24' HiLo safely.

You would want a Weight Distributing Hitch (WDH) to spread the tongue weight over both axles of your tow vehicle. With a Class III WDH, you could tow a trailer weighing up to 10,000# and distribute a tongue weight of up to 1000# safely. If the hitch is NOT weight distributing, you would be limited to a tongue weight of no more than 600#, which is just a bit more than my 17 foot trailer applies to my truck.

Look at the weights of any trailer you are considering. Then calculate 10-15% of that. This is the tongue weight your tow vehicle will see. That tongue weight is needed to prevent trailer sway.

And, I'll add that members in this forum have found their trailers weigh MORE than the weights specified in the brochures. Mine, for instance is supposed to weigh just under 3000#, but it actually weighs 3500#, 3800# with fresh water tank filled.

- Jack

I have the same Tacoma truck and would not tow anything larger than a 22ft hi lo
If you have bought the trailer you'll have to get a larger truck
My Tacoma tows my 2206 towlite great

Welcome to the forum

Others have given you some good solid advice. HiLo made two models. The Classic is heavier and had upgraded cabinents and some extra features came standard. You are going to consider going with the Towlite as it will match up to your truck. To explain further HiLo made an H model that was a cross between both models. I have used our classic in winter weather in Oct. With electricity we were toasty.

Thank you all for your patience with me! I found previous threads discussing this issue. I probably should have searched before asking the same question that's been answered in previous threads. I also studied Tacoma World yesterday where there is almost too much info. Lots of people are regularly hauling heavier loads with box TT. For safety reasons I've decided anything bigger than 24' is too big. Found all the right gear to add to my truck to assist with the stability and braking. Camp- thanks. Yes, absolutely, Tow Lite is what I'm looking for. Sam and Jack, thanks. Question: Why are these models not more popular than the standard canvas pop up? Quality and value doesn't seem close.

jimonalog - I really can't offer anything about popularity other than my opinion. A HiLo is hard-sided, of course and is MUCH more expensive than a canvas popup. It's also much heavier, requiring a more expensive tow vehicle. A canvas pop-up can be towed behind most cars. So, I suspect a lot of it has to do with disposable income and the time one has to go camping. I think you'll find most HiLos are owned by older people (I'm old as dirt) who are retired and have the time to pretty much do any thing that appeals to them.

I think younger people are more adventurous as a group and can put up with more physical deprivation than my age group. We've been through all that and are happy to have more comfort. But, there are also many in my age group who were not able to plan well enough to afford the (what can be considerable) cost of camping, or, who just don't like it.

Finally, a HiLo is more complicated than a "standard" trailer. That can be seen as a disadvantage by many. I enjoy working on and maintaining equipment, but many don't.

- Jack

The upgrades I have done to my Tacoma
Brake controller
30 amp charge line( 30 amp circuit breaker , 8 gauge wire to rear trailer plug ,changed trailer plug on truck for 8 gauge wire to fit , stock plug is only 16 gauge / 5 amps) need larger charge line to run refrigerator on 12 volts while towing and charge house batteries
Changed out stock tranny cooler to larger unit
Upgraded front rotors and brake pads
Added towing mirrors( powervision mirrors from a 98 chevy power exten power retract)wired to my stock Toyota mirror switch