Escape 5 ta/tacoma

[Mark James]

The 2016 Toyota Tacoma has a tow rating of 6500 pounds. Is this okay for the escape 5ta or do I need to look at the f150 v6 Eco boost?

[C&G in FL]

Originally Posted by Mark James

The 2016 Toyota Tacoma has a tow rating of 6500 pounds. Is this okay for the escape 5ta or do I need to look at the f150 v6 Eco boost?

Truthfully, that would depend if when towing at 60 miles per hour (@ 100 kph) if you punch the gas pedal, do you want to be pinned back into your seat and accelerate to 80 mph (@ 120 kph ) in a couple of heartbeats. The 3.5 EcoBoost will do that. Don't think the Taco will, but several 5.0 owners tow with Nissan Frontiers, which have a comparable towing capacity if memory serves me correctly.

[padlin]

I think it's more determined by the trucks payload, a quick search shows 1120 thru 1620 lbs. You'll need at least 700-800 for the trailer, another 200 for the hitch depending which hitch you get, and the weight of the occupants and trucks cargo. In our case we'd need 1400-1500 lbs.

[C&G in FL]

Originally Posted by padlin

I think it's more determined by the trucks payload, a quick search shows 1120 thru 1620 lbs. You'll need at least 700-800 for the trailer, another 200 for the hitch depending which hitch you get, and the weight of the occupants and trucks cargo. In our case we'd need 1400-1500 lbs.

I don't think payload is an issue. The 2016 Tacoma, set up for towing, has a payload capacity of 1,620 lbs. At least two members of this forum are towing 5.0TAs with Nissan Frontiers, comparable to the Tacoma, with no problems. I'm not certain, but are any of the truck manufacturers even building trucks any smaller than the current Tacoma/Frontier? I guess what I mean I'm not sure there is a truck currently produced that cannot handle the 5.0TA unless you are carting more weight than most of us.
I'm told by one that he gets 14+ mpg with the Nissan "on the flats." With the 3.5 EcoBoost, I was getting 14 mpg on the flats. Time will tell what the 2.7 EcoBoost I just purchased will get. Power wise, the 3.5 was overkill for the TA.

[Mark James]

Thanks for the quick response and helpful comments. Payload appears to be the tricky issue not towing capacity. Comparable to Nissan Frontier in the 1130 range for most models of the taco. With two adults, a dog and a few personal effects am I pushing it? Any frontier owners who could weigh in? Thanks everyone.

[escape artist]

Originally Posted by Mark James

Thanks for the quick response and helpful comments. Payload appears to be the tricky issue not towing capacity. Comparable to Nissan Frontier in the 1130 range for most models of the taco. With two adults, a dog and a few personal effects am I pushing it? Any frontier owners who could weigh in? Thanks everyone.

Hi: Mark James... We tow a 2014 5.0TA with a 2010 Nissan Fronty 4X4 long bed. This is the same truck we towed our '07 5.0 with. Payload allows for a driver and tank of gas so with my wife and the hitch+ pin weight we are at or slightly below the load limit. The tow cap is 6100#'s so we're 2/3rds of that. With 265hp and 281#ft. of torque there's plenty of giddyap!!! Alf
escape artist N.S. of Lake Erie

[steve dunham]

Originally Posted by C&G in FL

I don't think payload is an issue. The 2016 Tacoma, set up for towing, has a payload capacity of 1,620 lbs. At least two members of this forum are towing 5.0TAs with Nissan Frontiers, comparable to the Tacoma, with no problems. I'm not certain, but are any of the truck manufacturers even building trucks any smaller than the current Tacoma/Frontier? I guess what I mean I'm not sure there is a truck currently produced that cannot handle the 5.0TA unless you are carting more weight than most of us.
I'm told by one that he gets 14+ mpg with the Nissan "on the flats." With the 3.5 EcoBoost, I was getting 14 mpg on the flats. Time will tell what the 2.7 EcoBoost I just purchased will get. Power wise, the 3.5 was overkill for the TA.

My 2014 Ram 1500 Quad Cab has a payload capacity of 1430 lbs . With the pin weight of a 5.0 TA being 700 to 900 lbs + a hitch weight of 150 lbs , + the weight of two passengers , my truck is near it's payload limit. That leaves little weight capacity for cargo or options.
Plus many 1/2 ton trucks are not listed by the manufacturer for 5th wheel towing. ( Ram is not rated for 5th wheel towing)
I for one choose not to run my vehicle at 100% or over its stated limits but others see this as a non issue

[D&R_SC]

Originally Posted by Mark James

Thanks for the quick response and helpful comments. Payload appears to be the tricky issue not towing capacity. Comparable to Nissan Frontier in the 1130 range for most models of the taco. With two adults, a dog and a few personal effects am I pushing it? Any frontier owners who could weigh in? Thanks everyone.

Hi Mark,

We tow a 5.0TA with a 2007 Nissan Frontier SE, 2WD, 6' bed, and have had no problems. We try to stay under 60MPH and get around 17MPG. We're more comfortable towing at the lower speed. We've driven the hills in VA and PA, along I81 and just got back to MA from 5-weeks in Newfoundland, which has some hills. We don't often pass when climbing, but we don't block traffic either.

We try to not load heavier stuff in front of the 5.0 wheels and don't carry a lot of weight in the truck bed. The toughest thing for us was finding someone willing to install 5th wheel hitch in the Nissan, since no hitch manufacturers list components for them. We finally got a dealer to call the people who install the hitches for Escapes customers in BC. We bought our 5.0TA slightly used in FL.

Good luck,

David

[Jake930]

It depends what configuration of tacoma you have and how it is set up. i had a double cab, 4 wheel drive, 2014 tacoma w/tow package. rated to tow 6500 lbs. but my payload was only rated at 1050 lbs. to this truck i added step rails, and cap. with the weight of the cap, rails, myself and wife, two dogs( 24 lbs combined) figured 50 lbs for incidentals in the cab that you use when traveling two recumbent trikes in the truck, and i figured 350 lbs tongue wt. for the 19 we had on order, i was with in 20 pounds of maximum. that was not acceptable to me. So i traded up to a Tundra 4 wheel, double cab, rails and cap, and picked up 400lbs on the payload. I think you will find that the 1600 lb. payload will be on the Regular cab 2 wheel drive Tacoma with the 5 ft bed. As it gets longer and you add more options, the payload goes down. There will be a number on the door sticker that you can match up in the Manual, under payload, that will tell you exactly what it is. Don't rely on the salesman, because they will tell anything they think you want to hear to make the sale. And don't call Toyota Customer service, they know less than the sales people. Ask me how i know. Any ways the Wife SAID, Honeyyy.. seeings how we got that bigger truck..... I think I want the 21.... Honey... big smile, eyes bat, bat, bat... Thank You Tammy for letting us trade up. We pick it up next October 17th. 2016.

[Mark James]

Thanks to you all for the excellent albeit divergent comments. Test drove the Tacoma today( I loved it) and ended up at the local hitch installer. He did not seem too concerned about weight and payload but said the Taco was a non starter for a 5th wheel hitch as the bed was made of a poly carbonate instead of steel. The Frontier is apparently made of steel so it's okay. The local Toyota dealer also had concerns about all aspects of the 5th wheel/ Tacoma relationship. I give up. Taking a serious look at the Tundra now. Thanks for your help guys.

[lancenadine]

I'm always mildly surprised that many folks are ok with barely adequate towing & payload capacity of their tow vehicles but will stress over the details of their Escape build sheets.

I am a proponent of the You Can Never Have Too Much Capacity In a Tow Vehicle school simply because I have seen where having what seems to be overkill turns out to be the margin of safety you need to deal with an emergency situation safely.
Having "too much" tow vehicle also allows for those times when you may have need of the additional payload for unforeseen situations.
Certainly having too much is vastly better than not enough.

[BCnomad]

Find a better hitch guy Mark. Several posts here about workarounds.

[Loren & Cathy]

Originally Posted by lancenadine

I'm always mildly surprised that many folks are ok with barely adequate towing & payload capacity of their tow vehicles but will stress over the details of their Escape build sheets.

I am a proponent of the You Can Never Have Too Much Capacity In a Tow Vehicle school simply because I have seen where having what seems to be overkill turns out to be the margin of safety you need to deal with an emergency situation safely.
Having "too much" tow vehicle also allows for those times when you may have need of the additional payload for unforeseen situations.
Certainly having too much is vastly better than not enough.

I could not have said it better myself. I ordered the tow vehicle to tow a 17 ft Casita but then we discovered Escape and the trailer ended up being a little heavier than the original plans. In bringing the 21 home I monitored the transmission fluid temperature and saw it rise to 210 F on 2 separate occasions. Even though this was for a very short time, the truck with a 5.3 liter engine, max towing package, and 3.73 rear end had all it wanted on an 8 % grade. With the end of the towing season, it will be getting fresh transmission oil. Loren

[Brian B-P]

Originally Posted by Mark James

He did not seem too concerned about weight and payload but said the Taco was a non starter for a 5th wheel hitch as the bed was made of a poly carbonate instead of steel.

Originally Posted by BCnomad

Find a better hitch guy Mark.

I agree - find someone who knows what he is doing. The bed is structurally irrelevant to a properly installed fifth-wheel hitch. That doesn't mean installation is easy in a Tacoma, but the bed material is not the issue.

As Jake explained, he should be concerned enough about weight and payload to check out the details.

[Brian B-P]

Originally Posted by C&G in FL

I'm not certain, but are any of the truck manufacturers even building trucks any smaller than the current Tacoma/Frontier? I guess what I mean I'm not sure there is a truck currently produced that cannot handle the 5.0TA unless you are carting more weight than most of us.

There hasn't been anything smaller sold in North America since Ford dropped the Ranger and GM switched to a larger Colorado/Canyon.

I think a substantial fraction of "half ton" trucks cannot handle the 5.0TA pin weight, plus hitch, plus cargo, plus passengers... because they have big cabs and piles of options cutting massively into their already low payload resulting from the soft suspensions they have because they are used as cars, not trucks. A properly equipped (for towing and hauling) pickup can have twice the payload capacity of the least appropriately equipped version of the same truck.

[C&G in FL]

Originally Posted by steve dunham

Plus many 1/2 ton trucks are not listed by the manufacturer for 5th wheel towing. ( Ram is not rated for 5th wheel towing)
I for one choose not to run my vehicle at 100% or over its stated limits but others see this as a non issue

I think the manufacturers do not rate their smaller trucks for 5th wheel towing because when "5th wheel" is mentioned, what comes to mind for most people are the behemoth stickies typically towed by dual wheeled diesels. For such a small percentage of the 5th wheel community (Escape and Scamp, though not a true 5th wheel, does have its "pin weight" in the bed), the small FG trailers are overlooked. If they rated the small trucks for pulling 5th wheels because of a small number of FG models, it would create confusion and some idiot would probably try to pull a 35-footer with a Ranger. And the legal community would have a field day! Just my take on it. While I am not advocating exceeding weight limits, it should be noted that no manufacturer wants to be subjected to lawsuits, so all capacities and limits are rated conservatively, building in a margin of error and allowing the manufacturer to shift any blame to the consumer for not "following directions."

[Don W.]

The Taco with the composite bed cannot support or hold the 5th wheel hitch, what some have done is place steel support underneath and in the bed, with this modification you void all warranty.

I traded up to the Tundra with the smaller v8 and even then I do not have the payload to support towing the 5.0ta.

The Ford F150 is a great choice and if you are comfortable the Nissan Frontier given the Steel Bed

[Jim Bennett]

Originally Posted by lancenadine

I am a proponent of the You Can Never Have Too Much Capacity In a Tow Vehicle ....

While this is true from purely a towing perspective, it is often far from the best option for other uses. Not everyone can, or wants to, pay the costs associated with larger tow vehicles. These costs are not just those for the larger initial investment or the added cost for fuel, but also in having a vehicle that does not suit their everyday needs as well, those needs when not towing.

You have to know that there is a fairly large safety factor built into tow vehicle ratings, and as long as they are not exceeded, they will perform more than adequately.

My Pilot, with its 4,500 lb towing capacity performed great in towing our 19. Sure, my Super Duty pulled it easier, and on average did not consume much more fuel, but the Pilot is a WAY better vehicle to drive for most of the time. If I could only have one of these vehicles to tow a 19 with, the Pilot would win hands down.

My purchase of my F150 to tow the upcoming 5.0TA came about not only for towing the RV, but also due to the fact I will be using it for work, and even there I am having to buy a downsized construction dump trailer with tandem 5,500 lb axles, as the one I have is too heavy. If not for using it as a work truck too, I would MUCH rather have a smaller tow the size of a Tacoma, just so long as it met the minimal criteria.

The bigger is better North American attitude with vehicles is slowly diminishing. While I love my big ass F350 for where is size and performance shines, I am more than happy to drive something much more economical where it works better.

[cpaharley2008]

I can not wait to see the new Nissan Titan diesel XD to debut, this should handle anything Escape makes or can make
The New 2016 Nissan Titan | Nissan USA

[Jubal]

http://www.escapeforum.org/forums/f1...gvwr-3875.html