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Old 02-20-2016, 04:37 PM   #61
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Sandyb12 View Post
I am currently looking for a tow vehicle to tow my new 2016 5.0 ta that i'm picking up
the 3rd week in March. I have to ask if the 2016 v-6
Tacoma is big enough to pull the
5.0 or just too small.
As I was not really considering the Tacoma, I never followed the threads talking about it real closely, but I think the issue with it was the payload capacity not being high enough, not the tow capacity. I am sure someone here knows the specs better. Nice sized truck though, it would be nice if it would work.
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Old 02-20-2016, 04:42 PM   #62
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Sandyb12 View Post
I am currently looking for a tow vehicle to tow my new 2016 5.0 ta that i'm picking up
the 3rd week in March. I have to ask if the 2016 v-6
Tacoma is big enough to pull the
5.0 or just too small.
Better clarify- you mean 5.0 TA, correct?
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Old 02-20-2016, 04:47 PM   #63
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yes, sorry, I do mean the 5.0 TA, The new vehicle will be my daily driver as well. Just trying to get the best possible fit. I do want to try to get the longer bed on whatever truck I end up with so I don't have to worry about turning and backing. Really just got out today to begin
the search. In the town I live in no longer beds were available, have to search out of town.
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Old 02-20-2016, 05:15 PM   #64
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On your test drive, take it to some of the places you normally visit, like the mall, with the incredible shrinking parking spaces.
I watched a long-bed, four door Ford try to park next to me. There were two open spaces on my left. No matter how she approached them, her vehicle could not make the turn into the spot without hitting my rear. There simply wasn't enough space in the driving lane to move wide to make the turn.
If she had managed to get into the spot and somebody parked next to her, she wouldn't have been able to leave.
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Old 02-20-2016, 05:30 PM   #65
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Originally Posted by Loren & Cathy View Post
I have seen more than one runaway ramp that was used and always wondered why there wasn't a portable toilet at the end of it. If you need the ramp, you're going to need the other. Loren
Reminds me once coming home , going through the mountains , listening on CB to a young trucker having trouble with his Semi , brakes overheated . Many experienced truckers talking him down the mountain . He was somewhere in front of us . Thank God he made it . Lots of gears in those trucks . Have trailer brakes and the semi cab also has brakes but experienced truckers use gears , more then one gear box to slow down not the brakes because they will overheat with the weight they are caring pushing them down the mountains . Pat
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Old 02-20-2016, 05:43 PM   #66
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Quote:
Originally Posted by gbaglo View Post
On your test drive, take it to some of the places you normally visit, like the mall, with the incredible shrinking parking spaces.
I watched a long-bed, four door Ford try to park next to me. There were two open spaces on my left. No matter how she approached them, her vehicle could not make the turn into the spot without hitting my rear. There simply wasn't enough space in the driving lane to move wide to make the turn.
If she had managed to get into the spot and somebody parked next to her, she wouldn't have been able to leave.
I never hesitate to take my big truck to a mall. I learned ages ago that backing in was the best, and sometimes only, way to get it in. Once parked, I always use the power folding feature on both my trucks mirrors to give folks room. Incredible shrinking parking spaces, I like that, and they certainly are. In a few case I just go to the outer limits of the lot, which is usually good except Christmas time.

Still, it is much nicer with a smaller vehicle, that is for certain.
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Old 02-20-2016, 05:45 PM   #67
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Since I don't have a dog in this online "fight" err online debate it has been an entertaining Saturday afternoon read, especially reading the suggestion that a porta-pottie be placed at the end of runaway lanes. That being said the following two quotes make reading the Tread very worthwhile:

Quote ---------

Jim Bennett - 56
On the subject of braking with regards to travel trailers, almost everyone I have spoken to adjusts their brakes to offer less braking than what is set up following the brake controller instructions. This is mostly because they feel uncomfortable with the pulling feeling of the trailer, which when brakes are applied in some circumstances does feel a bit jerky. This lower setting does put more reliance on the tow vehicle brakes, and in this case larger, stronger brakes would be better to have. However, if properly adjusted, trailer brakes will apply pretty much all the stopping power needed to stop the trailer, leaving the tow vehicle brakes unaffected by breaking the combined units.

Pailin - post 58
Speaking of Wolf Creek Pass, did it in late Sept, about 1/2 way down you could see where a dualie had been trying to keep it on the road in the turns. Could also see how the driver tried to make the runaway ramp, unsuccessfully. Highway patrol was just putting up the barricades across the lookout for the recovery to start as we went by.

That was our first experience with mountain passes in the west. Took the rest of the day for my hands to regain circulation. So glad I had had new rotors and pads installed just before our trip.

------------ endQuote

Last Year, we had overheated brakes because we had not set our brake controller at a sufficiently aggressive level. We were new to towing and were trying to do everything correctly. We now know better!!!

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Old 02-20-2016, 06:04 PM   #68
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I suspect there is no porta-potty at the end of the runaway ramp because by then it would be too late!
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Old 02-20-2016, 06:13 PM   #69
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While I feel a little "overwhelmed" by the "Big Truck" crowd requirements, I (along with Glenn) tow an Escape 17B with a RAV4. I'm within the published limits of the tow vehicle (just), and have towed it over 75,000 miles over the last 5 years. While I'll admit that I do sometimes slow down on passes, passes are less than .001% of the miles I drive. The 15MPG I get towing isn't much better than many are getting with their larger trucks, however my RAV4 has 130,000 miles on it; almost 1/2 my driving is without the trailer at which time I average 24 - 25 highway & 19 - 20 city MPG. Diesel is a 20 - 25% premium in NY + I'm allergic to the liquid fuel, so I'll stick with gas.

As to expecting it to last 12 - 15 years, it isn't going to happen. Living in the northeast with tons of salt on the roads every winter, along with putting an average of 20,000+ miles per year on the vehicle means I'll probably be looking for a replacement in the near future. While I can't make it another RAV4 (they dropped the V6 in 2013) I'm not ready for a 350 truck...
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Old 02-20-2016, 06:18 PM   #70
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A possible compromise might be the new Nissan Titan XD. It has 550 lbs of torq, and a capacity in the 2000 lbs range. I have test drove it twice, and am considering it for my 5.0 TA. I love my RAM 1500, but the limitation is the GVWR, with pin weight, two adults, a dog, and all our junk, we are up against the limit...not a good feeling.
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Old 02-20-2016, 07:19 PM   #71
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I think the usability of a big pickup depends heavily on your location. I understand baglo's ponit about small and shrinking parking spaces in the Vancouver area; they are typically much smaller than spaces in Edmonton or Calgary.
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Old 02-20-2016, 07:21 PM   #72
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Originally Posted by Scuba55 View Post
A possible compromise might be the new Nissan Titan XD. It has 550 lbs of torq, and a capacity in the 2000 lbs range. I have test drove it twice, and am considering it for my 5.0 TA. I love my RAM 1500, but the limitation is the GVWR, with pin weight, two adults, a dog, and all our junk, we are up against the limit...not a good feeling.
Yes, the Titan XD is intended by Nissan as a choice between the usual "half-tons" and the usual "3/4 tons". In fact, a properly equipped Ford F-150 has the same payload and is also a valid choice (although not available in diesel, if this matters to you). It would be desirable to avoid having to go all the way to the really massive "3/4 ton"... but a Titan XD is a hefty thing itself.
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Old 02-20-2016, 07:49 PM   #73
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Lots of gears in those trucks . Have trailer brakes and the semi cab also has brakes but experienced truckers use gears , more then one gear box to slow down not the brakes because they will overheat with the weight they are caring pushing them down the mountains .
True, big trucks depend on engine braking for the sustained retarding force needed to contain speed on long descents... and we can and should be doing the same thing. Generally, brakes are to reduce speed and engine braking is to keep speed from increasing during a descent. Any tug with enough engine to pull the trailer up a grade at a reasonable speed should have enough engine to provide the needed engine braking to go down the other side of the mountain without concerns with overheating the brakes (of either the tug or the trailer).

Big trucks have lots of gear ratios so they can always get the engine close to the desired speed, because they have so little power compared to their mass. This is really for engine performance, but is helpful for braking, too. Those big rigs are all diesels, and a diesel needs a compression brake or exhaust brake (two different things) - or a hydraulic retarder such as those from ZF or Voith - to be able to provide useful engine braking; small diesels (such as those in any pickup) only have various forms of exhaust brake. A gasoline engine engine brakes effectively by just closing the throttle (that is, letting up on the accelerator pedal).
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Old 02-20-2016, 07:54 PM   #74
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Looking at the spec's for the 21' Escape and comparing to the TA, I estimate my pin weight to be 760 lbs in the bed for 3800# over the axle, which is what BlackJack weighed. I had 500# on the bumper with BlackJack. Does this extra 260# in the bed, over the tow vehicle axle vs on the bumper impact any? I'd like to think not. With 1350# payload limit, I still have 600# left. I know I had 250# in the bed while towing but will not be able to carry much with the 5th wheel hitch, so I see little or no difference. Nothing to upgrade to another truck.
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Old 02-20-2016, 08:13 PM   #75
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I reside in Colorado, live at 8600', and pull my Escape 19 with a 6 yr old Tacoma.

I won't set land speed records; but it's rare that I can't break the speed limit pulling the trailer uphill. When it comes time to buy another vehicle, I'll consider full size; but I'll also consider another Tacoma or similar sized vehicle. I'm going to buy the vehicle that's best for the 90% of the time I'm not pulling the trailer.
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Old 02-20-2016, 08:46 PM   #76
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Originally Posted by cpaharley2008 View Post
Looking at the spec's for the 21' Escape and comparing to the TA, I estimate my pin weight to be 760 lbs in the bed for 3800# over the axle, which is what BlackJack weighed. I had 500# on the bumper with BlackJack. Does this extra 260# in the bed, over the tow vehicle axle vs on the bumper impact any? I'd like to think not. With 1350# payload limit, I still have 600# left. I know I had 250# in the bed while towing but will not be able to carry much with the 5th wheel hitch, so I see little or no difference. Nothing to upgrade to another truck.
This logic all makes sense to me. By coincidence, you may end up with the same rear axle load with the 5.0TA pin over the axle as you did with the 21' tongue on the bumper, meaning no more rear GAWR capacity is needed. The extra 260 pounds adds to GVW (and is carried on the front axle), and for some light trucks owners that means running out of GVWR, but you've addressed that in the payload calculation. The total of truck and trailer is also up, but almost no one runs out of GCWR with a full-sized truck.

On the other hand...
Some people have more than 760 pounds on the pin, and many people would have more than 600 pounds of people and cargo in the truck, so they would need more capacity. That still doesn't mean that a Ram 2500 is needed, and the 2500's standard engine is the same 5.7 Hemi as in a 1500.
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Old 02-20-2016, 09:19 PM   #77
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The Chevy Silverado that I looked at today was a v-8 so no power problem, as also with
the Ford 150 v-6 3.5 engine. The problem with both trucks was the bed. Only 5 foot bed.
That does not give much wiggle room for the 5.0 TA Would it work? Both dealerships did
not think so.
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Old 02-20-2016, 10:06 PM   #78
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This is a weird thread
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Old 02-20-2016, 10:30 PM   #79
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Originally Posted by Sandyb12 View Post
The Chevy Silverado that I looked at today was a v-8 so no power problem, as also with
the Ford 150 v-6 3.5 engine. The problem with both trucks was the bed. Only 5 foot bed.
That does not give much wiggle room for the 5.0 TA Would it work? Both dealerships did
not think so.

Reace has a Ford shorty and it works fine.

Dealers don't know about our little trailers.
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Old 02-20-2016, 10:42 PM   #80
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Originally Posted by Sandyb12 View Post
I am currently looking for a tow vehicle to tow my new 2016 5.0 ta that i'm picking up
the 3rd week in March. I have to ask if the 2016 v-6
Tacoma is big enough to pull the
5.0 or just too small.
When I was considering a new TV a few months ago, I considered the Tacoma v6...liked it a lot, but then I got into the 2016 Tacoma rear drum brakes versus disc brakes debate and ruled it out eventually as a TV for my needs...interesting while researching that debate, the Tacoma factory man/design mgr/engineer/whatever said towing was not a priority for Tacoma buyers so it was not high on the priority list in the 2016 design decisions....ended up with a full size truck with 8 speed tranny with smooth shift points for a reasonable trailer, big disc brakes front and rear and a large rear differential, etc...besides the engine these seemed to be important drive train parts that do all the work for a "long term" haul. This decision was also based on blowing a transmission and rear differential on a previous part time TV that worked fine (all within spec) for several thousand miles then left the tranny/rear end at a mechanics shop along with a few thousand $. Not sure the auto manufacturers make things as beefy as they used to..personal preference is to go a bit over the "adequate and within spec" position and will loaf along rather than have an unforeseen heart attack pulling a trailer....lastly the price delta was not that great ..a new 2016 Tacoma price was pretty close to the year end closeout discounted price for 2015 full size trucks so that pretty much sealed the deal. There was one other 2015 thing, GM and Ram joined Ford and dropped the previous std 5 yr 100k warranty to just 3 yr 60k for gas engine trucks for 2016 model year and later....after all that would rather have a root canal than buy a new vehicle again anytime soon....deciding and buying a trailer is close but not quite as bad so far...after a life in tech, just have to grin a bit as some rv trailer "engineering" today reminds me of the beginning scene in the movie 2001.
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