Is the V6 tacoma enough truck for the 21

[Kountrykamper]

Minimalist! That's the word I was looking for. We sit sometimes watching people unload or load all this "stuff" and cannot believe what they bring camping. We find it entertaining to watch. Maybe it's just me but I would be so stressed just thinking about loading it all up it would take the fun out of it.

It's kind of a joke with the group we camp with sometimes that Tom & Cheryl can be packed and gone before anyone else. Hey at least we usually don't have to wait in a line at the dump station.

I need more coffee.

[cpaharley2008]

Borderline ....https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q...82&FORM=VRDGAR

[cpaharley2008]

Minimalist- my neighbor is a minimalist camper and several times she will be sitting out in the sun resting and someone stops by and asks what time she is leaving, she informs them that she just got there, and they said, Oh, where is your stuff, we thought you were all packed and leaving!!

[Kountrykamper]

Originally Posted by cpaharley2008

Minimalist- my neighbor is a minimalist camper and several times she will be sitting out in the sun resting and someone stops by and asks what time she is leaving, she informs them that she just got there, and they said, Oh, where is your stuff, we thought you were all packed and leaving!!

We do bring a large mat, a door mat, 2 chairs, a grill and a table.

[Donna D.]

Originally Posted by Kountrykamper

Maybe it's just me but I would be so stressed just thinking about loading it all up it would take the fun out of it.

My thoughts are very similar, but the difference is what it takes to get ready to go camping. I love my 16' Scamp, but there's not sufficient storage inside the trailer without taking a bunch of totes. I HATE TOTES. Always in the dang way, constantly searching for which one I put what product in and dragging the dang things in and out of the garage. Getting ready to go camping was exhausting.

I'm gradually getting everything squared away inside Ten Forward. Yes, there will always other items to pack, electronics, bike and bike rack. But other than fresh food and beverages, I hope to have my trailer ready to go at a moments notice.

[Kountrykamper]

Originally Posted by Donna D.

My thoughts are very similar, but the difference is what it takes to get ready to go camping. I love my 16' Scamp, but there's not sufficient storage inside the trailer without taking a bunch of totes. I HATE TOTES. Always in the dang way, constantly searching for which one I put what product in and dragging the dang things in and out of the garage. Getting ready to go camping was exhausting.

I'm gradually getting everything squared away inside Ten Forward. Yes, there will always other items to pack, electronics, bike and bike rack. But other than fresh food and beverages, I hope to have my trailer ready to go at a moments notice.

Yelp, it bacame work sereral years back and took a lot of the fun out of it. I was exhausted before we left. Then we were sitting on the beach in Florida and all I could think about was packing up and driving that large box down the interstate. I was ready to quit camping. When we got home we sold the camper, gave away half our "stuff" and ordered the Casita. Camping became fun again.

[Patandlinda]

Originally Posted by Kountrykamper

After having a Casita for 6 years we learned to leave "stuff" at home. We still have a few almost empty cabinets in our 19. Every winter we go through it and if we have not touched something in a year it comes out.

We are on a "stuff" reduction at home too. It seems the older we get we find the less "stuff" the better.

Morning Tom ! Very true about "stuff" reduction in trailer and at home . Coming from a 9 1/2 camper , that is about all that is in trailer now . Previously when we emptied motorhome to go to camper "stuff went " . Couldn't believe the stuff we were hauling around . In our 19 now just opened up 2 cabinets for better storage , putting things away . Hate clutter , not for adding anything more . In home got new carpet . Had to remove "stuff "from rooms and a lot of it never came back . It is a very freeing feeling . Yup we are getting older . Pat

[jtischer]

Originally Posted by NEWYORKHILLBILLY

I have a 2013 Tacoma v6 with tow package. I tow a 17sd casita with no problem. been thinking of a 19' but now i notice the 21 is only 190 lbs more. HMMM...

Hi New York Hillbilly

We have had our 21' Escape since February 2016 pulled with exactly the same equipped Tacoma you have. We do have the crew cab.

For reference with our options the truck scale weight of the rig is 4,100 lbs empty and 4,440 lbs loaded. The tongue weight is 475 lbs.

We took an 8 week trip last spring from California to BC across the upper Midwest and home by way of Colorado which has some of the highest mountain passes in the US.

"Rocky" the Taco, performed admirably for all 7,323 miles even across
10,800' Wolf Creek Pass leading to Durango CO. He slowed down to 35-40 mph (keeping up nicely with the 18-wheelers) and the RPMs never exceeded 3,500. The temperature was about 50F that day.
Although he worked hard, we never felt that any grade we encountered or load exceeded our Tacoma's capability for the entire trip.
Others may have different experiences but we are quite pleased with the equipment combination.
I would suggest you get an accurate truck scale weight for the 21 and tongue weight at your earliest opportunity so you know exactly what your specific metrics are.

We were surprised that the unloaded weight was as high as it was however our options (E2 WDH, AC, 2nd 6V battery, tool box, electric jack, wooden under bed drawer and a few others) plus long trip gear & food took us close to the 21 maximum gross weight of 4,500 lbs.

A caution however.
We did have an unfortunate "fishtailing" episode outside of Bend OR
on the way to Osoyoos BC in May. Fortunately wife Judy was driving and wth years of pulling horse trailers, got it under control quickly.
We thought we had loaded the trailer properly with more weight over the tires and on the tongue but apparently not. We readjusted the load and had no more issues for the rest of the trip.

Sorry to take so long to answer your simple question but a brief response would not have been appropriate given the complexity & potential safety issues.

Please call or email if you have questions.

Enjoy your new rig. They are the best and Escape is one of the best companies I have had the pleasure of dealing with.

Jim Tischer
Woodland, CA
Jtischer560@gmail.com


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[arniesea]

Originally Posted by jtischer

Hi New York Hillbilly

We have had our 21' Escape since February 2016 pulled with exactly the same equipped Tacoma you have. We do have the crew cab.

For reference with our options the truck scale weight of the rig is 4,100 lbs empty and 4,440 lbs loaded. The tongue weight is 475 lbs.


Enjoy your new rig. They are the best and Escape is one of the best companies I have had the pleasure of dealing with.

Jim Tischer
Woodland, CA
Jtischer560@gmail.com


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Hi Jim,

Thank you for posting! Although I am on my 3rd Tacoma and know that they are capable tow vehicles for trailers up to 5000 lbs GVW, I did not have the real world experience with the Escape 21 that you have. Many good points have been raised in this discussion but your reply is the definitive answer to NEWYORKHILLBILLY's original question.

I was raised in Colorado and lived there most of my first 30 years. Wolf Creek Pass is notorious for failed brakes and over heated engines. That "Rocky" performed so well in that situation is great to hear.

I also second your point about trailer load distribution. I experienced the same thing in my 3000 lb Aliner once when I didn't have enough of the weight forward of the trailer's axel. I was pulling it with my 2014 Tacoma SR5 at the time. Moving the pot and pan tote forward was enough to balance the load. Proper loading of the trailer is critical regardless of tow capacity / capibility.

(Nod to Donna about totes! One of my main motivations for buying my Escape was I was so tired of task specific totes!)

Cheers!!

[thoer]

Thanks for the report Jim.

Did you have the E2 hooked up when you had the sway incident?

I'm surprised that your dry weight is 4100. Similar optioned ones on "Tongue weight 2017 21' and info I learned today." thread are a bit less than 3700 on their import documents.

[float5]

That is definitely high dry weight. And the GVWR for our classic Escape 21' is 4600 on paperwork. The dry weight should also be on the paperwork.

[float5]

Originally Posted by Kountrykamper

Minimalist! That's the word I was looking for. We sit sometimes watching people unload or load all this "stuff" and cannot believe what they bring camping. :

I am never tempted to take all of the chairs, tables, cooking equipment, lawn ornaments, and on and on that I often see because there would be no place to begin to put half of it! We see complete little villages at the campgrounds many times, looking as if people have permanently moved in.

[jtischer]

Originally Posted by arniesea

Hi Jim,

Thank you for posting! Although I am on my 3rd Tacoma and know that they are capable tow vehicles for trailers up to 5000 lbs GVW, I did not have the real world experience with the Escape 21 that you have. Many good points have been raised in this discussion but your reply is the definitive answer to NEWYORKHILLBILLY's original question.

I was raised in Colorado and lived there most of my first 30 years. Wolf Creek Pass is notorious for failed brakes and over heated engines. That "Rocky" performed so well in that situation is great to hear.

I also second your point about trailer load distribution. I experienced the same thing in my 3000 lb Aliner once when I didn't have enough of the weight forward of the trailer's axel. I was pulling it with my 2014 Tacoma SR5 at the time. Moving the pot and pan tote forward was enough to balance the load. Proper loading of the trailer is critical regardless of tow capacity / capibility.

(Nod to Donna about totes! One of my main motivations for buying my Escape was I was so tired of task specific totes!)

Cheers!!

Thanks for your note back Arniesea. We in California tend to think that our Sierras are the highest mountains in the world. Ain't so as Donner Summit over the Sierras on I 80 is 7,200' a fur piece from Wolf Creek Pass' 10,800'. I was humbled but Rocky saved the day.

Yes, a fishtailing episode builds character.......quickly and encourages one to focus on the finer points of loading a trailer so the experience isn't repeated. In our case we had the canned goods and food loaded a little to high and not far enough forward. The fishtailing caused all the drawers to open doors spill contents in the center aisle with a few cracks in the wood that needed to be fixed. No problems since me we don't take as much stuff.
I also wanted to emphasize in the post the need for accurate trailer and tongue weights so guessing is minimized. I do t pick up at rallies that too many people have accurate weights for their rigs and are content to guess.

Thanks again for the reply and Happy Trails.

Jim Tischer


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[jtischer]

Originally Posted by thoer

Thanks for the report Jim.

Did you have the E2 hooked up when you had the sway incident?

I'm surprised that your dry weight is 4100. Similar optioned ones on "Tongue weight 2017 21' and info I learned today." thread are a bit less than 3700 on their import documents.

Hi Thore
Thanks for the reply.

Yes, we did have the E2 WDH connected and we think that along with Judy's quick response saved the day.

Yes, we were quite surprised at the overall GVW of the Escape but carefully went through the weight of all the options purchased and came within 100 lbs of the scale weight. Also I should mention that we rarely travel with more than 5 gal of water in all 3 tanks.

Needless to say we try to minimize extra stuff on longer trips as well as pay close attention to loading to avoid a repeat "Character Building" experience.

Again thanks for your reply and Happy Trails

Jim Tischer



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[jtischer]

Originally Posted by float5

I am never tempted to take all of the chairs, tables, cooking equipment, lawn ornaments, and on and on that I often see because there would be no place to begin to put half of it! We see complete little villages at the campgrounds many times, looking as if people have permanently moved in.

Float 5
Thanks for your note back.
Yes, we too tend to minimize our exterior adornments to the basics and feel like the poor relatives next to some of the humongous RV's and all the stuff they take along to enjoy the outdoors.....simply.
Back to Nature and all that.
Be Well and Happy Trails
Jim Tischer


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[Great Eggstrications]

Originally Posted by Bill and Earline

An exceptionally well written article. You should post more often.
We towed over 20,000 miles with our 2003 V-6 4Runner, which we still have and enjoy. The ScanGuage is still in it and I had installed an auxilliary cooler and stronger hitch.

I was 100% with you, until your final paragraph about the 21 being just a few hundred pounds more than the 19. Others can correct me, but I thought it was closer to 500 lbs more, and with more space, we tend to bring more stuff.

I always felt that I was safe, but at the very edge of what I should be towing. If a driver is not as diligent and knowlegeable as you seem to be, including monitoring temps and holding speeds down to 60, there could be trouble in certain terrains, ambient temperatures, and traffic situations.

My favorite recollection is making the climb to Big Bend's upper campground and having to make repeated "photography stops" to let the trans cool down. Another is that crazy road in Northern Wyoming headed East that gives you all kinds of warnings after you've made the climb going the other way. For that one, we dumped all tanks and ran the heater full blast on a warm day and still had to make several cool-down stops.

As several have said, give it a try, but also manage your expectations.

I got the 19' and 21' weights directly from the Escape web site, and at
first I was really surprised at the small stated weight difference between
them. But then I thought that if you exclude the dense stuff - batteries and
axles and whatnot - and just look at a 24" longitudinal section
taken out of the middle of the trailer, maybe a couple hundred pounds is
reasonable - 24" worth of frame, fiberglass shell, cabinets/counters,
floor, awning - maybe wouldn't really weigh that much? Anyhow, I guess what
I was suggesting was that if (IMO) my 4Runner with 500 lbs tongue and 5,000
lbs towing capacities can do just fine with a 19', then it seems likely that
a Tacoma with 640 lbs and 6,400 lbs capacities would work out ok towing a 21'. As stated in another post, I agree that the 4Runner isn't a Tacoma, but I figured that talking about my Honda Accord would be somewhat irrelevant!

Sorry about the 2 bad links in my original post - I tried to edit it and fix them,
but when saving the changes it says I'm specifying a non-existant or invalid
thread and kicks me out. Then when I try again, it says that it has seen my
"suspicious" activity and won't let me back in to edit it. "We have marked
much of your activity as suspicious, you cannot perform this function at
this time". I have apparently angered the forum posting gods.

[gbaglo]

It's not you. It's that you have run into software designed to prevent spam. Just be patient. It's either that or put up with links to sexy underwear for obese people.

[Great Eggstrications]

Originally Posted by gbaglo

It's not you. It's that you have run into software designed to prevent spam. Just be patient. It's either that or put up with links to sexy underwear for obese people.

Hmmmm... Choices, choices, choices... ;-)

[Tristan Blake]

We have a 2017 17B on order. We drive a 2015 Tacoma 6 cylinder with the tow pkg. from factory. We are thinking the WDH from Escape would be wise but are wondering if we also need the sway bar option on the other WDH or will the WDH alone be sufficient? Do most folks have sway bars in addition to weight distribution hitch?

[gbaglo]

I have RAV4 V6 Sport and 17B. I use the Pro-Series WDH that Escape installed. I do not have sway bars, nor have I felt the need.
Without WDH the rear of the RAV drops two inches.