Towing a 5.0 TA with a Tacoma - thoughts?

[ATHiker]

Originally Posted by rbryan4

Tom, that's a subject I've been watching carefully on this forum and other sources. There's a variance of course depending on whether it's a 17, 19, 21, etc, as well as your driving style. But, from what I've seen the reported real world MPG towing an Escape with the EcoBoost V6 (NON-4WD) is in the 15-16 range. Pretty much what we expected. I'll have hard numbers in all different types of terrain/conditions once I've towed our 19 from Canada to Texas.

Thanks Robert. I have been scouring the F150 forums and they are reporting much lower MPGs, but with much heavier and taller campers. Hopefully the F150 EB will spend more time in the Eco mode with the Escape rather than in the Boost mode.

[ATHiker]

Originally Posted by T&R

Good thread. I too am like some that have ordered a 5.0TA and in need of a tow vehicle. I was surprised to read you can get different payload capacities within the same make & model of truck. Must depend on what options each rig has. Definitely something to watch out for.

I was just checking out Tacoma and Tundra specs direct from their respective owner's manuals. A 2015 Tacoma 4wd Double Cab V6 has a vehicle capacity weight of just 1040 lbs. 600 lbs. of DRY hitch weight for a 5.0TA uses up a large chunk of that. Tundra is surprisingly not much better; 2015 Tundra 4wd Crew Max 5.7 w/tow package has vehicle capacity weight of 1360lbs.

Regarding the MPG of the Tundra; the 4.6 is rated 14/18 vs. 13/17 in the 5.7.

But in my experience you actually get the advertised mpg's if not better in a Toyota. I currently own a 2014 v6 Mustang and it does NOT get anywhere near what the window sticker says. It's rated 19/29. Best I've gotten is 23 on the highway and close to 18 in town. And that's conservative driving TRYING to get good mileage. I fully expect there to be a class action lawsuit against Ford some day about their mpg ratings. People were upset when the F150 w/Ecoboost came out because they did not get the mileage they were advertised.

Like you, I was very surprised to see the relatively low payload value for the Tundra.

[sturski]

I hope to be reporting back by the end of the summer that a Tacoma pulling an Escape 19 through Colorado works just fine. The Tacoma in question is 6 years old and will have 95k miles on it by the time I pick up the trailer in mid-March. It isn't the end of the world if I have to upgrade it to full-size; but I really prefer a smaller truck for every day use.

[Brian B-P]

Originally Posted by Rossue

Glad to see the ETI comment re: Tundra. Met Bill & Giselle at Rally. ETI might consider an adjustment to their webpage:

Escape Trailer Industries now offers a full line of RV travel trailers – 15’,17’,19’,21’ and a 21’ tandem axle fifth wheel (Escape 5.0TA), all designed for smaller and mid-sized tow vehicles.

Maybe this was true before the 21 & 5.0 but is it really correct now?

I think - just from memory - that it previously said smaller tow vehicles. There is certainly an issue with what expectation this might set because people will have different understanding of terms. If a well-equipped F-150 is required for a 5.0TA that might still be mid-sized, if you consider a Tacoma to be "small" and a SuperDuty to be "big".

[Brian B-P]

Originally Posted by kvermeulen

Towed the old 5.0sa at 55 to 60 ang always got 16 to 18mpg cdn.

I assume "cdn" means per imperial gallon. If so, then four-fifths of those numbers for miles per US gallon (so, 13.3 to 15).

[t-twnbob]

If I were in the market for a pickup to pull the 5.0TA, I would not get get a short bed. Yes, there are several people pulling with short beds, including Reace, with no issues. But in my opinion it is just easier and less hassle with a standard bed. In my case, I already have a short bed (5'8") and will have Trademasters install the the hitch. My owners manual also gives the warning that my vehicle was not intended or designed to pull a fifth wheel. I did a lot of research including talking to the local dealer. The concern is the weights. The 5.0 is well within all my weight ranges, so I am not worried. Bob

[padlin]

Originally Posted by ATHiker

There seems to be a number of forum members who are towing Escapes with a Ford F150 Eco Boost. I would be interesting to know their real world towing MPG.

I bought my 2012 Ecoboost to give me the biggest leeway when trailer shopping, it is overkill for the Escape. Supercab, 4x4, longbed, HD payload (2200 lb), XLT, with max tow pkg. I get 13 mpg towing the 5.0TA round trip MA to WY. Non towing I get between 19 and 15, depending on how and where I drive.

[Bobbito]

From the specs for the 5.0 TA, is appears that it was similar in weight to our 2002 Nash (21' cabin length) trailer, which we towed with our 2005 Tundra (small V8), Access cab, 4WD, plus canopy and roof rack. We loaded it up with a ton of fishing and camping gear (including boat & motor) and sometimes exceeded the rear axle load limit. We often took it through the mountain passes in BC and found that with the little V8 revving its guts out, we could only do about 45 mph on the steep sections. In 2012 we took our trailer without the boat and fishing gear to Utah's canyons and red rock country. Without all the extra weight the truck/trailer unit was easy to handle and quite a bit better up steep grades. We still only got about 11 mpg (Imperial) on average. (Around town we get about 16-19 mpg without the trailer)

Our Escape 21 should be a bit lighter, so we expect that the towing experience will improve, especially with the Andersen hitch. IMHO I would not expect a Tacoma to tow a 5.0 TA well unless there was little else to carry and there were no serious mountain passes.

BTW, our 1996 Ford F150 was also at it's maximum when towing the Nash, but the experience was scary. Ford was far too generous with their tow/weight limits on that truck. The Tundra at its weight/tow limit is manageable.

Bob K

[PGDriver]

Originally Posted by sturski

I hope to be reporting back by the end of the summer that a Tacoma pulling an Escape 19 through Colorado works just fine. The Tacoma in question is 6 years old and will have 95k miles on it by the time I pick up the trailer in mid-March. It isn't the end of the world if I have to upgrade it to full-size; but I really prefer a smaller truck for every day use.

I think you will be surprised how well the Tacoma tows the 19. We put quite a few miles on ours towing our 19 with no problems. We averaged about 15.7 MPG IMP. towing.

Cheers
Doug

[rbryan4]

Originally Posted by padlin

I bought my 2012 Ecoboost to give me the biggest leeway when trailer shopping, it is overkill for the Escape. Supercab, 4x4, longbed, HD payload (2200 lb), XLT, with max tow pkg. I get 13 mpg towing the 5.0TA round trip MA to WY. Non towing I get between 19 and 15, depending on how and where I drive.

Bob, those numbers look right in line with what I've found elsewhere for the 4X4 longbed with the HD and tow package. The 2WD shorter bed numbers I've seen are about 2-3 MPG better. So, the estimate of 15-16 MPG I gave earlier looks to be accurate. Of course, I'll know for sure after towing my 19 home over 2300 miles.

[alanmalk]

Originally Posted by PGDriver

I think you will be surprised how well the Tacoma tows the 19. We put quite a few miles on ours towing our 19 with no problems. We averaged about 15.7 MPG IMP. towing.

Cheers
Doug

I'll be reporting at the end of this summer just how well a Tacoma plays with a Escape 21 in Colorado. The Tacoma is a 2014, manual transmission, access cab (the medium cab) and 6' bed.

--
Alan

[sturski]

Originally Posted by alanmalk

I'll be reporting at the end of this summer just how well a Tacoma plays with a Escape 21 in Colorado. The Tacoma is a 2014, manual transmission, access cab (the medium cab) and 6' bed.

--
Alan

We'll have to have drag races from Georgetown to the tunnel on I-70 ... (notoriously steep at altitude).

On topic, this is what I looked like a year ago. The bike weighs 650# , the ramp I use to load it is 100# and is in the back seat. Tongue weight of the T@B is 150-200# and there is another 100# of tools & motorcycle gear in the truck. Securing the bike into a bed that flexes was a bit of a challenge; but I had no issues other than lousy gas mileage >75mph.

[alanmalk]

Originally Posted by sturski

We'll have to have drag races from Georgetown to the tunnel on I-70 ... (notoriously steep at altitude).

You're on. I'll take the eastbound (downhill) lane, you can have the westbound (uphill) lane. Highest speed after 1 mile wins...



--
Alan