Towing a 21' Escape

[Perry Butler]

Originally Posted by John in Santa Cruz

with the fifth wheel hitch in the middle of the bed, how would I roll that 100 lb+ scope into the front of the bed? those two square golden metal things sticking out are the 'wheelbarrow' handles to move it.

Eazy Peazy! Pop the hitch and move it in. Takes 30 seconds to pop the hitch. The Andersen hitch is the cat's meow to move. Our previous Reese hitch was a PITA.

Enjoy,

Perry

[Emjay]

Originally Posted by Iowa Dave

In time, after multiple trips across the same country I’ve developed my standard stops,
Usually where I have had good experiences in the past, where there’s easy off and on interchanges, or where there is a signature food treat to be procured. I usually gas at these places even if I only need 8 or
10 gallons. Sometimes it seems foolish to the passengers in our vehicle but they usually enjoy the ice cream bar I bring back to the Highlander or the cold drink out of refrigeration. YMMV
Iowa Dave

Agreed. This is especially true if you are attempting to travel off the interstates, as I do. That means places like,say, going to/from Quartzite.

[Patandlinda]

New tow vehicle Jeep 2020 Gladiator tow capacity 7650 . Pat

[ChuckBC]

A good check is look at the driver's door sticker for your vehicle or even those at the dealership.

Various vehicles can be set up to tow but consider the rated payload noted. Options on same vehicle can change payload. Added weight like canopies, tongue weight, driver/passenger, etc. sure can quickly eat up available payload. Consider suspension, axles and load braking power.

[Patandlinda]

Originally Posted by ChuckBC

A good check is look at the driver's door sticker for your vehicle or even those at the dealership.

Various vehicles can be set up to tow but consider the rated payload noted. Options on same vehicle can change payload. Added weight like canopies, tongue weight, driver/passenger, etc. sure can quickly eat up available payload. Consider suspension, axles and load braking power.

New Jeep truck not for us , just another consideration or competition. Pat

[alanmalk]

Were doing reasonably well with our 2014 Tacoma, 4x4, manual transmission and a WD hitch. Handling is good, truck bed is generally empty, heavy items stowed in the access cab, gas mileage is the pits. Engine works hard in the Colorado mountains but the manual transmission helps offset the weak pulling power.

[John in Santa Cruz]

note the newer Tacomas (2016+? not quite sure) have a 3.5L V6 thats more fuel efficient when running empty but has less torque at low RPMs so when you're towing you need to rev it a fair bit higher. The older 4.0L V6 had significantly more low end torque, I only found a few steep mountain passes where i needed to downshift to 3rd on my 6-speed to maintain 55-60 going up hill, usually 4th was fine on grades. I used 5th on the flats as I'd read the 6th gear was a tall overdrive that shouldn't be used for towing. mine was a manual, so no transmission overheating issues, but if you have an automatic, you can always add an aftermarket transmission cooler to beef up the stock one thats supplied with the factory tow package.

I added Firestone RideRite airbags to the rear of mine, they helped the tacoma immensely when I had a heavy load in the bed, in fact, I never bothered with the WDH once we got the airbags.

[sprinkledavid@gmail.com]

This question always comes up and gets " beat to death". YES, a new Tacoma will readily tow a 21 foot Escape trailer even if the canopy is heavily loaded with 5 months of travel gear and two paddleboards on the top. 15,000 miles so far and it will readily maintain 50mph over a 6 percent mountain grade but with higher rpms than my 2009 Tacoma. I have no WDH and drive around 60mph. Recently had a car on the freeway cross into my lane and had to swerve to avoid collision.
The Tacoma responded and the trailer followed with hardly any swerving. I did not have to manually apply the manual trailer brake. It was safely over in seconds. If you travel at higher speeds and want to go over mountain passes at 60 or 70 get a bigger truck. Fuel consumption 12 to 14 mpg. Just sayin'

[Hollybee]

Originally Posted by sprinkledavid@gmail.com

This question always comes up and gets " beat to death". YES, a new Tacoma will readily tow a 21 foot Escape trailer even if the canopy is heavily loaded with 5 months of travel gear and two paddleboards on the top. 15,000 miles so far and it will readily maintain 50mph over a 6 percent mountain grade but with higher rpms than my 2009 Tacoma. I have no WDH and drive around 60mph. Recently had a car on the freeway cross into my lane and had to swerve to avoid collision.
The Tacoma responded and the trailer followed with hardly any swerving. I did not have to manually apply the manual trailer brake. It was safely over in seconds. If you travel at higher speeds and want to go over mountain passes at 60 or 70 get a bigger truck. Fuel consumption 12 to 14 mpg. Just sayin'

That's about what my dealer friend told me to expect w the frontier V-6. He said he wd B glad to sell me a bigger Nissan truck if I felt I needed one, but the Fronty had 7500 lb capacity and so we wait. We just pefer a mid size truck if possible.

[sprinkledavid@gmail.com]

Forgot to mention that I have Firestone airbags installed on my 2019 Tacoma.

[steve dunham]

Originally Posted by Doug2000

I had a 2008 Tacoma 4.0L, a 2017 4Runner 4.0L and I can tell you they are great trucks. I only sold the Tacoma because my boys outgrew the back seat. I traded the 4Runner because I wanted a truck.

My experience. Get the trailer you want, later if the truck isn't up to it, get a full size.

The Tacoma will do fine 90% of the time. The gas mileage isn't that great. You'll find you'll have to push hard on the mountain passes and you'll want to pack light. But the Tacoma is up to the job. Pack light if your heading up in elevation.

What you'll need. You'll need a Weight Distribustion Hitch. The Tacoma has a soft suspension. Worth every penny in comfort while towing. Brake controller, you might need to stop. I also highly suggest using something to monitor transmission temperature. I used Scangauge2. Plugs into the OBD computer port under the dash.

Pulling my Escape 17B we had to pull over 3 times as the temperature got over 222 F.

Here is a write up I did

http://www.escapeforum.org/forums/f1...nce-13422.html

How did toyota meet the J 2807 towing standards with a transmission that overheats when towing a lightweight 17ft trailer up a grade . Not much of a glowing recommendation especially when the OP is looking at towing a 21 !!!

[Vermilye]

Originally Posted by sprinkledavid@gmail.com

This question always comes up and gets " beat to death". YES, a new Tacoma will readily tow a 21 foot Escape trailer even if the canopy is heavily loaded with 5 months of travel gear and two paddleboards on the top. 15,000 miles so far and it will readily maintain 50mph over a 6 percent mountain grade but with higher rpms than my 2009 Tacoma. I have no WDH and drive around 60mph. Recently had a car on the freeway cross into my lane and had to swerve to avoid collision.
The Tacoma responded and the trailer followed with hardly any swerving. I did not have to manually apply the manual trailer brake. It was safely over in seconds. If you travel at higher speeds and want to go over mountain passes at 60 or 70 get a bigger truck. Fuel consumption 12 to 14 mpg. Just sayin'

Just for a bit of contrast - I towed an Escape 17B with my 2016 Tacoma Off Road (3.5L engine) with no problems. When I switched to a 21 I tried because I loved the truck. After towing 9000 miles, I switched to a F 150 with the 3.5L Ecoboost engine.

The Tacoma spent far too much time at 4000 RPM, was averaging 10.5MPG, needed to stop at every gas station (a bit of an exaggeration, but it does have a small tank) and with my usual stuff for a 6 - 8 month trip, was overloaded by 150 pounds.

The F150 gets better mileage (currently with around 15K towing it is averaging a bit over 13 MPG, 21 MPG highway not towing) in tow/haul spins at around 1800 RPM in 8th gear, and with all my stuff still has 600 pounds of payload left (Stickered payload is 1826 pounds). The 36 gallon gas tank lets me choose stations, and I love the tow mirrors.

Overall, I wish I had a Tacoma with the F 150 specifications. I liked the size of the Tacoma, the ride, and the bells & whistles that are not available on the STX model F 150 I purchased. Since that can't happen, I'm now a Ford owner.

[Brian B-P]

Originally Posted by Vermilye

Overall, I wish I had a Tacoma with the F 150 specifications. I liked the size of the Tacoma, the ride, and the bells & whistles that are not available on the STX model F 150 I purchased. Since that can't happen, I'm now a Ford owner.

Maybe your ideal truck would be a top-of-the-line Ford Ranger? Tacoma-sized, lots of bells & whistles, and EcoBoost power. Of course it's only a 2.3L...

[John in Santa Cruz]

Originally Posted by steve dunham

How did toyota meet the J 2807 towing standards with a transmission that overheats when towing a lightweight 17ft trailer up a grade . Not much of a glowing recommendation especially when the OP is looking at towing a 21 !!!

I find with my F250 and its older style 4-speed 'overdrive' automatic that the torque converter lockup works in either 3rd or 4th, but if you let it automatically downshift from 4th to third under load and stay on the throttle on a grade, it won't lock up, and the tranny temps will climb. if I anticipate and manually downshift to 3rd (eg, disable OD/4th) while still under light throttle, then the TC stays locked and it will stay locked up the grade.

I don't know if the TC locks in 2nd, but with 500 ft-lbs at 1600 rpm, thats not really been a problem

my tacoma was a stick shift, so there were no transmission thermal issues with that one.

[Dave58]

Yep, I’m with you john👍, old school 2-wheel drive , single cab dodge Cummins 12valve and 4-speed auto. Keep that torque converter locked-up and you can climb mountains at 140f tranny temp all day. If you screw up(let up) on a big climb and let the tc unlock your screwed until you regain your speed in third and let the tc lock back up.
I have the 5.0 and eight foot box and it works really good for me, I can carry a lot of stuff in the box but the fifth wheel setup does limit/inconvenience things a bit. I have a low-profile tool box that stores all my “important stuff” but it wouldn’t work for your stuff.
I’m gonna be lost if/when my 22year old truck goes to sleep😢. I’ve been spoiled with the 3/4ton cause I’ve never had to even contemplate weight issues, I just load whatever I want and can fit in it and go.
Some may call it over-kill for a small camper but I personally feel like it’s the right size truck for long distance trips.

[Patandlinda]

Originally Posted by Dave58

Yep, I’m with you john👍, old school 2-wheel drive , single cab dodge Cummins 12valve and 4-speed auto. Keep that torque converter locked-up and you can climb mountains at 140f tranny temp all day. If you screw up(let up) on a big climb and let the tc unlock your screwed until you regain your speed in third and let the tc lock back up.
I have the 5.0 and eight foot box and it works really good for me, I can carry a lot of stuff in the box but the fifth wheel setup does limit/inconvenience things a bit. I have a low-profile tool box that stores all my “important stuff” but it wouldn’t work for your stuff.
I’m gonna be lost if/when my 22year old truck goes to sleep😢. I’ve been spoiled with the 3/4ton cause I’ve never had to even contemplate weight issues, I just load whatever I want and can fit in it and go.
Some may call it over-kill for a small camper but I personally feel like it’s the right size truck for long distance trips.

Exactly 1992 F250 XLT with 5.8 Windsor with a 8 ft bed ! Pat

[John in Santa Cruz]

Originally Posted by Patandlinda

Exactly 1992 F250 XLT with 5.8 Windsor with a 8 ft bed ! Pat

where I'm not real fond of my '02 longbed diesel is when I'm trying to maneuver in tight spaces, and park. the F250 + E21 is almost 42 feet long end to end, and has a 60 foot turning circle, that can make things like U turns particularly challenging.

[Patandlinda]

Originally Posted by John in Santa Cruz

where I'm not real fond of my '02 longbed diesel is when I'm trying to maneuver in tight spaces, and park. the F250 + E21 is almost 42 feet long end to end, and has a 60 foot turning circle, that can make things like U turns particularly challenging.

John like don’t have to worry what we carry even though we don’t carry much . We are 39-40 ft , just a single cab . We have abs brakes and air bags so truck is not too backwards. Yup I need room But love this truck . Pat

[Dave58]

Geez, I don’t even know how long my unit is, or how much weight I carry, lol. I have a 3/4 ton single cab 8foot box and the 5.0 fifth wheel, the total length and weight is so minimal that I pay it no attention. It’s just me, the wife and a little tiny dog so I am happy with a single cab, and I would never settle for a pickup without an 8- foot box. That’s what works good for me. But good used 2-wheel drive single cab 8-foot box trucks are getting pretty scarce, I’m starting to think maybe I’m the one who’s “out of touch”. 😆😆