nrc
11-09-23, 03:44 AM
I'm still not thrilled having a truck as my primary vehicle but it sure has been handy for getting some work done.
Recently we decided to test out its usefulness as a recreational vehicle. We decided it would be nice to spend a few days at our property out in the country. It seemed like a good opportunity to try out towing a trailer with the Tacoma.
We rented a Winnebago Hike 171DB from Mark Whalberg's Road Adventures. Yeah, that Mark Whalberg. He has an Airstream dealership here along with a couple of car dealerships. Or at least he has his name on them.
https://roadadventures.com/winnebago-hike-171db/
This trailer is 3600 pounds dry so it seemed like even loaded it should be comfortable for the Tacoma 6400 pound towing capacity. We carried most of our gear down separately so I doubt that it was loaded much beyond 4000 pounds even once the tanks were full. They provided an Anderson weight distribution hitch and a brake controller to keep things under control.
Overall the towing experience wasn't bad. Crosswinds and undulating pavement were a little squirmy but never seemed unreasonable. I don't think I would want anything much larger if we were going into serious mountains but it did okay in the rolling hills of southern Ohio.
There was plenty of room for us and our dogs even though we spent more time inside than we'd hoped because of persistent drizzle. We both grew up camping and it's something that we would like to do more in the future. I had kind of gotten the RV bug and was looking around at used campers. But as I mathed it out here's what I realized. Even though this rental was not cheap, you can rent a camper for a lot of nights before it adds up to the cost of even a used camper. And then you drop it off and it's someone else's problem until you need it again.
Seems like the best solution for now. Well, that and getting the shelter on our property into habitable condition. We figured out the cause of a moisture problem while we were down there so hopefully we'll have that ready next season.
1218
Recently we decided to test out its usefulness as a recreational vehicle. We decided it would be nice to spend a few days at our property out in the country. It seemed like a good opportunity to try out towing a trailer with the Tacoma.
We rented a Winnebago Hike 171DB from Mark Whalberg's Road Adventures. Yeah, that Mark Whalberg. He has an Airstream dealership here along with a couple of car dealerships. Or at least he has his name on them.
https://roadadventures.com/winnebago-hike-171db/
This trailer is 3600 pounds dry so it seemed like even loaded it should be comfortable for the Tacoma 6400 pound towing capacity. We carried most of our gear down separately so I doubt that it was loaded much beyond 4000 pounds even once the tanks were full. They provided an Anderson weight distribution hitch and a brake controller to keep things under control.
Overall the towing experience wasn't bad. Crosswinds and undulating pavement were a little squirmy but never seemed unreasonable. I don't think I would want anything much larger if we were going into serious mountains but it did okay in the rolling hills of southern Ohio.
There was plenty of room for us and our dogs even though we spent more time inside than we'd hoped because of persistent drizzle. We both grew up camping and it's something that we would like to do more in the future. I had kind of gotten the RV bug and was looking around at used campers. But as I mathed it out here's what I realized. Even though this rental was not cheap, you can rent a camper for a lot of nights before it adds up to the cost of even a used camper. And then you drop it off and it's someone else's problem until you need it again.
Seems like the best solution for now. Well, that and getting the shelter on our property into habitable condition. We figured out the cause of a moisture problem while we were down there so hopefully we'll have that ready next season.
1218