Soon to be Sunline Owner...

[medbill]

Hi Everyone,

My first post here but my wife and I are working on buying our first TT and we have our hearts set on a Sunline. I am learning all I can before my purchase and working on figuring out if my 03 Tacoma xtra cab, TRD is good enough to pull a T1950 or a T195sr. We really love the SR but its pushing the weight issue. Once we get out west we will have the use of a Chevy HD pickup at our disposal but for now and this summer we are looking to do a lot of camping here east of the Mississippi.

Just wanted to say hi and you have a great forum here with a lot of nice folks. Looking forward to learning a lot and having a lot of fun RV'ing.

Thanks much,

Billy

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[Steve Collins]

Bill,

Your Tacoma, *IF* if it is a 3.4 Liter V-6 equipped with the optional towing package is rated to tow 5,000 pounds, max.

If it does not have the tow package, or is a 4 cylinder, it is rated to tow 3,500 pounds.

The '07 T-1950 is listed at 5,500 GVWR. Dry weight is 3,770.

The short answer is that you're not going to be happy towing a T-1950 with your Tacoma under the best of circumstances. And, you won't be able to carry much, if any, load in either the trailer or the truck with any degree of safety. You may not be able to keep up with the flow of traffic under most normnal driving conditions, let alone in hilly or mountainous areas.

It is generally considered a good idea to have about a 33% safety margin of towing capacity beyond what you are actually towing for any given towing situation. Since the T-1950 is GVWR rated at 5,500 pounds, you should be looking at a tow vehicle that has approximately 8,000 pounds of towing capacity. If I were in your shoes, I would look at the Dodge Ram 1500, Ford F-150, Chevy or GMC 1500's or the Toyota Tundra; all good choices, but should be properly equipped with towing package per manufacturer's specs.

I've been towing trailers for nearly 35 years, and it is my humble opinion that you'll tear up the Tacoma real fast if you try to pull the T-1950. And, it may not be a safe situation for you and your family. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news.

[Sunline Fan]

Steve,

I agree, the Tacoma would really struggle pulling that trailer. I'm not a huge fan of foreign vehicles, so I don't know much about the ratings, but any vehicle that can only tow 5000 lbs. has a max. The 1950, when loaded down, could easily exceed that, especially if I'm packing .

Billy, take Steve's advise and consider your TV's capabilities. If you can upgrade to a larger TV, do it and go with the 195SR. The SR gives you a lot more room, not to mention it's a rare unit- there were only 22 built. More than likely, if you upgrade your TV, it will be able to handle either unit, so the weight difference would not be an issue.

Jon

[medbill]

Thanks guys. I went through the manual and will check out if I have the towing package or not. It came with the factory class IV hitch so I assume it does but the manual showed me how to check. Also it says if it does have the towing package I am good to go 7k+ lbs. Will keep you posted. Safety is my primary concern in life so I would never take any risks or destroy a great truck's motor.

Keeping my fingers crossed till morning and thanks for the honest advice.

Billy

[medbill]

WELL I don't have the towing package as I thought. Major bummer. That being said the manual says the max gross trailer weight must never exceed 3500 lbs. Max weight with vehicle and trailer must not exceed 7500lbs. UGH, I WANT A SUNLINE what am I gonna do???!!!!

Think I'll jump on my bike and take a ride over to some local dealers and see what they are charging for trucks with at least 8k lbs towing capacity.

I'm sure most of you are out camping this weekend and I hope your all having a great time in this awesome weather we're having.

Billy

[edzius]

I want to issue one clarification on the Tacoma tow rating. The Toyota Tacoma from the 2005 model year and newer is rated to tow 6500# if equipped with factory tow package & V-6. It will tow a T1950 but it leaves only 1,000# for passengers & cargo derate.

Ed

[medbill]

Yeah I think that is when they changed body styles. I'll contact Toyota on Monday and see what I need for the Tow package. No matter what it will be cheaper than a new truck. Holy cow the prices are insane, 40k for a freaking pickup truck? Are these guys on crack or what? lol

We'll figure something out and do it right.

Thanks for the advice folks, keep it coming.

Billy

[Mark]

Maybe you should try looking at used models?

[medbill]

Hi Mark,

Oh yeah I would most definately buy a used TV instead of a new one. Prices of used trucks are great for a buyer especially with the 0% financing they are all offering these days and the lousy gas mileage they get. I hear trucks that get better mileage are coming down the road and that will be awesome.

Right now I'd really like to get my Taco up to speed to tow it for now and get a bigger truck in the future.

Thanks,

B

[Poppy & Nana]

Hi Bill!

Just read this post and was surprised! I've sent you a PM about this same thing......how funny is that!

Never realized that you did not have enough "umpf" to pull the 1950!

Hey you can always look at the Que - don't know about the weight.....but it is lighter than the 1950!

Keep us posted!

Oh by the way - Welcome to the Forum!

[medbill]

Hi Kathy,

Just reading your email! I'm on the Toyota forum and I am sure I will get a lot more useful info there than I did today from the dealership. DUH sums it up the best.

Exhausted, long day will hopefully have more energy tomorrow.

Thanks,

Billy