Towing a Rockwood 2304S

Firefighter5152 · 03-31-2012, 05:49 PM

Looking to purchase a 2012 Toyota Tacoma double cab TRD 4x4. Any info on using this to tow a Rockwood 2304S. Tongue weight a concern. Thanks!

**bikendan** · 03-31-2012, 06:17 PM

can i ask why you prefer a v-6 over a v-8, since most v-8 trucks/SUVs get nearly the same gas mileage as their v-6 cousins? and they tow much more and have more interior room.

i looked at Tacomas, Frontiers, Ridgelines and other v-6 trucks and found that the newer v-8 trucks get almost the same mpg.
ended up with a 2007 Chevy Avalanche, which gets 21mpg-highway, which was the same highway mpg as the comparable Tacoma that year.

Firefighter5152 · 03-31-2012, 06:40 PM

Love the desert and plan on doing off roading with the Toyota. For what we need it meets our price.

Dave_Monica · 03-31-2012, 08:48 PM

Looking up the towing specs for a Tacoma DC 4x4 auto with the factory tow pkge, max tow wt 6400 lbs, max tongue wt 640 lbs, max combined wt 11100 lbs.

For the Rockwood 2304S, the dry wt is 4688, dry tongue wt 678, GVWR of 6594 lbs. The camper weight with battery, propane and options will be over 5000 lbs, ready to camp 5500 to 6000 lbs. The tongue wt using 13% will be 715 to 780 lbs.

This tongue weight will be over the truck's rating. I can also tell you, having towed a camper the same weight with a Ram 1500 QC 5.7L, your Tacoma will not be happy towing this.

You need more truck or less camper IMHO.

Dave

**bikendan** · 03-31-2012, 09:09 PM

yep, the tongue weight will be the problem. i'm sure the Murphy bed adds quite a bit to the tongue.

i agree about the actual weight. it'll weigh over 5000lbs. sitting on the dealer's lot, since you have to add the weight of "options"(battery, a/c, oven, spare tire, awning, microwave and so on).
so, loaded, with propane, water and cargo, it'll easily weigh at least 5500lbs.

6.4 tow rig · 04-01-2012, 10:46 AM

My neighbor tows an R-POD that tops out at less than 4000 lbs with his Tacoma and he is already looking for a bigger truck. No way you should even think about this. A Tacoma is a great truck when used for what it was designed for. And thats not pulling a 5000 lb trailer

RoadDog66 · 04-01-2012, 11:32 AM

I pull my Roo 19 (GVWR 4770) with a V6 Frontier CC Pro-4X (very similar to a Taco TRD) and wouldn't try to pull anything heavier. It does well, just not a speed demon on the highway or hills. The Taco's are nice and with a 6500-lb tow rating they have been known to tow heavy TT's with not too many complaints, but IMHO the 2304S is too heavy for any V6 (except Ecoboost) and some small V8's. With a GVWR of nearly 6600-lbs you would definitely be over the limits of the Taco. Take the 2304S to capacity and then add in passenger weight carried in the truck and you are over 7000-lbs.

I'd say stick with trailers that have a GVWR's of under 5000-lbs. That is unless you already own the 2304S, then you'd need to go with at least a full-size V8 1/2 ton PU or Ford V6 Ecoboost.

As for the guy towing an R-Pod with a Taco and having issues, not sure why since they max out at under 3000-lbs dry and are shaped to cut through the wind and are shorter in length. Unless he has a 4-cyl Taco.

Firefighter5152 · 04-01-2012, 12:12 PM

Would like to Thank all of you for the help. Still like Toyota due to price and what we want to use it for. Tacoma or Tundra will depend on trailer we want. Will research a lot prior to decision due to this being our one and last purchase!

Dave_Monica · 04-01-2012, 02:32 PM

The other bit of advice is to buy the tow vehicle adequate for the next camper. People tend to upgrade campers more often than tow vehicles. Your comment of researching your one and last purchase has been said by many before.

Dave

RoadDog66 · 04-01-2012, 08:24 PM

Definitely research what trailer you want then pick the TV. I already had my Pro-4X when we decided to buy a TT, so I had to find one within my capabilities. If we had it to do again we'd probably have gone with a Roo 23RS over the Roo 19, but live and learn. We are happy with our combo and I'm happier to spend $40K for the pair rather than $55K too

.

If you can deal without having a slide, I'd say the regular 2304 would pull nicely with a Tacoma.

whj77372 · 04-16-2012, 02:44 PM

Pay attention to what is stated above, to heavy for that toy truck!
They are nice for 4 wheeling, lots of fun! I would not tow much with
a Tacoma. When I had one I didn't tow with it , ever!

jwuertz · 04-16-2012, 03:34 PM

I have a 2304S and need to purchase a WD hitch. Could I get by with an 800 lb TW hitch or would it be a problem getting the 1,000 lb. TW model.
The price for the 800 and 1,000 lb hitches is about the same.

Dave_Monica · 04-16-2012, 06:50 PM

I'd recommend the 1000 lb spring bars. I hope you're looking at a W/D hitch with intregrated sway control.

Dave

Douger53 · 06-28-2012, 06:38 PM

Along the lines of Firefighter5152, we are thinking of upgrading from a Rockwood 2280 popup to a Windjammer 2102. It has GVWR 6996lbs which is about 500 lbs over the max. The dealer seems to think this is no big deal since we are in control of how much we put into the trailer although I was surprised to find out from another post that all those accessories come out of your cargo capacity (is this true?).
Our TV has: 2010 Tacoma Ext cab V6 TRD 6 speed manual, 2WD. I would sure love to hear from anyone that has any experience that might help. We really like the 2102.

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