I've been considering getting a second vehicle for awhile and I'm more and more leaning towards a truck so, among other things, I can tow my S and spares, etc. to and from track days. I really don't want any kind of monster truck and have been looking at the Tacoma 4x4, which is listed as having a standard tow capacity of 3500 lbs and a max. tow capacity of 6500 lbs.

Few questions:
My car, with tools, rotors, me and a spare set of rims and tires, along with the weight of the trailer, would put everything right at about 3500lbs. Is the Toyota V6 just not enough of an engine for this task? Is it going to take 20 seconds to get up to merge speeds on the freeway?

Also, I don't want to have to store a trailer (it'd take up way too much space in my nonexistent yard), so I'm figuring I can just rent an auto-trailer from Uhaul when I need it. Good or bad idea?

Any other trucks and/or vehicles I should consider instead of a Tacoma?

Thanks in advance.

 

I think the U-Haul trailer alone is upwards of 1500 lbs. (can anyone confirm?), so you will be well over 4000 lbs total, and closer to 5000 lbs with all the extra stuff.

 

Tow vehicle length is critical, and I think a tacoma is just too damned short for the task, unless you want the trailer driving you. And I investigated renting a u-haul trailer to get my S out to Dallas, but they said it's too low to get onto their trailers.

 

A lightweight aluminum ($$$$) open auto trailer is going to be in the 1100-1200lb range. A typical steel trailer will be in the 1500-2000lb range. And I would bet a U-haul unit would be closer to 2000lbs...

So best case scenario is:
1200lbs - relatively lightweight AL trailer
2800lbs - S2000
_200lbs - set of 4 wheels with tires mounted
_100lbs - Jack, spares, cooler, etc

And you are at 4300lbs already. With a Uhaul trailer, you are probably over 5000lbs at that point. So the trailer is going to weigh more than the tow vehicle. And the other big problem is that I'm pretty sure that the Uhaul trailers do not have trailer brakes. (Can anyone confirm?) Another issue with the Uhaul units is that they probably are not really designed for low-to-the-ground sports cars. So you may have to get really creative with loading the car on it without damaging the car...

Andrew

 

Bad news, but good info before I went out and spent them money on a bad solution. It's looking more and more like my second car should be an Evo. Damn!

Well I've never paid much attention to the cars hauling trailers at events...what kinds of vehicles do you guys use to tow your cars with?

 

I don't know about their car-haulers, but the 16'er I rented to take my crap to Dallas had nifty surge brakes on them.

 

FYI, you can choose either 0% financing (for 60mo!!! ) or like $3000 cash back on all 2005 Evos right now through the end of Aug...

Andrew

 

RL, no Ridgleline recommendation? You're towing a similar setup to what DM's thinking about right?

Sure, it's $10K more than a 3/4-ton domestic pickup, but hey, it's a Honda!

 

If we're going to give recommendations, I absolutely love my Dodge. $25,000+TTL (probably much less now) and it tows like a champ, is unbelievably comfortable, and gets 12mpg towing (granted, it gets only 14-16mpg when not towing). Seats 6 comfortably and with the hemi I can take on those pesky civics from stoplight to stoplight, even when the trailer and truck are both fully loaded . Towing capacity is 8,900lbs.

 

Personally, I think that's woefully inadequate as a tow vehicle. As great a vehicle as it is otherwise, it's just not set up to tow thousands of pounds worth of car/trailer/accessories. There is one thing the domestics (or at least the Full Size imports) are better at and that's dragging heavy crap around