Tacoma vs 22MLE

[GaryS1964]

Short answer is your Tacoma is not enough truck. The GVWR of the 22MLE is 6995 lbs which exceeds the max towing capacity of your truck. You will not likely be pulling an empty trailer when you head out on trips so the empty weight is not the number you should be concerned with. What matters is what they trailer will weigh when loaded for a trip as well as how much stuff you load into your Tacoma. I'm going from memory here but I think the tongue weight exceeds the max tongue weight of the Tacoma. Then there is the Combined Gross Vehicle Weight Rating which can be found in the owners manual. You need to calculate that number. Weight numbers aside there is the actual towing ability. I found numerous articles and YouTube videos of people with Tacomas saying it tows great on flat ground but you read more and they talk about going 35 to 40 MPH (and even slower) up grades. They talk about having to stop for gas every couple of hours because the towing gas mileage is poor and the fuel tank is small. They talked about getting whipped around whenever a big truck would pass. Do some more research before you make a decision about towing a 22MLE with a Tacoma. Google and YouTube are your friend. Lots of good information can be found.

We have been traveling with my wife's sister and her husband for about 5 years staying in hotels and VRBO houses. I bought a 2020 Tacoma Sport 4x4 in November with no thought of pulling anything other than my brother in law's small cargo trailer (1200 lbs) which has all his camping gear we use when just he and I go on photography trips like our recent one to Death Valley. Come February 2020 and suddenly the wives decide they want travel trailers so I started looking at what my Tacoma (equipped with tow package) could pull. After a lot of research I came to the conclusion that my Tacoma which I loved would not pull any of the trailers we were looking at. We finally decided on a GD Imagine XLS 17MKE with a GVWR of 5995 GD's smallest TT. I traded in my Tacoma and bought a 2020 Ford F150 4x4 Ecoboost with the max trailer towing package. I obviously took a bit of a financial hit. What I gained was a TV that could maintain the speed limit going up grades. A rig that isn't whipped around by passing 18 wheelers. With a 36 gallon fuel tank I can make each leg of a trip without having to stop for fuel.

The 22MLE was actually at the top of my short list before I bought a trailer. But the wife wanted a "smaller" trailer so we bought the 17MKE. One benefit is since we have to pay for storage the 17MKE costs less to store because it's under 25' which seems to be a break point for storage.

[baldy500]

I tow my 22 MLE with a 2019 F150 3.5 cc long bed max tow 1700 lb payload. With a crosswind gusting you know it’s there but not white knuckled. Coming from a Rockwood 8306SS I would suggest you may not like the experience.

[MOShorthair]

I had a Keystone Passport that had a GVWR of 5400# I towed it fine with my Toyota Tacoma. I had a trailer brake put on the truck and used an Equalizer hitch. I had a 17 gallon gas tank and got around 9 mpg so be ready to stop about every 120 miles for gas. I upgraded to a F150 and wish I would have upgraded to a F250 since I'm now in the market for something a little bigger.

[Boogiejack75]

Also, would dropping to the 18MKE make a meaningful difference?

22MLE: "UVW: 5,176 lbs | GVWR: 6,995 lbs | Hitch Weight: 490 lbs | Length: 26' 1""

18MKE: "UVW: 4,674 lbs | GVWR: 6,395 lbs | Hitch Weight: 480 lbs | Length: 21' 11""

Not really. 6995 lbs at 13% = 909 lbs
6395 = 831

1200 payload - 909 = 290
1200-831=368

These two results are the maximum weight you can put on/in your truck. That's people, gear, coolers, bed cover, and 100 lbs for your hitch.

You need a bigger truck IMO.

[Malco1]

We just purchased a 22MLE two weeks ago and pull it with a 2020 GMC Canyon with a towing capacity of 7000. All the dealers I talked with assured me it would handle it. I have only pulled it home from the dealer (abt 100 miles) and it seemed to do fine.

The dealer will tell you that you can safely tow it with a VW Beetle.

[RML850]

Towing with a Tacoma is sketchy as many will tell you. However, you do have options. The type of camping your family plans on doing needs to be factored in. If you camp close to home, you can preposition your empty RV the night before and haul family and goodies the next day. I did this for years when I was starting out. Another option is to put the family and some cargo in second vehicle driven by the DW. Not great options but it may be a possible work around.

[Ynot4me2]

Dealers should be more responsible and properly explain towing.

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[Kamsden]

We just purchased a 22MLE two weeks ago and pull it with a 2020 GMC Canyon with a towing capacity of 7000. All the dealers I talked with assured me it would handle it. I have only pulled it home from the dealer (abt 100 miles) and it seemed to do fine.

I have the same truck, have you taken the trailer out yet? I’m looking at the same trailer. How did it handle?


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[Martybhawk]

After doing some more research on this forum and other places, we decided to upgrade our tow vehicle to a 2020 GMC Sierra 1500 SLT. It has a tow capacity of 9300, integrated trailer brakes, additional trans and oil cooler and some other towing specific electronics. Several dealers said I could tow with my Canyon but it would be "borderline". Although the 100 mile pull home from the dealer seemed fine, I began to think more and more about just being "borderline", especially thinking about cross country trips and pulling in mountain regions. We were both very nervous the whole trip home. We did not want to travel to our camping destinations feeling nervous the whole time. We have taken 2 trips with our new Sierra and it pulls and handles that size trailer with ease. I love our new setup, there is no worry about towing capacity and we have considerably more room and comfort. I have an Undercover Ultra Flex truck bed cover and carry a lot of our camping stuff in it. The GMC MultiPro tailgate and Helping Handle makes loading and unloading the truck bed a breeze, especially for a 68 year old youngster like myself.

Bottom Line - My advice, get a bigger truck for the safety and peace of mind. I loved my Canyon but I like this Sierra so much better. Let us know what you decide.

Happy Camping

[Ynot4me2]

After doing some more research on this forum and other places, we decided to upgrade our tow vehicle to a 2020 GMC Sierra 1500 SLT. It has a tow capacity of 9300, integrated trailer brakes, additional trans and oil cooler and some other towing specific electronics. Several dealers said I could tow with my Canyon but it would be "borderline". Although the 100 mile pull home from the dealer seemed fine, I began to think more and more about just being "borderline", especially thinking about cross country trips and pulling in mountain regions. We were both very nervous the whole trip home. We did not want to travel to our camping destinations feeling nervous the whole time. We have taken 2 trips with our new Sierra and it pulls and handles that size trailer with ease. I love our new setup, there is no worry about towing capacity and we have considerably more room and comfort. I have an Undercover Ultra Flex truck bed cover and carry a lot of our camping stuff in it. The GMC MultiPro tailgate and Helping Handle makes loading and unloading the truck bed a breeze, especially for a 68 year old youngster like myself.

Bottom Line - My advice, get a bigger truck for the safety and peace of mind. I loved my Canyon but I like this Sierra so much better. Let us know what you decide.

Happy Camping

That was a wise decision. Pulling is one thing but breaking, going down hill and collision avoidance is another. Plus, what joy is there in being concerned or stressed while on vacation. There's enough crazy drivers and yahoos on the road for that, no need to add to the craziness.

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