Can a Toyota Tacoma Pull a Camper? (Explained)

Have you ever wondered if a Toyota Tacoma can pull a camper? Look no more. We´ve got you covered.

A lot of people are interested in the Toyota Tacoma because they hear that it is a good towing vehicle.

So, can a Toyota Tacoma pull a Camper? Yes, a Toyota Tacoma can pull a camper with ease. Because the towing capacity of the Toyota Tacoma is listed at 6,400 pounds, this vehicle can also tow many other items, including:

Boats
ATVs
Horse trailers
Travel trailers
Anything under 6,400 lbs.

Table of Contents

Can a Toyota Tacoma Pull a Camper?

The vast majority of the time, yes.

The Toyota Tacoma has a rather substantial towing capacity. It is somewhere between the 3,500lbs and 7,000lbs mark. This is going to be dependent on the model of Toyota Tacoma that you have purchased.

Because of this higher towing capacity, the vast majority of campers can be pulled by your Toyota Tacoma. Although, we will go into that in the next section.

That way, you will be able to know 100% for sure whether your Toyota Tacoma will pull your camper or at least a camper that you have your eye on.

Can a 2020 Toyota Tacoma tow a 4300lb Travel Trailer? >> Check out the video below:

How to Work Out Whether Your Toyota Tacoma Can Pull a Camper

There are four pieces of information that you will need to know in order to determine whether your camper can be towed by your Toyota Tacoma. Let’s go through each piece of information, one by one.

In the table below you can find the towing capacity of the different model of Toyota Tacoma:

Model	Tacoma SR	Tacoma SR5	Tacoma Limited	Tacoma TRD Off-Road	Tacoma TRD Sport	Tacoma TRD Pro
Towing Capacity:	3,500 lbs.	3,500 lbs.	6,400 lbs.	6,700 lbs.	6,800 lbs.	6,400 lbs.
Payload:	1,620 lbs.	1.620 lbs.	1,120 lbs.	1,420 lbs.	1,540 lbs.	1,155 lbs.
Dry Weight:	3,980 lbs.	3,980 lbs	4,480 lbs.	4,180 lbs.	4,060 lbs.	4,445 lbs.

The Towing Capacity of Your Toyota Tacoma

As we said before, each Toyota Tacoma is going to have a maximum towing capacity. It is up to you to determine what the maximum towing capacity of your vehicle is.

Thankfully, this shouldn’t really that be difficult to work out. It will be based upon the model year of the Toyota Tacoma, plus the trim that has been selected.

The Toyota Tacoma will likely have a towing capacity between 3,500lbs and 7,000lbs.

Toyota Tacoma Towing Capacity By Year

In the table below you can find the Toyota Tacoma towing capacity by year which include:

Year	Model (Engine)	Max. Towing Capacity (lbs.)
2021	2.7L DOHC 16-Valve 4-Cylinder with VVT-i	6,800
2020	Toyota Tacoma SR5 (3.5L V6)	6,800
2019	3.5L V6	6,400
2018	SR5 Access Cab 4WD (3.5L V-6)	6,500
2018	TRD Sport Double Cab 2WD SB (3.5L V-6)	6,700
2017	TRD Sport Double Cab 2WD SB (4.0L V-6)	6,700
2017	SR5 Access Cab 4WD (4.0L V-6)	6,500
2016	Double Cab 2WD (3.5L V-6)	6,700

Payload Weight of the Toyota Tacoma

The payload weight is the maximum amount of weight that the Toyota Tacoma is able to carry inside the actual vehicle.

Again, this is going to be something that will vary based upon the model of vehicle that you own. Again, you are going to need to do your own research here. However, since the Toyota Tacoma is a truck, it probably won’t be difficult for you to find out this information.

You can check through the manual that came with your vehicle, or you can carry out a quick Google search.

Weight of the Camper

Now you need to know the weight of the camper. This information is going to be a bit trickier to find out, sadly.

When you buy a camper, you will be given the weight of the camper. This is known as the ‘dry weight’. Anything inside of that camper when you buy it will be factored into the dry weight.

However, once you start adding your own appliances into the vehicle, or your clothing, etc. then the weight of the camper is going to go up. This is why knowing the weight of the trailer can be a little bit more difficult.

You need to know the dry weight plus the weight of any items that you add to the trailer. Perhaps the only way that you can work this out is to head to a place where you can weigh your trailer.

Thankfully, there are plenty of these places all over the United States.

Although, of course, getting to one of these locations can be a bit difficult if you do not actually know whether your vehicle can tow your camper. In those cases, you will have to do a little bit of guesswork.

The table below shows the dry weight of common camper types:

Camper Type	Dry Weight
Pop-up Trailer	600-4,000 lbs.
Fifth Wheel	2,400-20,000 lbs.
Teardrop Trailer	520-2,000 lbs.
Airstream	2,500-4,000 lbs.

Remember, water and gas is probably going to be the largest amount of extra weight for your camper. Most people vastly underestimate just how much water weighs.

A gallon of water, for instance, is a whopping 8lbs. If you have a 30-gallon tank, then you easily have 260lbs of extra weight here.

Generators can add several hundred pounds to the weight of the camper too.

Hitch Weight of the Camper

This is vital.

When you are towing a camper, it is going to be putting a small amount of force down onto the hitch of the vehicle.

If the trailer hitch weight is greater than what your Toyota Tacoma is able to hold, then the Toyota Tacoma will be pushed down onto the ground.

This could completely ruin the chassis of the vehicle. Trust us, if this happens, you are going to have to deal with a vehicle that has repair bills well into the thousands of dollars.

In fact, if the issue is bad enough, then it could even result in a total write-off of your vehicle.

Once you have this information to hand, we can start to work out whether your Toyota Tacoma is capable of pulling the camper. This is a two-stage process.

Also read: Types of Trailer Hitches and Hitch Classes // Towing Hitches (Explained)

Step 1: Determine Whether the Toyota Tacoma Hitch Limit is Enough

For this, you will need two pieces of information:

The payload capacity of the Toyota Tacoma
The hitch weight of the Toyota Tacoma

You will also need to know the amount of weight inside of your vehicle. This means the weight of any equipment that you plan on carrying in the vehicle, plus the weight of everybody inside of the vehicle. Yes, it is a lot of effort.

However, this information will need to be subtracted from the payload capacity of the vehicle.

Once you have subtracted the weight of everything inside of the vehicle, you will now need to subtract the hitch weight of the camper that you are towing.

If the number you end up with is negative, then the Toyota Tacoma cannot pull that camper. If it is in the positive, then it can. Here are the calculation steps:

Work out the amount of weight carried inside of the vehicle. This includes people and any items you are carrying.
Subtract this number from the payload capacity of your Toyota Tacoma
Subtract the hitch weight of the trailer from the figure you had in the previous step.

If your Toyota Tacoma is capable of dealing with the hitch weight of the camper, then you can move onto the next step.

If it can’t, then you may need to adjust the weight of what you are carrying in the vehicle. Don’t forget, some of these items can be moved into the camper.

Step 2: Determine Whether the Trailer Can be Towed by the Toyota Tacoma

You now need this information:

The towing capacity of your Toyota Tacoma
The total weight of the camper

Just subtract the total weight of the camper from the towing capacity, and you will know whether your vehicle is capable of pulling that trailer. That’s pretty much it.

If the number that you end up with in this step is positive, then you know that your vehicle is capable of pulling the trailer.

Is the Toyota Tacoma Good for Towing?

The Toyota Tacoma is one of the better towing vehicles out there. In fact, it is one of the more popular towing trucks in the United States.

No matter which model of this vehicle you purchase, you can be sure that you are going to be purchasing something that is capable of hauling most general loads. This includes most of the campers on the market.

One of the brilliant things about owning a Toyota Tacoma is that the company puts a huge amount of effort into supporting their vehicles.

Obviously, towing is going to be putting a lot of pressure on the components of the Toyota Tacoma, so it is nice to know that you should easily be able to source spares for it.

Because this is a truck that is incredibly popular, you also shouldn’t have that many issues tracking down a mechanic that is able to work on it for you. This is going to make it easier for you to keep that Toyota Tacoma in peak operating condition.

What is the Best Toyota Tacoma for Towing?

Obviously, the towing capacity of a Toyota Tacoma will vary based upon model years. At the moment, you should be opting for the 2020 range of Toyota Tacoma. However, if you are reading this article a little bit later on, then try and purchase the latest version of the vehicle that you can. This will almost always be the best version.

If you want the best towing capacity for the Toyota Tacoma, then you need to opt for either the SR or SR5 models. These are capable of towing up to 6,800lbs in weight.

If you don’t have a need for it, then we wouldn’t suggest that you get the 4WD version. While it is still a brilliant vehicle, this is only capable of pulling up to 6,400lbs in weight, which is a massive decrease when you are looking for a vehicle that is capable of pulling a camper.

That being said, the base model of the vehicle still has a tow capacity of around 3,500lbs (depending on the model year), which should be fine for the vast majority of campers.

This is assuming that your camper isn’t overloaded with tons of extra equipment. Just bear in mind that with the cheaper model of the Toyota Tacoma, you are going to be a little bit closer to the maximum weight limit of the vehicle, and this could make driving feel a little bit difficult, not to mention the impact on the fuel economy.

Best Camper for Toyota Tacoma

The best camper for the Toyota Tacoma includes:

Scout Yoho 6.0
Kimbo 6
Four Wheel Camper Fleet
AT Overland Summit
Four Wheel Camper Project M Topper
Phoenix Mini-Max

PERFECT RV for a Toyota Tacoma or Chevy Colorado! >> Check out the video below:

What Size Camper Can a Toyota Tacoma Pull?

The Toyota Tacoma should be fine pulling the vast majority of campers on the market. This is because all of them are well below the tow limit for the vehicle. This even includes the base model of the Toyota Tacoma.

You only have to think about the weight of the camper here. The length doesn’t matter.

As long as the camper falls below that 6,400lbs mark (or the maximum for whatever Toyota Tacoma you own), then you are going to be able to haul it on the road.

Camper Type	Dry Weight
Pop-up Trailer	600-4,000 lbs.
Fifth Wheel	2,400-20,000 lbs.
Teardrop Trailer	520-2,000 lbs.
Airstream	2,500-4,000 lbs.

Conclusion

In most cases, a Toyota Tacoma should be able to pull a camper. Although, you will need to do your own calculations here. This is because the Toyota Tacoma can have a different towing capacity depending on the model that you have purchased.

You will also need to factor in the type of camper that you are pulling with the vehicle. Thankfully, finding out this information shouldn’t take that much time.

In 90% of cases, it is likely that the Toyota Tacoma can pull your camper anyway.

As long as your camper is not overloaded with items, or it is not an oversized camper, then you should be fine.

References

https://www.kingstoyota.com/blog/2021/april/6/2021-toyota-tacoma-towing-capacity-cincinnati-oh.htm