Alternatives to Black Series HQ12

[Farpolemiddle]

Tow rig is a 2017 Tacoma double cab short bed V6 manual with tow package and I don't want to get anything bigger right now.

I currently have a off road modified Chalet A frame pop up but it only sleeps 2.

I need to sleep 3 adults and a child now.

Wife demands all the same stuff she has now.

Lots of batteries, Solar, inverter, ability to shower, toilet, heater, water and cook top and maybe A/C. So far the only thing I have found that fits is the HQ12 which is a little on the heavy side and probably too much for the Tacoma. If I do go with an HQ12 I will probably have to put it on a diet with things like gutting the outdoor kitchen and ditching one of the spares and other things like that. A pop up is ok with some canvas but not too much because we 3 season camp in the PNW. Needs to handle somewhat rough roads. Budget is 40 to 50k.

 

[Catastrofe]

Maybe check out a Kimberley Kamper. Probably more canvas than you were thinking, but you're living in a world of compromise with your use case. Literally a 30 second setup, so that might offset the canvas concern.

 

[Obsessed2findARuggedHybid]

Trail Marker Up and Out. Hardsided stand up. Checks all you boxes.

 

[Obsessed2findARuggedHybid]

It is 102.5 to 106.5 inches tall. I plan on fitting my 102.5 tall rig in 8 foot garage

 

[stevo_pct]

You'll have to be careful about exceeding the payload of the Tacoma. Even if you're within the towing capacity of the Tacoma, with three adults and a child, gear and the tongue weight of a larger trailer (unless you go with a lighter pop up), you'll be at or over payload. A good friend of mine was in the same boat and he ended up getting a 1/2 ton truck.

 

[Farpolemiddle]

You'll have to be careful about exceeding the payload of the Tacoma. Even if you're within the towing capacity of the Tacoma, with three adults and a child, gear and the tongue weight of a larger trailer (unless you go with a lighter pop up), you'll be at or over payload. A good friend of mine was in the same boat and he ended up getting a 1/2 ton truck.

Yeah I am tracking but I can either afford a trailer or a new Tundra but not both. My Chalet was perfect but we had a kid and mother in law lives with us now. 1st World problems. There are a lot of options I could live with. It is the 4 person sleeping requirement that is getting me. The Tacoma is pretty light. Does not have a lot of extra weight on it so that should help a little. But in a perfect world I would get a new Tundra and a HQ12 and be done with it.

 

[Farpolemiddle]

Maybe check out a Kimberley Kamper. Probably more canvas than you were thinking, but you're living in a world of compromise with your use case. Literally a 30 second setup, so that might offset the canvas concern.

View attachment 703952

I will check it out but we have had bad luck with canvas here in Northern Oregon. It is just so hard to get dry without a big shop to open it up.

 

[Obsessed2findARuggedHybid]

Trail Marker is 2, 200 lbs dry. 3,500 gvw

 

[Farpolemiddle]

Trail Marker is 2, 200 lbs dry. 3,500 gvw

Yeah I am checking it out but it doesn't look like it has a cassette toilet which is big for the wife. Food the "house" model with one. i will look at that.

 

[DRAX]

Open up your Taco's driver's door and look at the tire placard, it will tell you the factory payload capacity of that specific truck. Next, subtract the weight for all 4 of you. Next, subtract the weight of any gear in/on the truck. The resulting number is how much payload capacity you have left for any other gear as well as the hitch weight of whatever trailer you plan on towing. For that trailer, expect to see 12-15% on the tongue (single-axle trailers tend to be more tongue-heavy than tandem axle). Near as I can tell, your factory payload capacity is around 1,150LB. Even though you have the V6 with tow package and Toyota says you have a 6,400LB max tow rating the actual tow capacity drops very quickly as you add people and gear to the truck.

So let's say your factory payload capacity is 1,150LB and the 4 of you weigh 700LB and you have nothing else in or on the truck, that leaves you 450LB for trailer tongue weight. With 15% on the tongue that's a trailer no heavier than 3,000LB loaded up and ready to go with nothing other than people in the truck. The base, dry tongue weight for an HQ12 is 750LB. There's just no way that will work with the Taco, unfortunately. The GVWR is 7,500LB, and while the trailer is unlikely to be anywhere near that weight if you pack lightly, you should still have a vehicle that is capable of handling that GVWR. The Taco is nowhere close to that, either. For reference, the dry hitch weight with the listed dry trailer weight (4,422LB) translates into 16.9% on the tongue. That's quite high and that's with no gear, water, propane, batteries, etc. So let's say the loaded weight, without water, is actually 5,400LB. With 16.9% on the tongue that is 912LB. If the Taco is completely empty and you weigh under 238LB then you won't be over GVWR. Probably over RAWR, though. But then you add 3 more people and random bits of gear and your Taco is extremely overweight.

I see a lot of people across the internet only looking at listed dry trailer and hitch weights compared to max tow or hitch ratings for their vehicles and thinking that they'll be OK as long as the listed trailer weights don't exceed the max vehicle ratings, but that's not how it works. To be better safe than sorry folks really should look at the GVWR and if they have the payload/rear axle/hitch capacity for ~15% of the trailer GVWR on the hitch. It's better to have too much truck than not enough, especially when going off-road.

Just trying to help set expectations before you spend the time going too far down the HQ12 or similar, heavy off-road trailer route. Unfortunately, you're going to be quite limited in your trailer options due to having 4 people (and who knows what else) in a mid-size truck.

 

[stevo_pct]

Yes, what @DRAX says above. You can use the same logic to work backwards and figure out how heavy of a trailer you can get based on the payload, weight of people/gear, and what's left for the tongue weight. You might be limited to something around 2000-2500 pounds.

 

[ripperj]

Tacos seem to sell for stupid money, sell it and get a real truck, even something older will be better than an overloaded Toyota.
I drove Toyotas for 30 years, I love them, but not for carrying or towing. I now have a 21’ Ram 3500 crew cab long bed (one extreme to the other , with a 1500 and 2500 in the middle).

There are definitely days I miss the nimble SR5s. Like today, I drive to VT for my anniversary, silly little parking lot at the inn , took me ten minutes to park, and I ended up nose diving into two spots at an angle. I’m praying nobody blocks me in.

But…. I have enough payload to put a Taco in the bed(literally)


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

 

[Obsessed2findARuggedHybid]

Yeah I am checking it out but it doesn't look like it has a cassette toilet which is big for the wife. Food the "house" model with one. i will look at that.

Yes the Trail Marker Up and Out with wet bath. Cassette toilet , shower. I also added isotherm 130 12v frig, sink, small dometic two burner stove for inside morning coffee, Happy jack two queen beds. Timbren, lock n roll, roof rack and reinforced ceiling for rooftop tent, ladder, max fan, propex heater, truma water heater, 20 gal fresh, 30 gal gray. Battle born batteries, vitron inverter, chargers, zamp portable, 2 x 20 lb propane in front box plus 5 lbs mounted on rear for outdoor camp kitchen, ostrich 270 awining, stikwood interior paneling , ramp door with deck setup for more floor space, cool screen wall.

 

[stevo_pct]

Yes the Trail Marker Up and Out with wet bath. Cassette toilet , shower. I also added isotherm 130 12v frig, sink, small dometic two burner stove for inside morning coffee, Happy jack two queen beds. Timbren, lock n roll, roof rack and reinforced ceiling for rooftop tent, ladder, max fan, propex heater, truma water heater, 20 gal fresh, 30 gal gray. Battle born batteries, vitron inverter, chargers, zamp portable, 2 x 20 lb propane in front box plus 5 lbs mounted on rear for outdoor camp kitchen, ostrich 270 awining, stikwood interior paneling , ramp door with deck setup for more floor space, cool screen wall.

What was the total cost if that setup? I have been to the website a few times but I can’t find anythingon pricing.

 

[Obsessed2findARuggedHybid]

Not 100 % finalized as I keep adding expensive items. I will give an update in June on final costs. Very reasonable compared to other rigs.