Heaviest Tacoma? Mine weighs 7,900 lbs!

[Tyler]

Update: I finally got a fully loaded weight today. I happened to be right on the mark with my estimate from before the build. Today's weight, with a full tank of gas, front and rear steel bumpers, five 37” tires, 14 gallons of extra gas, two 29er mountain bikes, 12 gallons of water, food for ~5 days, our clothes, 2 adults, a French bulldog, and a pug, came in at... 7,900 lbs.

People always ask about the following, so here's some answers:

• The truck stops great, possibly better than stock. It's because of my Powerbrake Big Brake Kit (https://powerbrakeglobal.com/street-trail-x-line-1)
• It moves well because of OVTune + 5.29 gearing. 70-80 mph cruises at about 2,200 rpm. Top speed is around 90 mph. It has the power to get up steep grades but that does require downshifting to 2nd/3rd gear when they're switchback roads in the mountains.
• Because of OVTune + 5.29 gearing, mpg shows 11-14 on the dash. The truck's mpg/mph is off because of the 37" tires, so I believe it actually gets slightly better than 11-14? I'm not sure how to do that math.
• Nothing feels like it is going to break. The truck has over 13,000 miles like this and 67,000 total. I drive it hard on pavement, hard on dirt, and still take it on trails that it probably shouldn't be on (lol). Stock front axle/suspension parts except for the upper control arms. Stock leaf spring hangers (although I'll be installing @ARCHIVE Hammer Hangers soon).
• I have never seen the engine or transmission temperatures get too hot. Only once did I see the engine temp gauge on the dash move. It was 109° and I was climbing steep grades for a few hours. It moved a bit and then went back down when I could coast.
• Something will inevitably break eventually and I understand that.

-----------------

I weighed my Tacoma before I got my camper, which otherwise had the same mods it does now, and it came in at 5,800 lbs.

I weighed it again today with the camper and a small amount of stuff inside the camper and it came in at 6,720 lbs. I think the camper itself weighs 830 lbs which means I have about 90 lbs of stuff in the truck (which I would consider to be missing most of my usual gear).

This last number is a total guess, but when my truck is packed out to be lived in, including all gear, water, gas cans, people, dogs, etc, I'd think that would be another 800ish lbs? Probably a bit more?

Therefore, I can assume I will be traveling the world in a 7,400-8,000 lb Tacoma.

-----
If you know you have a lot of gear in and on your truck, such as @Mr. Nobody, I'd love to know your weight. Also, if anyone remembers the weight of a stock DCLB TRD OR, let me know.

 

[New Holland Overland]

Holy crap thats heavy! Are you planning on reinforcing anything prior to your trips for a 7400-8K truck?

I weighed in recently at 6100, with camping gear im around 6400

 

[Mr. Nobody]

I weighed my Tacoma before I got my camper, which otherwise had the same mods it does now, and it came in at 5,800 lbs.

I weighed it again today with the camper and a small amount of stuff inside the camper and it came in at 6,720 lbs. I think the camper itself weighs 830 lbs which means I have about 90 lbs of stuff in the truck (which I would consider to be missing most of my usual gear).

This last number is a total guess, but when my truck is packed out to be lived in, including all gear, water, gas cans, people, dogs, etc, I'd think that would be another 800ish lbs? Probably a bit more?

Therefore, I can assume I will be traveling the world in a 7,400-8,000 lb Tacoma.

-----
If you know you have a lot of gear in and on your truck, such as @Mr. Nobody, I'd love to know your weight. Also, if anyone remembers the weight of a stock DCLB TRD OR, let me know.

I'll have to double check as I thought the stock weight of the truck was in the door jam.

 

[Tyler]

Holy crap thats heavy! Are you planning on reinforcing anything prior to your trips for a 7400-8K truck?

I weighed in recently at 6100, with camping gear im around 6400

I would try to keep our 'removable' weight on the lower side of wherever it lands. For example, if it ends up at being 880 lbs of gear that we think we need to live on the road, I would reevaluate to see what it would take to make that number 800 lbs instead. Not that it would really help in making the whole truck any lighter, but still.

As for reinforcing. Well... first for brakes. I will be testing my stopping power in various ways before ever hitting the road. And I'll do whatever it takes to get it braking related stuff dialed in. I already have "heavy duty" brakes in the front, but I'm not sure that alone will be enough. Unfortunately, my wheels are 16" so I can't do the Tundra brake swap, but if I really need to, I would move to 17" wheels just for that reason.

Reinforcing. I'll have the @ARCHIVE hammer hangers and IMO, more importantly, the cross bar that'll help the rear of the frame's rigidity. However, the way the camper shell is mounted to the truck is actually doing that already, which is also a good thing. You know bed stiffeners? The camper itself is doing that job and some because its mounts are bolted directly to a crossmember under the bed (which is then bolted to the frame rails of course).

I thought about boxing the frame once but I learned that I probably don't need to. Also, I know this isn't "real" data, but I'm not the first to use a Tacoma like this. And of the people that I know of who took it to this extreme, I haven't heard of structural failures due to weight.

Now, do I expect common components to need replacement much sooner than normal? Yes. Brake pads, tie rods, probably any joints (steering or driveline), maybe even the steering rack. It is what it is.

Transmission temp. I will probably monitor the temps for a while and then make a decision on if it needs extra cooling.

Lastly, the one thing that is invaluable here are the airbags I installed. No, this doesn't make the truck any lighter and no, it doesn't help the truck come to a stop. But they completely and effortlessly negate all of the weight in the bed that the leaf springs and shocks would normally have to deal with. They also removed almost all of the body roll that the additional weight created. The truck even accelerates a little better because they absorb that initial force instead of letting it drive the bed into the ground/twist the rear axle.

I'll have to double check as I thought the stock weight of the truck was in the door jam.

I'm sure it is.

 

[black_taco]

according to Toyota the curb weight is 4,480 pounds.

 

[Tyler]

according to Toyota the curb weight is 4,480 pounds.

Double would be 8,960. At least I won’t be anywhere close to double! The truck would probably fall apart in pieces at that point.

 

[ARCHIVE]

The number you want to keep in mind is Toyota's GVWR, that is the total max weight of the vehicle with passengers, it is appallingly low, like 5,600 lbs (payload of only 1,100-1,300 lbs). If you go look at your door jam sticker, it is listed like Andy said. These Corolla's, I mean Tacomas, are not designed for serious hauling.

In my opinion sliders bolster the frame rail strength in the middle of the truck, so those are smart in multiple ways, I personally think Long Beds (DC and AC) are better for heavy hauling because you can load more between the axles, where the sliders strengthen the frame. DC Short beds you are forced into hanging weight behind the rear axle.
And as you said you can add Hammer hangers and the cross tube (requires spare to be relocated) to tie things together (shipping soon!).
Try to think light thoughts

Edit: more thoughts
-Don't go big on your tires, 33" or max 35" would be easier on transmission and gears (already failure prone).
-5.29 gears should reduce stress on transmission, but not sure if the ring gear gets weaker itself due to more teeth/less meat
-Run thick rear axle oil, 75w-140 minimum, and possibly add a cooler (go for a long highway drive and check rear axle temps with temp gun)
-Maybe add a water spray jets so you can cool the heat exchangers up front for long highway hill climbs
-Add venting on the hood to increase flow out of engine bay and thru heat exchangers
-Pace yourself on the highway due to increased wind resistance from the camper
-Try to limit aero drag how you mount stuff on the truck
-Load the truck so weight is balanced and try to keep it between axles.

 

[Tyler]

The number you want to keep in mind is Toyota's GVWR, that is the total max weight of the vehicle with passengers, it is appallingly low, like 5,600 lbs (payload of only 1,100-1,300 lbs). If you go look at your door jam sticker, it is listed like Andy said. These Corolla's, I mean Tacomas, are not designed for serious hauling.

In my opinion sliders bolster the frame rail strength in the middle of the truck, so those are smart in multiple ways, I personally think Long Beds (DC and AC) are better for heavy hauling because you can load more between the axles, where the sliders strengthen the frame. DC Short beds you are forced into hanging weight behind the rear axle.
And as Tyler said you can add Hammer hangers and the cross tube (requires spare to be relocated) to tie things together.
Try to think light thoughts

Good point about the sliders. So, between my sliders, the camper mounts themselves, and the @ARCHIVE cross tube, the frame should be pretty rigid on my truck.

And yeah, I obviously love the Tacoma, but I'm definitely not a fan of them being a Corolla. I don't remember the numbers but I think the Gladiator killed the Tacoma GVWR (as far as this class goes).

 

[Tyler]

Gladiator GVWR: 5,800 to 6,250 lbs (1,080 to 1,600 lbs payload)

Tacoma: 5,600 lbs (1,100 to 1,300 lbs payload)

Ok, maybe the Gladiator didn't kill it per se, but I think it does hold best in class.

 

[ARCHIVE]

Gladiator GVWR: 5,800 to 6,250 lbs (1,080 to 1,600 lbs payload)

Tacoma: 5,600 lbs (1,100 to 1,300 lbs payload)

Ok, maybe the Gladiator didn't kill it per se, but I think it does hold best in class.

It is what it is, I tried to give some practical ideas to deal with the added stress, edited my post.
That is cool the camper mounts to the frame, I agree that should help the chassis.

The GVWR and payload depend on a lot of factors, so it may be lower due to loads the transmission or axles can handle

 

[Tyler]

Edit: more thoughts
-Don't go big on your tires, 33" or max 35" would be easier on transmission and gears (already failure prone).
-5.29 gears should reduce stress on transmission, but not sure if the ring gear gets weaker itself due to more teeth/less meat
-Run thick rear axle oil, 75w-140 minimum, and possibly add a cooler (go for a long highway drive and check rear axle temps with temp gun)
-Maybe add a water spray jets so you can cool the heat exchangers up front for long highway hill climbs
-Add venting on the hood to increase flow out of engine bay and thru heat exchangers
-Pace yourself on the highway due to increased wind resistance from the camper
-Try to limit aero drag how you mount stuff on the truck
-Load the truck so weight is balanced and try to keep it between axles.

Great edit. Good info.

Tires are 35s. I want 37s but I know how much harder that would be for the truck on top of all of this. When I'm done with road life and take the camper off, my plan is to solid axle swap or Marlin Crawler RCLT it, run 37s, take off all other mods (bumpers included), and thrash it through the hardest trails in the country.

I thought about the ring gear with my 5.29s. Only way I'll know would be on the day my axles blow up, lol.

I run Lucas 85/140: https://amzn.to/2EijLRo -- plan is to keep an eye on axle and transmission temps, add a cooler if needed.

Never thought about water spray jets. Wouldn't even know how to do that, but that is a cool idea.

I thought about swapping to the hood that has the fake scoop and cut it out to be functional.

In addition to pacing on the highway, I'd imagine OVTune is doing a lot to help with that too, for the transmission at least.

Weight balancing is definitely a priority for the way I build the inside of the camper.

 

[Tyler]

@ARCHIVE I wonder how much weight I could save with a fiberglass hood? The stock hood seems heavy as hell.

https://www.rksport.com/2016-Tacoma-Hood-p/53012000.htm

 

[ARCHIVE]

Great edit. Good info.

Tires are 35s. I want 37s but I know how much harder that would be for the truck on top of all of this. When I'm done with road life and take the camper off, my plan is to solid axle swap or Marlin Crawler RCLT it, run 37s, take off all other mods (bumpers included), and thrash it through the hardest trails in the country.

I thought about the ring gear with my 5.29s. Only way I'll know would be on the day my axles blow up, lol.

I run Lucas 85/140: https://amzn.to/2EijLRo -- plan is to keep an eye on axle and transmission temps, add a cooler if needed.

Never thought about water spray jets. Wouldn't even know how to do that, but that is a cool idea.

I thought about swapping to the hood that has the fake scoop and cut it out to be functional.

In addition to pacing on the highway, I'd imagine OVTune is doing a lot to help with that too, for the transmission at least.

Weight balancing is definitely a priority for the way I build the inside of the camper.

For the spray jets, you could just nab a windshield spray bottle and get some garden nozzles. Saw it in a car magazine building a rally car. Might get you out of the red in some situation...maybe

The hood vent would be to relieve air pressure building in the engine bay that limits flow thru the radiator, not sure the scoop could relieve the pressure. If you got a fiberglass/ carbon hood, find one with venting. Another method I have seen on JDM builds could be to space the hood up at the hinges, but I haven't seen any data on that actually working, and I am doubtful since the windshield causes a build up of air pressure that may be more than pressure under hood, which would then do nothing, its about pressure differential. Take a look at the Time Attack cars for some aero hood ideas.

A Scanguage might be useful for monitoring temps and codes

 

[Lord Humongous]

You could always upgrade the transmission cooler and just keep the transmission thermostat pinned open. I do both when towing and my transmission stays much cooler.

 

[Tyler]

Update: I finally got a fully loaded weight today. I happened to be right on the mark with my estimate from before the build. Today's weight, with a full tank of gas, front and rear steel bumpers, five 37” tires, 14 gallons of extra gas, two 29er mountain bikes, 12 gallons of water, food for ~5 days, our clothes, 2 adults, a French bulldog, and a pug, came in at... 7,900 lbs.

People always ask about the following, so here's some answers:

• The truck stops great, possibly better than stock. It's because of my Powerbrake Big Brake Kit (https://powerbrakeglobal.com/street-trail-x-line-1)
• It moves well because of OVTune + 5.29 gearing. 70-80 mph cruises at about 2,200 rpm. Top speed is around 90 mph. It has the power to get up steep grades but that does require downshifting to 2nd/3rd gear when they're switchback roads in the mountains.
• Because of OVTune + 5.29 gearing, mpg shows 11-14 on the dash. The truck's mpg/mph is off because of the 37" tires, so I believe it actually gets slightly better than 11-14? I'm not sure how to do that math.
• Nothing feels like it is going to break. The truck has over 13,000 miles like this and 67,000 total. I drive it hard on pavement, hard on dirt, and still take it on trails that it probably shouldn't be on (lol). Stock front axle/suspension parts except for the upper control arms. Stock leaf spring hangers (although I'll be installing @ARCHIVE Hammer Hangers soon).
• I have never seen the engine or transmission temperatures get too hot. Only once did I see the engine temp gauge on the dash move. It was 109° and I was climbing steep grades for a few hours. It moved a bit and then went back down when I could coast.
• Something will inevitably break eventually and I understand that.

 

[New Holland Overland]

oof! You take the cake sir!!!

I weighed in at 6600lb's the other day, that was before water tank was filled and spare fuel and the SO

All this stuff adds up quick!

 

[Tyler]

oof! You take the cake sir!!!

I weighed in at 6600lb's the other day, that was before water tank was filled and spare fuel and the SO

All this stuff adds up quick!

Even for normal camping/overland style trucks (like yours) that aren’t a whole house (like mine), it really does add up quick.

3/4 ton Tacoma needed! Lol

 

[Lava road]

Very impressive! That is “ tons “ of weight! Lol. And the amount of miles you have put on , proves it performs very well .
Aloha,

 

[bonifacio]

Weird flex, but ok.

 

[StormRnr]

I weighed before my lift with me, my son, my backpack, drawer system and regular load and it was 5300.

After lift and tires it was 5520 with the same load. So a net of about 200# for an ARB lift and Methods and Nitto 255/80 17.

I have since installed a Warn winch and Bumper that each weighed 60# each so it's at about 5640 now.

You can't build a Taco without going over GVWR. I've tried to be minimalist and even then it's over. The sliders and compressor are not going to help...

-M

 

[Hunter399]

Definitely need a big brake kit, just hard to choose which one with the new Alcon, willwood, powerstop etc. I think stoptech as well

 

[Tyler]

Definitely need a big brake kit, just hard to choose which one with the new Alcon, willwood, powerstop etc. I think stoptech as well

I replied in the other thread. I can go into further detail later about why I strongly recommend Powerbrake if you can afford them.

 

[ARCHIVE]

This is not a jab at anyone in particular, the struggle is real, as Jeremy said:

All this stuff adds up quick!

 

[Tyler]

This is not a jab at anyone in particular, the struggle is real, as Jeremy said:

I accept this.

 

[Tyler]

And I accept this:

 

[ARCHIVE]

And I accept this:

Those airbag support tabs need to be extended down to the axle tube, the design depends on that for support.

But yeah maybe Australians don't make the best springs for N. American truck models, referring to the destroyed shackles

 

[Tyler]

Those airbag support tabs need to be extended down to the axle tube, the design depends on that for support.

But yeah maybe Australians don't make the best springs for N. American truck models, referring to the destroyed shackles

Just the other day, Main Line Overland in NC welded up some new air bag brackets. So that part should be fixed for a while at least.

 

[StormRnr]

Are the airbags fixed top and bottom or are you using the platforms?

 

[Tyler]

Are the airbags fixed top and bottom or are you using the platforms?

Fixed top and platforms on bottom. It was the platforms that were bending off.

 

[TITS]

I was hoping mine would be light, but a lift and bigger tires bicoched that idea.....