Just ordered a Stabicraft 2050 Super Cab with 150HP Yamaha Outboard.

[M1SF1T]

Apologies for the late reply and thank you for the info regarding your experience with the Tacoma, I've been studying the trailering situation and am almost ready to post some questions regarding this topic. (I'll post under a different thread.)

Are you are suggesting that a Toyota Tacoma 4X4 V6 would not perform well towing the Stabi 2050?

Stabicraft lists the tow weight of approx. 1,500KGs (3,300lb)? what that includes I do not know for sure.

BTW what Tacoma did you have, as there are many different options and trims available?

I found the following info on the web, showing current models, the towing capacities from a low of 3,500lbs to about 6,800lbs

• Tacoma SR5 4×2 Access Cab, 4-Cylinder: 3,500 lbs towing; 1,685 lbs payload
• Tacoma TRD Sport 4×4 Double Cab, V6: 6,400 lbs towing; 1,155 lbs payload

Another option is the Toyota Tundra which has about 11,000lb tow capacity and that would definitely be adequate.

My preference would be that the tow vehicle would be my daily driver as I'd prefer not insuring and parking/storing a truck I might use 8-10 times a year and I already have too many vehicles at my property.


David.

Just remember those numbers are best case scenario for a non-spec'd truck and typically not what you actually get. Look at the door sticker when you're shopping for the real payload numbers. Probably less than 1000# for most Tacoma's on the lot. Tundra payload is getting about 1300#.

GVWR (payload), not rated towing, will probably be your limiting factor. Most people are towing overloaded, even on half tons.

So I am suggesting any Tacoma is not a good tow vehicle for that size boat. In town to the boat ramp, sure, but I wouldn't be comfortable to do much more with it.

Dry hull weight on your Stabicraft is listed about 2100#, doesn't include your options or electronics, an outboard another 500#, kicker 150#, 200 liters fuel 400#, tandem axle trailer 1000#. How quickly we got well over 4000# and we haven't added the anchor and chain, or the rest of the boat gear we all cart around or fishing gear or downriggers and balls or even a beer cooler yet... Suddenly you've got 5000# back there.

15% tongue weight leaves you with only a driver being able to fit in your Tacoma and stay under GVWR. With the Tundra you could fit the wife and kids too.

Whatever you choose, it's worth driving over a scale with everything onboard so at least you know exactly where you're at with regards to your vehicle's capabilities.

Anyway, I'll be following your thread. I'm boat shopping next year and the Stabi has come up as a possible contender. Looks like a great machine!

 

[kaelc]

Respectfully disagree. Payload of the Tacoma in 2011 with the tow package is likely 1295lbs. You are supposed to only have 10% tongue weight for tacomas so even at 5k pounds you’ll have 700lbs of payload and can put lots of stuff in the boat. If you have a family of 4, and parents are 200lbs each this changes things but you can still load the boat with gear. If you are travelling with three buddies all 200+ this changes the math, but most times it’s 1-2 people going fishing.

Toyota Tacoma Towing Capacity 2011 (Payload And Charts)

The 2011 Toyota Tacoma maximum towing capacity is between 3,300 lbs and 6,500 lbs depending on the truck specifications.

tailoredtrucks.com

 

[Kiwi Canuck]

I used to tow a dual axle toy hauler with a Nissan Frontier with their standard tow package. As long as your Tacoma has the tow package it should be pretty good.

Disk brakes for sure.

My new trailer a load rite is aluminum, dual axle, electric over hydraulic (eoh) disc brakes and torsion axles. Likely overkill for your boat but eoh would sure make it easy to brake. They almost only have eoh for 5000lb and up boat carrying capacity trailers and it is about a 2k option so hard to find on smaller.

If you are towing the cut, Malahat, cocahala, alberni to Tofino, or even up to port hardy than dual axle is pretty nice, as it is when you have a flat pulling your boat out of the water and changing it, dual is nice. Ask me how I know.

Everyone likes Tuff, mine is a Loadrite, I know Norm at Marineone sells loadrite as does Pearson marine, but you’ll get better service from your dealer than them.

Thanks for the info Kaelc,

I did find a Tuff Trailer (Aluminum) with Tandem Axles, Disc Brakes and 5,000lb load capacity for sale out of Campbell River, it was about $2,800 less than what I could get locally.
After I enquired about it, I found out there were additional fees attached (document fee of $695, plus something else IIRC) and then the one on sale was not actually available so that's about as far as that went. Felt a bit of a bait and switch going on there.

My Stabi dealer, Galleon Marine, sells Highliner, they can get EZ Loader as well and hopefully should be able to get Tuff as well, if not I can buy it and have it delivered to them for fitting.


David.

 

[Kiwi Canuck]

Just remember those numbers are best case scenario for a non-spec'd truck and typically not what you actually get. Look at the door sticker when you're shopping for the real payload numbers. Probably less than 1000# for most Tacoma's on the lot. Tundra payload is getting about 1300#.

GVWR (payload), not rated towing, will probably be your limiting factor. Most people are towing overloaded, even on half tons.

So I am suggesting any Tacoma is not a good tow vehicle for that size boat. In town to the boat ramp, sure, but I wouldn't be comfortable to do much more with it.

Dry hull weight on your Stabicraft is listed about 2100#, doesn't include your options or electronics, an outboard another 500#, kicker 150#, 200 liters fuel 400#, tandem axle trailer 1000#. How quickly we got well over 4000# and we haven't added the anchor and chain, or the rest of the boat gear we all cart around or fishing gear or downriggers and balls or even a beer cooler yet... Suddenly you've got 5000# back there.

15% tongue weight leaves you with only a driver being able to fit in your Tacoma and stay under GVWR. With the Tundra you could fit the wife and kids too.

Whatever you choose, it's worth driving over a scale with everything onboard so at least you know exactly where you're at with regards to your vehicle's capabilities.

Anyway, I'll be following your thread. I'm boat shopping next year and the Stabi has come up as a possible contender. Looks like a great machine!

M1SF1T, thanks for the additional info, I get what you are saying now and appreciate your feedback.

I've been down this road before, with our first RV, we had a 2008 Winnebago/Itasca Navion on a Sprinter 3500 Chassis.

On our first trip heading out to the Okanagan with the wife and kids, I drove through the truck scales to see how the weight distribution was, side to side and front to back, and after doing the math and consulting the owners manual I discovered that we were overloaded by a few pounds and we had hardly added any real cargo other than I'd topped up the fuel and fresh water and loaded food and camping gear for ourselves.

The manufacturers of RV's are now required to show a decal with the max payload listed in addition to all the regular specs, (OCCC) since about 2010 IIRC

My wife wants us to get another RV in the next few years, she loves the new Winnebago Navion 24D, but that one only has a payload of 1065lbs, we could make that work as long as it's just the two of us, but why do they have as many as 6 seatbelts and tons of storage, just begging for people to overload these things.

At least some dealers are talking about this and pointing out the OCCC and what it means, but the majority appear to know very little about what they are selling.



David

 

[M1SF1T]

Respectfully disagree. Payload of the Tacoma in 2011 with the tow package is likely 1295lbs. You are supposed to only have 10% tongue weight for tacomas so even at 5k pounds you’ll have 700lbs of payload and can put lots of stuff in the boat. If you have a family of 4, and parents are 200lbs each this changes things but you can still load the boat with gear. If you are travelling with three buddies all 200+ this changes the math, but most times it’s 1-2 people going fishing.

Toyota Tacoma Towing Capacity 2011 (Payload And Charts)

The 2011 Toyota Tacoma maximum towing capacity is between 3,300 lbs and 6,500 lbs depending on the truck specifications.

tailoredtrucks.com

A real world 1300# rating will probably be 4cyl, 4x2, no tow pkg, there's also a big difference in what's included in a Tacoma today vs. in 2011 too, luxury, tech, etc.

If you want a Toyota today with 1300# payload get a Tundra.

Take a look on some of the Toyota forums... lots of guys post their real world payload... here's a couple for you: 950# & 1040#.

It can work, but personally I'd get something with more capability, particularly if you ever want to take your boat out of the lower mainland. Based on my experience towing a 16' aluminum all over the place with a V6 xtra cab Toyota 4x4 loaded up with gear, the wife, the dog, etc... It did it, but it wasn't ideal...

 

[Bill 310]

I am enjoying this thread because we went though the same issue last year.

We ended up not doing the trailer thing which would have entailed our buying a trailer and a tow vehicle. for our boat that all in was was about 7,000 pounds . We also didn't have a good place (free and safe) to store the boat on a trailer

We paid approx. $10,000/year for a covered 36 foot slip at Reed Point last year. I am 67 and I don't want to be dealing with a heavy boat and a trailer now and certainly not when I am 75.

We saved the cost of a tow vehicle and trailer and if it was a nice night after work we could hop in the boat with dinner and head up Indian Arm or run over to Bowen for Tacos.

As my wife said we stayed married because we didn't have a boat ramp join our marriage.

The OP has storage, the Trailer skills I lost years ago and can justify a truck. He decision is in many ways more complex

If we keep our boat for 10 years we will pay 150,000 in moorage. A new truck and trailer will cost over 100K plus the cost of operating both and along with insurance and safe storage . I think we will be in about the same place cost wise.

 

[cletus]

I used to have a 2013 20' Thunderjet luxor with a 140 zuke and tandem axle ez loader trailer,it weighed right around the same weight (3500#)as the Stabi you are buying.I towed it for the first year with a 2012 tacoma double cab trd sport 4x4 with the v6 and tow rating of 6500lbs.

The Tacoma was fine for towing in town but on trips to Renfrew and Port Alberni it struggled big time on hills and tight cornering braking situations.Just didn't have enough power or braking ability for my driving style.I'm not saying it won't tow it safely,but was pushing it's limits.

 

[cletus]

Payload was just under 1000#,with tongue weight gear gas and 2 Adults it was overweight.

 

[A-a-Ron]

I wouldn’t be towing any real boat with a Tacoma, great reliable trucks but really it’s just a quarter-ton truck. You see people towing campers and boats with small trucks and mid-size SUV’s and it blows me away. IMO tow ratings are overinflated, I wouldn’t go much past 50-60% especially for trips of any distance. Or your just beating the crap out of your truck, not to mentions safety concerns. Just my opinion.

 

[M1SF1T]

I wouldn’t be towing any real boat with a Tacoma, great reliable trucks but really it’s just a quarter-ton truck. You see people towing campers and boats with small trucks and mid-size SUV’s and it blows me away. IMO tow ratings are overinflated, I wouldn’t go much past 50-60% especially for trips of any distance. Or your just beating the crap out of your truck, not to mentions safety concerns. Just my opinion.

Couldn't agree more. Look on the other end, the 2023 F350 will have a maximum rated tow capacity of 38,000 lbs. - I don't think anyone looking to pull that weight will be happy doing it with a one ton pick up even though it's a towing machine and rated for it. But on the bottom end it seems people are happy maxing out and overloading their vehicles which really aren't meant to tow in the first place....

 

[Kiwi Canuck]

So I have sorted out my tow vehicle situation today.

I have been looking at new and used Toyota Tundra trucks for the last few weeks.

I applied for a fleet number from Toyota Canada but was informed yesterday that they are not issuing new fleet numbers right now.

I found a few trucks online, and last week I test drove a used 2022 Double Cab Limited, they started at about $15k over MSRP but I got them down quite a bit but not enough to pull the trigger.
With a bit more research I discovered the truck has about $12,000+ in extras over the standard Limited model trim.

Today I went to a dealer in Langley and they have a new 2023 Tundra Double Cab Limited that's arriving in 2 weeks, apparently the guy that ordered it couldn't qualify for financing, or didn't want to complete on the sale.

They have a lot of BS fees at retail dealers and there is no negotiating on most fees right now, so even though the unit is almost what I was looking for I let them know I was looking at a used one with many included options and could they check if they could do any better.

The answer surprised me, the sales manager told me he used to work at the other dealership (Willowbrook Chrysler) and suggested I should use the new vehicle as leverage and push them harder.

So I drove down to Willowbrook Chrysler and with the new info at hand they improved the offer by a substantial amount and I did the deal on the spot, and they took a cheque for the entire amount, which really surprised me.

So I got a 2022 Toyota Tundra Double Cab Limited/TRD Off Road with only 4,500 KM, optioned to the limit with many factory options, a canopy and upgraded BF Goodrich tires.

 

[M1SF1T]

Nice truck!

You will be glad that you didn't try to tow with a Tacoma.

Looks like 11120# tow rating for a limited? Lots of room for you with your Stabi.

What's the payload on the door frame say?

 

[Kiwi Canuck]

Nice truck!

You will be glad that you didn't try to tow with a Tacoma.

Looks like 11120# tow rating for a limited? Lots of room for you with your Stabi.

What's the payload on the door frame say?

Thanks, yes the Double Cab Limited has 11,100 lbs towing capacity, payload is rated at 1,819 lbs

I'll double check the decal on the door frame in the AM

 

[Bifmalibu]

Congrats on a nice truck.

 

[carpeweekend]

Regardless of what truck you buy to tow your rig, a couple of key considerations:
1) The claimed towing capacity on any vehicle is a very big deal to the manufacturer as it is a key marketing feature that buyers will use to compare versus other manufacturers. So, the goal of the engineers is to maximize towing capacity regardless of how well a vehicle will actually tow. Kind of like claimed gas mileage on vehicles.
2) We all underestimate how much our boat and trailer actually weigh in real world conditions. A dry hull weight can easily be thousands of pounds lighter than reality once you fill it with gas, water, beer, ice, and gear.
3) Your real world towing conditions should be a big consideration. Towing to the boat launch versus Victoria to Gold River are two different things.

If you really want to tow comfortably/safely, know the fully loaded weight of your boat/trailer, and don't tow with a vehicle that would put it at or even near its maximum ideal conditions claimed towing capacity.

 

[kaelc]

A member had the same truck and similar sized aluminum loves it. Great package and congrats on finding a nice used truck!

 

[Kiwi Canuck]

Nice truck!

You will be glad that you didn't try to tow with a Tacoma.

Looks like 11120# tow rating for a limited? Lots of room for you with your Stabi.

What's the payload on the door frame say?

OK finally got around to checking the decal, total payload is 1,490 lbs, not quite what the online spec's list.

So if I have a trailer tongue weight of 350 - 400 lbs, myself and 2 sons about 575 lbs, added canopy probably 200 lbs, so total of 1,175 lbs without gear.

It adds up fast, not sure why the specs on my model showed 1819 lbs but the decal on the truck shows 1,490 lbs.

I can work with it but didn't realize I would need to keep an eye on the truck payload.

Guess I can load some of the gear in the boat including coolers, ice and cold beverages.

I've up rated the trailer so I should be OK there, it's rated for 5200 lbs and the Stabicraft 2050 shows a tow weight of 3,300 lbs, so I shouldn't be above 4,000 lbs loaded.

I'll get it on a truck scale once it's all setup and see where I'm at.

David.

 

[Kiwi Canuck]

Regardless of what truck you buy to tow your rig, a couple of key considerations:
1) The claimed towing capacity on any vehicle is a very big deal to the manufacturer as it is a key marketing feature that buyers will use to compare versus other manufacturers. So, the goal of the engineers is to maximize towing capacity regardless of how well a vehicle will actually tow. Kind of like claimed gas mileage on vehicles.
2) We all underestimate how much our boat and trailer actually weigh in real world conditions. A dry hull weight can easily be thousands of pounds lighter than reality once you fill it with gas, water, beer, ice, and gear.
3) Your real world towing conditions should be a big consideration. Towing to the boat launch versus Victoria to Gold River are two different things.

If you really want to tow comfortably/safely, know the fully loaded weight of your boat/trailer, and don't tow with a vehicle that would put it at or even near its maximum ideal conditions claimed towing capacity.

Thanks for the info, I will know more once I get the boat which will probably be late July 2023.

Without the great advice on this forum I wouldn't have known as much as I do now and may have wasted my money on a truck that would not have done the job, so thanks to all who contributed.

I'm sure I'll be OK with my setup, but will need to watch my total payload on the truck.

David

 

[Bifmalibu]

Thanks for the info, I will know more once I get the boat which will probably be late July 2023.

Without the great advice on this forum I wouldn't have known as much as I do now and may have wasted my money on a truck that would not have done the job, so thanks to all who contributed.

I'm sure I'll be OK with my setup, but will need to watch my total payload on the truck.

David

I think you're going to be just fine.

 

[Hardy Guy]

Thanks for the info, I will know more once I get the boat which will probably be late July 2023.

Without the great advice on this forum I wouldn't have known as much as I do now and may have wasted my money on a truck that would not have done the job, so thanks to all who contributed.

I'm sure I'll be OK with my setup, but will need to watch my total payload on the truck.

David

You are already light years ahead of most guys who never look into it and just tow !!

I remember reading a comment years ago in a diesel truck magazine : " towing with a 1/2 ton is like sleeping with your sister ....................... it will get the job done but ............................... its not ideal !