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Towing Capacity with a Tab 400

MaryJoMaryJo Member Posts: 4
edited December 2020 in Looking to purchase a trailer?
I have been looking at buying either the Tab 400 or the Tab 320s. I really like the Tab400 but not sure if my vehicle has enough power to tow it. I drive a 2019 Ford Explorer with a 5,000 pound capacity. I don't want to push my limits. I appreciate any and all comments. Thank you.
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Comments

  • webers3webers3 Member Posts: 415
    More than enough for either
    2017 T@B 320S   2019 Jeep Cherokee - Southern Connecticut
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  • TNOutbackTNOutback Member Posts: 633
    Our 2020 400 weighed 3014 lbs empty if that helps.
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  • MiquelCamoMiquelCamo Member Posts: 91
    If your Explorer has the class III trailer tow package you should be good for either. 
    Mike and Lisa Campbell
    Springfield, MO
    2016 T@B Max S - Sold March 2020

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  • VernaVerna Member Posts: 6,878
    What is your tongue weight capacity of your Explorer?  

    My 2019 T@B 400 has a tongue weight of 528 lbs, as weighed by Austin at the factory last fall. I had one full and one empty propane tank and a tank 3/4 full of fresh water. It’s fine with the Ford F-150, but I still try to put all that I can behind the axle. 
    Verna, Columbus, IN
    2021 T@B 320S  Boondock “The T@B”
    Towed by a white 2019 Ford F-150 4x4 Supercab, 3.5L V6 Ecoboost “The Truck”
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  • rioosoriooso Member Posts: 27
    I have a 2017 T@B 300 and the total weight with water about 3/4 full is 3100 pounds and my tongue weight is 420 pounds. Tongue weight will have a lot to do with how you load your trailer. I have jacks, cribbage boards..... in the back. I have a 4Runner that is rated for 5000 lbs. with a six cylinder. Going up steep grades does mean dropping down in the gears but, 45 mph on a 15% grade at 3,000 rpm is not the end of the world.
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  • rkj__rkj__ Member Posts: 641
    Explorer with 5,000 lb capacity is a good match for the 400. 
    2016 T@b 320 CS-S - 2018 GMC Sierra - St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada
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  • b407driverb407driver Member Posts: 138
    riooso said:
    ...I have a 4Runner that is rated for 5000 lbs. with a six cylinder. Going up steep grades does mean dropping down in the gears but, 45 mph on a 15% grade at 3,000 rpm is not the end of the world. 
    Are you sure you don't mean 5000 rpm? ;) Not sure mine could do a 5% grade at 3000 rpm.

    I'm in CO, and 3000 rpm only works to accelerate on downhill sections... lol
    2020 T@B400 Boondock Lite w/solar, TV is 2016 Toyota 4Runner TRD
    Jeff --Front Range of Colorado
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  • TerryHutchinsonTerryHutchinson Member Posts: 45
    edited September 2020
    The tongue weight of the TAB400 is surprising.  Over 500lbs.  A Ford F150 has a max tongue weight of 500lbs unless you equip it with a load leveling hitch, yet they can pull 5000lbs and up depending on how equipped. I would not be at all comfortable pulling it with my Tacoma.
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  • dlbdlb Member Posts: 150
    What year 400 are you looking at?  The current model has the axle moved forward to reduce the tongue weight.  It is about 300 lbs coming from the factory.  Now with that, your loading of the trailer will impact the final figure.  Also, the trailer frame and axle are rated for 3900 lbs maximum.  
    2021 Tab 400 Boondock
    2020 Audi SQ5
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  • ChrisFixChrisFix Member Posts: 738
    edited September 2020
    The 2021 T@B400 is spec'd by NuCamp at 372 lbs wet.
    I've scaled mine at 400 lbs fully loaded for travel with an empty fresh water tank...which actually increases the tongue weight by a little (compared to a full fresh water tank).
    So 500 lbs is overstating it and 300 lbs is understating it.
    A Tacoma however can definitely pull a T@B 400 safely. Travels with Delaney towed their's with both a 4 Runner and a Tacoma for many miles.
    After two years of looking and considering...finally the proud owner of a 2021 T@B 400 Boondock!
    2023 Honda Ridgeline RTL-E with Redarc Trailer Brake Controller
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  • VictoriaPVictoriaP Member Posts: 1,496
    ChrisFix said:
    The 2021 T@B400 is spec'd by NuCamp at 372 lbs wet.
    I've scaled mine at 400 lbs fully loaded for travel with an empty fresh water tank...which actually increases the tongue weight by a little (compared to a full fresh water tank).
    So 500 lbs is overstating it and 300 lbs is understating it.
    A Tacoma however can definitely pull a T@B 400 safely. Travels with Delaney towed their's with both a 4 Runner and a Tacoma for many miles.
    Yes, but the 2019 was significantly front heavy, quite a bit more so than the original numbers from nuCamp suggested, and in fact it isn’t uncommon for that model year to top 500 lbs tongue weight when loaded. We’ve also had more than one owner give up a Tacoma in favor of another brand of truck for towing the 400, while some folks rave over them.

    Different Tab model years have different stats, and different owners have different comfort levels when towing even with the same model vehicles. While I wouldn’t hesitate to pull a 2021 400 with most anything that tows 5000, I’d personally want something with higher limits for a 2019.
    2019 320s BD Lite, white with blue (“Haven”)
    2015 Subaru Outback 3.6r (unsafe 200lb tongue weight limit until 2020 models)
    2020 Subaru Outback XT
    Pacific NW
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  • Denny16Denny16 Member Posts: 5,431
    edited September 2020
    Our 2018 TaB 400 dry tongue weight (empty gas bottle, no cargo, and 1/2 tank of water weighed on at 400 lbs.  Loaded and ready for camping I came in at 450 lbs.  That said, our 200 amp AGM battery is in the back, middle,section of the bunk storage, behind the axle.  So actual tongue weight will depend on how much and where you put your cargo.  We kept our heavy items over or behind the axle.

    The average tongue weight capacitymofmrhenTV is normally 10% of its towing capacity, so a F150 with 5000 lbs towing capacity, 500 lbs tongue weight on the hitch is about correct.
    cheers
    2018 TaB400 Custom Boondock,  Jeep Gladiator truck, Northern California Coast.
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  • rioosoriooso Member Posts: 27
    I have a 2018 T@B 400 and weigh in at 3,100 with a full tank of water and 420 pound hitch weight. I had a normal of gear in the trailer. Me, I tow with a Toyota 4runner and although not a huge struggle to tow 3,100 pounds I don't like over that amount considering the engineering spec. of 5,000 max weight. I use a "load leveler" hitch and found it to be very useful. There are places in UTAH that have a 15% grade for miles and hauling that trailer over those grades can be taxing.
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  • warbler_roadwarbler_road Member Posts: 83
    edited September 2020
    Toyota Tacoma with a V6 here, pulling a 2020 Tab 400, absolutely no problems towing even though I was a total newbie at it. I do use premium gas though. Get about 14-15 MPG.

    Tacoma is rated for 6,500 lbs, 600 lbs. tongue weight.
    • Virginia
    • 2020 T@B 400
    • 2018 Tacoma SR V6 3.5L
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  • johnfconwayjohnfconway Member Posts: 292
    Other consideration is receiver capacity. Our Nissan Frontier Pro-4X has tow capacity of 6450 lbs. and rated for 630 lb. tongue weight. Tow package was not standard. Curt Class III receiver is rated 5000 lb. tow and 500 lb. tongue (but it goes up drastically if you go with weight distribution system, which we have not). Receiver went on truck long before we discovered teardrop trailers might be a better idea than REI tent on cold nights. Have had no problems of any kind in mountain switchback road situations with 2020 T@B 400. Gas mileage absolutely goes down a bit, but we paid $15 - $20K less than equivalent model mid-size trucks. That buys a lot of gasoline.
    2020 T@B 400 BDL towed with 2019 Nissan Frontier Pro-4X  Silver City, NM
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  • manyman297manyman297 Member Posts: 1,359
    warbler_road said:
    Toyota Tacoma with a V6 here, pulling a 2020 Tab 400, absolutely no problems towing even though I was a total newbie at it. I do use premium gas though. Get about 14-15 MPG.

    Tacoma is rated for 6,500 lbs, 600 lbs. tongue weight.
    That MPG is great. Is that due to the higher octane?
    2021 400 BD
    2020 Tacoma TRD Off-Road 
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  • Denny16Denny16 Member Posts: 5,431
    @MaryJo, your 2019 Ford Explorer with a 5,000 pound capacity should be more than enough to tow the TaB400.  There are several owners here towing a TaB400 with a Jeep Grand Cherokee, which is a similar sized TV.
    cheers
    2018 TaB400 Custom Boondock,  Jeep Gladiator truck, Northern California Coast.
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  • warbler_roadwarbler_road Member Posts: 83
    manyman297 said:
    warbler_road said:
    Toyota Tacoma with a V6 here, pulling a 2020 Tab 400, absolutely no problems towing even though I was a total newbie at it. I do use premium gas though. Get about 14-15 MPG.

    Tacoma is rated for 6,500 lbs, 600 lbs. tongue weight.
    That MPG is great. Is that due to the higher octane?
    I assume it is; when I first got the truck I found that premium gave me better performance and actually more miles of range, and was worth the extra cost. (This was without a trailer.)

    I also installed SumoSprings to prevent tail sag. They work great.
    • Virginia
    • 2020 T@B 400
    • 2018 Tacoma SR V6 3.5L
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  • manyman297manyman297 Member Posts: 1,359
    warbler_road said:
    manyman297 said:
    warbler_road said:
    Toyota Tacoma with a V6 here, pulling a 2020 Tab 400, absolutely no problems towing even though I was a total newbie at it. I do use premium gas though. Get about 14-15 MPG.

    Tacoma is rated for 6,500 lbs, 600 lbs. tongue weight.
    That MPG is great. Is that due to the higher octane?
    I assume it is; when I first got the truck I found that premium gave me better performance and actually more miles of range, and was worth the extra cost. (This was without a trailer.)

    I also installed SumoSprings to prevent tail sag. They work great.
    I'll have to give premium gas a shot and see if that help my MPG. I'm in Utah so we have some elevation to contend with as well.
    2021 400 BD
    2020 Tacoma TRD Off-Road 
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  • TomCanadaTomCanada Member Posts: 290
    manyman297 said:
    warbler_road said:
    manyman297 said:
    warbler_road said:
    Toyota Tacoma with a V6 here, pulling a 2020 Tab 400, absolutely no problems towing even though I was a total newbie at it. I do use premium gas though. Get about 14-15 MPG.

    Tacoma is rated for 6,500 lbs, 600 lbs. tongue weight.
    That MPG is great. Is that due to the higher octane?
    I assume it is; when I first got the truck I found that premium gave me better performance and actually more miles of range, and was worth the extra cost. (This was without a trailer.)

    I also installed SumoSprings to prevent tail sag. They work great.
    I'll have to give premium gas a shot and see if that help my MPG. I'm in Utah so we have some elevation to contend with as well.
    Unfortunately, premium gas won't help your car if it's not designed for it.  Your car doesn't know it's getting anything sweeter than regular and won't adjust anything to take advantage of that.

    On the flip side, if your car is designed for premium and you put in regular, you'll burn *more* gas as the car compensates combustion ratios to ensure you don't get any engine knocking.  And you'll also lose total power and tow capacity.  Cost-wise, due to premium gas (in the USA) not being that much more expensive than regular gas, you won't actually save money on gas by running regular in a premium car either.  And if you're towing, you want all the power you can get. 

    In Canada, the story is a little different - our premium is around 80 cents (per gallon) more than regular, so you actually can save money by putting regular in your 'designed for premium' car (the savings in gas outweigh the cost of lower MPG - I once geeked out and did the calculations) - but again, you lose power, and probably tow capacity too.  And besides, who buys a car with a great engine just to cripple it to save a few bucks on gas :)
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