Tow Vehicle for Tab 400

djbright2573

Another newbie to the small camper world - thinking of purchasing a 400 to tow with my older 2007 Tacoma. Am wondering if folks tow their 400 with smaller trucks or SUVs and how it handles and/or problems. Thank you!

Verna

2015 Tacoma, V6, transmission and oil coolers, factory tow package. 

I would not tow with a Tacoma without the above specs because you will be ruining your Tacoma.

I get no bounce, no swaying, semi trucks really don’t push me around as they pass me as they did with my 320.. I have not tried tall mountains, only smaller mountains and I do need to get better at looking ahead and anticipating the extra effort required to go up mountains.

Gas mileage.....I choose to tow at 55 mph to 60 mph for economic reasons, and that being +2 or more mpg than driving at 65 mpg. 9.9 mpg heading north with a 25 mph wind, while traveling 55 mph to 60 mph last week. The best Gas mileage I have gotten was 11 mpg to 12 mpg going 55 to 60 mph on a flat 4 lane federal highway. 

I do have approximately 5,000 miles of towing since I purchased my 2019 T@B 400 Boondock Lite in July. 

I love my 400 and my Tacoma, and I hope to still own have both in 6 years as that is when the Tacoma should still be good at 10 years old, but maybe I’ll be ready for a new vehicle. The 400, my full time home, should last many years past that. 

atlasb

We pull with a 2016 Nissan Frontier CC, 4.0 V6.  The Mileage varies but mostly in the 11 to 13 mpg area.  Usually run in 4 th (ATM) which is about 62 mpg at 2200 RPM.  Have pulled in windy and up and down moderate hills , mts.  The frontier handles it well and we like the size for us.  We pulled a 2013 320 MaXX Q before with this same rig and I believe the 400 actually pulls easier.  The longer cabin gives better air flow.  We have a ARE MX cap on the bed and it is kicked up and it aids the air flow.  I have not noticed any need for extra trans coolers  and the engine temp maintains steady.  I did add a set of Timbren SES springs for added support in the back of the truck.  Love the rear mounted camera on the truck and it makes hitching up a lot easier.

Awca12a

As @Verna pointed out, the issue is your specific configuration.  If you could post what engine (4 vs 6), drivetrain (2 vs 4WD), body cab style (regular, extended, crew) and the payload capacity data from the yellow sticker on the drivers side door.  This type of info is important because a 4-cyl in 2007 was rated at 3500# while the 6-cyl was rated up to 6500#.   All depends on your options and configuration.

As to the advice on the transmission cooler, we added one to our 2013 4-Runner and it only cost $300 installed so if yours doesn't already have that, adding it isn't a problem.

One of the things I still need to do is put the TAB400 onto CAT scales and get an accurate wet & loaded measurement so I can only offer you the factory specs.  Factory says that dry it is 2690# curb weight which really means empty.  You add water, supplies and tank loads to a max of 3500#.  The hitch/tongue weight range is between 400# and 460#.   

I did a quick search and came across this explanation of the background you'd want to have when asking this question of random people on the internet.  There are better ones perhaps but it covers all the bases you should be aware of.   https://www.curtmfg.com/towing-capacity

N7SHG_Ham

The bigger your tow vehicle within reason, the better your experience will be IMO. Assuming you don't mind a bigger rig due to limitations of city living, parking, etc.. I know a truck driver who gets 10 MPG with a new Freightliner semi with 53 foot trailer loaded up to 80,000 pounds, a little overkill for a Tab, LOL, point is a bigger vehicle will likely give you better tow MPG than a smaller one that is worked to the max and your drive-train life should be substantially longer.

It still seems to me the best TV for MPG is the newer smaller diesels from Ram, Jeep, GM and soon Ford. Folks on these forums reporting around 20 MPG towing and 30+ solo....

BigGrover

I towed my 400 with a Nissan Frontier Quad cab v6 with no problems.  I did use clamp on towing mirrors.  I upgraded to a Ram 1500 because it had a larger gas tank so I could tow further between fillups and no longer need towing mirtors.  I got about 10 mpg towing with the Nissan, 12-14 with the Ram hemi.

djbright2573

Thanks to all for the great, detailed comments and suggestions! Very helpful to a newbie, as well as the link to general towing guidelines. My 2007 Tacoma is in fact a V6 with the 6500# towing package and 1200# payload. From your responses, and since this 12 year old vehicle doesn’t have too many miles on it (just over 100k), am feeling better about starting with this vehicle before looking for something bigger. Good suggestions on possible transmission cooler and/springs upgrades. Thank you!

N7SHG_Ham

My tow vehicle is knocking hard on 300k, not even a Toyota

kaylevine1

I tow my t@b 400 with a gmc Sierra 4wd-very stable, virtually no sway even without sway bars-when i asked at the dealer they said i should not need them.  ocassional bounce but only on very uneven roads. Sometimes when going down the highway i look in the rear view mirror instead of the rear camera because i momentarily forgot it was there?? by the way-love the rear view camera-the dealer installed it just above the 3 small lights above the stargazer window-i mount the screen on dashboard-plugs into 12v plug in console put lights on-a few times in really rainy weather it was a little blurry but mostly very good visually

BigGrover

Forgot to add that my Frontier had the 1500 lb Sumosprings on it, helped prevent excessive sag and bounce. Cost about $200

TaBle42

I tow my 400 with a GMC Canyon 4 cly. diesel with exhaust brakes!
30 mpg without T@B
18-20 mpg with T@B

ecyfoto

TaBle42 said:

I tow my 400 with a GMC Canyon 4 cly. diesel with exhaust brakes!
30 mpg without T@B
18-20 mpg with T@B

What kind of speeds are you usually towing at on flat terrain? Is your GMC 4WD? I've a Chevy Colorado Duramax waiting for its 400 early next month.

NCNative

I tow my T@B 400 with a 2016 Toyota Tacoma TRD Off Road with a factory towing package. So far it has managed multiple maintain ranges without a problem (going over the grapevine near LA has been trouble free as well)

nbrandt

I am nervously reading these posts with a 2018 T@B 400 coming to our driveway soon.  I have a straight six cylinder in a Volvo XC60 and am not going to make a move until I try it, but fear I will be making a move to a different TV.  Having towed a larger trailer at an earlier time in our life, I have to agree with N7SHG_Ham that a larger TV makes this easier.  Anyone towing with the RAM diesel?  And Ford is coming out with one?  One other observation - it seems the longer the wheel base of the TV the better the towing experience. 

BigGrover

I tow with a Ram Hemi, upgraded from a Frontier quadcab.  The Frontier towed the 400 with no problem but it does tow and handle  better with the Ram.  I considered a diesel but when I did the math on the fuel costs it was a no brainer to stick with the Hemi. I get comparable  to town and hwy mileage to the Frontier with the hemi and get 2-4 mpg better when towing theT@b. I don't tow anything larger than the 400.  Now if I was pulling something over 7,000 lbs the diesel might make sense.  Diesel here runs about 30% higher than 87 octane.

MrsSivad

2011 Chevy Colorado inline 5, added electric trailer brakes. Tows our 400 great! Tows smoother than our pop up did.

LSkrabut

I now tow my 400 with a GMC Canyon Denali CCSB Diesel. I got about 2200 miles towing so far in Utah, Nev, CA and AZ. Mostly at speed limits but for the 80 MPH in Utah, only doing 75 for the most part. Pulls the passes without breaking a sweat. But if above 65, my mileage does drop to 13's or so. At speeds below 65 I will see 17-19 again for the most part. Really depends on the terrain and traffic. No issue keeping up with the traffic on merging or pulling away from a light or stop. Plenty of power left over, rare to find a need to do a hard acceleration.

I had a bed cover on, but now I replaced that with a topper, but haven't towed the 400 yet, too much SNOW still :( 

Without the 400, I been seeing MPG anywhere from low 20's to mid 30's. This is taking in the dirt road traveling and high speed on Interstates. I do have now over 9k on the engine, should be breaking in soon

cotracye

I tow a 2008 T@B with a BMW x3. It does fine. I took it all the way from Colorado to California and back. Gas millage is not the best but that is expected. 

N7SHG_Ham

Since this floated back to the top, I will say a 400 has turned out to have a heavier hitch weight than many thought and the limiting factor on smaller tow vehicles may be that hitch weight. If your tow vehicle can't handle 500 pounds on the hitch EASILY it would probably be prudent to either not get a 400 or to upgrade to a bigger vehicle.

lisaco

Unfortunately, I discovered the hitch weight issue after I had already purchased a 2019 T@B 400 Boondock Lite. (sigh) My tow vehicle is a 2015 Jeep Cherokee Trailhawk v6 with factory tow package. It can pull the trailer weight, but the tongue weight is over the limit. I love my Jeep so going to trade the 400 for a 2020 320s Boondock Edge. Ordered a black one with silver trim so will have to wait up to 12 weeks (hopefully less) to get it. 

Don_N

A bit late on this thread, but the new 2020 Tab 400 has the AC moved to shift the center of gravity further back, reducing the tongue weight. The 2020 has a wet tongue weight of 372lbs. The TAB320S has a wet tongue weight of 139 lbs, so it will require more weight on the tongue to stabilize it.

Tundra57

I tow my 2019 tab 400 with my 2010 Toyota tundra with 5.7 double cab.

Get 12mpg towing average over  1300 mile trip to Florida. Added brake controller and airbags just to make levelling easier. I usually tow with a full water tank as I have the front mounted AC unit. Tows great, no swaying even under heavy braking.

rjm5300

TaBle42 said:

I tow my 400 with a GMC Canyon 4 cly. diesel with exhaust brakes!
30 mpg without T@B
18-20 mpg with T@B

I also tow with a GMC Canyon with the 2.8l diesel. Mine is a 4wd with the All Terrain package. I average 16-17mpg towing my T@B 400 into and out of Colorado mountains. I can hold freeway posted speeds going up the 7% grades and the exhaust brakes are a tremendous help coming down. 

Intrinsic

We tow our 2019 TAB 400 BDL with a Mercedes Benz  GLE 350, a v6.  We have not had any difficulties towing after several thousand miles.

Denny16

I tow our TaB400 with a Jeep Gladiator, with factory tow package, rated at 600# tongue weight and 6500# trailer weight.  Do not forget to get the front trailer area drag rating for your TV, which may limit smaller vehicles.  Our TaB400 has a 400lb tongue weight, with 1/2 tank of water and 1/3 in gray/black tanks, trailer otherwise empty.
Cheers

jameskuzman

Our 2019 standard 400 tows well behind a Volkswagen Atlas V6. With the factory towing package - which includes the hitch, wiring, bigger alternator, and transmission oil cooler - towing capacity is 5,000 pounds, so the 400 is around 60 - 65% of its capacity when loaded up. The tongue max is 500 pounds, we're pushing that a bit, but we don't carry much extra in the back of the Atlas or in the front of the 400. 

I've never experienced any sway or twitchy behavior; note the Atlas cannot accommodate a weight distribution hitch. I am going to install airbags this spring though, as the back end dips enough to affect headlight alignment. 

Highway mileage in the Atlas is normally about 25-26MPG; towing the 400 cuts that in half. I don't think the 400 is as aerodynamic as its shape suggests. 

N7SHG_Ham

jameskuzman said:

Highway mileage in the Atlas is normally about 25-26MPG; towing the 400 cuts that in half. I don't think the 400 is as aerodynamic as its shape suggests.

Agreed that 400 is NOT very aerodynamic, don't get fooled into thinking a small TV will necessarily handle it, need to consider the frontal area and size of TV. Getting around 1/2 the MPG seems pretty typical for large majority of posters on this topic when pulling a 400.

JCALD

We tow with a 2019 Ford Ranger.  Does the job really well and gets between 13 and 16.  Mileage greatly depends on the wind.  Strong headwind = 13.  Good tailwind = 16.

MuttonChops

JCALD said:

We tow with a 2019 Ford Ranger.  Does the job really well and gets between 13 and 16.  Mileage greatly depends on the wind.  Strong headwind = 13.  Good tailwind = 16.

Would enjoy hearing (reading) more about your new Ford Ranger towing experience.

For example; how's engine turbo noise while towing, what speeds and terrain are you driving.

Have read near zero real world towing experience articles on the new Ranger.

JCALD

There is really no turbo noise.  It has more than enough power and torque for the task.  The 10 speed transmission works great, especially when you activate the tow programming.

Some interstate but mostly country roads.  On the interstate I set it on 75 and it tows great.  I usually stay around 65 or so on the smaller roads.  Rolling hills are pretty common where we have been so far.  Heading down to Garner State Park tomorrow so this trip will be through the Texas hill country.

sportscar68

Has anyone towed the 400 with a Jeep 4d Wrangler and how was the Jeep setup for towing, what is your experience?