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Old 03-03-2019, 07:14 AM   #1
Controller23
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New owner in WI!

Hi there. My wife and I just pulled the trigger on a Passport 239ML. A little worried about my tow vehicle, a 2018 Tacoma with a 6400lb limit, but I think it will be okay. We have one little boy.

For several years we’ve been renting cabins at campgrounds a couple times a year. Two years ago my bro in law bought a pull behind and they love it. So we decided to join in the fun.
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Old 03-03-2019, 08:24 AM   #2
86GT2r
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Welcome, our previous trailer was a passport. No issues with it, I hope you enjoy yours as well.
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Old 03-03-2019, 10:47 AM   #3
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Welcome, our previous trailer was a passport. No issues with it, I hope you enjoy yours as well.


Thanks. This one seemed like everything was a notch better quality than some of the other brands in the same sized trailer. I’m hoping I wasn’t hoodwinked!
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Old 03-03-2019, 12:37 PM   #4
sourdough
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Welcome and congrats on the new rig!

The Passports I've seen seemed like pretty nice trailers. As far as towing it with the Tacoma, I think it will struggle simply because it will be pulling 5400 lbs. As far as handling the load, I don't know. Look at the driver door stickers and see what your weight limits are (payload, gawr, etc.) and that will give you a better idea of how you will fare. With your payload figure then take about 650 lbs. for the tongue (5400 x .12) and 100 lbs. for the hitch to give you some idea of how much lee way you have - the tongue weight will possibly/hopefully be less.

Good luck and have fun. Camping in an RV IS great fun and with the little one you will be making memories for a lifetime.
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Old 03-03-2019, 12:42 PM   #5
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Congrats and welcome from the other side of this great country.
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Old 03-03-2019, 12:44 PM   #6
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Welcome and congrats on the new rig!



The Passports I've seen seemed like pretty nice trailers. As far as towing it with the Tacoma, I think it will struggle simply because it will be pulling 5400 lbs. As far as handling the load, I don't know. Look at the driver door stickers and see what your weight limits are (payload, gawr, etc.) and that will give you a better idea of how you will fare. With your payload figure then take about 650 lbs. for the tongue (5400 x .12) and 100 lbs. for the hitch to give you some idea of how much lee way you have - the tongue weight will possibly/hopefully be less.



Good luck and have fun. Camping in an RV IS great fun and with the little one you will be making memories for a lifetime.


Sticker says 425 hitch weight
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Old 03-03-2019, 02:01 PM   #7
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Congrats on new trailer, Good luck, and enjoy your stay here.
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Old 03-05-2019, 03:38 PM   #8
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and enjoy the new PassPort.
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Old 03-05-2019, 04:38 PM   #9
sourdough
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Sticker says 425 hitch weight

Your sticker is showing you the unloaded hitch weight - 425 lbs. That is the very least it would weigh hopefully with a 4189 lb. dry weight (10.1 %). You need to add the carry capacity of the trailer (1211 on the website - also on the sticker) and it should come out to about 5400 lbs. In my experience 12% has been a good number to estimate tongue weight on a bumper pull. That equates to about 650 lbs. as my previous post mentioned (5400 x .12 = 648).


As a note, my trailer sticker says my tongue weight is 825. I suspect it has never been that low unless it was when it rolled of the assembly line. After both propane tanks were filled and 2 batteries were added before I took possession that number was well into the history books. I now weigh 11-1200 depending on how I load....and, I put lots of stuff in the bed of the truck, including my 10 pairs of jeans and DWs 28 pairs of shoes etc. to keep it out of the trailer...

You're making a mistake trying to look at all the dry numbers and not trying to figure out what's going to happen in real life. A Tacoma IMO is a marginal towing vehicle at best; if it's 4 wheel drive even worse due to the short wheelbase, high height and narrow width. You will do yourself a huge favor by trying to err on the conservative side instead of "stretching" the capabilities of the combo. JMO/YMMV
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Old 03-05-2019, 05:23 PM   #10
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Welcome from North Carolina!
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Old 03-05-2019, 05:55 PM   #11
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On our TT dry weight 5400# Dry hitch weight 550#. Actual hitch weight when loaded (not heavy for 2 adults for a weekend) was scaled at 820#. It does add up. YMMV
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Old 03-06-2019, 03:09 PM   #12
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Welcome fellow Wisconsinite! We pick up our new Passport in three (maybe two) weeks. We had to keep up with the brother-in-law also.
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Old 03-06-2019, 04:04 PM   #13
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Congratulations on your New camper, Welcome to the forum from New Jersey.
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Old 03-09-2019, 04:46 AM   #14
Controller23
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Originally Posted by sourdough View Post
Your sticker is showing you the unloaded hitch weight - 425 lbs. That is the very least it would weigh hopefully with a 4189 lb. dry weight (10.1 %). You need to add the carry capacity of the trailer (1211 on the website - also on the sticker) and it should come out to about 5400 lbs. In my experience 12% has been a good number to estimate tongue weight on a bumper pull. That equates to about 650 lbs. as my previous post mentioned (5400 x .12 = 648).


As a note, my trailer sticker says my tongue weight is 825. I suspect it has never been that low unless it was when it rolled of the assembly line. After both propane tanks were filled and 2 batteries were added before I took possession that number was well into the history books. I now weigh 11-1200 depending on how I load....and, I put lots of stuff in the bed of the truck, including my 10 pairs of jeans and DWs 28 pairs of shoes etc. to keep it out of the trailer...

You're making a mistake trying to look at all the dry numbers and not trying to figure out what's going to happen in real life. A Tacoma IMO is a marginal towing vehicle at best; if it's 4 wheel drive even worse due to the short wheelbase, high height and narrow width. You will do yourself a huge favor by trying to err on the conservative side instead of "stretching" the capabilities of the combo. JMO/YMMV

I was ready for a new truck, went out and got a Silverado yesterday. The lack of room in the Tacoma wasn’t cutting it. I think I’ll be okay now
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Old 03-09-2019, 11:08 AM   #15
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I was ready for a new truck, went out and got a Silverado yesterday. The lack of room in the Tacoma wasn’t cutting it. I think I’ll be okay now

Congratulations!! Not only will the Silverado give you much more room, it's going to greatly improve your towing experience as well as safety. Now, make sure you have a good wdh/sway control and go make memories (safely) with the family!
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Old 03-09-2019, 05:19 PM   #16
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Congratulations!! Not only will the Silverado give you much more room, it's going to greatly improve your towing experience as well as safety. Now, make sure you have a good wdh/sway control and go make memories (safely) with the family!


You seem knowledgeable on this forum. Any ideas if the Andersen WDH is any good? The one with the chains instead of bars
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Old 03-09-2019, 07:28 PM   #17
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You seem knowledgeable on this forum. Any ideas if the Andersen WDH is any good? The one with the chains instead of bars
I have no experience with the Andersen. I do have experience with lots of things that "wear". The Andersen, if I recall, depends on the friction of some sort of poly ball/hub that uses friction to mitigate the sway. At the ends they then use poly "spacers" to let it flex? That is from memory. I never had any interest in them because after digging into it (a long time ago) I think I remember that the "poly" ball insert and "cushions" all degrade over time and have to be replaced (that may have been from their website or faqs). I've never used them but I have surely seen and experienced the degradation of poly components so I have had no interest.
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Old 03-10-2019, 07:15 AM   #18
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Originally Posted by Controller23 View Post
Hi there. My wife and I just pulled the trigger on a Passport 239ML. A little worried about my tow vehicle, a 2018 Tacoma with a 6400lb limit, but I think it will be okay. We have one little boy.

For several years we’ve been renting cabins at campgrounds a couple times a year. Two years ago my bro in law bought a pull behind and they love it. So we decided to join in the fun.
Hi,
We bought a 239ml this past November and took it to the Everglades. I tow with a 2009 Dodge Ram 1500 4.7L. It did fine on this flat land trip. I usually don’t tow with full water. Will be interesting to see how it does heading West this summer.
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Old 03-10-2019, 10:13 AM   #19
Cleghorn Kid
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Congrats on your new Keystone 239ML travel trailer. I trust you will have many years of enjoyment with it.

Regarding your tow vehicle (TV) I agree with Sourdough that it will be a struggle to pull with your Tacoma. We also live in Wisconsin and you will never realize how hilly Wisconsin is until you start pulling a trailer. We have a Keystone Passport 2510BH and used to pull it with a 2012 Tahoe with the 5.3L engine and tow package with 3.42 rear ratio. It was rated to pull 8400 lbs. It towed ok but I had to get a running start to get up hills and keep RPMs under 3500. But if winds were over 15 mph, which they often are here, it was a struggle to tow, even with an Equalizer hitch system. I added LT tires to our TV and that helped but it still swayed in winds over 15 mph.

So I researched and found I had 3 TV problems:
The Tahoe had coil rear springs which gave a nice ride but not much stability. Leaf springs give added stability.
The Tahoe wheelbase was too short for the trailer. The Tahoe had 116” wheelbase which is good up to 21.5’ trailer. (See RV Consumers Group (rv.org) for guidelines) For our 25’ trailer we needed at least 124” wheelbase and longer the better.
The Tahoe had 320 HP but more would be better with all the hills.

In conclusion I decided I needed to upgrade our TV to a pickup truck and ended up with a 2017 GMC Sierra 1500 with the Max Tow package. This was a nice alternative instead of going up to a 2500. It rides as nice as the Tahoe even with the beefed up leaf springs; a longer wheelbase of 143”; increased 105 HP at 425 HP with 6.2L engine. This made a significant improvement pulling our trailer. No more white knuckles pulling in the wind or hills.

I hope this helps. Good luck and happy camping.
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Old 03-10-2019, 10:28 AM   #20
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Congratulations from North Carolina.
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