Here is a picture of our '13 Tacoma and '13 13QBB. We've had it for a year. Initially towed it home with a Rav 4 V6 w/ tow package. Very windy 95 mile trip, but it did fine. We upgraded to the Tacoma before our first trip.
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Hi,
I have pretty much the same setup, do you use a WDH or have you considered using one? I keep thinking about it but can't decide if I'd get any benefit from it.
Mitch
Hi Mitch,
We are very happy with the way the Tacoma/13QBB work together. I pulled a lot of lighter trailers over the years...Livin Lite QuickSilver 6.0, Hobie Cats, Seadoos, but no travel trailers. So we were inexperienced and looked for some advise. I discussed the wd/sc with my local hitch business. They recommended (whether wrong or right) to trailer without first. They have a good / trusted reputation and could of sold me wd/sc but didn't push it at all. We discussed the pos/cons and we decided to go without and reassess latter.
I recently posted our towing experiences under "Ask the factory" and included it below. Hope this helps.
Hi...Just wanted to add our experience with towing our 13QBB. This was our first travel trailer. So, we didn't have a whole lot of experience. Initially, we pulled it home from the factory with a Rav4 V6 w/ tow package. No wd/sc. Very strong/gusty crosswinds most of 93 miles home. Large TT and 5th whlrs had heck of time staying on road. Yes we felt the push on the QBB and Rav, however, I was quite surprised at the way it handled. We wanted more of a tow vehicle w/ storage as we didn't want to load down the 13QBB during our trips. We decided we would upgrade to the 2013 Tacoma 4x4 V6 Sport dbl cab long bed w/ tow package. We thought we would try it first without wd/sc. We have been on (6) longer trips over (600) miles each and (20) shorter trips of 90 miles. We have been on very busy highways, construction zones to quiet country roads in heavy winds, heavy traffic, stormy, rainy conditions. There is a significant amount of truck traffic on the highways in NW Indiana, so we had semis blowing past us at times. We also have the occasional "crazy lane changers" that we all have experienced. We use an abundance of caution on these roads. Most of our travels have been along Lake Michigan south and eastern shores. We found the best handling speed is 55-60 max. Yet we enjoy the slower 45-50mph country road speeds when we can. We have had very little sway issues or handling problems in even the worse conditions. I am not saying this to have others think they can or should do without the wd/sc. As mentioned by others, every setup is different. This is just one data point from our experiences to help others make their decision. We have a substantial TV with the Tacoma. There is a built in "sway control" within the Tacoma that may add to our comfort in towing the QBB. Our 13QBB is 16'6" long, 2350 lbs dry (per brochure). So we are on the shorter / lighter side. We don't overload the QBB and we travel w/ empty tanks. We continue to experience and learn from our travels with unit.
Thanks for the reply. I tend to feel that I don't need one but I've never towed with one so I don't know what I'm missing. The trailer seems to pull just fine and the drop of the truck at the hitch when I hook is only about 1.5". I've had a couple of occasions where I think I might have felt some sway but I just backed off the gas and it went away. I guess I'll just leave well enough alone.
Mitch
[quote source="/post/683/thread" timestamp="1398275844" author="@mitch"]I've had a couple of occasions where I think I might have felt some sway but I just backed off the gas and it went away. [/quote]If the sway gets bad, the safest method to stop it is to use the manual lever on your brake controller. It will essentially "pull" the trailer straight. Some folks recommend accelerating out of it which works on the same principle, but seems riskier to me. Whatever you do DONT BRAKE... doing so while the trailer is out of line could cause you to jackknife.
I had read about those methods, thanks.
Mitch
[quote source="/post/601/thread" timestamp="1397927404" author="@oleo"]Here is a picture of our '13 Tacoma and '13 13QBB. We've had it for a year. Initially towed it home with a Rav 4 V6 w/ tow package. Very windy 95 mile trip, but it did fine. We upgraded to the Tacoma before our first trip.
[/quote]Nice setup but that beach looks amazing!
Thanks Stewartnp...
The beach on southern tip of Lake Michigan, at the Indiana Dunes State Park, Chesterton, IN. Great camping in the dunes. Five minute walk from campsite along a creak to the beach. Campgrounds, beach, hiking trails, bike paths, nature center, etc. We are so fortunate to have this park located 45 minutes from us. Here is more info on Indiana State Park http://www.in.gov/dnr/parklake/2980.htm
Magoo, where did you get your camplite?
We bought it from HW Motorhomes in Canton, Michigan. We met at the factory where we exchanged our trade for the new 13qbb. The factory was less than 1/2 the way to Canton from where we are at. We worked with Dan White. He was very helpful throughout the process.