floor plan for 4?

[charliem]

[quote source="/post/14598/thread" timestamp="1440603064" author="@16dbenny"]I didn't even know there was a supercharged Tacoma.  A Tacoma would certainly make for a more economical day-to-day vehicle.  It's quite a bit less expensive than a Sequoia.  I am eager to hear how things go in the Colorado Rockies.  That's going to be an awesome trip!
[/quote][font size="3"]Toyota Racing Development (TRD) offered a supercharger for the Taco and Tundra through 2013. I think they stopped in 2014, probably for some environmental Avg Fuel Economy reasons. I think it's still available for the Tundra. I bought the SC from an aftermarket Toyota supplier at a great savings and had the Toyota dealer install it. Having Toyota install it [/font][font size="3"]the supercharger is guaranteed the same as the new Toyota. Sweet. I think there have been no recent changes to the 4.0L engine so the SC will still fit current models, but Toyota will not sell or guarantee it. My original preference was the Ford F-150 Ecoboost, but that truck is just too big physically. Maybe someday.   
[/font]

[16dbenny]

Benny, I know there are not a lot of these models out West (if any) and pictures on line are great but if you are ever in the Reno, NV area you are more than welcome to swing by and check out our 21BHS. We will be camping in Graeagle, CA over the Labor Day weekend 4-7 September also. 

Thanks Ammobob!  That's quite a generous offer.  I'll drop you a note when we're next in your neighborhood.

Cheers,
Benny

[jerrybeaird]

I would also like to follow up with Charle's Tacoma comments.  I too have a Tacoma towing a 21RBS.  I have only travelled in Texas so far and it is fine with just the rolling hills we have here.  I also run in only 4th gear and always around 3k rpm on small hills.  I don't have a super charger and don't have the addition HP that Charlie has.

So, I can definitely agree that if you are going to be towing the larger 21RBS or 21BHS  in the mountains, a V8 is the best way to go.

[gbpack]

Yes, from everything I've read online and in talking with people, go with a V-8 engine if you're going to be towing in the mountains......especially if you're hauling a 21-footer. And yes, there aren't many vehicles (other than full size pick-up trucks) that offer a V-8 engine. We know, because we have spent a couple of months looking around. We are getting ready to order a CL 21BHS and wanted a tow vehicle with a V-8 engine but didn't want to buy a full-sized pick-up truck to pull it. So our choices were basically 3 or 4 SUV type vehicles. We test drove the Toyota Sequoia and Jeep Grand Cherokee, and also considered the Infinity QX56 or QX80, and we considered the Chevy Tahoe and GMC Yukon but did not test drive any of those others due to price considerations and overall size of the vehicles. While we liked the Sequoia, we liked the Jeep Grand Cherokee the best for many reasons and the price was considerably less than the Sequoia (and all of the others). The Jeep's 5.7L  V-8 engine has towing capacity of 7,200 lbs (we bought the 4x4) and we bought it with the towing package so it has a separate radiator for the transmission,  and it also has an automatic air suspension leveling system which should work well and level out the back end once the camper is connected.  Even though we haven't pulled a camper with it yet (haven't ordered it yet), I am very confident that it will do a great job. We did have the opportunity recently to pull a fully loaded 12-foot U-haul trailer that had to weigh a total of 5,000 lbs. The Grand Cherokee did a fabulous job of pulling and handling the loaded U-Haul trailer and didn't have any trouble pulling it uphill (only lost a little speed and only dropped down one gear with RPM's about 3,500 at 60 mph going uphill). I realize that the camper will be much longer and will sit up much higher/taller on the road than the U-haul trailer so it won't pull exactly the same, but I doubt that the Jeep Grand Cherokee will have any problems pulling the 21BHS in any kind of situation, and it's really a nice vehicle overall (we are very impressed with the quality and ride). Just thought I'd offer this up as a great option for those who want a V-8 for performance but not have to have a super large SUV or full-sized pick-up, and you don't have to break the bank!

[maryvanilla]

djsamuel, Ammobob, charliem, and Merlin,

We live near San Francisco, so steep hills are unavoidable.  I wonder how a Tacoma would fare pulling a loaded 21BHS into the high Sierra passes?  The Tundra and Sequoia certainly have the muscle (at least on paper), but they're not exactly inexpensive.  I have friends who love their Jeeps, but even they admit that reliability is an issue.

I live in Port Angeles, WA and tow our 2015 21BHS with my wife, two young kids, dog and all the food, diapers, toys, etc imaginable (the list grows after every trip)  with a Silverado 1500 4WD. In the mountains you're going to want the bigger truck as performance declines with altitude and driving around with a red line / overheating engine is no fun. I use the Andersen WDH as well and it does improve the ride. High gusts in mountainous areas with channeled wind could have really ruined my day a couple of times without the Andersen in my opinion. Lots of precious cargo to worry about and good gear sure makes sense for my piece of mind. 

[purdytj]

We're a step bigger with 3 young girls. We have a 28 BHS and Silverado 2500 with Duramax /Allison. I'm a fan of diesel given longevity, torque, and efficiency. I skimmed the posts but didn't see discussion on smaller diesels like the Grand Cherokee, Chevy Colorado, Dodge Ram 1500, and upcoming Nissan Titan (with 5.0 Cummins). Yes they are more expensive up front but to us the vehicle pays for itself because we keep cars a long time.