Welcome. 
 

We have not dry-camped yet with it but I always carry a spare deep cycle battery just in case.

Good luck and hope you love it!!

Campn in NY

It may cost a little more than the internet sales, but you get the added benefit of having them set it up for you.

You will really want a weight distribution hitch (WDH) I think. That is a totally different function from a sway bar.  When you drop a trailer on your tow vehicle (TV) hitch the weight on the back actually lifts the front of the tow vehicle up, reducing your ability to steer and brake.  And the load on the rear axle of the TV goes up by even more than the tongue weight. For a relatively light TV like the Taco that's not good. The WDH is designed to compensate for that by re-balancing the TV axle loads.  It has tension bars on it that you adjust to push the front of your TV back down. 

Most but not all WDH's also have anti-sway capability by creating friction to limit the trailer's tendency to sway side to side. That is good to have but it is very important to first load the trailer correctly so you don't get sway to begin with.  That means to place enough weight toward the front of the trailer so the back end isn't creating a tail wagging the dog scenario. 

I highly recommend loading up and weighing your rig at a public scale at least once so you know what you actually have. You want the tongue weight to be at least 10% of the total trailer weight to minimize the possibility of sway. To get your tongue weight go through the scale twice, once with and once without the trailer, getting the weight on each axle one at a time. The difference between the combined weight of the two TV axles with and without the trailer attached is the tongue weight. Don't have your WDH tensioned up when you weigh or it will throw things off.  

I know all this sounds complicated and it is, until you understand how it all works. Like everything else in life, after that its easy. 

A great site for all things trailering is etrailer.com. That and Amazon Prime get a lot of business from me. I already mentioned 1A Auto. If you find that your Tacoma sags a bit too much, you could get a weight distribution hitch with sway control. That might be better than just a sway bar. Your dealer can advise.

On our 2010 Frontier, the rear suspension seemed rather weak so I added a set of Sumo Springs. Right now there is a 10% off site wide deal with the code JOURNEYBETTER used at checkout. 

Edit: Here is a YouTube video of the SumoSprings in action.

We have had 2 different  RPods(2011 173 and 2015 179).  We used both of them for 4-5 years each and had no real problems with either unit.  w have traveled extensively with the pods, going cross country from NC to Washington/Oregon and north south from Florida to Michigan.

Every RV will have some small problems no matter what the price point.  I think the R Pods are great campers and don't hesitate to recommend them to anyone.  If my was destroyed by a tree falling on it, I would be looking for a replacement R Pod immediately

find the floor plan that suits you and don't look back

Vann

ps

we are 70/69, so you guys are young!

Go to 1A Auto (https://www.1aauto.com/) and look for towing mirrors for your Tacoma. I did so for our Frontier. They make a big difference for visibility. The ones I ordered are power, heated mirrors. They manually extend and retract and manually fold, but the original mirrors were much smaller and did not extend. Even with our narrower 179 it makes a big difference in visibility. With the 195, it will make an even bigger difference since the 195 is wider to begin with.

The mirrors aren't cheap, but I think they are well worth the price. They are not difficult to install, but if you don't feel comfortable removing the door panels to get to the plugs and screws, you may need to get someone to do it for you. It really isn't hard though and you will appreciate the increased visibility that the towing mirrors will provide.

Several things to look into right away with a new trailer. If you're new to it, your first focus should be on safe and relaxed towing, the odds and ends of the trailer systems will get themselves sorted out. 

Tires. What is the load rating of what comes from the factory?  There is a tendency for trailer manufacturers to put on the minimum, The axle rating in the 196 is 4400 lbs or 2200 lbs per wheel. I would want tires rated at least 2500 lbs, higher if possible. Keep them inflated to the max psi on the tire, lower is not better for trailer tires. 

Follow the setup procedure for both your trailer brakes and weight distribution hitch. Take your time and be sure you understand what's what. Ask any questions here that you might have. Make up a pre-tow checklist and follow it to be sure everything is put away, connected, and adjusted right before hitting the road. 

Tow slowly and conservatively. Its both safer and saves tons of fuel. There's no rush. Many of use never exceed 60 while towing. If its wet, windy, or there are lots of tractor trailers blasting by on the freeway slow down. Don't ride the brakes when going down grades, shift down and let the engine to most of the braking work. Be sure the Taco's brakes are in top condition. 

Practice backing in an empty parking lot if towing is new to you. Get your mirrors set up so you can see what's back there, the 196 is a wide rPod. Hand on bottom of wheel, steer in the direction you want the trailer to go. Small movements. You'll be backing like a pro in no time. Before entering, scope out fuel stops and parking areas where you have enough room to pull through when you leave, you won't be able to cut corners sharply. 

Take a couple of short trips first so if you have any problems/surprises you can just go home and sort them out. Have fun!

Little things will happen. And it is quicker and easier to deal with those small issues yourself compared with bothering the dealer for the little stuff. 

The warranty is there to cover you if something significant happens. And even then, it's a crapshoot whether it will be covered, and when.

Even expensive RVs have been known to have issues....so, price paid is not a factor.

BTW, unhappy customers post way more reviews than happy customers ever do.