06 Tacoma DC towing early iron

had a spare 396 under the canopy as well. my trailer has electric brakes which helps as the heavier weights with surge brakes are not the best but drive accordingly.

 

NOT TRUE, you will be fine , a properly equipped tacoma is more than capable of handling this. These 2nd gen tacoma's are built on the same exact drivetrain as the gen 1 tundra.

 

Its not about the drive train. Its about the vehicle. My 110 rover has an incredibly weak engine and since i've had to replace transmission parts several times, I'll say that sucks too. There's no way it could make 45mph pulling that camaro down hill. But it is heavy and has strong springs and tows like a champ.. slowly.

Its about weight management and braking. When a semi is "over weight" they don't take off weight. They move the 5th wheel to balance the load. If your car's tires are overloaded or no weight on the front wheels, you can't tow.

An automatic light duty transmission pulling that much weight is going to be sweating. It will do it (should, its rated to) but its putting a lot more stress on the clutches during shifts just like it does on a manual transmission clutch. Its just cheaper to replace a clutch, than a series of clutch packs. SO, well, that's just life, use it as a tow vehicle and it may need a transmission sooner than not. But that's life, use it and it gets used up.

Its good to hear that the old tundra (which was supposedly a good truck) had the same transmission, but it only weighed 300 pounds more than a single cab tacoma so its not saying its over built for the tacoma.

Watch your load ratings. Make sure you know how to balance your load and weigh your tongue.. and follow towing instructions in the manual and you'll be as fine as you can be. remembering that the harder you use a thing, the harder it's used. Its just important to drive like you're pulling a trailer that can more than double your stopping time and make it impossible to swerve.

 

A "properly equipped" tacoma Has the towing package which includes a transmission cooler, heavy duty alternator, etc. Therefore it is set up to tow up to the max rated capacity from the factory.