Towing my RV

I am pulling a 3500 pound RV w my 6 cyl Tacoma rated at towing 5000 pounds. How can I get more power? Or make sure I don't damage the engine? I keep it at 2000 RPM unless I approach hills where i have to get to around 3000 RPM. All at around 60 mph to 65 mph. Any suggestions?

 

sounds like its doing fine! I would worry about the transmission more than anything, do you have the factory tow package or trans cooler otherwise?

 

I have pulled my camper about the same weight thousands of miles no big deal it is what it is the only thing that will give you a noticeable power increase is a super charger. If it's rated 5K it probably has a tow package.

 

Tow package is rated for 6500 lbs. non tow package is 5k.

 

Get a scangauge and you can monitor the transmission pan and converter temps.

You would be surprised how quickly some driving can heat up your transmission fluid.

 

I though non-tow was 3500, or is that just for the 2.7?

 

3500 is the weight limit for towing from the bumper.

I've seen varying opinions on what happens to the weight limit when you put on a Class IV hitch. Either it's still 3500, or it is the lower of 5000 or the max hitch rating.

 

They are not all 6500# it depends on the truck build. 3300 to 6500# Look at your owner’s manual if in doubt (nothing is listed for 5000#) there are pages and pages of towing info in it. Converter slip is what makes the heat it would probably be best to lock out the O/D when towing unless it's really flat yes the trans has a lockup converter but any pull against a TT most likely will disconnect the lockup while in O/D. 6500# is a ridicules figure for something as light as the Taco you could latterly pick up the entire truck by the hitch but it does give a margin of error I would rather tow something at 3400# and know it rated for much more weight instead of only 3500#.

 

2.7L 3500 lbs
4.0L 6500
considering both have tow pack

 

Ftfy

 

Towing in 5th is fine as long as he tranny is not hunting up and down for gears. If it is then downshift it into 4th to prevent excessive heat buildup and tranny failure.

 

Thanks for all the replies. Awesome information. I checked with Toyota dealer service dept. The trans oil cooler is $800 just for part. That is a bit steep.Does anyone know if there a less expensive after market trans oil cooler?

 

Check out Summit Racing. I've ordered things like that in the past. Fuel cells, aux. coolers, etc. And they are decently cheap for some pretty good quality stuff. Go see your local speed shops as well, they will often times have things like that on the shelf.

 

Hayden is a good name in trans coolers, 70-80 usd, easy install. The engine will run forever at 4-5k rpm. Far better to let it rev than pull hard at low rpms, but then the auto wouldn't let that happen.

 

It will if manually shifted.

 

My auto does a very good job of selecting the proper gear all by itself. Just need to use d4 with the TT.

 

Thanks again. This forum is great. All advice is truly appreciated.