Towing Question

Okay this is for your guys who have towed. Im looking at towing a horse trailer thats about 2600 and then with my horse in it (on the heavy side) would be max 1500, he is older so he is probably alot lighter then that now); grand total of: 4100.

I was talking to a good friend of mine who works at toyota and who soley works on my truck and he said to get a weight distribution hitch and I should be fine towing. His only concern is that im not really geared for towing. Does anyone know what I would have to do to get it geared for towing or to make it a little more easier on the truck?

I will mostly be towing miniature horses because that is what I show now and maybe occassional big horse or two.

 

Do you have a V6? and to Regear it you would have to take apart the differentials from and back if your 4x4 and plan on using it. They replace the gears on the inside at a different ratio. Usually this is a fairly expensive process, and unless your a very good mechanic, it will most likely need your friend to do it. Allot comes into play when regearing. Hope this helped a little.

 

There is no 'geared for towing'. The Tacoma with the tow package comes with the same gears that the non-tow package trucks come with. I'd be more concerned about whether or not you have the tow package as that gets you some supplimental cooling for the transmission and engine. Your truck will do just fine doing that sort of weight so long as you take the proper precautions. A weight distributing hitch would be nice and a good brake controller would be a big help. Around town, tow in 4, on the highway you can put it in D but make sure the truck isn't 'hunting' for gears and constantly shifting (or letting the torque convertor lock and unlock constantly as that builds up a lot of heat in the transmission). Those big tires won't do you any favors towing but you should still be fine if you take it easy. If you plan to tow frequently and over long distances, it might be worth looking into a regear but I'd try it out first as-is and see how she pulls.

 

Thanks for the info guys.
It is a V6 with the tow package. (never buy one without one )

Ive only towed with V8 4x4s 1500s on up in chevys and the F150 and up with fords so this will be my first V6 so im kind of clueless.

I have towed an open bike trailer with a bike and it wasnt to happy with the drag it felt like.

If I start to do the "long haul" horse shows cross country I will probablly get a dually at that point anyways.