2013 Toyota Tacoma 4x4 V6 6,400 lbs towing capacity?

Wouldn't suggest doing that at all. You're well over the towing capacity of the truck and not close to being equipped to stop that much weight. Thankfully you didn't have an emergency braking situation.

 

I have been pulling a 16 foot 6 ft high 7ft wide enclosed trailer for 10 years with the toyota 4.0 v6 it pulls great, even when we over loaded the trailer and hauled 6 hr away.... My 4runners stop better than the Tacoma and get better mpg, But I'm finding that better brake pads make it stop better....

 

I helped a buddy move and he rented the big dual axle u-Haul trailer (2200 pounds empty) and loaded it up to about 5k. My taco towed it no problem, but that was just across town.



I'm hoping to get orders to Alaska and if I do, my little sister may be moving in with me (my parents are ready for her to move out of the house) which means it will be her, my dog, and myself in the taco towing my sisters VW Bug (on a u-haul flatbed) from Atlanta to Anchorage. That will be an interesting trip, so I hope my truck is ready for it.

 

Too long of a trip door me. I say fly her out, sell her crap and buy new crap.

 

Haha, I'll be driving it anyway if I get the assignment (should know soon) to get my dog and truck up there. It's not that bad to rent the trailer and tow her car too. Worst part is that I'll be driving in December if I do get the assignment though.

 

I tow a 3500lb dry toy hauler with my Taco. It does fine on the flat lands, but struggles with any reasonable grade.

I live in San Jose, but I'd like to take my rig up to the Sierras. But given it struggles to maintain 45mph on grades, I just can't see taking it to the mountains.

Seems to me that if I could pep it up a bit, it'd get the job done. What kind of performance improvements would you folks suggest?

I hate to get rid of my Taco, I love it. I don't want a big Ram 2500, which would do the job quite nicely I'm sure.

 

They will do struggle with any grade. If you drop the selector to 4, run it there it will be fine. You should rev it until about 5 before up shift. I tow a 6x12 with a quad, two full sized dirtbikes a, gear food gas and water to last a week, around 4000 pounds. I've towed that to vegas and back twice with no problems, easily actually. Just gotta help the tranny find the right gear every once in a while. It will not pull a load at 2000 rpms, it will have to use every bit of the tach up to 6000 rpms to get you there, but don't worry, it was designed to do that!

 

I'm fine with struggling, but 40-45mph doesn't cut it. In fact, I think it's illegal to travel that slowly on the highway.

Vegas from Stockton does the grapevine, but not the Sierras. Have you towed to Reno?

 

Pulling a grade at the lower rated speed limit is not illegal,big rigs do it all the time.
Pulled 4,000lb travel trailer plus gear(total 5,000lbs) to reno, over donner summit. Never dropped below 50 mph up the grade, downshifted and kept an eye on rpms. But I'm towing with a v-6 taco with a tow package and an aftermarket 91/2x11 transmission cooler.

 

I avoided the grapevine, cut it at Bakersfield, went thru Mohave Barstow freeway, 58 then 15, had some pretty knarly grades, but never dropped under 60, unless I got stuck behind a semi. Also have done the Altamont, without a problem. Yeah you'll have to have your foot buried in it, but it will do it. If that's not what you want, bolt on a s/c or get a bigger truck if you can swing it. But for me, it works perfect. I could ask for more, but I usually can't always get what I want. I'm happy, sounds like you're not, get something or make your truck so your happy! It's your life and we only live once!

 

Also for performance upgrades, the maf cal that urd sells is awesome, I forgot I have that jnstalled, could be giving me an extra little hp, I have a tcai coming with a new tune ready for my maf cal once it is installed and I'll keep you updated on that. Check out urdusa.com and they are a vendor on here, look for gadget, or give him a call he will let you know anything you need about performance upgrades. He has superchargers,full kits for our trucks, gives them about 350hp and up or something, don't quote me. But theya aren't carb legal, so it won't even be a good option other than a trd s/c

 

I just bought a 2011 Sport 4x4 Taco and it doesn't have a towing package. I see some people mentioning an "X2", is that a particular kit? Links to purchase?

 

I am new to this forum and found it recently when Googling "Towing with a Tacoma." I own a 07 Tacoma Sport 4x4 (5 speed automatic) with the factory towing package. I recently purchased a 2005 Fleetwood Pioneer 19T4 travel trailer weighing in at 4100 dry and 6100 GVWR. I drove from Placerville CA to Boise ID, about 600 miles (each way) to pick it up. There are a couple of serious grades on this route, so I was somewhat concerned. As it turns out the quoted Thread above is dead on accurate based on my recent experience. Fourth gear was used for the entire trip and seemed to work just fine. If I had to pick a flaw in this truck (and that is hard to do) it would be the fuel tank size. For normal, not towing big heavy stuff it is fine. When you hook up 5000 pounds you need to stop for gas every 175 to 225 miles. Toyota might consider a larger gas tank on the tow package option. I was easily able to maintain 55 to 60 mph in 3rd gear on the steepest grades and there was power to spare.
I know I am coming to the party late, but I am glad I found this forum and especially the above quoted thread. The person that posted it was very honest and accurate and I appreciate that very much. The Tacoma is a great vehicle certainly one of the best I have ever owned and at 61 years old that says a lot!

By the way using a weight distributing hitch and electric brake controller are not optional, this is the only way to be safe towing this much weight.

 

Is it crazy to tow a 21' Fleetwood Wilderness trailer WITHOUT the equalizer and brake controller? I'm under the impression that because the trailer is a 1986 the brakes are shot (Nada says its 3100#'s). I have a 2014 SB double cab trd sport and tow package. I'm looking to be told I'm crazy and to just flip the trailer and buy something nicer... But I like the trailer and want to hold on to it a while longer...

 

Yes, it is crazy to tow this without brakes on the trailer and without a weight distribution hitch.

Please let us know when and where you are on the road if you decide to tow this unit without brakes and WD hitch. We'll be sure to avoid the roads at this time.

 

On a scale of 1-10. 10 being a bag full of cats...

 

Your biggest issue (other than not having trailer brakes) is going to be the tongue weight. I'm assuming that the NADA weight is a bare bones dry weight (go to a scale, they're cheap). You'll be getting close to the max tongue weight (500lbs, undistributed) with the trailer around 4k pounds.

 

Thank you. I towed that trailer for two seasons, 14 trips, with my Tacoma and as I've said it did an OK job, but was quite a load. I'm nearing retirement so I will be towing more and over longer distances so I upgraded to a 2013 RAM Crew Cab 4x4 with 5.7L Hemi. It tows that trailer effortlessly. Fuel mileage is the same, but I'm carrying about 1,000 lbs more weight than I did with the Tacoma. For everyday use the Tacoma gave about 2.5 mpg better and it was a great truck, but I do love the RAM!

 

I’m towing a 3100lbs camper. Should I tow in 4 gear or overdrive?

 

4th gear for towing. If you are only a long flat road with cruise set 5th should be fine. Get a dongle or scan gauge and set it to trans temp and you can see how different gear towing affects trans temps. Run whichever gear keeps the tranny the coolest.