Anyone towed with 3rd gen yet?

I've had no problem towing 5500 lbs with 1st gen tundra. With sway bar and leveler. No problem. However it maxes out at 6800 I believe. Lots of steep grades in Northeast iowa. Tundra does have a v8

However selling the camper and don't plan on towing more than 5000 in the future and not very often

 

Never seen this in 4wd. 2wd in the Midwest is a no no

 

Not sure where you live, but if you don't need 4wd the gm's are discounted deeply right now. I do have to put plug in though. Consumer reports states new Silverados and Sierra' are predicted to be 95%below average reliabilty. Not 5%, not 20%, but 95. That's just crazy

 

Yes it has to be 4wd. And good on reliability, job security

 

OP, just FYI, I own a 13' DCSB TRD Sport, 4x4 4.0 and tow 19ft bass boat regularly (3400 lb.-lightweight 2" ball, no trailer brakes or sway control) and also tow 17ft Panther Travel Trailer monthly (3960 empty, but probably 5500lb loaded with generator, compressor, grill, tons of rc race stuff, coolers, etc.-With 2 3/8" ball leveling and sway control). The boat barely can be felt when towing (mainly due to low profile and small residual air drag), but the travel trailer on the other hand definitely works the truck. However, it never feels unsafe and the truck has been able to get it every place we have intended, including a trip over Sonora pass in the sierra mts. (that's 3500 climb over 25 mi. @ 26% grade!) Again, it definitely worked for it, but power wise, wasn't a problem. (Note: Brakes could have been better on the decent, but 2 stops for cooling for piece of mind as trailer brakes definitely got a work out!)

Now my main reason for posting, I too am interested in the 2016 towing ability with the change to 3.5l higher revving engine that makes the same power as the 4.0l but at a higher rpm. My main gripe towing the Travel trailer was when traveling down the freeway on cruise, the truck could hold 60mph in 5th, but into some wind or up a slight incline, the revs would slowly diminish and the truck would downshift, then overreving back to 60mph then shift back to 5th where it would slow again and downshift, up, down, up, down. Drove me nuts! Was hoping the 6 speed auto would help to solve that, but by the sounds of the reviews, probably not happening.

So, the 13' with the more torquey 4.0l may have earned it's reprieve from the chopping block, over a newer 2016. I really would need to tow the Panther first, but don't think the dealer will be too keen for that. So I too will wait for some honest feedback from guys towing with their 2016 Tacoma's.

 

Wrench, did you ever put the truck in 4th gear when towing those loads? I would be wary of putting it in 5th gear with that much weight even on no grade.

 

Defintely! When towing the travel trailer, I use 4th almost exclusively, except for the flattest stretches or down hill. 3rd gear on steeper passes (Except the Sonora pass trip, which was 26% and 1st gear only in the switch backs!)
The boat on the other hand, almost always in 5th except when climbing any grades steeper than 4% or so.

 

What speed do you travel with each load? The rpms must be jacked in 3rd gear! And even 4th gear at higher speeds.

I have an ultra gauge so I can monitor engine load (varying inversely with rpm) at all times. When the transmission needs to downshift is when engine loads are too high for the current gear. So I'm curious as to what engine load % is too high for OD.

 

I usually tow between 60-65mph. If I gotta creep up a hill in 3rd I usually like to keep the engine around 4k for peak TQ. Trips to Mammoth Mtn. sometimes have the truck in 3rd for 15-20mi. at a time. Were not in a rush though. I'm ok to chug along at 35-40 to climb the steep hills. I like my truck and treat it nice, but I do treat it like a truck, and so far she has treated me well in return!

 

This doesn't change your numbers much (I like your math!), but when calculating GCVW, passengers are counted as 150lbs no matter their actual weight. You mentioned 160lbs, but that's low for the average American. If you were to plug in real numbers for each pass. and driver, you could be calculating an overage when you are actually within the limits. Just want to give the OP every opportunity to get the math right.

I used to tow with my 95 Nissan king cab pickup (4cyl, 5spd, 2WD). Not often but sometimes. I once towed 4000 lbs (on the bumper) from SF to Vegas. Relatively flat most the way with one big climb over Tehachapi. I can only imagine that a 3rd Gen (or 2nd Gen) would do WAY better with 6000 lbs.

I also imagine that with the new 3.5L engine, you'll have to keep the revs up to stay in the power band. That may bother some folks. Revving has never bothered me - that's what engines are built for. The OP races his car, I'll bet he wouldn't care much if he had to rev the Tacoma while towing.

 

Do your homework and look around at other dealers.

#1 you can get a Tundra for under $35K
#2 you can get a heck of a truck for under $35K. Go see how Toyota price gauges by comparing them to the other makers. Ford is discounting a lot of their trucks by $9-11K right now.

I personally would go full-sized if you will regularly be towing over 5K pounds. A Taco may be able to "handle it" but at the expense of a lot of wear and tear on the vehicle, really bad MPGs, and PITA trips because you will need to keep your speed down.
Do you know someone with a Taco that you can borrow to test out with the trailer? Take it for a test spin and see how it handles things. Then just imagine doing that regularly and if the truck will be able to keep up with you. Remember also when doing long trips with a trailer, the Taco gas tank is like 23 gallons. If you are getting really bad MPGs it means a lot of stops over a long distance. I don't know if Toyota offers an extra tank option on the Taco.

Option B: Get your Taco for what you want to use it for, then go buy a cheap full-sized for towing.

 

PackCon makes some good points. My biggest load I will be pulling is ~3500 lbs, maybe a dozen times a year. I think the Tacoma should be able to handle that with relative ease.

 

I tow a demo car once a year and my 95 Tacoma probably a few times a year when it's done. The cost difference of a tundra and getting 5+MPGs less all time isn't worth it. Plus towing the tundra and Tacoma get around the same MPGs the tundra just has a bigger tank.

Don't know why people think everyone needs a full size if they are towing some weight a few times a year.

 

If you shop around you can find a full-size under 35k without issue. My choices were the Silverado and the Tundra, I really wanted the Tundra but mpg is just so bad I cannot justify it. My Silverado is rewarding me with 18- 20mpg city, my tacoma is giving me 16mpg. My Silverado is 2wd though as I didn't need 4wd since that's what my taco is for. Look around there are plenty of deals on full-size trucks.

 

The OP stated this would be a regular occurrence during "race season" not a couple times a year. Also he's towing just at or possibly over capacity. IMO towing at capacity is not fun. I hate having to be overly cautious all the time and feel my truck cry over long distances.

 

So, anyone tow yet? Reviving this dead thread because inquiring minds want to know.

 

It was my consensus after starting this thread, you need a medium duty truck (450/4500) or larger to tow anything.

 

People are going to use these trucks to tow. They offer a tow package. Thanks for offering no useful information here though.

 

I suppose MPG shouldn't matter either because it's a truck? Sheesh.