So Toyota is wussing out on the Engine, dang it. 270HP but add gearing

For people like myself who have a small trailer to pull (mine is 3,000 lb loaded), this issue is do I want a manageable daily driver that is a bit lethargic towing? Or do I drive a behemoth monster to drive 355 days out of the year but pulls great those ten days that I do pull it?
I think I am willing to lean towards the former IF I can be assured that screaming RPM's on high mountain passes won't affect the long-term reliability of my engine. I know that is where the tow package comes into play.
Is there any evidence that towing hurts the long term reliability of smaller displacement engines??

 

I think you're exaggerating just a little. I towed just over 3,000lbs from Denver to San Francisco via I-80, and I wouldn't call the RPM's "screaming". That's a bit harsh. At times it was around 4,000-4,200 rpm, maybe 4,500rpm, but screaming? I wouldn't go that far to call it "screaming". In retrospect I thought it did pretty well given it was going over mountain passes and at altitude.

 

What would you say your RPM's were at most of the time? Ever have to slow down well below posted speed limits because of power?

 

Well, some of those spots were posted 75mph and Although I shouldn't admit it I was going the speed limit, even thought the Uhaul says the max speed should be 55mph. I kept it around 50mph for the first 350-400miles because I only had just over 600 miles on the truck at the time, and per the Owner's Manual it says not to tow anything until you reach 500 miles, then to keep it under 50mph until you reach 1,000 miles, so that's what I did. Never felt like it had any problems getting up to posted speeds, unless I ended up behind some jamoke going well under the speed limit, or a semi that was crawling over the pass, then sure, ti would race if I wanted to accelerate and pass the person, but really, you have to keep in mind this is at altitude, going over a mountain pass! On flat ground it wasn't an issue. If you're towing you should probably be a little more easy on the truck anyway, and not gunning it from the start or up and over the hills. I thought it was fine as long as you understand what the truck is capable of and intended for. Now with all that said, if I was towing 3,000+lbs regularly at allude and up and over mountain passes, I might look for a bigger truck. But for the occasional trek with that kind of load in those conditions, no problem. I also had the truck bed with the factory Tonneau cover PACKED as well. What impressed me even more was the braking ability of the truck while towing the trailer. Many have complained about the rear drum brakes not being discs, but I was very happy with the way the brakes performed under load.

When just cruising if I remember correctly I was anywhere from 2,200rpm to 2,600 rpm, but that was just cruising along, not climbing or anything, averaging 65-75mph.

 

That is good to hear. My Casita weighs in around 3,000. Add gear, fluids, ppl and what not, I probably have 4,000 lbs of weight that the Tacoma is lugging around. I probably will pull my Camper to Moab 2x a year but mostly keep my Camper 100 miles from my house, so maybe the Tacoma would be fine for my needs. I am not a fan of the lethargic take off from the auto but if I want a DCLB I will have to get the auto and not a manual. How did your Tacoma do pulling from a dead stop?

 

Do you think theyll put out a supercharger for this engine? Would go a long way for the low end torque issues...

 

I will disagree your statement.
some you folks may hate me or like me,, I don't care.. I will tell you this, HP and torque theory have a working relationship if you look at the chart and the math involves. The higher the HP, the faster it go.. less power band it have if you have a lower HP and higher torque, more power have to do the work in hauling heavy stuff. At a higher HP,, it like driving a car with less torque.
better look and compare closely on chart of two taco,, the 15 and 16 and you can see why.. its the same way for the bigger trucks like the 3/4 ton and 1 ton class. even the 1/2 ton also.