2016 Tacoma V6 for towing

Too big and although I could afford it do not like funding Saudi Arabia any more than necessary.

 

Don't be fooled. The Tacoma aint getting great mileage either. Add that bis-ass trailer you want to tow and it's probably going to be the same MPG as a full size truck since that little 6cyl engine will be working much harder than a bigger engine in a full size truck. You may want to check into act a little more. The differences in MPG aren't that dramatic.

 

Lol. I'm getting about 19 combined and ~21 on my commute. The Tundra falls more than a little short of that. And 2,900 pounds is a big ass trailer? You have not been RV shopping lately. Towing the trailer will comprise about 5% of my mileage.

 

Take one home and hook it up. Put a few miles on it driving around with the load and see what you think. The twins tow a little better but I think the Tacoma will be ok for your application

 

Big V8 engines tend to get better MPG towing the same smaller trailers as trucks like the Tacoma. In part because smaller engines can't breathe as efficiently when under load and at higher RPM's (where a V8 gets better torque at lower RPM). That is a calculated trade off many Tacoma owners are willing to make, getting better MPG for the 98% of the time they are not towing vs getting worse MPG the 2% that they are towing.

 

Really?
I haven't seen a new one in months.

 

Me Either. Plenty of used 2nd Gens though

 

Towing 2900lb with a Tundra
might get better mileage than a Tacoma pulling 2900lb trailer...isnt working near as hard

 

Southern Wisconsin=Chevy land
You would think all the ex-GM employees would've figured it out by now!?!

 

Maybe. But not the other 95% of the time I will be using the truck.

 

It has nothing to do with whether 2900lbs is a "big ass trailer", it's about what's considered big relative to what the truck is capable of towing and under what conditions, terrain, etc. 2900lbs is the dry weight of the trailer most likely, then factor in weight of everything else that you're going to stuff in it, passenger weight, etc. It all will add up very fast. Many of us here have said that the Tacoma may not be the best tool for this particular job, but don't take our word for it.

 

He doesn't want to hear that. I already mentioned it, but seems like he's set not he Tacoma, even before he posted this thread. You can lead a horse to water...

 

[Quotes]: I've received 1st ticket in 40 years.....Cadillac's, like Harley's, mark their parking place with oil. [Quotes]

By your statement I assume you are about the same age as me although I been driving for more than 40 years. I'm not sure about the Cadillac as I have never owned one. But, I have had 3 Harley's since 1994 (about to get #4) and none of them leaked oil. The pre-Evo engines leaked badly. That's when Harley was owned by AMF. But, once the employees bought the company all changed and the quality went up to equal their foreign counterparts. I'm passionate about my Harley's as you appear to be about your Tacoma. I am also a big Toyota fan...over the years I have owned one Camry, two Lexus 350's, three Tundra's, and now one Tacoma. Years ago it was normally said that if you wanted a Harley you need to buy two at the same time...one to ride and one for spare parts.

 

Correct, dry weight is 2,925 and cargo limit is < 1,000 so total maximum weight just under 4,000. I am not trying to make the case that the Tacoma is the best option for pulling an RV. But it's what I want to drive 95% of the time when I am not towing and think it will work ok for the other 5% that I will be towing. If my wife wants to go over 3,000-3,500 I'll probably sell the Tacoma and get an F150 V8.

 

Um, I already own a Tacoma and I did not post the thread.

 

Hauling 4,500 pounds through the mountains is kind of pushing the limits of any mid-size truck IMO. Any reason(s) why a full-size truck is out of the question?

I've been kicking around the idea of a F-150 with the 2.7L EcoBoost engine and 'Ecoboost Payload Package' (3.73 gearing, 9.75" rear differential, and 8,500 pound towing). This 2.7L puts out 325HP / 375TQ (torque available at 3k RPM) stock, and with a $600 plug-n-play tune from Livernois Motorsports you're looking at around 390HP / 440TQ (they include a tune for towing too). I ran a LMS tune on a 3.5L EcoBoost engine for 40k miles with zero issues or concerns, an awesome mod for the money. It seem like between the size of the F-150 and the available power this would be plenty for your needs...plus some extra room in the cabin.

Just my two cents and good luck!

 

My guess is full size is out because the person won't be towing often.

Don't know much about the ecoboost engines, but if i owned one I'd go with the v8.

 

The numbers are there for the EcoBoost engines and I've followed them since I purchased a car with one in 2013. No major issues aside from intercooler condensation on the earlier models, which was fixed. A lot of people are modifying the 3.5L EcoBoost engine beyond 600HP, using stock internals, which suggests they are a well-built and reliable platform. The 5.0L engine is also a solid option, and probably less demanding on maintenance, but no cheap/simple ECU tunes with crazy performance bumps.