but will she tow the boat?

Hey you guys have a sweet community here. I have never been a truck guy and was not even aware that the Tacoma had its own forum but I am not surprised it is a great truck. I have been flipping through your pages for about 2 hours now.

Anyway I am doing a little research for my dear old dad who is thinking of switching from his gas sucking 02 Ford F250 to a V6 2wd Tacoma 06-08 for gas saving (and reliability) purposes mostly.

Anyway my dads question is will this Tacoma be able to pull his boat without doing damage to the transmission, rear end, or any other part of the truck? The boat is 20 ft long and weighs 4500lbs. I know that the Tacoma is rated to be able to tow 6500lbs but I know for sure that some trucks cant tow their max towing capacity. For example my dad had a F150 back in the 90’s before his F250 and we had to replace the rear end 3 times simply because it was not cut out for towing our boat even though it was rated to be able to.

Also to be honest he only takes the boat out about three times in the year which would put at most 600 miles on the truck a year while towing the boat. However it would have to fight through some decent hills along the way.

So what is the max safe towing capacity in your guys opinions? Any difference in towing or sturdiness between all the different models we should know about? Anyone else tow any heavy loads? Thanks so much for the help.

Oh and don’t worry I know Fords suck.

 

Boat with trailer is 4500lbs

 

+1 and welcome to tacoma world. i see tacomas pulling boats that size and bigger all over florida.

 

What about it damaging specific areas of the truck like the transmission?

 

Make sure you get the 4.0L with the Auto and towing package.

V6 Towing Package includes: Class-4 towing hitch, transmission oil cooler (automatic transmission models), supplemental engine oil cooler, heavy-duty battery, 130-amp alternator and 7-pin connector with converter

As for damage - it should handle 4500lbs just fine as long as you drive it smartly and intelligently. I've never towed with the tacoma but I have towed with a fullsize Dodge and a Grand Cherokee. If you're used to towing with a fullsize - it's a totally different animal towing with a smaller vehicle. You will have to be more aware of the handling & controllability of the load with a smaller vehicle.

 

I tow a 21' camper on a regular basis and have never had any problem pulling it. It is rated for 5500 lbs. GVWR and after my wife gets finished loading her stuff it is all of that and maybe more. We just got back about two months ago from Talladega and the Tacoma never missed a beat. There were some pretty decent hills through that area as well. Also, not only do you have to look at the weight of the trailer but your dad should have alot less wind resistance making the boat alot easier to tow. Hope this helps.

 

i have a 22ft boat that weighs about 6,000 lbs. i have a v6 4x4 double cab (with the towing package), and it tows the boat beautifully for a truck its size. no matter how fast, how slow, or how much i have to accelerate, the temp. needle never budges. i've been towing isnce i got the truck (jan. 2007) and there have been no signs of extra wear from towing. just drive smart and it's a great truck for towing....afterall, that was the main reason i baught this truck.

 

I have the 2005 Tacoma DBL cab V6, without the towing package.
I tow an 18' Ranger Bass boat. It does great! I have not had any problems. I have 86,000 miles on the truck & still tows just like it did when it was new. I think my boat w/trailer weighs 3,500lbs. Hills are not a problem either.

My fuel consumption without towing is around 20mpg (but I drive fast). Towing I get 12-14mpg.

 

I have a 24 foot boat with a 454 I/O deep hull that has a GVW of at least 5000lbs and I tow it in the mountains and on the prairies and it works awesome , I have a cold air intake and Custom Exhaust that seem to help , this truck is a tow monster

 

mine pulls my 24 ft camper like its nothing. i got the tow package and all of coarse and i added the electric brakes that took all of 5 mins. but mines a 6 speed manual. i can go REAL easy on the gears if i get in a bind or sumthin. but i keep up with all my ford and chevy truck guys on the interstate when we pull campers. 75-85 mph and never had a problem. my camper weighs in at round 6000 or 6200 fully loaded. id pull that boat all over the place and wouldnt worry bout it.

 

What year is your boat? What size motor? Nice rig!

 

I have a 1984 Ranger with a 1991 Mercury 175. I just added the Lowrance GPS / fishfinder & new trolling motor.

 

NOPE but that sure is a nice RIG!!!!!!!! badass dude!!!