Towing With the Taco

Just got back from RI camping on the beach. Towing Casita home @2800lbs 140 mile trip of mostly flat 50 mph to 65 mph and the whole time in 4th gear averaged 15.4 mpg. Not bad.

 

So I have a 2018 OR. I just bought an FJ40 Landcruiser ('78). UHaul is refusing to rent me a full vehicle trailer saying the Taco doesn't weigh enough to pull the cruiser and the trailer...they are saying I need the tow dolly instead. When I reserve the trailer, I can just put down that I will be towing a small car with it, and they will rent me the trailer. Will I have issues if I do this? Cruiser curb weight is just over 3000 lbs. I can't imagine the uhaul trailer weighs over 3K lbs.

 

Let's see if this works. About 4400 lbs. Pulled 600 miles with WDH..about 14 miles per gallon. Coming from a trunda, I'm rethinking the Tacoma. i just need a full-size truck when i need a truck. this thing has 450lbs at the hitch unloaded.

 

Your truck appears to be sagging more than i would think with 450 pounds of tongue weight. How much weight is in your bed?

 

The pop up rack has 2 -75 quart cooler's
2 small outboard's, chainsaw, about 10 gallon's of gas. toolbox. all we could fit in the bed of the truck was 3 duffel bags. 3 adults in the truck. i set up a Andersen WD hitch with just the camper and was pretty happy at the test ride. for whatever reason Coleman set this camper up with a lot of tongue weight.
450lbs empty. ..says the deck will hold 800lbs...trailer specks a tongue weight max of 1200lbs. i bought the camper after the truck. want to put a 30's harley on the deck...i think this is asking to much from my Tacoma. ..might go back to a trunda. ..dam...i only got 1200 miles. or trade the car in on a trunda!
Got some thinking to do.

 

Ah i didn't notice all the weight on the pop up rack. Maybe if the hitch was adjusted or raised it would even it out.

 

Picking up my Casita next Wednesday. Already have OVTune (1.04) so we’ll see how she does.

 

Damn, that’s my dream setup. I drive past a dealer twice a day..... stop in about twice a year to kick the tires. Just don’t have the time to use one so am unwilling to drop the cash right now.

 

What car are you going to put down that weighs under 3000? Beetle?

 

People say it struggles at 2k load ? What a joke.

I have no issues pulling 5k, it does it better than my 2nd gen.
At 3500 I have to look in the rear view mirror to make sure its there. I am all flat terrain. I have measured trans temps at 95 degrees ambient at 45mph for 1 hour with no increase in trans temp.
Look at gauntlet towing test where 3rd beats 2nd by 45 seconds.
With 18% more hp than 2nd its quite understandable. Off the line you don't have the same torque at lower rpm, but once its going it goes !
My trailer has electric brakes and I have airbag suspension.
I've had this for over 2 years and trust me if it did not perform I would trade it.
I also have a 5.7L Tundra for heavier loads.

 

I can honestly notice 500 Pounds in the bed of the truck, in less than 2 years I have had the gas pedal held to the floor more than 17 years of previous Tacoma's combined. There are lots of hills around here so maybe that is why it is more noticeable than the flat terrain that you experience, also sounds like you have a sweet setup for towing!

 

I pulled a 20' Range bass boat with a Chevy suburban for 20 years. Then I bought a Tacoma because my my wife's V6 Camry had more power than my suburban. Big mistake. The Tacoma is constantly is in 3rd or 4th gears all the time pulling 3500 lbs. Even without pulling the boat the transmission it is hunting for a gear on the slightest incline in the road. Having a TSB installed is the next step. But I hear the system will learn my driving habits without the trailer and be right back where I started. What a joke Toyota. The Tacoma lovers, (nay Sayers) will say you should have bought a full size truck. That is true. As far as I'm concerned, people looking to buy a Tacoma and will be pulling a trailer on a weekly basis, "This is a warning". It will not pull a trailer like a v8 will. Everything else people say on this forum is BS. My comments are real world fact, not fiction. I highly recommend you rent a Tacoma and pull your trailer before buying. Again, you have been warned and don't be fooled. I fully expect the nay Sayers will come up with a number of senarios where they have no issue at all and will have a field day with my comments. More than likely they have not pulled with a V8. Or have install additional products to get more horsepower and torque.

Sorry for the negative review, but it is what it is.

 

Casita owners...did you find that you need towing mirrors? If so, which ones did you get?

 

Maybe I missed it in previous posts, but if you were buying a Tacoma specifically for towing or at least with that as an important consideration, would you go with MT or AT?

And is there a difference between Sport and OR when it comes to towing? (Nothing obvious to me...)

 

Not even close to like pulling in a v8, but man the 3rd gen tows fantastic for a v6. No issues pulling my boat or anything else I throw behind it. If ya want a v8 then go by a v8 haha. I love my 3.5. Thought I would miss my 2nd gen but not at all.

 

I don't use extra mirrors so you don't need them but I do see they would be helpful. I may be getting a lance soon which is a little wider 6" I think and 4' longer so I will be getting them then.

 

I have the MT. The only concern is if you are starting on a steep incline you have to slip the clutch and when it gets all the way in gear the rpm's dump down. You just need to give yourself enough time when pulling into traffic. Other than that 4th gear on the highway and forget everything else. Tows the 2500 lb Casita easy.

 

Curious where you got your tailgate done?
I'm looking for that type of setup for mine.

Lots of great info on towing in this thread. I haven't done much in my '16 Sport except wood and dirt.

 

Strongly suggest suspension air bags from Firestone or Air Lift. Gives the Tacoma 2000lbs more carry ability (not that you would do that) and stay level. I installed the Air Lift system and with 60lbs air pressure, it gave me 1 3/4” inch lift.
Also, installed K&N cold air intake. The 3.5 loves to breathe if you’ll let it, and yes, I did increase the HP noticeably!
Also, look into upgrading to a bigger exhaust system for your Tacoma. A couple points here to research is that you will loose back pressure which moves the power band to the right a little which means you’ll get more torque at the higher RPM than off the start but from what I’m reading here, most people are saying run those RPM’s high anyway.
Last week I was at a dealership in Alberta (Canada) and on the floor was the 2015 TRD all mod’d out and lifted but my interest was the supercharger under the hood (65 HP increase)...so I asked about it. Toyota isn’t selling that feature up here anymore. I think it had something to do with emissions but the service rep said there are several aftermarket speed shops that will accommodate. Engine warranty is out the window but maybe you do that after warranty is up.
Long story short, we have to work with what we have and if buying a hemi or similar isn’t on the books then what performance mods do we have at our disposal to help tow a little easier. (My two cents anyway)

 

Which Lance are you looking at? Our 1475 has been great 3 years in.

Tow mirror link. Worked great.

Dometic DM-2912 Milenco Grand Aero3 Towing Mirror (Twin Pack)

https://www.amazon.com/Dometic-DM-2912-Milenco-Towing-Mirror/dp/B019YJCBF4