Towed at maximum capacity yesterday... Question.

Had to go pickup my car 120 miles away from my house (Nearest Lexus dealership to me...), and wifey couldn't take me as she was busy the next two weeks...

So.... I rented a uhaul auto transport and went to go get it knowing that the trailer is 2200 lbs and my GSF is roughly 4034 lbs (curb weight). With me being 181 lbs, that puts me at just about maximum capacity? Is that how it works?

Truck did great, definitely felt like I was pulling that weight and I averaged 13-14 mpg with a few inclines/declines on the way back home and truck didn't feel like it struggled at all. But..


Truck only has 2800 miles on it, so.... My question is, I rented the trailer and drove 120 miles there (trailer empty) and there was consistent vibrations at lower and highway speeds. When cruising it wasn't so bad. Just felt like I was driving over tiny bumps about 70% of the time on the way there. On the way back (Car on trailer), there were the same driving over bumps sensation and the truck felt very bouncy in the back. I had an older car years ago that had a common issue with the driveshaft, and it would vibrate at highway speeds and it felt like that.

This is my first truck ever, and with that, the first time I trailered anything, is this concerning or normal? My truck is a manual and alternated between 4th/5th gear entire trip.

 

Awesome. What speeds were you typically driving in. 5th gear at 60mph is about 2450rpms +\-. The gears

 

That sounds normal to me.....empty trailers can bounce around a lot and you can feel it. I’d say there’s nothing wrong with your truck.

I towed almost max capacity last winter too and had it in 4th and 5th the whole time, truck was a champ.

 

Just throwing this out there...do the vibrations present with no trailer? If not, I would bet the trailer would be the culprit of the vibrations.

 

Agreed

 

65 on the way there but maxed 55 on the way back because uhaul said speed limit was 55mph, I'm a noob at trailering so I stuck with said speed limit

Nope, when I dropped the trailer off and drove home, truck drove completely normal and smooth like it did before.


Edit: The trailer did look like a rusted piece of crap but didn't know it could cause vibrations with the truck.

 

Unloaded those trailers bounce all over the place. Without any weight, the suspension will be quite firm so you can definitely notice it bouncing around as you hit bumps.

 

Sounds like you did well considering it was your first time. Couple of things to note...Those U-haul trailers are garbage, unnecessarily heavy. I know you made do with whats available, but an aluminum trailer of the same size would be much better. Also with a different trailer you may have been able to add a brake controller for real brakes. Something to keep in mind in the future if you have to keep doing this, or trailer for any reason. Other items to consider, air bags to keep it level, weight distribution hitch. But I like you kept the speed down and didn't get in a big hurry.

 

Good to know, well it probably was just the piece of crap Uhaul trailer. Was concerned it was the truck!

Yeah, I'll probably be getting a car hauler of my own in the near future to haul my car to a circuit track regularly. Track I go to is 90 miles away. I regularly take my car to a drag strip and circuit track. Hauler i'm looking at is 1500 lbs since its aluminum so with that I'll definitely be under tow capacity.

 

Aluminum is definitely the way to go. In addition to being lighter they also typically put better suspension and other components on them like LED lights. I’ve been very happy with mine

Plus sitting outside they don’t start rusting in a month and look like crap

 

Looks like a lot of tongue weight on the back. Makes your truck look extra squaty. Is it possible to load the car further back on the trailer? And perhaps a slightly lower ball mount would help with your squat.

 

Those U-Haul trailers are horribly designed for weight distribution. If you pull the vehicle all the way to the front like that they over load the tongue badly. That is why your truck is squatting the way it is in the picture. The bounce you were feeling was most likely the rebound on your bump stops and the pulse of the surge brakes on the trailer. I tow at or near capacity with my truck often and getting the load balance correct makes all the difference in the world.

 

Not really relevant but you have a new Tacoma and GSF...

 

I believe 5th gear is an OD gear, I'd stay in 4th..

 

the vibration most likely came from the weight of the trailer changing your pinion angle. if you have no vibration without the trailer, id say you are fine. pulling empty trailers, no matter the weight of them, seems bouncy. I hate pulling empty trailers. but you should be fine with no further problems.

oh, and nice GS F! love those and the RC F!

 

Thats better gas mileage than most people get while towing. On youtube some guy was trashing his '17 sport because it gave him 7mpgs with an empty trailer.

 

You can tow in 5th per the manual.

 

Manual allows 5th gear for the 6MT. The ratio is 0.85 and RPMs at 65mh are 2500+

 

Depends on the trailer and the speed driven. Doing 55mph with a trailer does wonders for fuel economy, as does a trailer without a lot of frontal surface area and that is mostly within the confines of the truck’s windbreak.

 

That’s the difference in gearing between the auto and manual. My auto did 10-12 at best and my MT is typically 14+, never seen below 10. One time I had 6.7 mpg in my auto, typically averaged right around 10.5.

The gear ratios in the transmission and rear end make a huge difference. The auto will typically run in 3/4 and the MT is almost always in 5, sometimes 4. 3500 rpm in the auto vs 2500 rpm in the MT