Towing

I have a 2002 Tacoma TRD extended cab, V6 SR5. I just purchased a Casita travel trailer, its dry weight is 2,480 lbs. Prior to towing i had a transmission cooler and electric break system installed. We have taken the trailer on two trips and the truck does well on flat and medium hills. I live in at 3,300ft and at some point i have to come up the grade to get home! Last time out we were down to 42 MPA on the grade. Any suggestions of an up grade to increases its towing capacity in hill's/Mountain country.
Gratefully
irobert

 

I pull a 17 SD Casita with my '15 TRD Sport. If I know I'm coming to a grade, I'll keep the RPMs up, downshifting to 3rd if needed. You are towing in 4th, right?

 

Is your engine a 4 or a 6? What size tires do you have on it?

 

Ken
Thanks for replying, Its a 6 cylinder 3400 Four Cam 24, 5VZ-FE. The tires are Goodrich LT 265/70 R 16 All traction (D)
Best
Ian

 

Jimiller5
Its an automatic w/overdrive and it downshifts to third on the big grades. I turn the overdrive off as approach any significant grade.
Best
Ian

 

You are working with 190 hp. Slowing on steep hills with a heavy load is going to happen. Just keep thinking how much you are saving by going a little slow at times. Have fun camping.

 

I don’t think I’d drive in overdrive anytime while towing. I’ll bet your trailer weight when loaded up is close to 3000 lbs. or more. Then you have to consider the weight in your truck, passengers, equipment and stuff in the bed etc. The combo of trailer weight and weight in the truck might be such that 42 mph is just the best your truck will do up a grade. Many years ago I had a 4Runner with the 190hp 6. I remember pulling my boat up grades (5 speed stick) and 40 something was the best I could do and that was in 3rd gear. If your truck is properly maintained and tuned then I think 42mph up grades is what it is.
You might want to consider moving up to a 2nd gen with the 4.0. My truck pulls my boat (3000 lbs plus) up grades and mountains no sweat .

 

Thanks to all who are coaching me through this new towing
experience. It truly is only an issue when i hit a significant grade. I just so happen to live in the mountains of Western North Carolina!
I plan to just go with the flow, keep the truck well maintained and put on the miles. If any others have advise i'm all ears.
Grateful
Ian

 

Transmission cooler tells me its an automatic. That isn't doing you any favors for climbing up grades. You're also dealing with a camper. Pop-up campers tend to pull real easy, since they're fairly low profile, but a quick google search suggests that yours may be a non-collapsible type, which also isn't doing you any favors. Means you aren't just dealing with weight, you're dealing with drag as well. The newer trucks tend to pull a lot better, even the 4-cyl despite being down by 25 hp compared to you, because of improvements in engine technology. In particular, 2005+ have variable valve timing, which does a huge amount to broaden the torque curve.

My suggestions are just to do what you can to make it easy on the transmission. The engine can handle whatever you throw at it, the automatic transmission will be the weak point. If its "hunting" for gears, which means getting into a cycle of downshift-accelerate-upshift-decelerate, manually shift it into the lower gear and regulate speed via throttle position. Its better to spin the engine a bit faster than to beat on the transmission with all that shifting.

 

Sorry Ian, I can't help with increased performance suggestions but do want to extend a welcome to the molded fiberglass camper family from the northeastern part of the state (Tarboro and 19' Scamp). We're out your way a few times each year - usually in Nantahala NF or one of the GSM NP campgrounds and also a half dozen or so trips to the Outer Banks where the NPS Frisco and Ocracoke campgrounds are our favorites. Hope you enjoy the Casita as much as we have our Scamp and that we'll have a chance to meet someday.

Al

 

Make sure you are not in over drive. Engine will heat up and not cool effectively in that gear. If you want to go faster, I can only suggest downshifting if you are ok with higher RPMs.

 

I've towed my 17ftSD all over the US with my 04 Tacoma. Mine is a 5speed and it tows it fine. I installed the much larger 231mm Tundra brakes and of course a brake controller before i made the trip to the Casita factory for pick up.

 

The gear you operate in has nothing to do with engine cooling. The engine will cool fine in any gear. Dropping a gear will reduce the torque on the torque converter, which may allow it to lock up more, and in any case will DEFINITELY reduce the heat generated by the torque converter and generated by "hunting" between gears. Keeping the transmission temperature down is CRITICAL in an automatic. Overheating an automatic will cause very quick deterioration and failure.

 

First gen automatics don't tow Casita 17's well. Been there. 5spd's a different story. I even towed a Casita 16 with a 99 Tacoma 5spd, 2.7 4x4. Plus, if you care about the numbers, weigh the trailer on a public scale. I'm guessing you're closer to 3000-3200 lb. Nothing much will "help" besides getting a bigger truck. Even a second or third gen is much better. Putting a topper on my trucks definitely helped with the on the highway aerodynamics. A tranny cooler for trans life should be almost mandatory. Though the trailer has brakes, Tundra brake upgrade is the way to go. Don't put any larger tires on it without compensating with a rear gear change.

 

How many miles on the truck ?

Our '06 / 4.0 pulled our 19' Airstream all over the country without much difficulty when she was new but as the truck aged and got to the 200K mark it was quite obvious she had lost the bounce in her step....

Having said that, I also agree what has been said above re: Gen I vs. Gen II and the number of ponies you are working with.

 

You want avoid lugging the engine. Which means heat and higher RPMs provides sufficient coolant and oil flow.

 

Yes, definetly big difference between gens. I tried towing with my son's 2009 dbcb Trd. Wow, night and day. If I was to tow a Casita frequently, long distance, or in the hills to mountains I'd be driving an Ecoboost F150. Then I'd have all my toys with me : kayaks, bikes, etc.

 

@irobert , I'm going to second @Aquatic Tacoma 's comment about a topper/canopy. I have a 2nd gen and tow an open car hauler with a SxS and ATV regularly, which obviously has way less drag than a travel trailer, but adding a canopy to the truck added me around 2-3 mpg towing back and forth across Washington state, which included Snoqualmie Pass each way. I would never have thought it would help as much as it did, but the proof was in the fuel mileage. Even after replacing my Leer with the AT Habitat, i'm still getting better mileage than without... which is actually kinda crazy now that I'm thinking about it. And to be clear, the topper ONLY helped my mileage while towing the trailer. Otherwise I definitely saw a dip in mileage.

 

Now you guys have me wanting a topper because I mostly use my taco to tow my SxS & casita.

 

Kent, WA to Moses Lake, WA - 175 miles, cruise control 70-72mph

• All Stock 2nd Gen - low fuel light comes on as I exit freeway (half a dozen trips)
• Duratrac Tires Stock Size - couldn't make it to Moses Lake without stopping for gas (3-4 trips)
• Added Leer - 1/8th tank left when exiting freeway. (multiple trips)