2019 TRD OR As Tow Vehicle..

Howdy!

My 2013 is showing its age when put to the rigors of towing a 3700 lb Airstream trailer. Does ok but suspension and brakes not up to snuff. Sure I could upgrade components but would like opinions on the 2019 performance.

Both have same torque but 2019 has more HP 278 v 236.

Some of the bells and whistles may make a difference...

Wanted the Tundra TRD OR but despite almost same price a real spartan feel. Bench seats and a column shifter!?

But would a 2019 be enough of a leap to warrant expense. I'd have to assume ~higher and longer term monthly payments....

BTW I pointed out the rear drum brakes still on the 2019. Salesman said it's necessary so rocks don't get in the calipers when off roading. I noted it has front disc and he looked baffled I asked... Salesman... sigh...

Thanks,

 

If I towed a lot I wouldn’t be using a Tacoma. I would have a tundra

 

A refresh of suspension and brakes is a lot cheaper than a new truck. As far as towing goes the 3rd gen is pretty much the same truck as what you have already and wouldn’t be an improvement.

 

The new tacoma motor gets its power higher in the revs, meaning towing, or hills, it revs to the high heavens. This is a big complaint on highways from all the 3rd gen owners including me.

The under pinnings are the exact same as a 2005 tacoma, don't expect a huge difference except for power delivery.

 

Get the Tundra.

 

Towing in the third gen is SIGNIFICANTLY better with the manual over the auto. The gear ratios make a huge difference.

 

If you need a tow rig get a truck, not a Tacoma

 

The guy is towing about 4000 pounds...unless he's towing every day or needs the interior space why should he get a tundra? Both the 2nd and 3rd gen are capable of towing it. I wouldn't want to deal with bad mpg the other 90+% of the time.

If it was me i'd probably just upgrade the brakes and/or suspension...do you use a weight distribution hitch? I would think stock suspension should be fine.

 

A 3700 lb trailer isn't a big trailer, certainly within a Tacoma's capability. If it really weighs 3700 lbs. Lots of people guess and are surprised to get it on some scales and find it is much heavier than they thought. I pull about 3500 lbs quite often with mine and it does it with ease. When you get to 5000 or more then a bigger truck is justified.

There is nothing you can do to your old truck to improve the suspension or brakes. Use it as is. Or if you aren't satisfied then get a bigger truck. I'm not knocking the 3rd gens at all. But it won't be an improvement over what you have.

 

New suspension and new/upgraded brakes will definitely make a difference in towing feel. Pretty much the only difference between the OP’s old 2nd gen and a new 3rd gen are the age of those wear components.

 

I pulled a 3500 lb trailer all over the country with my truck (2017 dcsb TRD OR 6MT). Only thing I’ve done is add a brake controller and swap the rear shocks to Fox 2.0, which cut down on oscillation you get with the stock suspension. I’ve been up and down the mountain passes in Colorado a few times and had no issues.

 

Makes no difference on the road. My auto tows fine in s4 or s5. I can even back up hills which the manual can't do.

 

Unless you are looking for an excuse to get a new truck I would just upgrade your existing Tacoma. If interested we can help with getting you setup with a much better front brake setup and then go over what can be done to help out the suspension. For brakes we recommend the R1 Geomet Carbon slotted rotors and then the posi-quiet pads. This combo has great stopping power, low dust, and are long lasting at a good value.

message me for additional info and/or a quote

 

3700 lbs is *well* within the towing capacity of the Tacoma.

I'm in a similar situation (researching a truck, need to tow an RV, I'm partial to Toyotas so that leaves Tundra or Tacoma). The Tundra will be overkill for the size trailer you're describing. Not that there's anything wrong with that, but if you're partial to the Tacoma over the Tundra for other reasons, towing your RV is at this point a wash when comparing the two trucks.

One thing to keep in mind: from what I've researched, both the Tundra and Tacoma end up with similar gas mileage when towing, but the Tacoma does considerably better in mileage when you're not towing.

I'm not quite clear what the question is from the OP, but if the question is "Will a Tacoma function well to tow my 3700lb Airstream", the answer seems to be a pretty solid "yes" from all the YouTube videos and towing threads I've been reading here on the forum.

 

Depends what you consider on the road and what you are towing. Less than 60 mph, sure. Above that, it’s no contest - the manual is way better. I can hang out in 5th all day long and the auto will be in 4th or 3rd. Rarely would it hit 5th unless it was downhill. I towed about 1000 miles with my auto while I had it.

I also averaged about 10 in the auto and about 15 in the manual.

 

How fast are you towing lol? I typically tow at less than 70, so S5 (2200 RPM @ 70) and S4 (3100 rpm @70) with ETC are fine. I get somewhere around 15 mpg towing typically. It really depends on the wind more than anything IMO. If it's windy, yeah forget about it.

I don't think either one has any issue pulling what it is rated for, but if I towed towards the max regularly, i'd have a half ton in about 3 minutes. I have a utility trailer and a cargo trailer that maxxes out at about 3k.

 

The wind will wreck you for sure. In my with a headwind, it was screaming in 3rd gear to try and maintain 65. I averaged 6.7 mpg for that tank of fuel. It was painful. Best I ever saw with the auto was 12. Pulling the same trailer with the MT, I average 3-5 mpg better on the same route, speed, etc.

I’m typically 60-70 mph. I’ve got a 7x14 cargo trailer (1800 lbs empty) that I’ve pulled quite a bit, had a camper for a while too.



Averaged 17 pulling this back from Colorado at 65-70 mph

 

Dats a huge trailer for a Taco.

 

The Taco above is sitting on bump stops pulling a car Dolly!

 

It's a well known fact that anything Uhual rents that you can tow is made from the heaviest stuff possible. Dolly probably weighs more than the Corolla lol.