Advice on Regear? 295's Towing small camper 6.4mpg

I get 10mpg towing our trailer (5,500 lbs loaded) with stock gearing (3.73) and 1 size up on the tires (265/75/16).

4.56 gears should get you close to stock performance but you will still get sub 10mpg towing.

Also, it looks like your weight distribution hitch isn't set properly...way too much rake in that pic (I initially assumed you didn't have a WD hitch).

 

I would certainly consider regearing, as nothing short of dropping a V8 under the hood will restore the drivability and torque after fitting larger wheels/tires.

However, I'd strongly encourage you to try HPTuners. A retune with an improved engine and transmission calibration will do WONDERS for your fuel economy, especially under load. Check out the HPTuners thread here and read some of the reviews. (https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/hp-tuners-for-2005-2015.600793/)

And since you're in Texas, I'm sure we could meet-up and get you squared away if you decided to give it a go.

 

He’s running 295’s on a 6” lift....

He’s getting 12 mpg NORmally. A 6mpg drop while towing is exactly what I get with with stock sized tires and no lift. It’s just that it drops to 10-12 or so...

 

That sounds encouraging...LOL

Might be time for a bigger truck

 

Thanks Justin!

 

It’s just physics. Your truck is an aerodynamic brick and makes 235hp/265tq.

You’ve put huge heavy tires on it and lifted the front fascia 6” higher off the ground.

I just did an all hwy road trip - with stock sized Michelin ltx tires and no lift I made 19.5 mpg for the trip. Around town I make 16-17.

Towing a 3500lb trailer I get 10-12 depending if I’m flat or in mountains.

A 2.7 ford ecoboost f-150 would probably perform very well for you. Although... honestly, a couple jerry cans full of gas would be a lot cheaper than a new truck.

 

Yeah from the sounds of it, I think it would based off of what people are saying. 10mpg sounds somewhat reasonable pulling a camper and I am sure even in a full-size I would get low gas mileage too. 6.4mpg AND underpowered going below speed limit though was where I was having issues. I would hope that I would be 15-16 mpg mixed use when in normal driving in traffic plus the highway driving would be more realistic on every day driving.

I have the jerry cans now, but they require money to refill at 6.4mpg!!

 

I feel ya. But you can buy a lot of gas for the 40k price to get into an f-150.

Like.... a lot of gas.

 

Yeah I'd buy used but I agree.

 

I have decided to go with 4.56 gears after doing more research and talking to people. Seems 5.29 is ONLY applicable for 3rd gen and 4.88 is iffy as the RPM's are too high with highway driving for 2nd gen Tacoma. 4.11 gears aren't available in 4x4 (front diff), so 4.56 it is. Put my deposit down yesterday for the Yukon 4.56 gears!

 

I was thinking the same thing

 

I tow a 2300 lb Casita trailer. When I tow on long trips, I swap out my 33" tires for the stock ones that I kept on the stock rims. I get 12-15 mpg lifted 2-3" front and rear while towing with this setup.

When I'm home or going off road, I swap on my 33's. Saves them from wearing out with all the long hot highway miles towing.

 

I re-geared to 4.56 w/ 33" tires and 3" lift. We just pulled a 19' 3200lb travel trailer 3000 miles round trip from Albuquerque to Oregon and back. I averaged 13.3 mpg

 

What’s your everyday mpg like?

 

Regearing your truck is a great decision for getting some power back, but I doubt you’ll see any more than 8 mpg towing even with the 4.56 gears. The lift, tires, and being probably at least very close to GVWR are what is dragging your mpg’s down and I don’t see gearing helping a ton there.

As for the ecoboost, those tow amazing, and having a 36 gallon tank for long drives is absolutely incredible. Btw I owned a 3.5L ecoboost and got 11-13mpg towing a 7500lbs trailer. However the cheapest car is always the one you already drive, so unless you have the spare cash or it’s absolutely necessary, I’d wait.

 

I never really check it in town. It sits in my driveway most of the time. I seriously probably only drive it 30 miles a week.

 

I like your setup & your truck looks good! That is great to hear though about your mileage since mine is similar, just 6" lift instead of 3".

 

Agree with you on the cheapest car is always the one you already drive lol. Yeah some day I will need to upgrade to an F-150 as my kids are getting bigger too but have had some bills come in where that isn't the best financial solution at the moment -- maybe in a few years.

 

I've read several times that a 4.11 isn't available for the front diff and I've also read that all 4 cylinder Tacomas come with 4.10's, seems like pretty conflicting information since 4.10' and 4.11's are compatible with each other.

I'll be using my lifted Tacoma to tow in the future and I'd be happy at 13.8 mpg while towing, like Chayse's setup gets.

I wonder how much a Pedal Commander would help for towing?

With 35's and 4.56 the RPM's on the freeway are at 2500, with 4.88 they're at 2800. I wonder if anyone has a horsepower/torque chart of the 4.0L V6? 2800 isn't even close to too high and I've read these engines need RPM to build power so it makes me curious if 2500 or 2800 is high enough for towing.