Heavy towing with TRD Offroad

I have been looking at getting a 3rd gen TRD Offroad. However, I tow a decent amount of what would be considered heavy weights for this truck (up to 5,000lbs+ or so). The truck will be stock for a while but eventually I want to lift it. When I lift it I plan on doing gears, most likely 5.29s. I am wondering how these trucks handle towing weights like this, both stock and modded. Consider things like what engine RPM it will run, if the transmission will be hunting gears or need a cooler, and MPG. This would be my first mid size truck I have towed like this with so it has me a bit worried.

 

Not good man. There are a lot of threads on here that cover everything you need to know about towing with the Tacoma, go ahead and search for them. In my opinion, you are way better off getting a Tundra. The tacoma won't handle the load well as a consistent heavy tow vehicle.

 

If I go to a full size I won't be going Toyota. I don't think I will be towing as often as I used to and hopefully will be sticking to 4000 max. Basically a enclosed 6x12 with a couple race bikes. I will hopefully be going off road more than towing but as of right now I am not sure. I just want something smaller than the 2500 long bed I currently have since most of my driving right now consists of short commutes.

 

It will certainly do it, but depending on how hilly and how often you tow you may not like it.

If you get one with a tow package it will already have a tranny cooler.

 

It'll do it, but it won't be fun. On a stock suspension it probably will porpoise a ton, mine did. I now have Dakar HD's and it tow's much better. I did add Sumo springs to my stock leafs and that was better as well though, so a leaf upgrade isn't necessary, but it is better.

At 4000# it will be better, same advice still applies. Just use ETC and S4 or S5 if you have an auto. Also expect about 11 MPG or so.

I have around 20k miles towing with my truck and am still stock gears, no issues there. I do not tow at 5000# though.

 

I have a 6x14 Tandem Aluma enclosed @ 1400lbs. When I load it up to total 3500lbs tows good, over that (4000+) it really starts to struggle. Only mod to truck (DCLB) is 15 TRD Pro suspension. It's pretty flat where I tow also MN,WI, & U.P. MI

 

It really depends on how far you’ll be towing. An hour or two a few times a year, no biggie. Cross country on the regular? Yeah I’d get a full size.

I’d put gears at the top of the list. Even before lift and tires.

 

There are people here who will say the Tacoma tows their 25ft camper 7k camper just fine. Just because it can doesn’t mean you should. That being said if your going to spend money on a taco but then also need to spend money on a regear, suspension upgrades and other stuff to make it need to do what you need it to do or drive it like you want it to drive, just get the full-sized from the get go if your debating what to do. It’s usually the smarter move.

 

I have a 4400lb (wet) TT and I have towed it with my 2018 TRD Off-Road 4x4 over Wolfcreek pass in Colorado (12,000 ft) with no problem. I didn't even have to go in low gear. I could even go to a bit heavier trailer. Mods I have are, scan gauge, 18,000 GVW trans cooler (installed inline after OEM cooler) ride rite airbags with compressor system and Trail Ridge towing mirrors. The biggest complaint I have is the size of the gas tank. When towing the gas mileage is in the 10 to 14 MPG range a 21 gal tank is not enough. I live in California so I cannot buy the extended range gas tank that's available because it's not CARB compliant. I like my truck but if I had it to do over I would definitely go full size.

 

I’ve towed a tandem, 6x12 enclosed U-Haul (ie. heavy, even when empty) with two motorcycles and a load of stuff a couple of times now. My stock truck handled it without any noticeable strain or white-knuckles and I averaged 12-13mpg.
If I had to do it more than a few times a month though, I prob would have kept my old Chevy Duramax or bought a Tundra....

 

Easy now there cowboy. You're going to wear out that truck!

 

I wouldn’t lift and re-gear if you’re gonna tow heavy.

I tow heavy more than the majority of people on here. The most being around 7k. Make sure you get a good trailer brake controller and some air bags or a different leaf pack. I’ve got 118k on my firestone air bags and they’ve been flawless.

I recently went from 265-70r16 E rated duratracs to 255-85r16 BFG km3’s and it was a mistake for towing, even on stock suspension. If I’m cornering at higher speeds my abs will randomly kick on now while towing.

 

Why would you not go Tunrda for a full size? I have buddies that absolutely love towing with a Tundra. If all your doing is a 6x12 around 4k, the Tundra will not even know it's there. Sure, not the best mpg, but it will last decades.

 

With SR tundras (v8) selling at the same price as Tacomas, why would you consider a Tacoma for towing?
My Tacoma handled an aluminum 7x7x14 v nose enclosed fairly well until 60+ mph and terrain.
With enclosed trailers, loaded/ unloaded it doesn't matter, the wind resistance is what kills you. Constant torque is required to overcome wind resistance and terrain ( hills etc.)
Highways speeds in my state are 70mph. Traffic is often 76mph. My Tacoma could maintain and liked 68mph with my trailer, but got eaten alive on highways, merging and on ramps were terrifying and was at the mercy of other drivers accommodating space for me. City folk do not understand / nor care about stopping space for trucks with trailers, they see an opportunity to get ahead.
I upgraded to a Tundra and have zero regrets. I still love my tacoma, it has just changed to my DD truck.
While that may not be an option for some, the MPG difference overall is not as offensive as on paper.

EDIT:
My towing mpg was the same between my Tundra/ Tacoma. The Tundra doesn't have to work as hard to maintain speed once momentum has stabilized at a set speed.

 

5,000lbs is around 75% of the trucks max tow rating. At that point it would be stupid not to go for any of the full-size trucks that all have 10,000-12,000lbs tow capacity. It’s not even the engine when you get up that high it’s everything else you need to worry about. Brakes, transmission, tires, how the truck will handle with whatever your towing. The Silverado/Sierra, ram and F150 can be had for similar price and get similar MPG. If the size while not towing was a factor you can look at a 1/2 ton extended cab short bed. The 1/2 ton trucks seem like they would fit your needs a lot better.

 

even with the tundra which is a ways below the other 1/2 tons in the MPG category at 15k miles a year your only spending around $65 more a month for fuel. It’s really not bad at all and if people are able to buy a new truck I don’t think $65 in fuel should be the deciding factor either.

 

I would buy a full size. I think these trucks were built as "off-road" trucks that can tow, not trucks that were built for towing.

 

I have towed over 5000lbs + with my 3rd offroad. There were some good points made in the replies. I will say this the add a leaf and 285 10 plus are a must. Good luck.

 

What are you towing? If it's got a large frontal area, it's going to struggle more than if it's something aerodynamic.


And, what will be in the truck? With that kind of weight, you really need to be looking at GVWR.