Trailer Tow

Just bought a 2019 Tacoma TRD Off Road, 6ft bed, all stock. I would like to tow my Polaris RZR in my 7x14 enclosed trailer. I've heard that the auto trans and differential gears are very high and that I should consider replacing the gears with 4.88 or 5.29 ratio. What would you do? Also, any recommendations on a brake controller? Thank you. Mike.

 

Questions first.

Does your truck have the towing option?
What is the total weight of trailer and load combined?
Does the trailer have brakes? If so, are they surge or electric?

 

They have 3.73 gears which is fine if you stay with factory size tires. You'd only need to regear if you're going to go up to 35" or larger tires. Changing to lower gears won't help with the towing anyway. You can PULL the 6500 lbs the truck is rated for just fine as it is. But your trucks payload will probably limit you to 4000-4500 lbs unless you plan to only have a driver in the truck. With even 1 passenger and 100-200 lbs of gear in the truck you'll be overloaded with much over a 4500 lb trailer.

You need to look up your trucks payload rating. It is on a sticker on the drivers door jamb. Most Tacomas are 1100-1300 lbs. A 4500 lb trailer will eat up about 600 lbs of that as tongue weight. With a 200 lb driver that only leaves 300-500 lbs for another passenger and gear in the truck. If you have one of the rare trucks with 1500+ lbs of payload then you have more room to work with.

Then figure out how much your Razor, trailer, and other gear weigh. If it's much over 4500 lbs you need a bigger truck.

 

if thats all U r going to tow

auto trans in 4th will haul very good

switching over to john deere tractor gears put

UNnecessary wear/tear on all components when U arent towing

1 year old truck has 1.5 years on it

a 100l truck truck has many more miles

U decide

 

It will do it but it won't necessarily be fun. The truck is stable and comfortable while towing but the engine is just about gutless below 3000rpm and makes acceleration while towing a pain.

 

These engines are not the big block torque monsters from the 60's

They need rpms to reach their power band. Don't be afraid to spin the engine up.

 

Get a weight distributing hitch, trailer brake controller and consider a set of airbags for the rear axle. After that, don’t worry about it and keep up with maintenance.

 

He may not need all you suggested depending on the combined weight of the trailer and load.

 

Not gonna hurt

 

Agreed, it can do it and not hurt the engine. It's just a lot more enjoyable towing when you don't have to down shift two gears and wind out the engine in order to accelerate 10mph.

Edit: My towing with the third gen is also all above 3000' and usually above 6000'. Math says that puts the engine down 9-18% power which is pretty significant when it doesn't start with a whole lot.

 

That’s true for a second gen, not true for a 3rd gen. The gearing and power band is totally different.

if I was towing a lot with the AT, I’d Goto 4.88 if I stayed factory size, 5.29 if I moved up at all. It makes a world of difference.

 

True, you need to work with the equipment you have.

Quit wishing for what you don't have.

 

What’s your combined weight of the trailer, RZR, and any gear you keep in there? I’m guessing somewhere in the 3,000-3,500 lb range? I tow a Polaris Ranger XP1000 on an open trailer and the wind resistance seems to affect towing more than weight. I’ve towed it up to TN and it did fine through the mountains. Total weight was around 3,000 lbs and I used S4 and ECT and had no issue keeping up with traffic or accelerating and merging into traffic. As others have said, you have to let the engine rev when it needs to.

Check out the towing section on here, as there’s a lot of good info there about towing experiences, brake controllers, etc. I would try towing with the truck stock to see how you feel about it before dropping money on gears.

 

Thanks for all of your input. The Trailer with RZR weighs 3,700lbs. It has electric brakes and the Truck has the tow package. Not sure what the payload is. It's a pretty standard Double cab with 4x4, long bed 3.5l Auto.

 

Drive with S4 and ECT on like the manual says. Your payload is noted on the truck and can be seen with the driver door open. It is only about 950 pounds.

 

Ok.....about the only item I'd suggest to purchase is a brake controller. Learn how to set it up for the trailer and load.

Otherwise, pay attention to the GCVWR of the truck. This is likely the limiting load.

 

What do you tow with your Tacoma? Just curious.

 

Extra Crispy Taco mode helps a lot, no reason to regear just to tow a rzr. Now if you also plan on increasing tire size and towing... that's another story.

 

+1 for the regear. 4.88s if you're staying with stock tires.

I feel a lot of people who haven't regeared like to try and make a case for staying with the stock setup. I'm not sure why they're so adamant about not improving the performance of a truck. New gears will change the way your truck drives.

 

hills or flat? Flat will be fine, hills will kill your speed. My buddy sold his 19 for many reasons, one being that it wouldnt tow his enclosed trailer, similar in size to yours, well at all. Due to aerodynamics, not weight. His speed on the hills would drop down too much for his liking and the engine just screamed. But on flats, it was just okay. I tow a 4000lb ish boat and my truck tows it just fine, because towing a boat, the aerodynamics are so much different. Actually, my truck tows my boat so well, my wife drives the truck and boat long distances. I do all the local towing.