Towing 500 miles with my 2.7L Tacoma

In a few months I will be moving from Plano, TX to Lawrence, KS (a little over 500 miles). In preparation for this, I found that U-Haul trucks are much more expensive than I had anticipated. Instead, I was looking at installing a trailer hitch to my 4-banger Tacoma (2wd and no tow package) to pull one of their small trailers instead of a truck. The U-Haul would be a 5x8 (around 1,000lbs) and it wouldn't be loaded with not much other than a desk, nightstand, clothes, and other personal items. I understand that my Tacoma has a towing capacity of 3,500lbs and can easily tow it, but I'm unsure if the length of the pull would be an issue with me not having a transmission cooler for a 500 mile hike without stopping. Also, would any potential issues from this trip/self installed hitch void my factory warranty? I just don't want to burn up my brand new truck's transmission a few months after buying it lol.

As you can probably tell, I don't pull trailers often
Let me know what y'all think, thanks!

 

No answer for you on your warranty question, I wouldn't think so however.You will be more than fine on weight. Watch your temps and maybe just stop halfway If you want to be extra safe.

 

Also factor in the temperature on the day you pull. If it's 100º outside then you will probably want to stop more often.

 

It does get pretty hot over here in Texas and, despite what some would believe, the trip through Oklahoma and Kansas is rather hilly. Do you think getting a transmission cooler is necessary or should I be fine without it? I only plan on towing during this one trip in the near future so I could go without purchasing it haha

 

Stopping often is the worst thing you can do. Keeping good air flow through the radiator and good fluid flow through the transmission is what keeps everything cool. The engine and trans will very quickly get up to the standard operating temps, and stopping/shutting everything down will take hours to cool everything down only to be back up to temperature in a few minutes.

Just don't stomp on the throttle and you'll be just fine. Watch temps in stop/go traffic where trans temps get quite a bit higher.

The 5x8 is very light (only a couple hundred pounds) so it's basically a negligible pull. Keep speeds below 60MPH and best of luck with your move!

I'm moving in a similar fashion from NJ to FL (about 2200 miles). I can't believe how much Uhaul charges for one way trailer rentals!!

 

You'll be fine without the cooler and that light weight. Toyota seems to think the cooler isn't necessary and no longer includes with the tow package.

 

Thanks for the info! Yeah, its kind of ridiculous. I really thought that it would be much less money to rent one haha.
Good luck with your move as well!

 

Oh and PS - if your trans is shifting often use your selector to turn off overdrive (or whatever the top gear is in those little 4 bangers...sorry not too familiar with their exact specs)

 

All i can say is good luck, you'll be screaming the guts out of the poor truck on any hills. It'll do it, but your going to feel, and hear it.

 

Load it heavier in the front of the trailer, leave it out of OD, and keep it at 65. It'll be fine. I-35 is easy peasy and the only decent sized hill is just south of OKC.

 

You'll be fine and will have at least two gas stops along the way to give the truck a break on if you want.

 

Way back in the dark ages before there were six cylinder engines I towed a 2 axle enclosed uhaul trailer from Knoxville to flagstaff (1800 miles). This using my 88 sr5 4x4 with a five speed. Good old 22re engine. 2.4 liters and about 120 hp. Was not fast but did just fine

 

IMO 500 miles isn't shit, send it and don't worry about frequent stops.

It's crazy on one hand people pull the Napoleon Dynamite talking about how their Tacoma's can tow a trailer over those mountains, but under the same breath for a 5x8 trailer under 3500# they're like nope.

 

Relocated several years ago and made two 800 mile one way towing trips with my 2011 2.7l Tacoma. First one was with truck and trailer loaded up with an ATV, motorcycle, snowblower, lawnmower, canoe and a bunch more miscellaneous stuff. Total weight was probably around 2000 lbs. Second trip was towing a 2500lb boat. No problem!

 

I don't think so, Tim!

 

You'll be fine. To summarize the reasonable posts above:
Keep speed down, the amount of power needed to go up a few miles per hour increases dramatically. 60-65 is way easier than 75-80.
It will hit top temp in the first x minutes and take hours to cool off, so stopping does nothing.
Keep it in a gear where it's not constantly shifting up and down.

 

Also, if you are really worried, I assume there's a scanner out there that can tell you your real time temps on trans, coolant, and maybe oil temp. Maybe someone can chime in on what to get and how to use it.
You could watch the temps and know if they are headed towards the high side.
And 500 miles can be broken down into two days, drive from 5am to 10am each day if the temps are going to be 100 outside. The transmission and cooling system probably will run at the same temps, but mentally it will be easier on you.

 

True, but those trucks were a lot lighter at the time to. Hopefully with more hp these 4 bangers have today will better overcome the gen3's weight.

 

Back in the day i use to tow 2 sleds on an open 2 place trailer with my 22re 4x4 toyota pickup. It'd take 12-15 hrs of all day driving to reach our motel in la tuque, quebec. Wasn't much fun getting there, but always made it. That was 500 miles one way.

 

Hose down your radiator make sure air can flow through the fins (also good advice if you ever go off road and play in the mud but I WOULD NEVER)

Keep it slow if you need to. I know those highways run at 75+, but if you need to be hitting 60, just plug along in the right lane. People will blow your doors off but you won't be a danger.