Towing - What other upgrades?

I removed the worthless jump seats from the rear and put in this functional platform in. Since it always the wife, the dog, and myself there was no need for the rear seats anyway. The air compressor you see in one of the photos is what is used for the air bags. While camping we found a rug that fit perfectly at a dollar store.
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Yeah…. Definitely the squishier and softer the tire the better it is for towing. Also, blowouts while towing are not a big deal so why mitigate that risk.

Depends on your application and priorities I guess. If you want to improve your rig for towing LT tires are a way to do it. Will it ride more like a real truck? Yes. Does that bother some people? Yes.

 

Want to mitigate the risk of a blowout while towing? Keep the tires properly inflated both on your truck and trailer, pretty simple as that.

edit: As long as you're not overloading a tacoma past its weight specs, then there is no risk of a blowout short of a freak accident that could happen to any tire at any time. P rated tires are well within the limits of what a tacoma can handle from a payload standpoint.

 

Y’all had to remind me how bad I want one of those tire pressure monitor systems for the trailer.

 

I’m not talking about load limits. I’m talking about making your truck more stable while towing or hauling so it performs better, and decreasing your likelihood of a flat. I don’t know where you live and drive, but people around here get flats because they drive over sharp things like nails, screws, metal, sharp rocks, etc. not just because they overloaded a tire.

by your rationale, nothing is required to upgrade a Tacoma for towing unless it’s going above the rated limits. Performance upgrades usually come at a cost of some sort. If you don’t want to upgrade to stronger tires, don’t do it. Maybe that works for you. I know the difference between 10 ply Michelins and p rated toyos. I know it’s a huge upgrade for overall performance and safety. Overkill I guess. Just like every other mod/upgrade.

edit: but having said that there are 10 ply tires that ride like garbage. I’ve had a few sets of 10 ply Michelins and never felt like I sacrificed anything in performance or comfort.

 

i disagree. overkill unless you plan on really overloading your truck. truck and trailer tires inflated to the proper psi, , a good brake controller ( loved the P3 i used to use) good WDH and load the truck and trailer properly withing the trucks capacity and the truck will be very stable and safe. my trailer was over 5000 pounds loaded my 2017 DCLB offroad was 100% stock and it never got blown around or swayed op on the highway. took 2 miles to get up to speed... lol but was never unstable.

 

It’s gonna make braking and acceleration worse due to the weight of the tires and make it ride harsher. You do you, but it’s not great advice. And yes, I do think that zero upgrades are needed when towing within the rated limits. It’s like there’s a team of engineers at Toyota who have decided that or something.

 

Most of the time the tires do fine. But on the way home there is a downhill section that has a a somewhat sharp curve before a bridge. In the summer I can feel the front sidewalls flex and hear the tires squealing in the curve nothing scary. But I think a stiffer sidewall may be better.
Again when new tires are needed, I will bring this to my tire guy’s attention and see where it goes. I am not going to replace good tires for this, it is not that necessary. Hey I drive like a old man.

 

I would start by slowing down. If that didn’t work, I’d buy performance street tires. It the problem persisted, I’d trade the truck in for a sports car.

 

thanks for clarifying that my advice is wrong. Good LT tires make your tow vehicle far more stable and less prone to flats (from punctures); both improve towing performance and safety. Might lose an mpg. Not a big deal to me. Our work trucks get flats all the time until the stock tires are replaced with LT’s.

think your 0-60 time is what’s most important when making your Tacoma a better tow-rig? We have different ideas about priorities.

And with a 5000# trailer behind you, when you need to stop in an emergency, do you think a soft p-rated tire is going to stop faster than an LT tire?

A matter of opinions. I stand by my advice of LT tires being better for towing. I drive on mountain pass highways with lots of steep grade, hard cornering, and broken shale slide across the roads. If you use your truck in such a fashion that you never have to worry about flats, and your towing is largely straight(ish) roads over rolling hills, it probably would be overkill.

 

Sounds like you’re braking hard in the turn, heavily weighting the front outside tire. Slow down before the curve

 

I picked this truck up new in the fall of 2018 just before I retired. I drove a Company supplied truck. I found that buying a personal truck was a waste since it just set there in the driveway. Since that luxury was about to go away, I decided to find a loaded Tacoma Access Cab. These were not easy to find, you could find plenty double cabs loaded up with options but not an AC. I finally found what I wanted about three hours away. On the way home after dark I came to realize there the hood scope makes it hard for me to see over at times.
I first installed a front camera using the the Car Solutions RFCC kit, this gives me the ability to pull up the front or rear camera at anytime.
After buying the camper I wanted to add a backup camera to it. The wireless type use a monitor that you put on the dashboard. The Tacoma does not have much room for this. I put together a relay kit so that when the trailer camera cable is plugged into the truck it switches the truck’s rear camera to the camper’s camera. This puts the camper’s camera view into the truck’s dash display. When plugged up the camper’s camera comes up whenever I put the truck in reverse. Also I can pull up the camera while on the road and check for traffic behind me.
I post some pictures to help explain. Reply back to me if you want more info
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The seven pin add on plug for camera, relay box, wiring diagram, and views from truck and camper cameras.

 

You are correct, you would think that familiar roads wouldn’t snick up on me!

 

lol.. i couldn't tell you the last time i actually got a flat tire on any of my vehicles. actually i lied.. it was two days after i got new tires installed.. came out to a flat tire. ended up being a bad brand new valve stem.. other then that over the last 20 years i have never had a flat. not sure what the hell you are driving on to get so many flat tiers but apparently its not the same roads i'm on.. and again as long as you are within the trucks rated capacities the stock tires are safe as hell.. if you want to drive like an idiot while towing you'll never be safe

bottom line if you need to go with heavier tires to tow with your tacoma then you need a fullsize truck.. nuff said.,

 

either the load isn't distributed properly, you are going too fast or you just need a fullsize truck to do what you are doing...

 

I was thinking the exact same thing. I’ve had nearly zero automobile tire punctures during my life. Bicycle tires are a whole different story. I had 20 in one season. That’s what spares are for.

 

I should have followed my first instincts and stayed out of the tire discussion.

 

No worries. This is how we share ideas, learn about others experiences, and talk about how the world works.

 

That’s fine, its a nice change from the weed growing forum, where everyone is agreeable and mellow for some reason.

 

Did anyone say antisway bar? This is right up there with brake controller for me. I don't think 3rd gen tacomas pull more than 4500 lb very well. My second gen had a supercharger and I could pull 6,500 fairly well but not this thing. 2018 3.5l.