My experience of towing 4,700lb travel trailer, which now weighs closer to 5,000lbs… maybe.

Awesome. Wife and I stayed in Kanab when we went to the South Rim of GC in 2017. That area was a wonderful surprise and we look forward to going back.

 

So yesterday I put the rv into storage after cruising around in it for a year and a half.

This last journey from Bend, OR took us through Winnemucca along the loneliest Hwy in America, along the extraterrestrial Hwy, through Las Vegas, to Goodyear AZ, a 1,300 mile journey ending with a 6,000+ft elevation climb to Flagstaff.

I was amazed that on the last leg from Goodyear to Flagstaff which was around 150 miles with a 6kft+ climb and I did it at 11.5mpg!

Screen shot of OBD after the climb to Flagstaff.

Our new temporary home…


The RV is taking a break in storage.



At some point I will tally up what total mileage we did since picking the TT up new in Nov ‘21.

 

So... The total miles towed was 8,226 miles, total elevation climbed 65,148 ft, highest elevation 10,856, lowest elevation -223ft and only 8 states visited!

If I could change one thing about the Taco it would be for the torque converter to lock up in 3rd gear... and maybe a bigger fuel tank.

I look forward to the next time we use the caravan as it will be for purely pleasure purposes up in the woods of Flagstaff

Until the next time

 

Wow, that's some impressive traveling. It does seem that the TC could be locked up within a range of RPM without any downfall. I wonder why they don't do that.

Where's your temp home? I assume your renting for now?

I've really enjoying reading about your experiences on here.

 

Thanks, I wish I had done more of a day to day blog to remember all the places we went easier but hey ho…

We’re in Goodyear AZ, RV is 150 miles away up in flagstaff, intended as a getaway from the heat

 

I think the VF Tuner software can change the shift RPM and TC lockup points, may want to take a look at getting a "tune" done to your ECU. Certainly it gives more power, sometimes gives more MPG...

 

Thanks, If they could add 3rd gear to lock up then definitely the tune would be worth it to me, otherwise power is fine. As is I seem to be getting better than average mpg especially with towing. Did a climb on I17 from Phoenix to Flagstaff recently which was over 6,000ft of elevation gain and averaged 11.5mpg towing my 5k lb TT up there.

 

What's your thoughts on pinning the thermostat on the transmission lines? I thought about doing this only when I towing since it's so easy to pin and unpin.

 

I always do.

 

Do you leave it pinned all the time or just pin it while towing?

 

Typically only when towing. Currently in AZ with temps regularly above 100’ so may leave it pinned…

However there’s been several times when not towing and I’ve been climbing a slight grade at 70mph in 5th and the truck doesn’t downshift and is running in 5th with the torque converter unlocked and tc temps have skyrocketed up to like 230’.

I wonder how many times I’ve not had OBD running and temps have gone high.

I wish I knew what Toyota deemed to be too hot, when does the transmission hot light actually come on. Presumably that warning temp is based on pan temps.

 

That's my plan too..... pin as needed.

Here's some info I found along with the post link. There's some great info in the link.

"I've doing some research in the 3rd gen Tacoma service manual. This is what I've found for normal coolant temps and thermostat operation.

Coolant thermostat opens 187-194°F
Normal coolant temperature 167 to 212°F
Max coolant temp is 284°F

Im still looking for transmission temperature information but the manual is over 11000 pages. I also emailed toyota customer service inquiring about AC60 normal operating temperatures. I wonder if I'll even get a response lol."

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/3rd-gen-transmission-cooler-upgrade.482280/#post-14744606

 

Good find. The trans temps are somewhat regulated by the coolant system, even more so post mid 2020 when the dedicated trans cooler was removed.

I just looked through my screen shots of all my trips and the hottest coolant temp I’ve seen was 208’ whilst climbing Wolf Creek Pass (10,865ft elev), on that trip pan hit 198’ and TC hit 214’. I was in 2nd gear at 40mph (speedlimit) on the final approach to the summit for a good minute or so and the tc temp normalised at that 214’ for the whole minute.

I have an alert set on OBD when the TC temp hits 220’, I don’t know if that’s conservative or not.

On the trip down to AZ I saw for the first time my pan temps go above 200’, it was a nasty climb into a strong headwind at around 90’ ambient temps, max pan temp was 204’ for a brief minute.

 

220' seems conservative to me. I hit 230' on my 2nd outing but it was a rather large ascend at 500 feet in 1 mile (this was before I learned I could pin the T-stat in my 2023). It was at 230' for only a few minutes and quickly dropped once I crested the mountaintop. Having said that, I'd prefer to NEVER get over 200-210 so maybe 220' max is a good goal.

 

When up to operating temp never going above 200 with the tc is unrealistic even when not towing. Going above 200 with the pan almost never happens for me when towing, has only happened twice in 8k miles of towing.

I’ve never paid attention to temps when off-roading but probably should. I’ve done some 30-40 mile trips with lots of deep sand driving where you need to keep revs up. I’m betting temps got v hot.

 

Are you paying attention to pan temps also?

 

Your probably right about my unrealistic expectation. I too haven't monitored my temps very often while not towing. My pan temp got to 213 deg on my 500' in 1 mile ascend (when my TC got up to 231 deg). I suspect pinning the T-stat would have delayed that heat rise which would have resulted in a lower max temp when I crested the mountain top.

Edited to add screen shot of of this mountain pull.

 

Yeah 213’ in the pan is quite warm. TBH dropping another gear and have the revs higher will move the oil quicker around the system too.

 

Great point. Thanks for the advice.... makes sense.

 

It’s all good fun and games!!

I’ve just got done with detailing my truck and the wife’s Rav4, both vehicles have been through a lot in the last 18 months. My truck is going to need new tyres pretty darn soon, 26k miles and they’re shot, especially the center 2/3rds. That’s from me over-inflating them to stiffen the sidewalls up and improve the ride.
I’m thinking about getting Cooper AT3 LT tyres. I prefer my truck with the stiffer ride.

Found out today that the Taco has “slip lock”, 1/2 lock up in 3rd gear apparently, I need to do some research as I don’t really understand it…