Towing Report (3rd Gen) - First Timer

Thought I'd share my towing experience here since I've seen lots of talk around that topic.

My parents car broke 300 miles from home and it was $2200 to get it towed and insurance sure wouldn't cover it. I looked up the curb weight of the car (3500lbs) and figured I could eek by running about 85% of the 6400 towing capacity max. I was able to rent a flat 18' trailer that was probably 1800-2000lbs and dual axle.

I loaded the car backwards and centered the mass of the weight right over the trailer axels to reduce tongue weight. I kept the truck in S4 and ECT on and drove a steady 57mph the entire 300 flat miles across Nebraska. Not once did I have any issues, felt like the Taco had enough in her to get the job done.

I'd say I was impressed with the job the Tacoma did, but I really wouldn't want to do this on a regular basis. I definitely wouldn't want to do this in hilly roads, but perhaps it would be ok. Never planned on towing when I bought the truck but really glad to know I can in a pinch.

 

Sounds like it went well! Excellent!
Sorry to hear about your parent’s Subaru breaking down.

 

Good job. I'm sure you know this but trailer brakes makes all the difference (I'm assuming you dont have a controler) and would have made the trip more relaxed.

The Taco isn't the perfect towing machine but it can tow. I think of the Taco as the Swiss-army-knife of trucks because it do so many things.... some of them exceptionally well.

 

^ x2 and a brake controller is required by law when towing anything over 3000# if I remember the Nebraska laws correctly.

 

Just drove 1200 miles to pick up a new truck. Off the line at a light sucked. But the trip went amazing. She pulled fine once you got all that mass moving. Like [op] I wouldn't do this every weekend. But a once a done is fun.

 

Glad it was a positive experience. In general you want more weight on the hitch to prevent sway but by the sounds of it you kept speeds down.

FYI you should try towing in D or at least 5th gear. Toyota recommends towing in D with ECT and using S5 or lower for engine braking downhill. I towed a 5,000lb trailer 8,000 miles last year and utilizing 5th makes a huge difference to mpg and noise.

 

Is that a basic SR or a TSS package sr? great job!

 

Glad you had a good trip, thanks for sharing!