Towing - 2nd gen vs 3rd

Goodmorning, searched on this site for previous discussions but couldn't find any. My beloved 17 year old 2nd gen with 250K miles may be ready to retire. I tow a lot, both a utility trailer and a 4,000 lb camper. Has anyone gone from a 2nd to 3rd gen who also tows, and what has your experience been? I've concerned with the 3.5 liter engine, and more gears in the transmission. Thanks for any feedback!

 

Don't worry about having more gears in the trans...you won't use all of them when towing. I've towed with both...the 4.0 was much better at providing better torque off the line but the 3.5 maintained speed better when in 4th gear. Got better gas mileage with the 4.0 but not by much...10mpg in the 2nd gen and 8mpg in the 3rd gen (towing a 5,000lb sail). These trucks weren't meant for towing really. You might be better off with a Tundra.

 

There are eight years of towing threads in this forum. Plenty of info there.

 

Yeah, nothing related to my question. Thanks for your attempt at...whatever that was.

 

It will tow fine as long as you follow the procedure of towing from the owner’s manual which is shifter in S4, ECT Power on for the auto trans. As others said you’ll probably notice a bit more pull down low on 2nd gen but more power up top. In 4th gear you’ll be in the 3000 range at 65-70 which generates a bit of good power out of the 3.5.

I personally have a regeared manual and kept it in 5th towing about 4000 lbs. 3200 rpm at 65, it ran great. Downshift to 4th at 4000 rpm anytime I needed and it really pulled well in those cases. I think you’ll be fine.

 

You didn't look very hard. The advice BLtheP posted has been posted literally hundreds, if not thousands of time in those threads.

 

Except the question wasn't "how to tow with a 3rd gen" which is what @BLtheP answered very well, it was asking who has gone from a 2nd gen to a 3rd gen and what lessons were learned. Yes, it has been discussed here before...but using the search function including the word "towing" will take days to sort through.

 

When in doubt, RTFM.

 

Only reason I included that info was didn’t want him to go and buy a 3rd gen and then complain it towed poorly after not having towed correctly. I agree that they tow fine if kept within their limits and executed properly and their towing performance is certainly not a reason to NOT buy a 3rd gen (IMO).

 

Where in the manual does it compare towing with a 2nd gen to a 3rd gen?

 

Dude, maybe sit this one out.

 

Here we go! Gonna be a good one

2nd genners coming soon and will be discussing stump pulling power of the 4.0

 

My 3rd Gen pulled a shrubbery once.

 

How much work did the transmission cooler need to do?

 

Dude, do a little research.

 

Um what? I’m sorry but that’s impossible. It’s either photoshop or you’ve got the 1GR under the hood.

 

Wonder if any rentals have a tow hitch
I’d call around, pretty cheap way to form your own opinion

 

If I were to do a lot of towing with a 4k lbs camper,,,, I'd say neither, I'd be looking to get a full size.

 

Only if he had an additional transmission cooler his spare wouldn’t fall out…

 

/thread.