Towing capacity on a 2wd vs 4x4?

I just bought a 2011 DCLB SR5 and it has a towing hitch on it. I was wondering if it being 2wd had less towing capacity than the 4x4's 6500lbs?

 

Towing in 4wd: a GREAT way to blow your transfer case.

The answer is, of course, NO. The presence of 4wd in and of itself has zero effect on towing.

Some 4wd vehicles have different gearing than their 2wd counterparts and this may, in some cases have an affect, but with Tacoma, there are two ratings, and not in any way related to presence of 4wd.

 

I wasn't saying towing in 4x4.

What are the two ratings? I have the SR5 package was wondering what my tow rating was.

 

If your truck is the V6 with the towing package (cooler, hitch,ect) the rating is the same with my prerunner V6 and Whipper's 4x4 V6 with the towing package, 6500#

 

only time ive seen 4wd used when towing was when my dad and i went to san vicinte resevoir(sp?) years ago and the boat ramp was on a steep hill and was wet. wouldnt pull the boat out until he put into 4wd.

 

6400 lbs for dclb

 

I'll have to look. I have the hitch but not sure if it was added later or not.

 

Well if you're not IN 4wd, then how do you expect it to make any difference?

 

Say that when you're pulling a boat out of the water on a slippery ramp.

The OP actually has a legit question. Some trucks, particularly full size domestic makes have significantly higher tow ratings for the 2wd versions. I understand that this is the Tacoma forum and this is irrelevant, but look at the reduced rating for the DCLB. 100 pounds lower rating because the truck is slightly heavier? Then why not reduce the tow rating of 4wd Tacos due to the added weight of the 4wd equipment? Logical question. The answer is that tow ratings are more marketing hype than engineering. While I would not advocate exceeding the rating of any vehicle, the tow ratings are likely as conservative as the marketing department allows and a newer well maintained Taco in proper configuration could probably safely tow a measurable amount more than 6400-6500 lbs. for at least a short distance.

Chris

 

Tow ratings do not apply to boat ramps where you have available low range at (in tacoma 4x4's case) 2.54:1, which should make it fairly trivial to pull out at least three times the rated capacity, so lets say 20000 pounds.

Tow ratings have absolutely nothing to do with boat ramps. They have to do with highways and emergency control.

I'm not seeing that. For interests sake, I just looked up fords, and there is no significant difference between identical models with or without 4wd. Just two or three hundred pounds to be "technically" accurate with respect to the GCWR.

You make an interesting point actually.
One would expect the towing capacity to be GCWR minus curb weight. Check Tacoma V6 AC 4x4 and you get 7030 pounds, yet tow capacity is listed as 6500. For prerunner, its even bigger at 7265 pounds, 765 pounds over rating. Lets say driver weighs 150 pounds. Little guy, yeah, and he's got 115 pounds of fuel in it. Under those conditions, should it not have a towing capacity of 7000?

You're getting there. There is definitely some engineering involved as well. The engineers math out the absolute maximum, build in some margin for error, and hand that number to marketing. Marketing then applies market research statistics and comes up with the marketing number that they use to control the distribution of purchases based on their full offerings.

I also take very strong exception to the notion that towing capacity should come down to weight alone. Yes, weight is important, but so is wind resistance. So is balance. So is your location -- you can make more power generally at lower altitudes. Larger trailers are safer when the weather is warm and dry than, for example, icy.

And then how much of towing capacity really comes down to the driver? This is probably the very most important consideration.

 

I've seen different tow ratings between 2wd and 4wd

I thought I read somewhere here there are two different tow ratings. 6500 and 3500lbs.

 

With or without Tow package

 

OK we're arguing semantics, but I understand what you are saying.
My point is that I've seen people on a boat ramp in all types of vehicles that have factory or U-Haul or other aftermarket hitches struggling to pull a 600lb aluminum boat out of the water. I've also seen dual-rear wheel F450 4x2 monsters struggling equally to pull a proportionately larger boat out. On a boat ramp, traction is part of the equation.

I was inaccurate on the difference between 2wd and 4wd full size domestic ratings. I could have sworn that there was a bigger difference...

As for an experienced driver being the most important consideration-- I agree 100%.

Chris

 

Okay, I'm looking at the specs in the 2012 Tacoma brochure right now. All models without tow packages installed max out at 3500-lbs. Thus, the regular cab models (no tow package available) have a max capacity of 3500-lbs.

Same with the access cab 4x2 models (no tow package available = 3500-lbs). The access cab V6 4x4 (with tow package) has a capacity of 6500-lbs.

The double cab 4x2 (no tow package available) has a max capacity of 3400-lbs (not a typo, 100-lbs less), the 4x4 V6 double cab short bed (with tow package) can pull 6500-lbs, and the 4x4 V6 double cab long bed (with tow package) handles a max of 6400-lbs (again not a typo, 100-lbs less).

The max tongue weight for all V6 models with tow package is 650-lbs. The tongue weight for all 4-cylinder models and those without tow packages available top out at 350-lbs (double cab 4x2 = 340-lbs).

 

The added weight of the 4x4 components actually reduces the rated capacity of the 4x4 model by a few hundred pounds.

The towing rating is still 6500, but the GVWR and GCVWR are not increased to compensate for options, such as 4x4, towing package, long bed, RC/AC/DC, etc....

The GCVWR of all Tacoma models with towing package maxed out at around 12,000. Heavier trucks can tow less.
12000 - 6500 = 5500 maximum gross weight of the truck itself.
You're over that with a 4x4 DCLB loaded for a vacation.

 

And BTW: The only difference between a Tacoma with and without the tow package is:

7-wire connector
Factory hitch
Transmission cooler
Provision for electric brake controller


The only thing that actually impacts the truck itself is the trans cooler.
Everything can be added aftermarket by a competent installer and at that point, the truck would match the ratings of the tow-package truck.

 

Check the door panel label for the actual towing capacity of your specific truck.

 

Actually, the factory V6 tow package includes

- Class IV receiver hitch
- Supplemental transmission cooler
- Supplemental oil cooler
- 130-amp alternator
- Heavy-duty battery
- 7-pin connector (with 4-pin adapter)
- Trailer-Sway Control (TSC)
- Connector for electronic brake controller

The item in bold type were not mentioned in your list.

 

Wanna bet?
V6 Access Cab WITH tow package GCWR: 11,100
V6 Access Cab WITHOUT tow package GCWR: 8,100

Source: www.toyota.com look under "Tacoma".

 

Oops...

I was thinking of the weight added by the hitch.