How do I find out if my truck has a towing package?

I have a 2004 double cab prerunner sr5 3.4liter v6 and I am not the original owner and need to know If it has the towing package

 

Check your fan clutch color: a green fan clutch is meant for the towing package and usually indicates the package has been installed. If you have an orange clutch, you did not have the package installed. Also, of course, check to see if you have a hitch mounted in the rear. Hope that helps.

 

I appreciate that. It has a hitch receiver.

 

The fan clutch color is what we'd always use at the dealer for a quick reference. You can also try typing in "towing" into the search function and there are some pretty good write ups. As for the ECT button, that comes equipped on a wide range of vehicles, including some of the cars, so I don't remember it being a tow-specific feature.

 

IMO they did away with the orange fan clutch at some point. Many many Tacomas came from the factory with the green and no tow package including mine. There was a package called "severe weather package" that had some additional weather strip pieces on the door frame, the heavier duty starter and something else, might have been the green clutch.
If you order a new clutch now you will get the green one.

 

Thank you for chiming in. I figured there may be some exception, just wasn't aware of the specifics. I would suppose contacting the dealer with your VIN # may allow them to see what was originally installed at the dealer or possibly manufacturer.

TUNDERWOOD- Either way, definitely want to consider installing a trans cooler if you are considering towing at all, or even just to add a little insurance. Hayden makes a great one for relatively cheap and is very efficient. I noticed a dramatic difference in temps on my scan gauge once the cooler was installed, especially stop n go and through hills.

 

This got me curious so I dug out my lovingly preserved 99 sales brochure and original window sticker.
The optional "weather" package I was referring to is code CK "All Weather Guard Equipment Package".

heavy-duty battery, heavy-duty starter, rain-channel windshield molding, heavy duty windshield wiper motor------$75

A tow package is not mentioned at all. I know they exist, there were lots of problems with the trailer wiring module. I guess it must be technically a dealer or regional distributor installed "accessory", at least for the 99 model year.

 

I appreciate the information

 

My TRD and plenty of others don't.

 

You said this.

I said you are wrong, nothing more, nothing less.

 

My earlier 1st gens all were non tow package. The color on the clutch fan is the only way to know for sure. I believe the owners manual even had an illistration. There never was a true towing package on 1st gens. Dealers added hitches, not the factory.

 

Nope.

I've heard this too.

I think if they added one, you should be able to find the wiring harness and trace it back to the Toyota brand converter that combines the trucks tail light ciruits into the simpler 4-prong trailer harness. I think the harness was typically installed under the driver's seat, but I could be wrong, or it could vary by dealer install.

 

I've read this as well. I'm the third owner of mine, and it had a hitch and wiring harness when I bought it. My trailer lights were acting flakey - sometimes working and sometimes not, so I replaced the harness and fixed the problem. The original one was Toyota branded, so at least it originally came from them, although probably not factory installed.

 

Wonderful way to add to the discussion. So if you don't have a tow package what items are you missing? Since you KNOW what makes a tow package please enlighten us

 

No one reads the thread before posting anymore?

For the last time, just not true.

True, like I said, the "package" was a dealer installed "accessory" not a factory option.





.

 

Once again it is not a "package" so to speak. It was just a dealer or regional distribution center installed accessory, a Toyota branded hitch and wiring. Many of the wiring kits were defective and not all installs got the same harness. In some cases they may have changed out the fan clutch. On that one point I can not say for sure. The regional dist centers were famous for adding all kinds of things like wheel upgrades and graphics. The SE dist center was famous for putting TRD stickers on regular trucks before they ever saw a dealer.

 

That's a shitty thing to do, but clever.
I have factory tow on my 02, I have a box on the back wall drivers side with fuses for the turn signals and brake lights of the trailer connector. I've heard a tow package also meant 4.10 gears but I'm not sure...

 

Could you explain this to me then?

 

Sure,
Many 1st gens came from the factory with the green HD fan clutch and no tow "package" or "accessory hitch" including mine. This is a well established fact. Therefore the green clutch in itself can not be a sole indicator.

Some confusion gets generated from the terminology Toyota used through the 1st gen production years.
Up till the last few years (1st gen) Toyota offered an "accessory" hitch. It consisted of the hitch and a wiring module, so listed in my 99 sales brochure. These were dealer or regional distribution center installs with no mention what so ever of the HD clutch. Also sold over the counter.
In the later years Toyota started to call it a "package" and likely included the clutch then mentioned in the owners manual. I firmly believe that this package was still installed at the distribution center level, not the factory. I further believe the simple "hitch and wiring" kit was still available as an accessory, adding even more confusion.

The second pic in the link below shows a window sticker with "distributors installed options", not factory. The rest of the thread has some other good info on the subject.
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads...ion-cooler-add-on.478560/page-2#post-14973785

I have asked before and will again, does anyone have a factory build sheet listing a tow package?

Now the "fan pitch" issue. I regard this as urban legend until some actual evidence surfaces. Now, some of the better online parts sites do have a "note" specifically requesting a VIN# for replacement fans on at least a few years for the V6 so...........

 

Get a hitch....and a 4 way pig tail (20 min. to wire it). Boom! Tow package!