Planning to tow a car dolly with a 4 cyl reg cab

Maybe contact some transport companies and get quotes to see what they'd charge to deliver it. It may be a better bet at the end of the day. Edit and the life you save may be your own

 

For that matter, and of course, not knowing what kind of shape its in.... if its in decent shape, some temp plates and just drive it on its own 4 wheels.

("project" doesn't mean "complete crap", it could mean "stock with high mileage, bad paint, and torn seats")

 

Fly in and drive that bitch home would be good, too

 

This guy has no towing experience. Safer rather than sorry. Just because it can be done doesn't mean it should.

Towing is a learned science.

 

Driving with an unfamiliar vehicle isn't going to help make things better.

 

Be realistic with someone asking a genuine question. Not sure why you let your ego get hurt by people knocking a 4cyl for long distance towing.

 

Yes, good catch on the U-Haul. And, Toyota itself recommends (in the manual for the truck, if I remember correctly) not using 5th for towing anything of substance. Shouldn't be going fast enough for the revs to matter much at or near the max tow capacity of the truck anyway. That being said, one can do whatever one wants.

 

rent the uhaul dolly and get it done. Ive had to tow project cars home many times. the first one i ever did was a 1970 chevy c20 pickup with a bed full of parts and an extra engine. I used the uhaul car hauler and my 2004 silverado 1500 crew cab to yank it home about 200 miles. This was my first time towing. take your time, make sure everything is hooked up and secured correctly and leave plenty of space to brake. You have a truck, use it it

 

Well, there won't be any towing going on this weekend anyway. Seller decided to fall off the grid for a few days then said he ended up trading it in the end.

Guess it wasn't meant to be.

 

Can almost guarantee the dolly is closer to 900lbs

 

If you don't have access to a bigger truck or SUV the go for it.... just be careful and take your time!! I'm only 27 but have towed heavy loads since right out of high school working construction!!! Owning 2 diesels and now my 2.7 I use and abuse it but it always comes out on top!! The main thing with any load is make sure it's secure!!! And loaded properly which won't really mean anything on a dolly

 

I happen to be the one being realistic. You are suggesting that not only he deal with a heavy load on the first pull of his life, but that he does so in an unfamiliar vehicle. That is idiotic.

 

If they recommend not using 5th, that would be for the AUTOMATIC (V6). Not only that, but the reason they do so is because its easier to say that than to try to explain how to tell if its hunting for gears.

 

Not when we are talking 4cyl Taco vs EcoBoost/full size.

Sounds like you've never towed with anything but a 4cyl. A full size with 3-4k lbs would hardly be able to tell anything was there. That on a mid-size 4cyl and you arent careful, you trash the truck.

 

f150 is a "small" full size. Basically no different than tacoma, just a couple more inches between the wheel wells to fit a full 4' sheet.

I've pulled more with a 4-cyl than you've pulled with ANYTHING. 3 or 4 thousand is like a bag of feathers.

And since YOU don't even HAVE a 4-cyl, you are completely out of your element and have no right to make any claims.

 

I seem to recall that was for the 5-speed manual in the 1st gen tacomas (v6 or 4) and I believe it's the same manual transmission in the 2nd gen 4cyl. But, whatever...do what feels right for the truck and practice mechanical empathy.

 

You can go to www.uhaul.com "Towing & Trailers" You can select tow vehicle & towed vehicle.
It will tell you if it's recommended or not.