will Supercharger help with towing power?

I purchased a 2015 Tacoma and a 23f northland trailer which has a dry weight of 5200 lbs. I have taken a couple of trips so far, the last one to Carlsbad NM. when returning to home, (Phoenix az) we hit a heavy headwind from Carlsbad to El Paso tx. climbing the hills I found my foot in the throttle and the gas flowing freely. Got 5.5 mpg and nearly ran out of gas. (Last 30 miles into El Paso the empty light was on, and think the Good Lord did his water into wine thing for me in answer to prayers)
I am wondering if the addition of the TRD supercharger will be of significant gain to help in towing as we plan a 3 month excursion into the pacific north west come end of May. Also any comments on usefulness of changing the gear ratio from the 3.73 standard to something in 4.45 range would be welcome.

 

I'm also interested in this, I was going to buy a S/C to help with towing as well.

 

I have a SC 3.4 V6 and there's a decent power difference. Mostly in higher altitudes. But to answer your question, yes.

 

Of course you can have more power to pull more, but there are more things to consider before altering the towing capacity of your truck. The weight of the truck, the payload & braking system are all things to consider, not just horsepower. If you want to tow more I would buy a different truck before putting other people's lives in danger on the road.

 

Changing the gear ratio would definitely help for this trip with the mountains.

Supercharger will help most noticeably at the higher altitudes, less noticeably at sea level.

Also, as a 2015 I'd guess the motor/drivetrain is still 'breaking in', so you are not running quite as efficient as in another 10k miles or so.

Check all of your fluids esp transmission.

I don't know about the 2015's but earlier years trannies were routinely underfilled.
And many folks swear by going to all synth diff, transfer, and tranny you see a slight mpg increase and be much kinder to the drivetrain.

And some of those mountain roads are a pretty fair pull for anything.

 

Full-size is best for a trailer of that size.

Once things out of your control happen, such as wind, the security of a full-size truck's features come into play...sheer weight, hp/torque, brakes, suspension, engine and trans more suited to towing

...all of this is definite benefit in hilly terrain

 

Gears would make the biggest difference. for a trailer that heavy I'd prefer a different tow rig though. We get a ton of wind up here, the surface area of that trailer, you wouldn't be able to control it with a tacoma.

 

Personally I take any tow rating and divide it in half. That's usually what a truck can pull somewhat comfortably.

With an automatic transmission the blower might let you stay in a higher gear due to more torque output at lower RPM. I have heard that causes mileage to increase. On the manual trans we're just fooked, but ah well.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X6LzWZYWpOU

 

Off road=Tacoma, Haul=Tundra, Tow=Duramax

 

It's real.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wolf_Creek_Pass

 

I have a 99 v6 that tows a 4000 lb (loaded) Idea 18' travel trailer fine. I live in the Pacific Northwest and cross the mountain passes frequently. It gets 12.2 pg on the flats and just over 11 mpg overall. I use synthetic lubes, added a trans cooler, 32" tires and keep the OD off. Seems to tow fine and I haven't killed any innocent bystanders with it. Get the SC and Drive On, my brother!

 

Just got done with towing 1250 miles, from San Francisco to Denver, hauling ~4500 lbs.

11 years ago, I towed my stuff from Denver to Orange County, with ~2000 lbs and a NA Tacoma. And distinctly recall 10 mpg. I was shocked how much towing affected my fuel efficiency.

With this recent pull, my truck is supercharged now, and the majority of time I was able to stay in 6th gear. Only having to drop it down to 4th less than a handful of times. My average was 14 MPG across the trip, with twice the weight.

No doubt the SC helps with towing. But didn't expect to help with fuel efficiency either.

And no doubt a full size is better suited for towing. But if you have a Tacoma, and have to pull a lot with it, then SC it. It made a huge difference for me.

 

More torque at lower rpm = less throttle =better mpg.