Need a few opinions on towing with 1st gen/compared to 2nd gen taco/1st gen tundra....

First off I have an 04 Taco auto with the 3.4 I tow a small teardrop trailer that weighs in at maybe 2700 lbs wet. I live in middle Ga and believe it or not we have a few hills here. My truck sucks ass going up and down hills on roads that have a 55 mph limit.. It pulls ok on flat ground but the more I use the camper the more aggravating it gets. I feel like I am pulling a damn boat anchor around from that old commercial that use to come on. I would like some input on what I should do. I have 3 different options. First would be to supercharge my first gen. I figured it would be about 5 grand by the time I buy the charger and fuel mods.....plus upgrading the auto valve kit or whatever. Second option would be buy a used 2nd gen taco with the 4.0 engine. Third would be buy a 1 gen Tundra with the 4.7 in it. I damn sure don't want to try the new Tacomas until they get the bugs worked out. I also plan on keeping my first gen. no matter what I do. Any opinions would help! I also need to get a camper shell on whatever I use to pull the camper with also cause I bring so much shit...let me rephrase that....the wife brings so much shit. I know they add some weight also. Thanks in advance

 

2700 lbs would be an easy pull for the 2nd gen taco. Some folks are pulling a lot more weight than that and are happy with truck.

 

The 2nd gen should have no issues with that trailer as long as you don't tow in D and aren't afraid to let the truck work a bit in the hills. That said, if a Tundra is in the budget and you are keeping your 1st gen I don't see a reason not to go that route over another Tacoma.

 

I agree, 2700 lbs is no problem at all for the 2nd gen, but as someone who tows a considerable amount (10,000 miles a year +/-), I would never recommend buying a Tacoma for pulling a trailer as it's primary purpose. If I didn't use this as my daily driver as well I would own a full size in a heartbeat. It's just pure physics, a full size will tow more weight comfortably up and down hills, in nasty weather, with better braking performance and do it all while getting better fuel economy. And to be honest, if you are unhappy with the way the 3.4 pulls, I doubt you are going to be blown away by the 4.0.

 

I used the 4Runner for hauling timbers from the mill before I bought the Tacoma. This load was a whopping 6000 lbs! Most loads were no more than 5000 lbs. It had the 3.4 but was a strong truck... just not real speedy. The truck had rubber stops to limit the sag. Yes It had a brake controller.