Towing with 3rd Gen Tacoma

I tow a Starcraft Centennial 3606 that's 3200lb empty. With gear in the bed and some additional camping supplies in the trailer, i'm probably at 3500-3600 lbs total plus 4 adults and 2 kids. I definitely feel it back there, but I use 4th gear with ECT on and keep it under 60 mph. It's noisy and shifts a lot, especially on hills, but I've had 0 problems. No overheating, no swaying, nothing. I also use the Takonsha P3 brake controller. I will say that with the Offroad model, it porpoises more than I would like due to the shocks (I assume), so I added a weight distribution hitch and honestly I don't think it's made a difference. Would love to get something bigger/heavier, but feel comfortable with this weight/size right now.

 

Just pulled a 3500 pound casita about 1500 miles with a 2017 TRD Sport. Used to tow the same trailer with 2008 4 banger. Anyway, do not tow the trailer in D (drive) or S mode without locking out 6th gear, the transmission will hunt like crazy trying to get the transmission in 6th gear at 65 mph. With 6 gear locked out and cruise control engaged, on level ground or slight grades the truck runs along at 2000 rpm, get 16-17 mpg. YMMV

 

I'm more interested in your configuration to fit FOUR adults plus TWO kids in your Taco?

 

Good video! I love that setup too, very similar to mine. It almost like looked like you had a tonneau cover on with the rack? That would be great for me, so much m interested in what rack setup you have.

 

I feel your pain Brotha.... did near the exact same thing !

You in for the OV Tune ?

 

I just wanted to give my 2 cents on this as I have done a bit of towing previously. I own a 2016 Tacoma SR5 now and about a month ago we bought a 21 foot Coleman travel trailer. It had a claimed dry weight of 4500# and I knew that would be a max on the comfort towing zone for the Tacoma but I figured i could easily get another truck easier than a new camper, if it was terrible. I still have the Tacoma after a few trips, one being a trip into the Berkshire mountains in western mass. I’m towing this camper loaded at around 5200# that includes passenger weight in the truck, etc. I have found that ECT power is almost useless for really helping the truck. I use it but I really rely on the sport shift to eliminate gear hunting and using the engine braking going down hills. I have a scan guage to monitor trans temps and haven’t seen anything over 213 and that was a mile and a half long steep grade from a dead stop. I also have tekonsha break controller, a weight distribution hitch and I got timbrens to help the sag and porpoising. All and all I am very impressed with this truck overall. You just need to be very aware when towing with it and help it along.

 

We’re pulling a Apex Nano 193, which weighs somewhere around 4,500lbs when loaded. It tows great unless we’re into a headwind...then it revs high often, which is annoying. MPG sucks, but I know friends that tow with a Silverado 2500 and get the same 8.5mpg that I do (bigger trailer of course) - it’s all dependent on what you’re towing. Picked up a Scangauge II per Daryl’s suggestion and am starting to watch trans temps. Might add a secondary trans cooler, but we’ll see how it does next weekend first.

 

LOL! Typo! 2 adults, 2 kids

 

Any weight distribution used? Are you towing in 4th gear with ECT on?

 

We do use a weight distribution hitch and we have no sag with it at all. Rides really nice actually. I tow with ECT on, yes. Truck is an AT, and I’m not using S-mode to choose gears - I’ve honestly never paid attention to what gear it’s in and when.

 

Thanks for the write-up, I hadn't considered timbrens before, might have to check that out. I think I still need to play around with the weight distribution hitch adjustments as well. So far I haven't noticed any difference with it. It's a Fastway E2.

 

I don’t have any experience with the fast way hitch or really any WD hitch other than the one I have, and the dealer set it up (easy way). As far as timbrens go, they were over a hundred bucks cheaper than airbags and have little to no effect when there isn’t a load and no maintenance. So it’s a for now it’s a win.

 

I think I probably need to upgrade my WD hitch. It's rated for 450lb tongue weight, but being new to towing at the time, I didn't factor in truck bed weight which should be added to the tongue weight estimated for a WD hitch. Given I'm at 350lbs with just the camper, I probably need to upgrade. Maybe why I still have sag and haven't noticed much difference.

 

I am trying to find out if I can tow a RAV4 on a Uhaul trailer as part of a military move.

I have a 2017 4-door limited with the tow package. I understand that the truck has a towing capacity of 6400 pounds. The car and trailer will max out around 6100 pounds.

I am planning a trip of about 1600 miles with a total of 2 adults and 1 toddler. My question is will my towing capacity be limited by how much cargo I put into to bed of the truck or are those two numbers not dependent on each other?

 

I second that!

Recently got a Rockwood Roo 184 TT 3,150 dry and 4,180 wet. I’m getting it ready for our next trip at the beginning of August. Meeting friends in Copake, NY just a little bit over the border of MA. But the first time around we went to Weare, NH just an hour away from home. And man, it gets so frigging loud, I kept thinking something was gonna pop!
And like you said, gear searching, I used the ECT on and off. I have the Eaz Lift sway bars and WD hitch - 600lbs.

I’m glad I read a few things on here in regards to towing in S4. Never heard about it. I would of tried that the first we took out the camper.

I feel a little jealous of some Tacos that keep saying how awesome it tows. I guess I wasn’t expecting it to be so loud.

Hopefully this trip it will be different and I feel more happy and less stressed.

 

I dont own a trailer so cant say how much itll weigh, but I have a car being built for me that might weigh around 2500lbs wet. The trailer will definitely be an open trailer, but should I look into electronic brake assists? Any other mods I should look into?

 

3 hour trip from Massachusetts to Copake, NY. The first half tank and half of the trip I used the S4 & S5 and got an average of about 10 mpg. The second half and to our destination it was 11.3 mpg without using S shifting. The camper is 3510 lbs dry and with all our gear it was probably around 4200 lbs or maybe more.

Definitely considering installing a transmission cooler.

 

Our first trip is coming up, so I hooked up the loaded Hideout to the 3rd Gen and took it across the scales, also dialed in the Tekonsha P2 to the new truck.







I thought it was closer to 5000lbs back there, so I'm pleased with those numbers.

 

Is using the Scale free of charge? Do you have to "check in" or just drive on thru?

 

I've paid on private scales before, and didn't know what to expect so I phoned this one ahead. I explained what I wanted to do but didn't want to get in the way of the commercial rigs. They told me to come down no problem. I stopped and went in first, they told me where to go and lit the lights, then came out and explained my numbers.

Super easy, super helpful, and super free.