Towing With the Taco

I have a 2018 TRD OR with M/T and I tow my boat with no issues. I average 15.2 MPG towing it. Sometimes towing it 100+ miles one way to get to where I'm fishing.

This 2018 tows much better than my 2008 TRD Sport Auto did.

Boat, loaded with gear, fuel and trailer weighs an estimated 3200 - 3400 lbs

 

Nice KW, I’ve got a 1720

 

Been towing the Casita around Pennsylvania this week. 4th gear around 3k rpm seems to be the happy place for the Tacoma. I am use to the engine revving and drop to 3rd going up into the Poconos. My next mod will be the OV tune when the new version comes out soon. But I am happy with the way it is pulling now.

Edit. Averaged 12-13mpg

 

I tested towing it up a few big hills. It did ok you definitely know it’s there. The camper weights in around 5k with our stuff in it. I don’t think I would pull it cross country. I do use a weight distribution hitch. I’ll be leaving this trailer up north when we move to Florida in two years that way I can still enjoy the summers up here. I’m currently working on an off road camper design for traveling

 

As many others have said time and time again... If you want torque like a diesel, get a diesel. If you want it to tow like a full size truck, get a full size truck.

With that being said... here's the science behind why people thinks this truck tows poorly but it actually does reasonably well!

The atkinson cycle engine is meant to be more efficient. It pushes some of the fuel/air mix out of the intake valve on the compression stroke so the engine doesn't have to fight as hard to compress a full cylinder of air. The flip side of this is if you want super low end torque, you need displacement or boost. You are essentially lowering your displacement and keeping the same combustion stroke to achieve more complete (read: more efficient and clean) combustion.

This engine will really get into its power around 3500-4000 RPM. Meaning if you want power, rev it. It revs up just fine. I tow my 24' pontoon boat that weighs around 3000 on the trailer at 65 on the highway no problem, but it does rev. Stomp on the gas and it accelerates. I tow my boat 3-4 days a week across town and 4-5 times a summer 120 miles each way to my family's summer house with a little bit of revving.

I even went as far to install airbags and a compressor for the rear axle when I'm loaded up with 5 people and the boat going to the beach so the back end rides happy.

 

Towed an old 19 foot Bayliner with a full truckload of people and crap from Wisconsin to North Carolina. Probably around 4k lbs. Averaged 10 to 15 mph. In the mountains it towed great. Putting it in s3 going up the mountain worked great and s4 going down for engine breaking kept me feeling safe.

 

Recently got an Airstream 22' Bambi. Dry weight 3634 lbs, GVWR 4500lbs, Hitch Weight 393 lbs. Towing with 2018 DCLB Off Road. This is our second Airstream, we sold our first when we sold our GMC 2500 Duramax (one of the best days of my life when I sold the GMC). When we bought the Taco we had to downsize the Airstream and we love this set up. Airstreams tow very well but I am not going to lie and say I can't tell it is back there but I keep it at 65mph or less and it does fine. We have a good weight distribution / sway hitch set up.

 

That is a sweet camper!

 

Thank you. It is a lot of fun.

 

Really like those campers. I have actually been thinking about pulling trigger on the Air Stream small toy hauler. A 2017 new unit as from what i understand they'll no longer make them with the full drop down rear with cargo door.

 

Airstream did make models with a lift up rear hatch, Eddie Bauer, Pendleton and maybe a Tommy Bahama. They are sweet units but too big for a Taco and really pricey.

 

My tow from earlier this week...


Daughters car broke down (transmission, ugh) a good hour and a half from home, so I went to bring it back to a shop I trust. Heaviest thing I've towed with the Tacoma and it did surprisingly well, even if I suspect the tongue weight was way to high

 

Uncle, i was actually thinking back to the original small toyhaulers they produced. Stopped after a couple years due to lagging sales. But the one i was looking at was gorgeous an GVWR is only 3K.

After seeing your response i looked for others and noticed some of the big ones, really slick but obviously to big for these 4 wheels!

 

You are probably thinking about the Basecamp. They are pretty slick.

 

First trip with the baby

 

I just put a deposit on a 2019 Sport 22FB!!!!

How do you like it?

I was gonna ask about hitches and would love your opinion with what ever you're using so far!

Super cool!

A

 

Here I am towing 22ft TT which is a little over 5000lbs when loaded up with our crap. I run a Hensley hitch setup which makes towing this setup much nicer. As for the truck I have a hidden winch up front, sliders, and run cooper discoverer st 255/85/16’s. I average around 9-10mpgs if on the highway at 65mpg. I also have the Ovtune and firestone airbags.

 

Good towing info on this video... https://youtu.be/HKMJdwJWggI

 

Just moved recently. Rented a 12ft dual axle drop gate trailer to move all the household stuff with, and rented a 13ft dovetail flat bed to pull my R32 GTR project with. Was my first time towing with my new 2018 Taco. Only have 4500 miles on it. Pulled everything like a champ and did what I needed it to do.

Like everyone else is saying, the 3.5 likes it kept higher up in the rpm band while towing I found. Kept ECT on and just used the manual shift to go between 4th and 5th gear when needed. Found it best to keep it out of 6th entirely while towing (auto box generally has horrific shift patterns, honestly, but I suppose that's fairly subjective).

 

Congrats on your new Airstream, I think you will really enjoy it. We love ours, it is a 2015 which was lightly used and the PO made some really nice upgrades. I think narrower body of the 22FB makes a big difference in towing with the Tacoma. You may want to consider the 3 inch dexter lift kit if you plan to take it boondocking. I installed a Fastway e2 Weight Distribution w/ Sway Control and have been happy with it https://www.etrailer.com/Weight-Distribution/Fastway/FA92-00-0800.html It took me some time to get the hitch dialed in but it is working well. I tow at 65mph or less and have been averaging 12-13 mpg towing in some decent mountains of Northern NM and Southern CO.

Cheers to Adventure!