Questions about towing and other things

Hello
So I have a 2016 Toyota Tacoma SR-5 3.5 auto 40k miles
Hauling around 4500 + or - 400 lbs ish at times (camper)
so I was curious about a few things and I’ll go ahead and go over what I’m trying to do. (Easier towing and better performance) im new here so hello everyone.
First question y’all: is it possible to add the ECT button and make it actually functional? Mine doesn’t have one
I was considering buying the ovtune to somewhat help with the entire shifting situation up hills towing. It seems to like 3rd gear and no matter what even in (s) -(the Manual gear shifting override) it won’t change out of the gear it’s in and into the one I want. Which is fairly annoying
I was contemplating purchasing the OVtune kit.
I currently have an K&N cold air intake I put in.
I have a hellwig rear sway bar on order which should arrive eventually.
And I was contemplating adding rear air bags to the rear to have a better level ride when towing. I get around 10-11 mpg towing at 65 and 11 on the dot ish doing 60 on flat terrain. I’ll take a 1-2 mpg increase if I can get it somehow. Inputs are greatly appreciated as to what I can do here. Love the truck, just annoying towing at times

 

tag

 

You might find your answers here...https://www.tacomaworld.com/forums/towing.34/

 

Intake is no help.
OV tune is best bet unless you wanna spend big. If you are going to do that might as well do what I did and buy a new Tundra.
All in all, the Tacoma is perfect if you tow up to 4K. Beyond that, especially near 6K, the truck simply does not like to do it. I was towing there quite a bit and finally just got a truck built for it.

 

Are you sure you don’t have the ECT button? I thought it came on all automatic Tacoma’s. My 2017 definitely has it. Do you have taller than stock tires on it?

A 4000 pound trailer should have a WD hitch. That’ll help it ride level once it’s set up properly.

I’m getting 14mpg towing a pop up. Other than a shorter trailer there isn’t much to do to get better mpg.

edit - better shocks will help a ton. Mine tows much better with 5100’s vs stock SR shocks. I also have a 2” single AAL and that helped a bunch too. LT rated tires help a bunch too. I’m lifted 2” with 33’s and regearing to 4.88’s Is on to do list. More aggressive brake pads (Hawk LTS) are also on my to-do.

 

I do in fact have the ect power button, never noticed it before until I looked. Would have been helpful on my 1200 mile hauling adventure lol. And I do have a wd hitch.
As far as weight according to my manual and talking to the dealer it’s rated at 6700Lbs
I thought staying around 70% ish weight capacity would be good. And yes I do have stock tire sizes

 

The ECT power just changes the shift points and does not make your truck more powerful. It basically keeps the engine in higher rpms (where the power is) before changing gears. Good for towing.

 

best powr is around 3500-4000 rpms

many wind engines up tighter

weigh Ur set up next time U take it out
its probably heavier than U know ( family ......pet......cooler. kitchen sink)

its also pushing a lot more air............... truly a drag on MPG !!

max torque around 4500rpm...............
if an engine is pulling clean under load little reason to wind up another 1000rpm

U might need to be in 4th gear unless U r pulling serious grade
U did mention flat ground
U might experience sketchy shifting that many mention in cruise

dont use cruise

even a V8 is going to know its towing

 

What part of the country are you in?

This has been my first season towing a camper. I live in Alaska and mostly stay between sea level and 3500 feet. If I lived on the front range of the Rockies, I’d probably want something with more engine or a turbo. It goes between 4th and 3rd regularly and uses 2nd a lot on steep hills, no doubt my 33’s aren’t helping matters.

I’m of the opinion that Toyota didn’t design the Tacoma to be a trailer hauler or a mini work truck. It was designed to do some light duty work sure, but it’s focused more on being a competent family vehicle that’s good off road and more reliable than most. It’s build quality let’s it get away with doing bigger jobs than it should.

I don’t think it really needs more power, but more power is always better. OVTune fixes more drivability issues than just power and is on my short list of things to do. Stock gearing is really long for big weight, changing to 4.30’s or shorter if you plan on taller tires will help it’s towing performance for sure. Any sort of upgraded shock will help, the stock units suck. Any help for the rear springs will help, the back end of very softly sprung. I like my single AAL but a sumo spring for someone wanting to stay towards stock height would be good too.