Pulling a lightweight RV trailer

I have a 1700LB single axle 2021 Travel Lite Rove Lite 14 foot RV trailer that I am going to head south for the winter with my 2021 Tacoma SR V6 4x4. I see a lot of recommendations for only pulling in 4th gear with ECT on. I have had the rig out for some test highway runs and it pulls very easily with only mild gear searching in Drive. Should I still not use OD and stick to 4th and ECT on?

 

There is good evidence that it will "hunt" for the correct gear in OD, that pecking will heat things up fast and kill stuff. I tow quite a bit, open trailers, and my 4400 lbs Travel trailer, 4 gear for me.

 

Lock out one or both of the OD gears by using S mode. With the weight you’re stating you should be good to tow in S5. If it does want to hunt for a lower gear, just set it in S4 and drive on. (ECT on of course).

 

Light load, flat ground, pretend you have a manual trans. As in you are in control. There is no guaranteed way, it's totally conditional.

Drive as you would daily, then tinker with the setting combos if you find it is not behaving well.

There is nothing wrong with altering settings on the fly based on conditions.

If you tow a lot of miles, it is worth having a trans temp monitor. It will let you be sure you're making good choices

 

I have a teardrop ~2000 pounds dry or so, I have been towing it pretty much exclusively in 4th gear. As others have stated you've got to be the one in control and adjust according to conditions. I haven't had any issues on the interstate and try to keep it at 70MPH.

To be honest if you're headed south for the winter think about taking some back road highways and get out and camp!

 

Adjust your driving and gear selection based on how the truck is behaving.

If you are in OD and the tranny is hunting, then drop out of OD.

Your trailer is light weight, but the sticker comes from the weight of the extra stuff you load in the trailer and on the truck. Dry weight of a camper means very little. The loaded weight is the key.

 

My camper is light and sits below the roofline of the truck. In hilly terrain or windy weather I still put it in 4. On flat and windless (or tailwind) I'll put it up to S5. I just watch to see how often it shifts.

 

That is the plan!!