Am I doing this right?

Traveled thru the Eisenhower tunnel this past week. Used 4 wheel drive at the top climbing West from Denver in the snow and ice 25 mph to 30 mph. On the decent after the tunnel I down shifted into 4th to keep my speed down and stay off the brakes. Downward at 35-40 mph and 3,000 rpm. To me something smelled hot. Road cleared and I shifted back to 2 WH. Didn’t smell hot any longer. There was traffic and one Semi Truck did have their rear brakes on fire so that may have been the smell but it had me second guessing my method after that. Truck has 13,000 miles and that was the longest I had used the 4 wheel drive since new. Also what should I look for to upgrade stock shocks in an SR package?

Thanks

 

I would think your truck should be fine. I've towed over 500 miles through a noreaster snowstorm in 4wd with my gen1 tundra over 40 mph all the way during one winter. Never had any issues.

 

Sounds like you did the right thing to me, to keep off the brakes constantly and keep some more control. The smell probably was the semi, if their brakes get hot they can reek a half mile back,,, let alone being fire.

 

Yeah, those ascends and descends have a lot of nasty worrying odors emitting from many other vehicles, carry on!

 

Even on a normal summer day, mountain passes reek of burnt brakes. Almost always has me paranoid that its me, until I remember that I haven't gotten on the brakes yet.

It got me to the point that I carry this whenever I'm pulling the camper, and will do quick spot checks whenever I'm stopped.

 

Do that route often and in 4wd at this time of the year. Never a worry. Always lots of smells and it is usually truck brakes, but I also always think it might be my truck even though it never is. That smell seems to linger forever once it gets sucked into your truck.

 

Thank you for the responses guys! Puts my mind at ease....at least on this topic

 

i would have done the same thing but probably went to 2wd in the tunnel if it was pretty clear then back to 4wd on the other side. but yea, the west side of that tunnel always smells bad and freaks me out. ive been in that situation a couples times the last few years too.

 

What is more important to improve ride quality on an SR? Tires or shocks , or both. 75 mph on the Interstate with some weight and passengers felt "flighty"

 

What tire pressures?

 

Can you define "flighty?" Do you mean your passengers were leaving their seats, or does it mean the truck was porpoiseing? Because my definition of flighty and/or passenger complaints means I was driving too fast for the road conditions. If the truck is bouncing like flipper under a heavy load (which some tacomas are known to do), I'd start with rearranging cargo so that the weight distribution is as centered as possible between axles. Bouncing either means your ass end is heavy, or your speed is lining up with the bumps in the road causing an amplifying effect, or both. Failing that, look into why the suspension isn't dampening motion.

My general philosophy is to look into root cause before lobbing parts and money at it.

 

I'd say they are equally important, as both can degrade or improve your ride.