Thoughts on towing with 3rd gen

Towed a 4x8 half packed uhaul with my 21 v6. i found that S4 was a really good sweet spot for me, at 70mph/ 2800-2900 rpm on the NY Thruway near Buffalo. At S5 it went down to 2000 but didn't feel as good. Didnt use CC but had ECT on (not sure how much difference that made). Heard similar from others so thought I'd share.

 

Small truck, small trailer, in my opinion these aren’t really good tow vehicles. I do use mine to tow my utility trailer all the time. Small utility 10’ trailer.

 

for me, my truck's max tow rating is about half of what is advertised. that allows me to still accelerate and brake where i do not feel at risk or that i put others at risk.

 

I've had no issues towing 2k lbs, or a bit more. I've also got a 5x10 aluma utility trailer that I occasionally tow loaded up. It's fine with my 2020 v6 sr5 using S5 mode. You hardly know it's there. Imo, these trucks will tow well with 3k lbs or lower.

 

IIRC from the manual, for automatic trucks the recommended highest tow gear was 4th, for manuals 5th. My 6MT truck was pretty happy in 5th on flats, 4th through hill country.

 

Loved towing my Tacoma for sure. No issues with our trailer

 

I use S5 & ECT with my utility trailer (about 2000 lbs max).

With my camper (just under 5000 lbs max) it's S4 & ECT and probably 55-60 mph. It will pull faster, but the mileage is not good. It's not good at 60, but it is really bad at 65+. With the camper, I'm content to take it easy and let the fast movers pass me by.

 

I view any truck this way, since I want to be confident, comfortable, and safe. When towing, I prefer the approach of; if I am going to knife fight, I am bringing a gun

 

Correct S mode is the way to go, probably more like S4,,, as you can see they're more less using a flat, straight, dry road as the baseline,,,,, which never happens unless you are in Kansas,,, but the headwind

 

If i tow something around 2k lbs., S4 feels like I definitely need another gear at 65 mph. Going to S5 is perfect. Good fuel economy,....19 mpg, and throttle response. Tried ECT once, hated it...not needed for the stuff I tow.