2nd gen vs 3rd gen towing, and other questions

there's got to be some in the the 3rd gens who also towed with a 2nd gen. Can anyone speak to how they compare? I have a 4000 lb travel trailer loaded, nothing major, but some hills can be a slower climb in my 2015 so i certainly don't want less performance. Been looking at tundras, but the prices have me looking at late year 3rd gens. The torque numbers look similar but a little more horses in the 3rd.

 

I have had a 12, and and 18. No difference in towing. Both were DCLB Sports. OTT tune did help. These truck are not the greatest tow vehicles. I was towing 6x14 tandem Alumni enclosed right around 4500lb. Now running 23 F150 Powerboost, don't even know trailer is on back.

 

fairly similar (slight increase in 3rd gen) just different RPM ranges they make peak power.
I wouldn't buy a either if I had plans to tow a 4k# TT. If it was a low profile popup or utility trailer, that may be a different story.

 

I find that with a regear, I never have any issue maintaining speed in the mountain passes in my 2nd gen. There were times before regearing that I couldn't accelerate over 50 on a single lane, steep local pass, but after I can just keep accelerating. No issues at all. Any highway/cross country mountains I never have issues maintaining the speed limit (or breaking them). Even with my camper on, and towing 4500-5000 pounds. If towing regularly, I'd highly recommend it. Your unloaded gas mileage will take a hit, but when towing it's great to be able to use all the gears again. I no longer lock it out of 5th.

For specifics, I went from 3.73 to 4.56, and a one inch larger diameter tire (265/75R16 e-load).

I haven't driven a 3rd gen, but after reading comments on here time and time again, they seem to tow about the same, they just seem to be working harder as the revs are higher, but the consensus is that's fine. It just needs to rev. I would hope a regear would similarly help a 3rd gen.

 

How do you tell if third gen’s have towing package, same as 2nd? So oil cooler, trans cooler, etc?

 

the 7 pin trailer harness and the oil cooler
ATF cooler went the way of the Dodo

 

Thanks, are all the hitches class 4? I guess what I’m getting at is I’ve seen some sr5’s with ever option under the sun listed as an off road, and want to make sure they all have the same towing specs

 

best to run the vin on Toyota.com and check the build sheet

 

They may not. Not all of the hitches you might see on a Tacoma necessarily indicate they are Class IV rated. Some may be Class III. General rule of thumb: Tow pkg on a V6 is with a factory frame-mounted hitch is likely a class IV. I-4 four cyl, (Tow pkg not available as an option) with a frame mounted hitch is a class II or III. Bumper with a ball installed is generally a class I or II. Regardless of trim (Off Road, Pro, Sport etc,) if it doesn't have the tow pkg, it's not class IV rated. (It's more than just the hitch) Frame mounted hitches on Tacomas hitches are usually "receiver hitches". Here is a link that is pretty good explaining the specifics.

https://www.curtmfg.com/types-trailer-hitches

Hope this helps!