Performance Upgrades For towing Drift Boats and Rafts on Highway

Hey everyone, First time posting after reading on forums for the last year!

I have a 2023 TRD OF. I live in Columbus/Bozeman Montana as a fly fishing guide and tow drift boats and Rafts on i-90 every day. Speed limit is 70-80 and its always windy. If I'm driving with the wind I get like 16-18 MPG. If I'm driving against the wind my car drops down to 10-13 MPG. I notice my MPG really drops above 65mph. These boats are not all that heavy as far as boats go but Id like to look into upgrades that would increase my MPG and highway performance when going up mountain passes and hills when you pass slower cars especially while towing. I hate feeling "sluggish" on the highway and having my car stuck at high RPM without downshifting sometimes.

What would be better for this: something that increases HP or Torque?

Does anyone have any suggestions on cheap to moderately priced upgrades that would help with this? I have a lot of other expenses right now so Im not looking to pimp it out too hard. (I also am not looking to make the engine intentionally louder but am ok with more noise if I can get some noticeable performance upgrades.)

What is the best bang for your buck performance wise with upgrades?

 

Tune it and run good fuel. if you’re running 85 octane stop, go to least 87/88. Best bang for your buck. Bolt-on’s like intakes and exhaust do nothing for these trucks.

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/overland-torque-tune-ott-by-overland-tailor.759590/

 

Trans cooler if yours is an automatic

 

Thanks for the quick reply. That's good to know about bolt ons. Most all the gas stations around here don't carry anything below 87 octane. Do you think I would see noticeable gains by getting 89 or 93 fuel?

 

There’s not much you can do that isn’t expensive. A tune is the cheapest option and would be a slight improvement in performance at a fairly low price. A regear for a couple thousand will help keep the truck in the powerband but won’t improve MPG. A supercharger for $8k will give you better all around performance but not improve MPG at all. There’s just not a lot you can do to make towing with a Tacoma better, especially with hills and wind in the equation.

 

Yes, the engine will advance timing with the higher octane fuel. This will make more power, not a huge amount but when towing everything counts. The tune will improve throttle response and increase torque and HP especially below 3500 rpm where you need it most. The other big improvement with the tune is addressing the shift scheduling so it can actually hold a gear.

Premium Fuel: $5-10 per tank
Tune: $450-500
Regear: $2000-5000 (depending on how you do it and if you add lockers)
Supercharger: $8000+

If you regear you’ll need to tune anyway to correct shifting and address a speed limiter in the case of 5.29’s. Might as well try to low cost options first.

 

I'll be bold and suggest you have the wrong truck.

It's not the weight as much as wind drag.

If this is a business fuel should be a cost of doing business.