Towing with a 4 cylinder. What do you tow?

Largest things you have pulled with a 2.7l truck?

 

You would Christian

 

The truck frame is hard enough to tow with a 4 banger. I did a google image search for "underpowered truck", and your exact truck came up 8th of 98,600.

 

I pull a Carolina Skiff. The 2.7 does fine though I have to monitor the transmission to keep it from hunting between thrid anf ourth gears on hills.

 

2002, 2.7L, 5 speed extra cab, I pull a 2009 Chalet Arrowhead high wall pop-up trailer at a weight of 2200lbs+/-. Jut back from a 1600 mile trip all over Oregon, sealevel up to 6000' up/down/up down..... on the flats, 5th gear averaging 20mpg at 60mph+/-. Hills down to forth. Some hills down to third, even on the interstate. Keep in mind, even in third tooling along at 45mph, Im still passing many big rigs, and many other RVs.
Ive been thinking of changing over to a 6.... more gas, more insurance, capitol outlay. My four is just FINE. In fact, its better than fine. Its ideal.

 

Bumping this thread. Was going to ask the same question, then found this one. Curious because I'll be pulling about 2000 lbs with an automatic next spring and hoping it does alright.

 

Pulling my jet ski about 1300 lbs with trailer and she does it with confidence.

 

I pull a Fleetwood Pop-up, 10' box, dry weight 1550.
It packs out at probably 1800-1900 lbs.
I have a 5 speed manual and it does fine.
I wouldn't get anything over 2000lbs without seriously thinking about a V6

 

I towed a 19 foot fiberglass trailer, dry weight 2,510#, loaded 3,000# this fall with my 2001 4 cyl reg cab truck. Upgrading to a 6 cyl isn't likely for a long time.
The truck did fine considering it's a 4 cyl, there was a real sweet spot at 65 mph, 2500 rpm on the level. I downshifted lots on freeway grades, going into 3rd where the grade was long and getting steeper. On the climb up to Yosemite I was in second for a lot of the climb. I didn't lug the motor or rev the snot out of it, trying to stay in the 2,000 to 3,500 rpm range but occasionally hitting 4,000 getting things rolling.
The trip was 3,300 miles long with no mechanical problems like overheating (all lubricants are synthetic - engine, diffs, tranny, transfer case). Obviously the gas mileage sucked.
No problems with braking, the original setup on the brake controller was untouched throughout the trip. Handling was decent, thanks to an equalizer hitch, the trailer was setup level on a flat concrete pad and not messed with on the trip.

 

Nice Pic!

Planning a trip out west towing the camper with my 4 banger Taco!

 

Last summer I towed a 7300 LB wood grinder, just on back roads but it worked. Nothing I'd do on a regular basis tho

I plan on getting a 16' Scamp next spring, 2000 dry weight probably 25-2800 wet. Anyone have experience there? We plan on using in the mountains some.

 

My Taco is a 2.4L & Tow a CampLite TT that weights 1400lbs dry, carry 200lbs of stuff in the camper and about 400lbs combined of camping gear, Kayaks, and Leer shell.

I don't use 5th gear much unless on level ground or downhill. The Taco handles the load well with about 30PSI in the rear air bags. Have towed over 60 to 65MPH, but fuel economy drops to 15MPG. Have gotten 16 to 17MPG in the NC foothills at speeds up to 55MPH only using 4th gear.

Planning to take the Taco/CampLite across the nation next year.

The Taco tows a 1900 to 2000lb boat @ 65MPH nicely with better fuel economy than the TT because of less wind resistance.

Took this photo after a nice boat ride today:

 

I googled underpowered truck and your exact truck came up, see here.

 

The 2.7 (or 2.4) are not fast engines. The torque is more than adequate to tow anything within the limits set by Toyota, but underpowered? Compared to what? A Cummins diesel? A ford 350? No, it's better than most in it's class and it is not even logical to compare. If someone wants more power they should buy a truck with a larger engine, period. When I was young I worked construction and our pickup was a 1950 Chevy 6 cyl, 105 hp. We'd load that thing with concrete blocks until the bed sat on the stops and that little truck would haul the load (those old trucks had a leaf pak about 4" thick).
I'm now pulling an RV trailer that weighs out at approx 2800 lbs wet and it tows just fine in 5th on the level and 4th on hills (3rd on real steep ones) at 65 mph. Oh, and I have a 200lb cap on it. I'm truly impressed.

 

My single axle trailer loaded with scrap metal and junk. We scaled in to the dump at 7460 lbs and scaled out at 5400. Second pic is of my new tractor on a 9900 gvw trailer. Just moved it a little to unload tractor, it's not what I used to bring it from Idaho. I tow with it alot actually and have hauled some serious loads down the road.

 

my dad tows his 14ft fiberglass boat with ease in his 2.7l Tacoma to Detroit Lake

 

I've got another vehicle (~2800 lbs) I want to purchase as a project car, but it doesn't run. I need to make one trip to get it to my garage. I've got a friend who will loan me his flatbed trailer, but not his truck. Suppose the total weight is 4600 lbs. 1100 lbs over the limit. Will my 4 cylinder be able to make the tow just once? (60 mi)

 

You should be able to tow it fine as long as you pace yourself.

 

I tow a 6x10 cargo trailer over to Spruce Knob WV from central VA quite a bit. Steep winding hills most of the way. I figure it comes in at about 2100lbs. This new 2.7 and my old 98 pull it just fine.