02 TRD - Increase Towing Capacity?

I can tell you that the 3.4L struggles at HALF the towing capacity, lol. I used to have a <2500# popup tent trailer, and that was as heavy as I wanted to go. My friend had a bigger one that was ~3200, and that thing was a dog in the hills.

It appears in the pic you've got a small utility trailer (without brakes). There's a reason that trailers over ~2500# are required to have brakes.

 

Same the other way, I could swap everything but the chassis into a Dodge 3500 and now the towing capacity would be that of a Dodge 3500... by that logic I guess

That's been my problem before when towing things. I've had to run a red light before because the truck physically could not stop in time when it hit yellow.

I honestly couldn't care less about what the "legal limit" is; if I can do enough to the truck to do it to where I know and feel it's safe, that's all the legality I need. It'd be like saying don't supercharge your truck, the factory set the engine at its limits; unless you can supercharge it to allow a better experience within its limits.... sounds really dumb: we all modify our trucks to do more than they could at the factory.

 

I can`t compare we don`t really have mountains

Maybe it is gears I can Tow 2500 another 800 in the bed I worry more about stopping then going more then enough Power and Torque

 

Yep towing gravel with a small utility trailer is not something I would recommend doing! Thankfully my supply yard is only 3 miles away and it's a flat drive.

I realized later that the trailer has a 3500lb axle, the wheels have a capacity of 1650lbs each, and the tires 1100lbs each, and the leaf springs even less than that. Those trailers are meant for moving mowers and ATVs and not much more than that.

 

I think the most I've towed is around 2800lbs. Nothing a turbo and a heavier foot couldn't handle. The problem for me was the brakes.

 

I'm sure had you been pulled over for that, the officer would have totally understood that you were towing something really heavy and couldn't stop in time. Towing 101 is you go slower because you can't stop as quickly, even with trailer brakes.

You may not care, however I'm betting law enforcement and your insurance company care.

Also, the fact that you've run a red light because you couldn't stop in time makes me question if you really "know and feel" what's safe...

Putting a supercharger on your truck makes the truck faster, yes, but that has nothing to do with legal limits. You still have to abide by speed limits, etc...

 

Oh I'm sure I've totally overloaded mine with rocks etc... too. Just gotta take it slow and give extra clearance in front.

 

No one is poo pooing your idea; however, they also don't want you or someone else to get hurt. Do what you want but the problem is no one, including myself, would ever tell someone to ignore the towing capacity (safety) rating. You need to use your judgement and measure the size of your wallet as the expense goes way beyond the cost of a modified Tacoma.

As for you question about why. It's a legitimate question for Toyota. However, I don't think there is a Toyota Design Engineer, reading this thread, that is familiar with 1st gen Tacomas. From a generic engineering perspective, when you start dealing with dynamic loads the math get pretty complex and the chances of failure increase. That failure can result in some serious carnage. So even if there was, I doubt they would comment.

Toyota may have left some margin in there (we don't know). Assuming they did, that margin was when the vehicle was new and it's been 18 years of abuse on it and things start fail. At this point the margin is getting smaller or gone. The original margin is based on the design in the early '90s and they did a lot of modeling. The methods were limited 25+ years ago; however, even with modern computer modeling it's really easy to get it wrong. Models depend on known data. The problem is they don't know what they don't know, so the models can be off. More questions on margin.

Not mentioned here is the weight of the truck and the trailer. The Taco is pretty light and you will be prone to end swapping under braking with nearly 170% of the weight behind you. So plan on trailer brakes, sway control and lots of white knuckle driving. Again back to judgement.

Don't forget about your insurance. If something goes wrong and they find you that you blatantly ignored the rated capacity, you may not be covered. That would be a life changing moment for you. In some states (California/NY) there may be legal ramifications too. If someone gets hurt it's on you.

CA VC 21715-a. No motor vehicle under 4000 lbs shall tow any vehicle 6000 lbs or more.​

Why do you want to tow with the Tacoma, rather than just taking the easy route and finding another vehicle?

Best of luck and stay safe.

 

I don’t know exactly how much these things weigh but it was pretty terrible trying to get it up the mountain.

Down wasn’t Bad if you dropped it into second or low.



Yes it’s on backwards, trying to get the weight as far forward.

 

I didn't feel safe at all, that's why I'm interested in improving things

 

(Do keep in mind I'm not the OP)

I've personally modified the crap out of this truck and specifically bought it to play with and learn from, so not only will I probably never sell it, it may be the only truck I ever own. I find myself using it for construction materials now that I own a house and will eventually be buying a trailer for an assortment of uses. So as I discover weaknesses, I will want to patch those weaknesses. For the record, I'm nowhere near needing to tow 5-6,000lbs, but I like to be informed.

 

That still isn't a good excuse for running a red light. You were simply going too fast for the conditions at hand. But now you know, and knowing is half the battle.

As @itr1275 said, no one is saying you shouldn't make improvements. We all NEED to make improvements when we're towing with a Tacoma, lol. These things SUCK at towing anything heavier than a couple motorcycles. But we work with what we got, but only to a point. IMO, tundra brakes are for rolling bigger tires/wheels, not for towing.

In your situation, if you want to make the single best improvement, it would be brakes on your trailer. Although I've towed ~2500# without brakes and didn't have the same troubles you've described, so you may want to ensure that your stock brakes are functioning properly before replacement them with Tundras.

Tundra brakes are nice, but even a Tundra is going to struggle to stop a 5000# brake-less trailer. I currently tow a ~3800# travel trailer with my '17 4Runner, and my stopping distance is only marginally longer than without the trailer, because the trailer essentially stops itself (with a properly set up brake controller).

Everything from trans coolers, to air bags, to superchargers, they're all things that improve the ability of a Taco to handle weight.

All these things are great for helping make your truck tow better, but if your goal is to exceed the 5000# limit, it is honestly a silly endeavor. You're way better off, not just legally speaking, but practically speaking, to just start with a bigger truck designed from the get go with higher capacities. Nothing about a Tacoma was designed for towing.

 

Preform sèance type ritual and summon a tundra

 

I've flat towed my Jeep a handful of times about a 160 mile round trip. It doesn't love it, but I stay in the slow lane on the highway and don't get in a hurry. I do have to down shift to 4th and drop to about 50 going up slight grades. Taking the Jeep to CO next summer and for sure will not be towing it behind the Taco.

 

Go buy a trail gear rock defense bumper for your truck and you'll be able to tow 10,000 like it says on their website.

Just kidding. I wouldn't tow more than 5k. I had my 04 taco maxed with my camper, gear, food, family and wood....the truck struggled but we made it..not very fast tho.