Back from a 2000 mile trip to Yellowstone towing a 1200# trailer and believe you me, she's slow

I'm towing a small off-road trailer at around 1200# with no more than 500# in the bed. My engine is running the best it ever has since I've owned it the last 5 years. Been driving in limp mode on/off for awhile but finally got my knock sensors/harness replaced along with valve gaskets and new injectors and it pulls nice and strong...

...unless I'm going uphill and trying to maintain the speed limit. I more or less gave up hoping to stay at 80 through parts of Montana. By the end of the trip I was just pegging it at 65/70 depending on where we were and it managed that fairly well except for a few very steep grades.

I didn't have time to get a trans cooler installed before we left but it's priority #1 before the next trip. I can't imagine what it's like trying to tow something closer to the 5000# limit. I was often dipping down to 2nd gear to stay at 60/65 up a few of the bigger passes. Braking actually feeels great but I already have plans for Tundra calipers. For those that tow, anything else I should be thinking about here?


https://i.imgur.com/uyQeIEc.jpg

 

Nice rig! Sounds like a good trip. I’ve had a similar experience recently while towing a 14 ft utility trailer at only 1500-2000 lbs. These trucks just don’t make a lot of power…at all! I think a big consideration for your setup is wind drag. In my experience drag is a much bigger factor than weight when towing relatively light (less than 5k lbs).

I think what I’m saying is in my opinion your truck performed as I would expect. Another thing that probably played into it at some point during your journey was elevation. You lose about 3% power for ever 1,000 ft of elevation. I live at 4000 ft and I can say for sure I gain noticeably more power when I travel down to lower elevations. I haven’t done it yet but I am expecting when I head to Colorado and end up at 10k-12k feet this thing will struggle even unloaded. It is what it is with these trucks. They are super simple and reliable but the trade off is low power output.

if you need to tow and have more power you’ll be stuck looking for a more modern truck. I own a 2015 F150 with an EcoBoost and let me tell you that thing has enormous torque for towing. The trade off is reliability. My f150 has been great for 70k miles but I expect issues (timing chain, phasers, turbos, carbon buildup, etc) after I get to 100k. My 1999 Tacoma has 200k and runs perfect. I have done a lot of minor repairs to wear items but nothing that wasn’t easily handled by me. Those things I mentioned for my F150 will not be easy fixes.

sorry for the long post!

 

Towing at 80 isn’t a great idea anyway. Things can go sideways quick.

 

I just towed a single axle U Haul from Ft Worth TX to the coast of OR (probably 2000 lbs with 400 lbs in the bed)- gotta have the trans cooler. I installed mine quite awhile ago and the hills of Wyoming and lower Idaho can be brutal. I also upgraded my front brakes to Power Stop slotted which seem to work just fine to slow down.

 

First thing I thought of after seeing your picture was that’s like towing a billboard! You need to get those boats down closer to the height of your cab. And the wind force at 80 is incredible. Anything you can do to reduce drag will help, including slowing down.

I only have the 2.4 and towing my zero turn on a single axle trailer drops my comfortable cruising speed by 10 mph minimum. The first gen trucks just don’t tow trailers as well as a full size v8 powered truck. But making your load more compact and slowing down a bit should make it easier.

 

I would look to the trailer first.

Anything to streamline the trailer will help. The rack with the box on top is a drag inducer. Try to get the trailer within the slipstream of the truck. A small enclosed trailer may tow better than your current set up.

Otherwise, reduce any weight possible.

Transmission cooler will help preserve the tranny, but it won't help with speed or climbing.

Agree. IMHO, 80 mph is too fast to tow. Camp in the right hand lane with cruise set at 70 mph and enjoy the drive.

 

On the topic of towing, has anyone ever done close to the 6000lb cap in one of these trucks? (and yes 6k, the owners manual for 02-04 states that max towing with 3.4 and tow pack is 6k). I'm going to do it when I eventually get a 21ft boat (boat I want is somewhere between 4.5 and 5.5k), but I'm at sea level with no grade anywhere around me.. florida is flat.. so I think it'll do it pretty easily just to the ramp and back. My parents towed 3.5k with an 18ft Grady in our 01 3.4 prerunner with ease many ago so I can't see why mine wouldn't do less than half.

 

i was thinking about this during the drive but wasn't really sure what kind of performance loss i should expect. we spent a lot of time above 5000ft so that makes sense.

as for mpg, i seemed to average about 15mpg which seems ok to me based on the 15/18 epa ratings. 90% of the driving was with the trailer but we did a bunch of day trips without it. also had a good 3+ hours with a very heavy hei really wonder what mpg i could get if i stuck to 55/60.

but really appreciate the tips everyone. i've done plenty of towing before i got this trailer, but it's all been limited to local short runs, nothing over a few miles on the freeway. i'm already looking into streamlining the setup. i've found a way to mount the kayaks on their sides on each side of the trailer and they just fit under the tent. this also gives me the ability to see out the back window as a huge plus.

this was me the whole trip (sometimes slower up the passes) but it really felt solid at 70 and under and i agree with 80 just being too fast.

 

The heaviest I've towed is my 18' glastron boat - boat+trailer+crap+full tank of gas was around 3700 lbs - in the truck more crap - about 700 lbs worth - my truck handled it ok @ 60 mph in Texas, but I'd be afraid of going to 6k in a more hillier location. But I guess it depends on many factors - My recollection was the gen 1 taco's could tow a max of 5k with the upgraded pulling fan on the water pump...I could be wrong.

 

I looked at the boat I'm looking into more and the most I'd be at is around 5k but owners manual for an 02-04 does say 6k, although that may be under some special or certain conditions.
I think the biggest hill we have here in Florida is the boat ramp itself which I'm sure wouldn't be anything hard in 4 low. And being at sea level, I have all the power available, in addition to my truck being a 5 speed with better gearing and shift points than the autos, I think it would be pretty easy. Thank you for your input!

 

Get me a hydraulicly braked trailer and I'll try it