Constant shifting while towing

5,000 lbs is probably a heavy estimate. My Travel Trailer weighs in at about 3,500ish (3,743 max). 250-300ish lbs in the bed, 500ish family, and about 120 for a full tank of fuel. When I don't have to keep up with Interstate speeds it does great.

A new Tundra is going to happen, just not until late Winter/Spring. Luckily camping season is almost over and only have a few trips panned in the Winter.

Thanks!
Brian

 

A small displacement motor with not much torque and 6 cogs will incredibly mean lots of shifting. Heck, even the big V8's now will shift quite frequently but not because of lack of torque, but because of transmission programming trying to optimize MPG.

 

3rd is a bad idea. No torque converter lockup in 3rd.

 

Fortunately the resale is so good! I'd just keep the fluids changed frequently, and trade her in, when you're ready.
I used to race motorcycles, and one of the guys that traveled with us always bragged about how his mid sized Durangos and Dakotas never broke down, despite him driving overloaded, and high speeds (I'm talking 80-90mph). Of course those of us that knew him really well, also knew he got a new company vehicle before they hit 80-90k, I feel sorry for the folks that bought his used shit, cause the transmissions had to have been worn out and ran hot.

 

why same torque less hp

 

Toyota recommends to keep in S5 and drive no faster than 65mph. I would even do 55-60mph to keep RPMs reasonably low and improve fuel economy with less wind drag.

 

Way more area under the curve for torque on the 2nd gens, more torque earlier on in the meat of the rpms etc. Also the 5spd in the 2nd gens is simpler and has more standard shifting habits.

That stated... OP needs a bigger truck hands down.

 

Towing anything at highway speed will keep the motor spun up the whole time. The truck doesn't really make power until 3500rpm and up, below that you have the same usable power as the 4cyl version. I towed 1k lbs with a motorcycle and a trailer for over 3 hours on the thruway and 4.5-6k rpm is where it lived the whole time doing the speed limit of 65. Motor screaming the whole time. ECT, s5 doesn't help since the motor needs to spin for power. You can band aid it with a tune and gearing but still limited by the powertrain. Need a bigger truck to tow with.

 

Live with it or buy a full size V8 truck. Modding won't ever make this situation much better.

 

I tow 5 to 6000 lbs regularly and rpm stays around 2500 in 4th. I also don't go faster than 60 mph towing heavy loads.

 

Normal. It's not a C6 auto 3 speed. It will shift

 

I did a move for the military, towed a loaded 6x12 uhaul. Trip was about 1600 miles of 4000 ish RPMs, ended up getting like 8mpg. I don't recommend a Tacoma for towing anything more than a couple thousand lbs.

 

I tow in S4 mode and manually shift (and have OVtune). I tow around the Sierra Nevada Mountains and select the gear for the grade. The engine really comes alive at 3 or 4k. If you let the transmission shift automatically, it will hunt all over because of the variable load.

I tow in 3rd for long steep grades. Mostly the truck sticks to 3rd or 4th. On long downhills I might switch to 5th and a couple of times on slow-steep-hairpins the tranny has shifted to 2nd gear. The truck is pretty versatile with all this. I can go 60 mph in 2nd and have lot's of power!

 

Has nothing to do with anything for this.

 

Go 55-60mph because the speed limit is probably 55.

 

Well because I pull this three or four days a week with no problem at all. Run 75 to 80 at 3K or less in 4th. Just seems to be a 3G thing to me.

 

Big difference between towing a pretty aerodynamic boat and a TT even if the same weight.

 

I hate to say it but if was to stay mid-sized truck & tow on a constant basis I would own a Colorado ZR2 Duramax with a tune. Hard to beat the torque of a diesel.

 

If I towed 4000lbs+ often, I would be in a full size. Full size will tow the load more efficiently, safer, and give the driver A LOT more peace of mind. Unless your a 2nd gen owner, those fuckers can tow anything to the moon and back, just ask them .

 

Next year Toyota is releasing the Tacoma Diesel with a 2.8 Turbo Diesel that will tow well over 7.000 pounds. Competition for that Colorado you were talking about. Sounds SWEET.