Gen 3 Towing Thread

Keep it in S4. Was your cruise control on? If so, turn it off.

Your biggest enemy is wind resistance. Can you slow down to 60? That will help a lot.

 

Shoot that is pretty bad efficiency. Isn't it right that drag affects mpg more than weight when towing though? The crosswind could have been more the culprit for those numbers I think.

I do have some experience towing but never with the taco, what in particular makes you uncomfortable towing a 5000lb load with it? Is it a lack of power? Inability to stop/control the vehicle and trailer? It just seems to me alot of people on here seem to shy away from anything 5000lbs or over without giving much explanation as to why they are so uncomfortable towing that weight. Not trying to be confrontational I just want to know if it's more "it makes me nervous" thing or very concrete failures/struggles when towing?

Thanks for your feedback

 

5000 here no issues at all.
Air lift suspension with Fox 2.0 and dual axle electric brake trailer, flat terrain.
At 3600 lbs 12.9 mpg at avg 50 mph speed.
Easy ride. I don't know why people don't think it can do it. Do you need a 10k capable Tundra to tow 5000 lol.

 

Going and stopping is not a problem. Large bumps and dips in the highway or uneven pavement let's you really know the load is back there. Boats also tow differently than travel trailers or box trailers. Maybe it's the shape? Like you mentioned, wind resistance does affect efficiency.

 

The 4th gear in the Tacoma is the direct drive that you want to use for towing. You won't be able to get into 5th or 6th and maintain speed when towing a full height camping trailer like yours due to wind resistance. The spread in gear ratios in between 4th and 3rd is horrible in my opinion. A friend that has a 2016 Tacoma tows a 28 ft trailer that is 5100 lbs loaded for a trip. He says towing at 62 mph he is at about 2800 rpm on level ground in 4th gear but for climbing it will shift to 3rd gear and run at 4200-4300 rpm if he tries to maintain that speed limit so he slows down a bit. He uses ETC while towing. He has been to the east Coast of Canada and Florida over the last 2 years that he traveled with us and no issues but neither of us speed when going on vacation.

It will depend on you personally what "You" are comfortable towing and how much experience you have. What are you expectations when towing? Do you like to tow at 70 mph and maintain that speed uphill? Will you get frustrated if you tow at 60-65 mph or slow down on steep inclines to 55 mph or on occasion 45 mph? If you are like me I am never in a hurry when going on vacation and towing our trailer. I never exceed 62 mph regardless of speed limit as the trailer tires are only rated for 65 mph at max pressure. I do slow down on steep inclines to 55 mph as this reduces the rpm a bit and I stay in the right lane. I could maintain the 62 mph or go even faster but I choose not to. Everyone talks about the max speed limit and that you have to maintain yet I haven't found any law that states you must maintain the maximum posted speed. There is a minimum speed that has to be maintained and it varies by state in the US and province here in Canada but generally it is much lower than posted. California specifies maximum speed when towing (55 mph from what I recall). Europe in general max speed when towing by law is lower than the posted speed limit. North America we have this obsession of having to maintain maximum speed ++ regardless of road conditions. Not sure why that is.

Keep this in mind in simplified terms the weight of a trailer you are pulling only has to be addressed when accelerating or climbing, the aerodynamic drag has to be overcome every foot of the way that you travel so a windy day will greatly affect how the towing experience is. Especially if you have a head wind in wide open area good luck with maintaining the speed limit without higher rpm and poor mpg.

The following points are my opinion based on my experience and a friend of mine that has been towing for 25+ years all over Europe and North America (he use to tow a 26 ft trailer with a minivan, we own that trailer now and tow with our own minivan) and taught me everything I know but that is another topic.
* Slow down when towing, maximum 65 mph, as stated that is max speed for your trailer tires at maximum pressure. You will reduce the rpm it runs at and improve your MPG as well. Personally I would slow down to 60-62 mph as that seems to be the sweet spot for towing a travel trailer regardless of weight, we on average maintain 62 mph (100 km/hr in Canada).
* Don't use cruse control while towing it will make the computer think that you are climbing an incline (result of wind resistance) all the time and will therefore maintain a lower gear. Run high rpm and poor mpg. If you have a truck with a lot of torque (diesel, larger V8) then sure go for it.
* Larger diameter tires are a poor choice when it comes to towing performance as now you have a wider footprint and more rotating mass to move along. Also depending on the percentage of increase in size is the corresponding reduction in gear ratio for towing. Not a good thing.
* I stay away from truck for towing as to me they are not best suited for it. Sit up higher (higher CG), don't handle as well, less braking capacity, less comfort on longer trips, poor mpg towing and when not towing. Why do I drive a truck every day, because I like it and I am the only one in the truck, I don't need it but want it. That is why the wife and I take our minivan on longer trips and when towing our trailer to go camping.

 

Does anyone know if it is safe to tow in 5th or 6th gear with a 6MT and 4.30 rear end.

 

Per the manual you can tow in 5th

 

When I tow my camper (2400lb A-frame, it's slightly less tall than the truck, but is wider), I use S4 and ECT in stop-and-go conditions. That's where you'll feel the weight more. Hitting the freeway, once up to speed, I turn ECT off, and either just shift to D or S5. The truck rarely ever went to 6th gear and mostly stayed in 5th, but dropped to 4th a lot. I wasn't TOO worried about temperature on the one trip I've done, it was damn near or below freezing most of the trip!

I'll be towing the camper up to Kansas in few weeks. I'll do the same, but likely not use D at all, just stick to S4 and S5, with ECT for accelerating and such.

I set Torque Pro up on my phone with the two transmission temperature PIDs and got it working with my old OBDII doohickey. Damn thing's got to be near 10 years old, but it seems to work fine! I'll be monitoring temperatures to see what conditions do to trans temps.

 

I tow my enclosed trailer in 6th all the time when I'm empty. If I'm loaded or it's an especially windy day, I keep it in 5th and run between 60-65. This keeps you in the powerband and helps save gas.

Remember, with a manual you never have to worry about transmission temperatures... you have to worry about bogging down your engine. I generally don't tow in any gear at less than 2500RPM.

A general rule of thumb is to tow with the cruise control off and feel the truck through your right foot. If you're at 50% throttle and losing speed, it's time to downshift.

 

Towed a 2000 lb enclosed trailer about 350 miles yesterday. Other than mileage going from 21-22 to 14-15, all was fine. Used 5th gear only occasionally. No problems.

 

It sounds like 4000 lbs is the magic number for these trucks. Below that it's like there's nothing there. Above that you really start to notice it's back there. I keep the speed around 60 mph with my 5k lb load and stay in D with ECT on. Also, height of your trailer makes a big difference with wind resistance. If it's shorter than the truck that is a big help.

 

A week or so ago I towed a 2011 AWD GMC Terrain from Pine top-Lakeside AZ back to Denver CO. 1700 miles round trip in 34 hours. I drove to AZ with an empty flatbed car dolly and then back with the car. There I managed uphill 4th gear and 3rd to accelerate uphill. The truck did ok with the trailer but it wasn't until i loaded the car that the Taco shined. With the empty trailer I averaged about 14mpg doing 75 mph with cruise control on all the way and with the trailer laden I averaged 13.2mpg and staying well with in 65-75 mph without cruise control.

I believe the weight distribution was 100% as my truck pulled the weight around and not the load on the back throwing the truck all over. it was waaaay easier heading back than it was going there.

At one point a newer silverado came by me with a golf bag and a cooler that was about to blow off, and I thought I would pull up next to him and wave him down. I was un aware of the speed but at some point I knew I was not going to catch him and upon looking down (as I am taking my foot off the pedal) I was doing 100mph, no sweat. I know i know, please dont tell me how unsafe that was, i know. I dont go that fast. But it was nice seeing the truck being capable of that.

The truck really amazed me....

The first Pic is AFTER I repositioned the car. The second was right before I decided to move it back 6 inches.

It was unloading this car that ultimately broke my arm and my wrist. lol

 

Well I just went to Daytona and back with U-hauls largest enclosed trailer 6x12 and dry weight of 1925lbs. My truck trd long box off road 4x4 starting mileage was 2800, return mileage was 6240. Your truck will tow it no problem, I left Ny with mountains and at 75mph she would go between 3-4th gear, getting into southern states she would go into 5th gear. Rpms ran higher in 3rd gear lol but that's expected, and it averaged 10 mpg, lowest was 7, highest was 12.5 and that was done by calculating at pump. Oh I had 1 bagged, and 2 Buell's and luggage so I figured I was towing about 4000lbs. I also purchased SSPRO v-2 before I left and it kept shifting to a minimum. Cruise control is horrible but I used it time to time on long flatter runs. Good luck, it'll do it, not as good as some but you will be ok!

 

Upgrading your suspension will help with the bumps.

 

Thank you for this feedback! Very helpful!

 

I thought about trying some sumosprings. They seem to have pretty positive reviews on here. The rear suspension definitely does not feel up to the task of a heavy load. Have you upgraded your rear suspension?

 

I looked at airbags, sumo, timbren, and hellwig. Seems timbren has my vote if I feel I need to add some suspension components. Right now towing my #4500 TT wet using an Anderson WDH on my long bed off road I just have a tiny bit of sag which you want. TT is perfectly level. Some longer distance towing this summer should make my decision.

 

Sumosprings!

 

I distributed the weight as directed by u haul, and towing 4000lbs it didn't sway and stock brakes were just fine, considering uhaul doesn't have trailer brakes. I think you might look into the price for rental vs purchasing a light weight new enclosed trailer. I found a light weight trailer 1000lbs for 2500-2700$

 

Yes. Airlift 72000 with Firestone air springs and Fox 2.0 suspension.
Perfect level adjustment to any load. Smooth ride.
Sumo is the cheaper way with subpar results.