Gen 3 Towing Thread

Having drive 3,500+miles in the past few months I wanted to share my towing experience…

So far we’ve towed the TT 3,537 miles, ascended 38,484 ft, descended 32,175 ft, maximum elevation 7,610ft, lowest elevation -223ft and the taco has done awesome!

My TT is a Apex Nano 213rds, 25ft long (hitch-bumper), 7.5ft wide, 4140lb empty, 4,700lb loaded.
My truck is 2020 DCLB OR, tonneaux cover, 500lb sumo springs, Redarc brake controller and Anderson WDH. I run 50psi in the rear tires and 45psi in the front. With a bit of finagling I raised the stock transmission radiator 1.5” for better airflow and run with the thermostat pinned. Oh yeah one other thing…. I added the front spoiler from the sport

I highly recommend the Anderson hitch. It’s lightweight which is useful for the taco’s limited payload. When set up correctly it provides excellent stability, nearly zero push/pull from semis going past at 80mph and keeps my truck level front to back. With the TT attached the rear of my truck drops 0.5” (still space between sumo and frame) and the front is the same height as when unloaded.

I drive in S5 (no ECT), utilise OBD fusion via the Carista dongle on my iPad mini to watch everything. The most useful thing with OBD fusion is knowing when the Torque converter is locked and watching the TC temps.

The first 2,000 miles of this journey I was not able to watch whether the TC was locked or not, I was only going by sound and feel. Since adding this functionality I can run in 5th gear easily and safely knowing exactly what goes on. On my screen I have a green or red circle behind the active gear to tell me if it’s locked or not.

With this current set up I can consistently get 12 to 14mpg. My most recent leg of the journey was from Santa Fe to Colorado Springs, approximately 330 miles and I averaged 13.5 mpg even with a red flag warning coming from the west for 100 miles. I typically run at 60mph so I can use 5th gear and I’m nearly always in flip flops so I drive barefooted which allows for a bit more sensitivity.

On a recent leg from Alomogorda to Roswell NM, I ascended 3,500ft over a 7,600 ft mountain and my TC temps peaked at 207’.

The taco is a capable vehicle with limited payload. My tongue weight is 615lb+/- which leaves enough for a full tank of fuel and myself with some left over. My wife and 80lb dog are travelling in convoy with tool box, generator and other heavy stuff in her car.

I wish the taco had a bigger fuel tank although this handily limits drives to 4hrs so automatically provides a break from driving. We typically try to plan our legs to around 200 miles for simplicity and driving pleasure.

I highly recommend taking the truck and truck/TT over scales multiple times to know where you’re at and to make sure the WDH is doing what it’s supposed to.


Any questions feel free to ask over on this thread as not to clutter this one… Also more info and links to other stuff I’ve found essential. https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/my-experience-of-towing-4-700lb-travel-trailer….760812/

 

This weekend we rented a 2019 Micro Minnie 2306BHS with a EQ2 WDH. It is slightly heavier in dry weight and tongue weight as compared to the heaviest one that we will eventually purchase. My truck is running 33" tires and 5.29 gears and the NEXUS +P tune. The trans temp did not go over 198F, usually stayed at 194. The outside temp was 93F and there were not any long uphill climbs on this trip. The sway was controlled with the WDH but there was still some rocking back and forth when going over bumps or dips in the road. Maybe, if the WDH was set up correctly it would help with the rocking? I don't have experience pulling a TT with a more robust truck so maybe this is normal. S4 at 60 mph the tach is right at 3,500 rpm. The truck pulled fine in 4th going up hills. I was able to push the pedal enough to keep speed without the trans downshifting. Going downhill or when the load on the engine seemed relatively light I would shift to S5. I was a little concerned that I would need the gearlock version of the tune so I could keep it in the best gear range. But, in ECT mode it behaved very well.
After this trip experience I would feel fine driving this set up. Though, still not sure about longer trips up through mountains. We're probably looking at the next size down Micro Minnie, 2108DS or equivalent.

 

Sounds like that could have been the transmission pan temp, not the TC? The tc fluctuates a lot!

 

Sounds like a very positive experience!

 

The trans temp was about 4 degrees cooler than the TC.

Yes, it was a pleasant surprise. Last year we had rented a 3,300 lb TT, with no WDH, that had an 8' width(vs 7' for the micro minnie). At the time all I had added was a tekonsha p3 brake controller and sumo springs. After driving it for almost 3 hours I was not looking forward to the trip home.
So, yeah, to pull a heavier and longer TT with no real issues was much better.

edit - I had also added the icon multi-rate rxt leaf springs set for option 1.

 

I haven't taken it across any scales yet but I plan on it soon. Next time I am at the trailer I will double check the weight decal. Thanks for the information on the OBD fusion seems like a great way to monitor trans temps, among other things. Definitely worth the investment. If I can pull the MPG you are getting I would be stoked!

 

Our view right now… Carter Lake, CO.

 

You stink. LOL. NICE SPOT!

 

Anyone recommend a good locking hitch pin that won't rust easily? I just got a 2022 Taco and the standard cylinder lock ones from Walmart won't work - pin is about 1/8 or 1/4" too short. I'd love to get one by Bolt but pretty sure none of them work with Tacoma keys.

 

Got high in Colorado…. again.

Towed 4,700 lb TT west 150 miles into a 15mph SW head wind with two passes, one 9,500 and the second 10,800ft. Maxed out at 213’ on the torque converter, total trip mpg 10.7mpg.

Taco done good as always!

 

Towed my new mill from NC to upstate NY last weekend with my 6MT OR. Mill weights 2200lbs and truck was about maxed out on payload. Went with a shock absorbing hitch. Worth every penny.

 

Which hitch are you using? How do you like it?

 

This one. So far so good. It’s a little pricey but does a good job of damping lateral and translational impacts between the truck and trailer. I’ll report back after I pull my boat which is 5000lbs.

 

Very impressive!

 

How did that tow? Seems like a lot of weight behind the axle, i.e a light tongue?

Cool looking bit of kit though!

 

I was worried about the same thing. The saw head only has one position for towing. The rest of the mill in front of the trailer wheels seemed to have enough weight on the tongue. Pulled straight as an arrow with no sway.

 

Boat and trailer, and fully loaded 2850 lbs. Not more than 70 mph, and the only mountain driving we do here in South Florida is an occasional highway overpass.
But I can barely feel it behind me unless I have a real hard brake situation.

 

I had to look up that Anderson WDH. Never seen one like that before. No bars needed so I can see where it cuts down on the weight. Do you still need a sway bar? I really like that setup.

 

the anderson hitch has anti sway built into the ball mount,.. i'm on a couple travel trailer pages and the people that have the anderson hitch love them.. it was on my list of things to buy but we got rid of our trailer for a class c rv before i bought one..


https://help.andersenhitches.com/fa...g board—loading,trailer to continue to bounce.

 

@abodyjoe nailed it with the info. I was recommended it to me by my RV dealer who was also a taco owner. I like engineering and used to be a mechanic and gel with this setup.
I honestly don’t worry about the push/pull of sidewind or semi’s.