Heavy towing with TRD Offroad

I have a 2014 Sequoia that I tow a 5500 lb camper with. When I got my tacoma, I tried to tow it just to see what it would be like. It did fair but hunted for gears a lot and the MPG wasn’t much better than the sequoia. I won’t be doing that again. The 5.7 liter engine and trans on the sequoia and tundras is really smooth and reliable. I wouldn’t max out a Tacoma’s tow rating or get even near it. Just doesn’t seem made for it. Too much reliance on rpms and not torque.

 

I've got a few miles towing with other rigs and its simple math, stay within your comfort/load range and the truck will do good.

**DISCLAIMER** I tow ~4k+ lbs plus misc gear on 33's with a 2.5" lift so YMMV

My List:

Sway/Load Control hitch
Brake Controller (Tekonsha P3)
re-gear (4.88's not sure if I would prefer 5.29's)
OVTune

 

Thats a B2650. Overall load is about 5700 lbs

 

You can tow that with a Prius...

 

Ive got a bx2380, and wish i would've stepped up to a B26. Iyh3 BX is great for mowing, but its a little light on lift capacity for any real work. Do you use a WDH when towing it? Always wondered how well that'd work with a variety of loads.

 

An Audi TT? What year weighed 4400lbs?

 

I've never felt the need for a WDH when towing flatbed trailers. This equipment hauler and my timber trailer pull great unlike my TT which demands the WDH.

 

Been about 25,000 miles towing this. Long Island to Texas and everything in between twice. 2" lift, 1 AAL, Sumo Springs. Taking the Sumos out this year and adding Ride Rites. If you keep it 65 and under it tows great but once again Fuel tank is small at 9 mpg in the wind. Always wishing for 5 more gallons. Keep in mind a WDH is about 90 lbs of payload and it puts extra strain on trailer axle. I don't use one and the Lance has been perfectly stable even in Texas pan handle cross winds, although MPG goes down to like 4-6. The lance weighs about 3700lbs. If I went bigger I would get a half ton.

 

I can tell you this is 100% not true. Both my stock 01 and my lifted 13 gmc(only on roughly 34s) got around 10-10.5 mpg towing. My 13 couldn't really do over 65mph without hunting gears. My dads bone stock 14 z71 gets only slightly better mileage but nowhere near 16mpg.

Edit:my 01 would go to single digits if I tried to start pushing past 70 without drafting.

 

I agree.

I’ve been towing an RPOD around on the other side of America...Washington to Texas and back a few times Over the last year. I’ve put a similar amount of miles on my 2019 OR DCLB. I think I just hit 26,000 miles.

I upgraded to Falcon/TerraFlex shocks, I use a weight distribution hitch, and I re-geared to 5:29s. I’m normally around 80-85% of gross combined vehicle weight...in the mountains you definitely feel it.

Edit: I also use a curt brake booster

 

Such a pretty picture!

 

I guess I don’t see the logic here. Take the money you’d waste on regearing, lifting, tires, etc. and just put it towards investing in a 1/2 ton or even 3/4 ton truck. If your plan is to consistently tow with even 4K+ lbs, get more truck.

 

I bought my taco because it is the only to offer a manual transmission. Sometimes you go with what you like over what the numbers say you should go with.

 

I have a manual as well, but if I know that I’m towing heavily on a regular basis, there are far better options. I guess it’s all about personal priorities and preference but I’d take towing capability and safety over nice-ity features. A lightly used ram 2500 diesel with the 6 speed manual can be had for the price of a new taco, if not less. Apples to oranges, but all depends on priorities.

 

I never would have purchased a Tacoma if I towed anything on a frequent basis. Wrong truck for the task IMHO.

 

I would politely disagree, all my big trucks and large trailers were just not that fun to manage especially off-road so I got a rig that could get into the mountains easier. My Tacoma is pin striped like mad, if it was a 1/2" wider I would be missing paint.

EDIT: All of my trucks get a lift with wheels and tires.

 

So again back to the fact that there really isn’t a single vehicle that can do it all. All about what you want to prioritize when it comes to choosing a vehicle. Typically most people won’t be towing 4K lbs offroad with any vehicle. If I wanted to simply offroad I’d dedicate a vehicle for it, and it wouldn’t be brand new. But that’s all simply my logic and choice.

 

Well I just went on the same hunt back in June of 2019. I frequently tow 3-5k. I ended up with my 6 speed Manual Tacoma. Here’s all the reasons why:
-Chevy has major issues right now. I’ve done the research.
-My major contender was the Ford F-150, which has their 5.0. I found it to be loud, a dog all the time with its power on an a empty payload, and it’s 4x4 capabilities aren’t great.

I decided that since I don’t usually tow more than 5k to get a smaller truck.

I plan to keep this until it’s 100% worn, like all of my previous trucks. I decided the Tacoma’s off road capabilities with its options suited me the best.

Now I own it. I’ve towed over 5,000 miles with it. I’ve put a total of 13,000 on it. My only gripe is the gearing, being a manual transmission. There’s no granny gear, and it bogs down bad! I’ve just purchased the mod to use my low gears in 2x4, and this should solve my problem. There’s also a tune mod that looks amazing, and I hope to find out more.

I’m 35, and am done racing cars while towing. There’s no point. I haven’t found many issues while towing. I don’t push it because I am towing a lot with the little truck. I’ve driven long drives while towing through cities, and rural places.

I made this purchase because I’m constantly driving where most people wouldn’t, and you’re screwed off-road if you have a trailer and a larger trick. I wanted to get a truck that wasn’t too big for my jobs, and could also accommodate the tasks I need handled. If I was a normal person staying on the pavement all the time I would probably have purchased an F1 50. I’m not normal! I just had to use tire chains, with the rear locked up to haul my trailer out of a section of my yard the other day.

 

There’s never been a granny gear per se on Toyota Tacomas. The 3.5 makes its power in a higher RPM band, so it will be a dog and bog down unless you find that skinny pedal and feed er the beans. Rev her high in first and you’ll be fine. Even with weight behind you. Toyota isn’t going to implement a granny gear know most will hardly ever tow on a regular basis with the truck. I think there’s often misconception with “towing”, “offroading”, and “towing offroad”. A full size truck is going to always destroy the Tacoma in towing and will easily do most of what a stock Tacoma will do offroad. Unless you’re crawling on a regular basis or navigating tight trail sections in a stock Tacoma, which is likely not the case, offroad capability is almost null and void. If you’re doing any of that while you’re towing, you’re doing it with a dedicated offroad trailer, or you’re not doing it.

 

Yeah, to much big truck machismo in this thread. The Tacoma will handle it fine, just don't be in a race to get where you’re going when towing and get a good brake controller. It’s the American mentality to get a huge truck to park at the grocery store, doctors office, work, or airport just because twice a month they might pull a trailer. If it’s that bad you could get a 2nd truck like a 2wd regular cab long bed for next to nothing to use just for towing. I couldn’t imagine DD’g a tundra. They are massive and their fuel mileage is a joke. Every other country uses compacts for just about everything, Americans use monster trucks for commuters.