Help with towing capacity for 2nd gen manual prerunner

I'm looking at a 2007 Tacoma Access Cab TRD SR5 4.0 Liter V6 6-Speed Manual PreRunner 2WD.
Can the 2wd MANUAL tow 6500#s?
It's so impossible to find real tow facts with these cars. I really prefer manual but need to tow rather regularly at 2000# trailer. I've read these are not great. That seems crazy to me. Is love some expert opinions.

 

If you have the Towing Package it's rated for 6500# but it will struggle to tow that much, 2000# would be fine to tow but don't expect to get good fuel mileage.

 

The trailer is 2k?

What is it loaded?

The shape/bulk matters a good bit, especially on the open road. Crosswind, headwind, etc.

 

Definitely not expecting food milage but so need to get over a few steep grades on the regular.

 

Thank you. It's a small camper, rather tall and actually only weighs 1300# but figured I'd over estimate for all my stuff. I'm worried about going across the Appalachian mountains.

 

I have a 2.7L 5 speed manual and tow my Tab 320S Boondock (around 2700 lbs fully loaded) over to Spruce Knob WV on a regular basis. I tow over Rt 33 from Virginia. It has some pretty steep grades. I’ve never had an issue.

 

Around 4000-4500 is a reasonable max weight for any Tacoma. You can PULL 6500, the problem is the limited payload. I don't think it will be an issue for you but most of these trucks have 1000-1300 lbs payload. Every truck is slightly different, you just have to look at the sticker on the driver's door jamb.

Figure about 13% of trailer weight as tongue weight so a 2000 lb trailer will use up about 260 lbs of that leaving you 750-1000 lbs for you, passengers, and other cargo. You'll be fine with that. But when you try to pull 6500 lbs you'll use up 850 lbs on tongue weight. That leaves almost no room for anything in the truck.

The manual is a major handicap. Not for general towing but slow speed maneuvers. Modern engines need lots of RPM to get torque which means you're going to have to rev the engine and slip the clutch in slow speed maneuvers. Backing a trailer uphill with a manual in these trucks is near impossible. Guys with 4X4's usually resort to using 4 lo to do so. You don't have that option. The torque converter in an automatic makes a huge difference. That's why they stopped putting manuals in bigger trucks meant for towing 30 years ago.

 

Are you talking about semis? Because 95% of all semi trucks with ASM don't have a torque converter, it's an ASM. That stands for Auto Shifting Manual. It's literally a manual gearbox with automatic controls on everything, including the clutch. They are NOT gentle when moving slowly, unless you manually put them into their lowest gear.

On the actual topic on hand, the 2WD is a benefit, as the weight that the 4X4 system uses up, isn't there, so you get more payload for the truck.

If you're on an older clutch, and have never towed before, this might do in a weak clutch, so be ready to put a new clutch in it. It won't just explode the first time you drive it while towing, but it certainly adds wear.

 

Payload is restricting load on the suspension. They can pull more than they can haul. Gas mileage is bad enough without a trailer, worse with one. Just gear down and slow down for the hills.

 

Here’s the bottom line- for your truck to tow 2000lbs it doesn’t matter if you have the tow package or not. You are well within tow capacity either way. Your v6 engine has the same capability , the same power, it’s the same engine , tow package or not. It makes zero difference towing 2000lbs whether you have an auto or manual. As long as you are proficient driving stick you are good to go. And as far as towing it makes no difference whether you get a 2wd or 4wd. 2000lbs is an easy tow for your truck. Just hook it up and go.

 

I'm talking about 1/2, 3/4, 1 ton and even bigger trucks. Not, necessarily semi's. They stopped putting manuals in trucks like that 30-40 years ago because automatics do better.

 

That's crazy. I have the exact same car and overheated mine in reverse, had a rough time up slight hills. Even without the trailer attached, if I'm hauling a bit, I have to stay in 2nd up most passes or slow down to 5mph. It's scary.

 

I have not driven one, but the most common manual + towing complaint is backing up. Apparently the reverse gear is pretty tall, so you may end up using a lot of clutch when trying to reverse the trailer.

So I'd say try reversing super slowly on your test drive to see how you like it.

What engine and transmission are in your 2005 Taco?

 

It's the 2wd 2.7, 4 cylinder, 5 speed. I wish it could tow my trailer with it. Just hoping a V6 will do it but worried about the reverse. I've read a lot about the manual even V6's with that.

 

Interesting, I wonder if there is anything wrong with your truck, or if you and Nessmyk just have different expectations (e.g. he might be okay running 5k rpm up a pass or something).

I drop to third on steep passes with the V6, so 2nd doesn't sound too extreme. But I wouldn't expect it with only 1300 lbs.

 

V6 will be fine. I've done a lot of towing with mine. It's a dclb 4x4 with a commercial cap on it, so that about as heavy as they get. Add 2 passengers, about 250 lb+ in the bed, plus a 1500 lb dry 2250 wet teardrop back and forth over the Sierra Nevada an coast ranges. Auto trans, so backing is easy and only at the very steepest of grades on I 80 Blue Canyon and Donner summit will i occasional have to grab 3rd gear.

 

The irony is that since they did this, I have no interest in purchasing any of those trucks.

 

Did everyone forget (or otherwise not know) that you could get a manual transmission paired with the Cummins engine in a Ram 2500 until just a few years ago?

I think it was the last of its kind, though.

 

I usually never run more than 4K rpm. I pull up hills in second for the most part. In WV, particularly 250 and 33 you have a lot of twists and turns. 35 to 40 mph is as fast as you would want to go towing.
Trips to Nova Scotia from Virginia are no problem at all.
Gas mileage isn’t great, but I understand that goes for the V6s too.