How do I increase towing performance?

How much do they cost? That sounds like a cool toy to have for the trails.

 

If you buy in bulk, only about 175k per.

 

Well that's tempting but I don't think I'm going to make a bulk order and sell the rest off to get that sort of deal on it :/

 

In my experience - an external oil cooler is needed as well since the AT has a reservoir inside the radiator. Add both external AT cooler AND oil cooler. Unless you bypass the reservoir which doesn’t make sense in a cool weather location like here in Montana. The full synthetic engine oil can handle those high temps.

 

I understand. I'm just looking back and seeing all the time, money, effort, and frustration spent trying to make things do jobs they were never intended for. For the same or less money, I could've gotten the right tool for the job and it would've performed better. The older I get the more I want my possessions to be transparent, regardless of how I feel about them, so I stop wasting time and energy on them. I definitely understand if you didn't want to buy a new truck in the middle of all this. Even if you don't have the optimal truck/trailer combo according to the internet, you're still going to have an awesome adventure. I'm excited for you.

 

Thanks dude! I'll probably make a thread once I start pulling the TT to let everyone know how it goes. I'm just happy to have a permanent home even if it's going to be on wheels moving around the gulf coast a fair bit every few weeks.

 

Class C or small Class A RV and a trailer to put the Tacoma on
you are going to kinda doing the snowbird thing

 

You better come back here with pics and an update soon!!

 

I'll post an update after I pick it up. Might have to do the first hitch without it since the finance company wants pay stubs from my current job and they're being iffy about accepting the offer letter (which includes my salary) as proof of income. But on the bright side, I just got the sumo springs now that it's cool enough outside to work on the truck.





I got the brake controller but the wiring harness won't come in till tomorrow. So I'll post pictures of that before I see the trailer again.

 

I see some Kroil in the background...

 

Get the big F350 flatbed. Put your beloved Tacoma on the flat bed and tow a airstream Bambi

 

Yup, she was a beach baby so all her nuts and bolts are rusty. With this new job she's going to go back to living on the beach too. Fighting the rust on the underside is an uphill battle but now I'll have more time and money to take care of it.

 

You know what must be done

 

damn brother, is that a turbo charged diesel engine swap?

 

I believe 12V Cummins

not mine but would be open to it

the fact there's a Nissan Patrol in AUS with one gives me hope it could fit
it is a domestically available engine
and I assume the Patrol is similar to the Tacoma to include hood and engine bay dimensions

 

Yeah I wouldn't mind fitting swapping in a bigger engine. I know how to work on big marine diesel engines but sadly there's no way I'm fitting an engine that's the size of a house with a piston large enough to fit the Tacoma in. But truck diesel engines are outside of my wheelhouse so I think I'd have to let someone else figure out how to make that work on my truck if I did.

 

Got the brake controller set up today. Now I just have to wait till the paperwork goes through so I can move into the TT.



Wiring it up wasn't too hard. Just took a minute to find the plug behind all the extra wires.



It looks pretty clean so I'm happy it doesn't stick out or look ugly.

 

So when I tow the trailer what does it me if the torque converter is locked up and how do I tell if it happens? Also what should I do if it does happen?

Aside from that, I think I remember y'all saying to tow with ECT Power and S4 at 55-60mph. Is that it for while I'm pulling it or is there something else I'm forgetting?

 

I'd just get an inexpensive bluetooth dongle and the OBD Fusion app (with add-on for Toyota specific PIDs). There's a thread about them somewhere here on TW.. perhaps a kind soul will link it. Then you can monitor your transmission temps until you get some peace of mind... after a while you probably won't use it unless the outside temperatures are crazy hot or if you're pulling up inclines.

The key with towing with the 3rd gen is to have patience and don't make demands like it's a full size V8.

fwiw I have over 12k towing in my 3rd gen across the country.. typically on trips I'm packed full of toys and gear so my towing is more like 3600 lbs and relatively aerodynamic. Only out west on long climbs did I see the transmission temp rise to a point where it was actually worth monitoring. That being said.. I take it slow and don't peg my truck at 4500 rpm up climbs.. I just don't enjoy it. If someone is going to be making sustained power demands then I'm sure they'd hit the hotter temps a lot quicker.

 

Sweet that's not too bad. I'll just listen to my Towcoma and take it easy while I'm pulling the TT. Just ordered an OBD dongle so I can keep an eye on the transmission temp.