The Tacoma Towing Bible

I usually keep it at whatever the truck will do without struggling. On flats I had to keep letting off the gas in 6th while towing a 2000lb UHaul auto transport with a 70's Ford full size pickup on it because she kept creeping toward 65 in a 55.

Obviously hills are going to spike your RPMS. Higher for more power going up, higher as you downshift for engine braking going down. I never redlined it, 3-4k at most probably.

 

The most important thing I think is weight distribution. Too much toward the back of the trailer and it'll sway easily. The Ford custom was easy, and could have done 65-70 easily. The return trip with a blazer with a plow, on the trailer backwards, started to sway at 45mph.

Running 91 or higher octane might help too. You get a little more power with higher octane and the VVTI. I typically run 89 so I will fill up with higher octane if I know I will be towing.

This is the truck I first towed. Probably exceeded 6500lbs.

 

A couple of weeks ago I spent a couple hours towing an '87 4Runner on the highway with my Taco. I kept the RPMs around 2700 and would not go over 3k in 4th. The truck did pretty good towing and in some situations I found myself going a little faster than I wanted to.

It all comes back to driver experience and watching your braking distances.

 

Ok so towing my prius on a car dolly should I not put my auto in D should I keep in in 4 so it is not Hunting for gears and getting hot?

 

Saw a TRD Offroad towing a small trailer down the highway today, about about 55 with hazards on...fully enclosed too, no bigger then a 6x8

 

My rule is to always try a higher gear, and downshift if it lugs (manual) or hunts (auto). No need to waste gas running higher RPM if the conditions allow you to run a higher one.

 

Ok thanks I agree with you, it only weighs 2,932 pounds so shouldnt be too bad of a tug.

 

Dolly or full auto transport? The full (wheels off the ground) transport will add another 2,000 lbs. Still under the 6500 lb rating if you have the tow package, but it is more to consider.

 

Brakes are a lot easier to replace and less costly then clutch and associated parts. I'd stick with brakes for slowing down.

 

Looks like a candidate for Firestone Ride Rite system.

 

I was wondering what would be better a car dolly or a full trailer? what do you think? It looks like the trailer will be 2,000 more so Im guessing the dolly will be less weight, speaking of a dolly with the front wheels off the ground it wont put miles on my car will it?

 

Really? And burn up your brakes going down a steep grade? There's a reason truckers downshift before grades and use jake brakes/engine braking to slow down.

Also, why the hell would you leave it in high gear while using the brakes to slow down? High gear would just allow the truck to accelerate again as soon as you let off the brakes, unless you ride the brakes all the way down the hill.

I had a 3" lift at the time so the AAL in the rear just made it look worse. I've since rebuilt the rear leafs and with 800lbs in the bed it still sat level.

It won't add miles unless the engine is running. Digital odometers don't advance without the the engine on. Or maybe at least the key to ON and the wheels rolling. The real question I think is how do you properly tow a Prius? Do you have to do all 4 wheels up, or can you do just the front or rear? It's not AWD so I would assume you could do the front off the ground.

How far are you going with it? I towed that truck 80-100 miles up over mountains, and brought chevy lumina back. Then a Ford Ranger the same size out, and the blazer with plow and weight set back.

 

Thanks Tiger, I appreciate you sharing the knowledge. Im gonna be towing a uhaul trailer about 900 miles, now i know what to look for. I've only ever towed my 12 foot boat down the street with my taco (not really even worth mentioning), the truck acts like nothing is behind it. thanks again.

 

Downshifting to control speed going down a steep hill = good, downshifting to make it up a steep hill = good, downshift just to stop at traffic light, etc. = wear on clutch vs brakes, this, I think is bad.

 

So you don't downshift as you're slowing for a stop sign or red light? That's bad. Making the truck try to run in higher gear as you're slowing down is bad. Automatics automatically downshift as you slow down. You should do the same thing in a manual.

 

Put in neutral. Less clutch. Every shift is pulling disc off flywheel and then back on. A little wear each time. Less shifting, longer clutch disc life. Just put new rotors and pads on one of my cars, <$100 and 1 hr time. Clutch a little more labor intensive, especially without a lift.

 

And I can't count the number of times I've heard or read that's bad to coast in neutral too. I had 100,000 miles on before I needed any clutch work, and that was only because the throwout bearing was making noise. Use both with a heavy load and have more control. I'd rather pay for clutch work than overheat the brakes and smash into someone while towing. But hey, do whatever you want. Try relying on brakes alone coming off a mountain with 6000lbs pushing on the back of your truck. Let me know how that works out for you. I know a couple 45 degree or steeper ones through city traffic you can try.

Then again, I also live in snow country. Putting the truck in neutral (clutch down) like you said caused me to almost lose the truck on snow 2 weeks after I picked it up. Had I left it in gear and let the engine slow it down I wouldn't have nearly slid off a cliff. Between the ABS kicking in, and nothing else slowing the wheels it was almost a very bad day for me.

Do you shift an automatic to neutral when slowing? Some of the autos have DAC to help slow them going down steep grades. Manuals don't since you can manually downshift to use the engine to hold it back. That says enough to me.

 

First stats: boat/trailer/gear weight is b/w 4200 -4500#

I have Firestone Ride Rite w/ compressor, put 10-12 psi in.

Towing was fine, got up to 62 mph, no issues. In manual, you need to stay in gears a little longer, but especially 1st. You do "feel" boat, but I've always felt my boats, even with a long bed 5.6 l Titan and a 5.7l Hemi Durango.

I towed this same boat with a 2007 FJ 6MT also. It also towed "fine" but was hampered by short wheelbase. In that rig, backing the boat down my long drive, I'll admit, sometimes, I'd burn the clutch a bit. But, today, no burnt clutch smell. Hey, it is a long drive and curved! No haters.

All in all, happy with Tacoma's towing abilities. I'll post again after my long tow, 5 hrs this summer with family, dog, bikes and a weeks worth of luggage.

 

Wealth of knowledge thrown down in this thread, but also all of TW...Thx to everyone who put this thread and site together, LEGIT is an appropriate description.

Not sure if other vehicle makes have forums for themselves, but this is by far one of the best resources I have ever seen for any vehicle (havent looked into it much)

Many Thx

 

Thanks, this is a great post. Just got finishing reading it start to finish. I have 2008 Tacoma 4x4 Shortbed with the factory towing package. I had been considering buying a Rockwood Mini 2504. Dry weight 4124 plus it comes with other options which will add to the weight. I do not have any toys that I would add in and would travel somewhat light. That being said I am new to towing and it's cutting it pretty close the total gross weight of 11,100. I am out of warranty, TSB leaf springs is not an option but the firestone air bags seem like a good option. I would tow mostly up to Northern AZ from Phoenix, climbing elevations of 6000 ft. on the interstate. Trailer has electric brakes and 4 wheels.

Short end of the story. Does this make sense? After reading this post, it doesn't. But I would like to get some feedback.