The Tacoma Towing Bible

I can with very little experience in long distance towing, tow 4,000lb trailer. I can definitely feel it and it really effects the drive but its not too bad.

 

I pulled a 14ft tandem from GA to WA. The trailer had about 4k pounds and did great no issues on flat or mountains. Tacoma rocks.

 

Have a 2014 double cab V6 with tow package. Looking to tow my wife's altima(3500 lbs) from NH to OK. What is the best method and set up, tow dolly or full size car hauler from uhaul?

 

The curb weight of the Altima is about 3200 I added 300 for the amount of crap she most likely has stowed away in places men wouldn't ever think to look. I do have the automatic trans. It should be pretty much all highway driving but plan on taking it slow (65) the whole way. Not planning on great gas mileage, guess the tow dolly is the cheapest way to move it and I am not sure on the break system used by uhaul.

 

Does driving in D mean that the torque converter is automatically and continuously unlocked? What exactly does that mean?

Won't the transmission and programming take care of downshifting when needed?

It just seems that forcing the engine to turn more RPMs is tougher on engine and fuel consumption. Does the owner's manual suggest not towing in D?

 

Does driving in D mean that the torque converter is automatically and continuously unlocked? What exactly does that mean?

Won't the transmission and programming take care of downshifting when needed?

It just seems that forcing the engine to turn more RPMs is tougher on engine and fuel consumption. Does the owner's manual suggest not towing in D?

 

Short answer YES it will and that is the problem because it's going to be doing it constantly and that creates a lot of heat.

It may be a bit tougher on your engine and use more fuel but that's better than burning up your transmission wouldn't you say? If the manual doesn't suggest that it should. I tow a pop up trailer that weighs maybe 3000 lbs when I have it loaded to the max. It's low profile so I leave it drive only when it's flat or slightly downhill. Even the slightest hills I put it in 4th. If I was towing the trailer you have pictured it would never be in D.

 

No, for best fuel economy the torque converter will unlock before it downshifts, when the TQ is unlocked the fluid heats up very quickly, and it's very easy to burn auto trans fluid.

It's not tougher on the engine as long as your lubrication system is in good working order, you could drive everywhere in your vehicle at 3K RPM and most likely not see any unordinary engine wear over the life of the vehicle.

Your MPG will be crap, but it's better to pay for more fuel than pay for a refurb trans and install.

 

Thanks all. I have the scangaugeII, which displays ATF temps. I have not experienced the truck "hunting" between gears and temps usually run 190-230 or so. Not sure if the temp is pre or post trans cooler. This is my 3rd little Toyota truck, 2nd with AT. The 1987. 4cyl 5 speed went 200k hard towing miles. The 2000 4cyl pulled a boat some, but was lost in divorce before it got much of a test. Hope I don't end up in a tranny shop with this one before 300k. We will see . So far so good.

 

190-230 sounds a bit high, even pre cooler.
My truck ran 150 (cruising, towing 1,000 lbs on a trailer that weighed 2,500) to 186 (hard accelerating towing the same trailer/load) in 65 degree weather.

Hottest I've seen my temps was 205 or so hauling butt up a hill at full throttle in 80 degree weather.

 

Awesome post. My wife and I bought our 1st camper its dry weight is 3500lbs. We tow it with a 2003 Tacoma PreRunner Double Cab 3.4v6 with dealer added supercharger, weight distribution/leveling system, and a sway bar. At speeds much over 65mph on even a slight incline it down shifts and the supercharger kicks in. I will disengage the overdrive on our next trip as we are new to towing, this is something I didn't know was necessary. Do you have any other suggestions? I have no other issues and it pulls STRONG from a dead stop and accelerates great.

 

Awsome post. My wife and I bought our 1st camper its dry weight is 3500lbs. We tow it with a 2003 Tacoma PreRunner Double Cab 3.4v6 with dealer added supercharger, weight distribution/leveling system, and a sway bar. At speeds much over 65mph on even a slight incline it down shifts and the supercharger kicks in. I will disengage the overdrive on our next trip as we are new to towing, this is something I didn't know was necessary. Do you have any other suggestions? I have no other issues and it pulls STRONG from a dead stop and accelerates great.

 

I have been spot reading through this thread.
I am not sure what is the best way to go for my setup.
So I have a 2.7 standard cab 4x4. Pulling a 2300 pound rv.
I did install 488 gears with 32 inch tires and have a tranny cooler installed.
From the first post it states to never think about using overdrive.
Mine is the 4 speed automatic. With no overdrive. Driving the truck in third really wipes out the gas mileage.

Should I stay out of drive and run in third all the time?

Another thing I noticed. It seems like the torque converter is locking and unlocking even in third gear. From the above post that is a bad thing.

Is that normal for third gear?

Any other tips besides buying a new truck?

 

So what to do?
I watched the trans temp the whole trip this weekend. Never got above 159. using the torque app.

 

I agree with him ^. Regardless of what the tranny temp says, the reason they recommend not using OD is because of the constant shifting back and forth between gears. Something is going to wear out. Even in a manual you don't switch gears every few seconds. You find a gear and leave it there unless something changes. On long hauls mine stays in 6th unless I'm trying to pass, or towing a load. Even going up a grade without a trailer I don't generally have to down shift.

You could try running higher octane if you're running 87 now. The VVTI in these engines is supposed to develop full power on 91 I think, but adjust for lower grades. I generally try to fill with 91 if I know i'm going to be towing any great distance. Last time I did the math I got slightly better MPG with 91, so the cost/mile for the more expensive fuel is the same.

 

I live in California. Engine mods are off the table.
I put 488 gears on. That is like adding horsepower. The trailer is under the tow capacity so the truck should be able to tow it?

The overdrive is one of my questions. Since I have the auto 4 speed, I really do not have a overdrive correct? If I pull in third I am running about 3500 rpm at 50.
I have no issue going slow and taking it easy. What REALLY bugs me is the torque converter going in and out of lock in third gear. Why would it do that?
Is that the same as switching gears in terms of heat build up?
It would make more sense for the torque converter to stay locked while in third.

I am keeping this truck. What I need to learn the best practice is in my situation to extend the life of it. Appreciate the input.

 

Well the trailer could be under your weight limit, but if it's not streamlined it could be like pulling a parachute behind you! My 5x10 landscape trailer is FAR below my 6500lb capacity, but with the ramp up I can feel the drag on the truck.

For reference. My 6 speed manual V6 hovers around 2000 RPM at 50 in 6th. So you're running 1500 rpm higher than that, which is going chew through more gas obviously, but also put more wear on your engine. Where do you normally cruise at? I personally rarely go over 3000 RPM aside from shifting through the first couple of gears, or if I'm pulling a load up a hill in 3rd. So 3500 seems a bit high to me.

Yes, your TC should lock in. The in/out/in/out is again why they don't recommend using OD for towing. Even if you had OD, leaving it in 3rd would take OD out of the equation. Guys with the 5 speed autos do the same thing by using 4th instead of 5th to stay out of OD.

Since mods are out I can only think of giving octane boosting additives or higher octane gas a shot to see what happens. If nothing else it's a cheap thing to try without dropping money on mods or a new vehicle. That and your driving style. You have to slow down with a trailer, so depending on how you drive you may need to use less skinny pedal. Slower take offs, let off the gas sooner to avoid coming to a stop, then having to accelerate again. Or is this all happening once you're at a cruising speed?

If the TC goes in and out while cruising at 50 on a nice flat stretch of road, no head winds, inclines, etc, then I'm not sure what else you can do. The higher octane might help a little, but probably not fix the issue.

 

I ran on flat ground around 60 mph. Never above 65. On very flat ground with no head wind I could be in drive and it held 60 without flipping the TC.
Going up a incline I would switch to third gear at around 50 mph. The TC lock still flopped back and forth. That is what bugged me.

I should add that this was the first time towing the trailer. The tires on the trailer were low. 25 lbs. Should have been at 50. I had forgot to bring my compressor and all the gas stations had broken units.
I imagine proper inflation will help alot.

I just wish I could flip a switch and stop the TC from unlocking.
Next time I will use some higher octane. And have proper tire pressure.

It would be nice to have more power. But the little motor did seem to be okay pulling the trailer. It was the constant TC lock and unlock that concerned me.

I really thought the 488 gears would be enough.

Edit:

I just wanted to add that I am physically switching the trans to third gear. And while in third gear the TC still locks and unlocks. From some of the above statements, that is not suppose to happen??
Is this a real issue or is it normal?

 

Proper tire pressure would probably help quite a bit. I know it was always harder riding a bike with soft tires as a kid!

So fill the tires, maybe get a small compress for the truck (I carry an MV-50 in mine all the time) and higher octane.

No, the TC should not be flipping like that. Normally it would do that in OD/top gear, which is why you would drop it down a gear. If it's still happening there's an issue. If the incline is enough to down shift I would think it would hold that gear until you get to the top and back off the gas some. I wouldn't expect it to continue changing while under the heavier load of an incline.

 

Thanks for the advice.

Guess I will post up the TC lock question in another thread.
Thanks again.

Edit for update.
According to Gearcruncher the locking and unlocking of the torque converter will happen in third also. From what I have read of his post, he knows his stuff.
http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/2nd-gen-tacomas/357834-torque-converter-unlocking-third.html