Tow tune that doesn’t constantly shift?

So on my 22 I’ve got a kdmax tune.

Under normal driving conditions it’s great. Got rid of the constant gear hunting when climbing grades.

while towing though, the truck reverts back to its gear hunting tendencies.

whether it’s my 6x12 box trailer or my dump trailer, every 5-10 seconds it’ll downshift to 3rd, gain rpm’s, shift to 4th, then immediately shift back to 3rd. This is while using cruise control in S4.

anyone have a similar experience/any ideas?

thanks!

 

the 3.5 engine makes power in the upper RPM ranges, so I doubt anyone is going to create a tune to force the engine to stay in a range that isn't optimal. The Tacoma isn't much (if at all) a tow vehicle. Sorry.
I wasn't even towing, and had a 100 mile highway trip in to a stiff headwind,,, I was in 4th most of that time, only occasionally shifting to 5th or 6th down a long hill or while following truck traffic.

 

Let it breathe in s3?

 

Stop using cruise control, for starters.

What speed is this happening at, and what's the RPM in 4th gear at that speed?

 

Cruise control is your problem. Leave that rig in 3rd gear and haul away. These aren't ideal tow pigs so you'll have to run at higher RPM

 

Cruise gets disabled in s3

 

40-85 mph, gets progressively worse at higher speeds

 

These are definitely not great tow vehicles and trying to tow with the cruise control on is an exercise in futility. I think the best thing to do would be to regear and in a few years when my warranty is up that's what I'm hoping to do. The stock rear gear is really not a good match to this high revving engine but I'm guessing it's thanks to our government regulations that Toyota went with it.

 

This is not the truck to be pulling trailers at 85mph.

Technically no truck should be pulling trailers at 85. That's asking for consequences you dont want. Take a minute to verify the speed rating of your trailer tires and axles. I had to really hunt to find an 85mph rated tire for my camper. Most are rated at 65.

S4, 65-70 max, cruise control off. And that's ideal. The heavier it is, the steeper the hill, or if it's windy or raining, start deducting even more speed. It isn't worth getting there 15 minutes earlier if you broiled your drivetrain to do it. It's not the tune, my guy. It's the operator.

 

Would the ect mode help?

I don't tow ever and was considering getting rid of mine because of the shifting bullshit, the kdmax tune definitely helped but imo the transmission gearing (3-4) is the problem.

 

The manual says to tow in ECT mode

 

The Anderson engineering intake spacer helps when towing. Especially when paired with a tune. I have the Yotawerx tune. Pulls better than the KDMax. I was a KDMax tuner and now tune with Yotawerx. Keeps it in 4th at 60-66 no problem. I have about. 5,000 lb travel trailer.

 

I have an upcoming trip towing a 2000 lb trailer from Maine to Texas. The only time I'd use cruise control is on the flats. I'll share my experience when I return. I towed heavier trailers further with my 2nd gen 2.7L 5-speed, so this truck should be an improvement. We'll see.

 

If tuned, so is ECT mode. My cruise does pretty good with OTT tune, but I’m not towing. Turn off cruise, all will be good.

 

^^^^^^^^^^
This. Cruise and towing work for a full size diesel truck. NOT a Tacoma

 

What others wrote. Use "common sense!" Never know, "common sense," not so common. You are driving too fast pulling trailer with your Tacoma. Gear hunting crap is one thing, but the crap your have worry about more is, when pulling trailer with load, while driving fast, can you slow down, and stop in time? If not, BAM!

 

Do people not realize this is the dude with 400K on his other truck, much of it being towing mileage? I don’t think he’s looking for novice towing guidance, I think he just wants to keep it in 4th if it can handle it.

My suggestion would be slightly lower gears, like a set of 4.30s, to help it pull 4th. Or just stay out of cruise and let it sit in 3rd for as long as needed. If you stay in cruise it will continue to bounce back and forth, that is just how they are. I don’t think there is any tune that will fix that behavior.

 

The worst safety violators at work are the employees that have been there for 20+ years and will always argue back "I've always done it this way and haven't lost a finger yet." Great, but all it takes is one moment of distraction or loss of balance, and if you survive, you'll be fired as soon as you get out of the hospital.

85mph is wrong. And if you don't want to hear the safety aspect of it, fine. Speed is still the cause of your gear hunting, and no tune or regear will fix that. It's either going to hunt, or cook the fluids, or both. The truck can't handle pulling a load faster than 70 for very long, and this is coming from a guy that pulls his camper coast to coast.

 

For the record, I’m not condoning towing at 85 mph, in general, nor am I in support of safety violators at work who use luck as the reason for their continued negligence. However, he said a range of 40-85, not 85, and he didn’t say what weight trailer he tows at which speed. Would a small lightweight trailer at 85, away from others, really be that dangerous? I’m sure he knows what the truck can handle, load and fluid temp wise, because as I said, he has 400K on the other truck, much of it tow miles, and yet that truck continues to live without cooked fluids. Dude’s got more towing miles on the other truck than probably 98% of people here have on their odometer overall (maybe even more than 98% of people here).

My point is, I think it’s a little less cut and dry than simply limiting your top speed to X amount across the board, just because something is attached to the tow ball. Consider the circumstances and drive accordingly. Out in the middle of nowhere with a high speed limit, if the trailer isn’t 3K+ pounds, I could see cruising at 80-85 being reasonable. In town, congested highway, heavier trailer, taller (camper), etc, probably more like 60-65 if it’s a highway. I’m gonna guess that’s why he posted a speed range and didn’t simply say “I tow at 85 mph.”

Slowing down isn’t really going to fix the problem in the post, other than it may prefer 3rd more often at the lower speed. At that low of speed it won’t like 4th very much on anything but the flats…then you’re back to square one.

Gearing absolutely would help, but it may make other aspects of the drive undesirable, so that needs to be evaluated accordingly before proceeding.