Towing and Load Performance Misconceptions

Yes I do but not much with a midsized due to limitations as discussed above

 

I dont have any issues towing what the truck was designed to tow. Ive always had heavy trucks since my family raised cattle since I was a kid. Sold out so no need for a heavy truck any longer. As was already mentioned every other truck Ive pulled heavier loads with have had similiar issues as you state is supposedly wrong with using a Tacoma too tow. Right tool for the right job. Tacoma does just fine for what it's designed to do.

 

EXACTLY.

I can argue all day that my 3/4t (or 1t) was a better tow vehicle and I would be right. More power, more weight, more wheelbase, more brakes. But does that mean I need to own a Peterbuilt to tow a jetski?

I own a Tacoma which:
Has a 7 pin connector for my trailers brakes and is one pigtail away from being trailer brake ready.
Has ample capacity for everything I need to tow.
Has sway control features built into ABS system (hope I never know how well this works).
Has a backup camera which is amazing at hooking up a trailer.

Now I have never needed or used a weight distribution hitch. But it is in the works. I will use this on my enclosed 14’ more for safety and confidence should I travel in high winds. My loaded weight should by my calculations still be under 3500lbs gross. It still accelerates just fine. It brakes fine. The wind doesn’t sway things too bad for mid sized. At the full 6500 my OR is rated for I am sure I will feel it more and I will have to adjust my driving in consideration of the load. But that is what you do with any tow vehicle.

Right tool for the job, with the right setup and I have no issues with this trucks towing. If you tow at the extreme limits of its capacity be prepared to adjust accordingly to your towing conditions.

 

It has larger brakes because it's a larger truck with a higher payload capacity. They aren't larger to compensate for people who decide not to use trailer brakes when towing heavy loads.

 

Experience? You have not posted one word in this thread documenting so much as one personal experience of 3rd gen towing. It is all just stating the obvious and putting your negative spin on it.

Fact is some on TW do have actual towing experience with their trucks and have more value to add to the discussion. So step back from the keyboard Richard, hook up a trailer and actually have some experience next time you open your mouth regarding 3rd gen towing. There is more value in the content than your post count numbers.

 

I've towed plenty with my Turd and have posted those experiences in many places on this forum. I'm not going to spoon feed you. Get over yourself.

 

Max tongue weight and GVWR of the truck seem to be the hard limit on tow capacity in these trucks from a safety perspective. But from a comfort perspective, length of the trailer and frontal area are the big ones IMHO.

We just switched from an 8' wide, 5200lb loaded 25' trailer (29' tongue to tail) which was miserable to pull, to a 7.5' wide 4500 loaded 21' trailer (25' t to t) which is a dream to pull. The new camper has a smaller better shaped nose that helps keep the truck RPMs down.

I don't like towing to be sketchy at all, so I was skeptical about the Taco tow rating as well. I would never put 6800k behind this truck, stock or not.

 

I like my truck, but don't know why anyone would buy one to do a lot of towing. If you know you'll be towing regularly, you definitely need at least a full size truck. It's fine for towing a small boat or jet ski. Maybe 4-wheelers and lawn mowers on a small trailer. For more than that a full size would be best.

 

So you're saying that the Tacoma, which is rated to tow over 6000lbs should only tow 2000 lbs. that's about a third of the capacity. By your math a Tundra should only tow 3000 lbs and to tow 6000lbs you would need an F-350 supper duty.

 

Exactly

 

There seems to be some wide differences in opinions regarding the towing capability of the Tacoma or at least the gen 3 Tacoma specifically.
Personally I find my Tacoma pulls very well. I disagree with comments made about inadequate tonge loads because if you load your trailer properly this is not an issue. I am towing near max loads almost every week a 100 miles round trip. Unfortunately I have not towed with the gen 3 Tacoma so I'm at a loss there.
I run in 4th gear at 2500 rpm and it takes quite a hill to make it shift to 3rd.

 

The Turd gen tows differently

 

I've been towing quite a bit lately. I have a 20ft ATC enclosed as well as my 14ft travel trailer. The enclosed is 2550lbs empty, car and gear is about 3k, so 5500ish down the road. I'm a 6 spd manual, and keeping it in 4th gear most of the time gets me 95-100kph at @2900 rpm. As long as you can keep it close to 3000rpm when you hit hills it will hold for the most part. Consumption gets up around 17-18L/100km, not great, but not terrible. I'll pop it in 5th from time to time, but the majority is spent in 4th. I have a brake controller, and a weight distribution hitch and the trailer is fully in control.

My travel trailer is pretty small. Its a 14ft but is a few ft taller than the ATC enclosed. It weighs about 2500 lbs. I use a standard hitch for towing it and to be honest, it is a harder pull than the bigger trailer. You can go a bit quicker and stop a bit faster, but the extra height is very noticable and I have more throttle in it to keep the same speed. I've been pushing close to 20L/100kph and I believe it is entirely due to wind resistance from the extra height.

All this said, I'm happy with it. I don't want a full size truck to daily drive, and it is completely capable to pull these loads. Would a bit more low end torque be nice? Sure, and maybe if someone comes out with a proper tune that gets the curve a bit lower and flatter then I'll be first in line. The only other thing I am thinking about adding is some better shocks to get a bit more dampening.

 

Sorry, the word misuse ("break/breaking" vs. brake/braking) was driving my crazy while reading your post.

 

I'm with you, I don't want a full size truck as my daily driver.
I couldn't get past the lack of bottom end in the new engine. That's why I bought the '13.
On on other topic, you are like a lot of Canadians. You speak half English and half French. From lbs and ft to L and km. I used to do that years ago but decided to go back to just English.

 

Hah, I am fully bilingual in metric vs standard. I spent a good amount of time in the States for work 2002-13. I can go either way.

 

Feet, pounds, miles and gallons are part of the English language that I will never throw by the way.
The metric system is my biggest beef. It's like being forced to speak French! Shite!

 

Well counting 1-10 over and over is much more logical than dealing with inches and fractions. Regardless of your dislike of the French, whatever that means. And that's just distance measurements. Once you factor in all the other forms of measuring metric is far superior.