Towing capacity help!!!

It might be the power to weight ratio but my supercharged 4cyl feels way stronger than the v6 in any rpm. I guess I'll just need to hook the trailer up and see at this point. I'll get back with everyone with the results

 

I sure as fuck wouldn't. Not even if I put caterpillar treads and a diesel engine. Doesn't matter how I mod it, I'm not qualified to recertify it therefore I go by the door sticker or less. If I need to tow more, I rent, borrow, or buy the vehicle that's stickered to do more.



But you do you, sounds like your mind is made up anyway and you're just looking for that one validation to say go for it.

 

Pulling and towing isn't the same thing. You can PULL way over the tow rating if you have enough power. But to TOW you also have to consider the tongue weight of the trailer. The shorter wheelbase of a regular cab could be a big part of the low tow rating. Longer wheelbase vehicles are more stable. The manual hurts you too. Your engine needs at least 3500 rpm in order to get enough torque to get a trailer moving. Needing that much engine speed when letting out on the clutch isn't a good thing. Especially in reverse. The torque converter in an automatic makes this much easier.

Whether or not you can TOW 4200 lbs is determined by the payload rating. Most 4X4 Tacoma's have a very limited payload. You figure 13% of the trailer weight as tongue weight, so for a 4200 lb trailer that is roughly 550 lbs on the trucks suspension. Then you have to factor in for the weight of the WDH, the driver's weight, and the weight of any cargo or accessories added to your truck.

Your truck has a payload and GVWR rating printed on a sticker on the door jamb. It is a statement that reads something to the effect of "the weight of passengers and cargo should not exceed XXXX lbs). The exact payload varies by truck, but some are as little as 900 lbs, some over 1300. Your regular cab should have one of the better payload ratings.

Since your truck has been modified from factory the stated payload is no longer accurate. Weigh the truck. Subtract that actual weight from GVWR. That is your real payload. Then figure the weight of any passengers, the driver, and how much you want to carry in the truck while you tow. The more weight you put in the truck, the less weight you can tow. If you want to tow the max tow rating, then you can't do it with anything in the truck other than the driver. If that truck can tow 4200 lbs, that is pushing it right to the limits. And depending on your real payload 4200 may be too much. Based on my trucks payload 4200 lbs is as much as I'd pull and I have the factory tow package and an automatic.

The tow ratings on 1/2 ton and 3/4-ton trucks actually overlap. Some 1/2 tons will tow more than some 3/4 tons. The difference is payload. The 1/2 tons will only tow the rated amount if they are empty. The 3/4 tons will tow the same amount of weight but can do it with four men that weigh 250 lbs each and 1000 lbs of cargo in the bed.

 

He wants to exceed the factory rating by a mere 700 lbs in a truck with an upgraded motor, brakes, and suspension as well as a proper sway and weight distribution hitch.

 

Your brakes may be uber powerful but your stopping ability is only as good as the contact patch from your tires. Under heavy breaking, all kinds of shit is gonna change...like tongue weight from a shifting load, inertia from the trailer, etc. In emergency braking, I could see it very feasibly, those from wheel coming off the ground or at least being unweighted severely from the trailer's momentum and now you have no steering and no forward contact patch. What could possibly go wrong with that condition?!

Yeah, and the legality thing. Talk about hanging your ass on the line as well as those make contact with when it all goes wrong.

That's a bitchen little truck. Stick to towing the little shit where's there's no question it's within spec and is prudent.

 

Guilty conscious?

Or maybe it’s the fact that it is here for ever (posted on the internet) and we can’t deny that we told some one to do something they shouldn’t if things go wrong.

Personally for me. It guilty conscious.
I’d feel bad if some one got hurt following my ill advised advise.

 

I’m also supercharged my guy so your not making more power then this 4.0 but it doesn’t change what the rest of the truck is capable of. If anything it makes it worse cause you are already pushing things harder with forced induction but load that shit up my guy. Worst thing you can do is break your own stuff. It’s a shame to abuse it though cause it really is a nice looking truck

 

Sheet metal frame.

 

Not really, I'm pretty confident it will tow 4200lbs safely. I've tow things in the past and understand all the things that could go wrong with towing. I was just curious to see what everyone else thought since I couldn't find a thread on towing with my setup.
Maybe find someone with ideas to increase reliability or towablity. And I like controversial discussions. Makes for a fun night. But all seriousness, thanks for the responses from everyone. I'll send pictures of my rig when she is all hooked up

 

Nice! I'm sure you could keep up then

 

Lol probably not. I think you have less overall weight.

 

OP has made up his mind a long time ago. He's going to tow the 4200lbs no matter what

 

Yea that's true. Thats why I've heavily equipped the truck. Just wondering if anyone has experience with towing with my setup or something similar. Thanks! If the truck doesn't tow the 4200lbs , it will go up for sale if anyone is interested. It's near mint condition

 

Well your thread title has the word "help!!!" in it. So not really help, just opinions on your made decision.

 

Yea I've could have word it differently, but I'm definitely surprised on how much help people give in this community.

 

This was my thought too. I have seen it mentioned that the tacoma frame has a bit of flex to it. It was noted as positive because that's handy for offroading and articulation. For towing that seems like a negative.

They make kits for welding up and stiffening the frame. I see the kits mention fixing "frame flex and the dreaded Tacoma bent rear frame section". That seems like step 1 for re-rating the tow capacity, but I don't know if they are reinforcing the proper spots for towing.


This is a great comparison to the ranger frame that has higher tow ratings:
https://www.ranger5g.com/forum/threads/2019-ranger-versus-tacoma-frame-stiffness-demonstration.1219/

 

I suppose we could peruse each state's accident database in this causal category and ask any survivors.

 

Haha, that would be interesting. Probably alot of ford's on that list lol. But my thinking is, if I have a similar equipped or better equipped tacoma , why couldn't I tow just as much as a v6 with a tow rating of 6500lbs from factory? The only answer I was seeing was because toyota said so. For me , that's not a good enough answer.

 

I understand where your coming from, but would frame stiffening be nessary? My frame is identical to the v6 tacoma. I'm not trying to tow anything over 4200lbs. I just want to exceed toyotas factory rating of 3500 by a few hundred pounds. After a bunch of research, one of the main reasons toyota rated the 4cy at 3500 is the factory rims that come with it. 4cyl tacomas only where offered with steel rims which don't tow well. Thoughts?

 

I've also ordered a heavy duty flywheel from LCE engineering, so that should help significantly