Towing help and advice….

Ok so I have a 2018 SR5 with tow package 3.5L v6 heavily modded to pull my daily landscape trailer that is 14x7ft and fully loaded with both mowers and all equipment I’m running at about 6000lbs….I have the old man emu 3 in lift with Dakar springs (hardly squats at all) running 275 70r17 Nitto Grapplers. Regeared to 4.88 Yukon. Injen evolution intake, AFE throttle body spacer. Corsa sport Catback exhaust. Ripp ignition coils. I have the power stop full towing brake package paired with the Redarc Tow Pro Elite.and of course I run a pedal commander.That’s all my performance upgrades…of course I have a bunch of aesthetic upgrades both inside and out but I’m here to ask what else can I do to make this truck tow any better….only things I struggle with now are the initial get up and go when traffic is bad and I’ve got to peg the gas basically lol….I do get trailer sway pretty bad, I did get the weigh safe hitch though so I can see my tongue weight which is very nice to know for positioning….and my biggest worry of all is my transmission….I have the stock trans cooler and oil cooler as well, but should I put aftermarket ones in? Will they help?

today something started knocking in the drivetrain and it seemed like either rear diff or driveshaft…got so bad I had it towed to mechanic and am waiting on diagnosis….I know the trailer is too heavy for the Tacoma especially being an everyday towing vehicle…I bought this truck before I knew anything about towing and trucks in general because it was my dream truck….I will eventually buy a bigger truck to pull the trailer but I need this to work for another year…….

Any other upgrades that will help?also please guys I’m asking for help, not trying to hear a bunch of rude comments or people saying to buy a bigger truck.

 

Only helpful thing I have is trailer sway has nothing to do with the power of your truck, also bigger trans coolers are indeed helpful. The rest would probably be considered rude

 

Scangauge or equivalent to monitor the trans temp
maybe a drain and fill of the trans, a you can see the fluid condition and b make sure it is properly filled

 

Hey a workin man, I dig it!
Only thing I can think,, other than very frequent fluid changes; get an OBD II Bluetooth dongle and the fusion app, so you can monitor transmission temps.
I’m still trying to figure out adding a dashboard to my Fusion app, so don’t ask haha. I have it going, but got a new phone and need to relearn.

oh also
I know you probably don’t want to,,, but to keep your truck from totally dying, buy a used set of wheels/tires for the work week. I’d rather loose my street cred than a box of gears.

 

Downsize to stock tire size (stay 10 ply for the hauling). It will look awful but you actually see it a lot with workhorse trucks. They have tiny tires but remenants of big fender flares.

You'll gain the most from the regearing and the truck won't have to work as hard.

 

Wow lol appreciate the restraint. Thanks for the info on the sway, I’m trying to figure out though, if the weight is positioned correctly on the trailer (which is confirmed by the weighsafe hitch) the tongue is even and level when attached…all tires are good on both trailer and truck….what’s next? I’ve had everything diagnosed on the truck and the trailer as well….where do I look at and assess next? I thought the weight of the truck being too light was maybe the problem

 

Is it swaying all the time? Only above certain speeds or Only when speeding up / or braking?

 

Check out page 16 of this PDF for Tacoma towing specs.

http://www.tfltruck.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/2016-toyota-Tacoma-Technical-specs.pdf

 

Pretty much all the time and it’s when I get about 50mph and above…and yeah it’s just when driving down highway…nothing abnormal when accelerating or braking

 

If you are 100% positive your weight distribution is good, only other thing I can think of is tires on trailer are not at correct psi / or you have something going on with your trailer hubs / bearings, or a bent trailer axle.

 

Hey thank you for this because I just learned the factory numbers that I didn’t know…I knew some of them b it not all…my thing about it though is what all changes from lifts, upgraded hitches…and other things….I haven’t had any issues with anything except literally the transmission and I would’ve thought the 4.88 regear would’ve solved that issue….which it basically did but like I said…today it started making a thump bang sound with every rotation of the tires but it seemed to get louder and worse when I hit the gas and quieted down some when I just rolled….regardless it got way bad by the end of the day I had it towed to a mechanic….whatever might help it, I don’t care how much it costs I need to know what I can get to help it….and I need oil cooler recommendations as well as trans Cooler recommendations

 

Putting the shortest tires on you can find will reduce the load on the drive train and make an immediately noticeable improvement in acceleration. Transmission fluid service should be frequent, use the genuine Toyota fluid.

You can install the largest transmission cooler that you can fit in the grill area, you might need to fabricate some simple brackets and bend some metal tubing you can get at any auto parts store.
I personally prefer the style with brackets on the cooler rather than the style that mounts with plastic zip ties to the radiator.

Learn more here:
https://transmissioncoolerguide.com/transmission-coolers/best-transmission-coolers/

 

Going back to the stock tire size will make the largest and most effective difference to how it feels pulling away from a stop.

What is your tongue weight and how is the weight distributed inside the trailer? You should be looking at about a 780lb tongue weight to be stable with a 6000lb trailer and a weight distribution/anti-sway hitch should definitely be used.

 

I’m just impressed that you got the Ram HD tow mirrors to look almost natural on your truck. Very nice.

 

Taco don’t deserve that


*nvm, just read last sentence of your post. Cool window vents btw

 

Recently had to haul this pig around for a few days. ~ 6100 lbs. Not sure if you can get weight distrubtion or sway control on your trailer but it is a must have. And in fact stated in manual which I just found out.

Also set you trailer brake gain to about 6 amps or higher.

Surprisingly Taco is not bad and should be able to handle it but can't comment on the aftermarket stuff you have. Mine is completely stock, manual, and minor lift and 265 70 17s.

Be patient. Very patient. And also use preimium grade fuel. Towed several thousand miles with 4000 and 5000 lbs all througout mountains and notice just a bit more crispness in shifts and power.

All tricks Ive used and been happy with the truck. Also avoid serious grade at all costs lol. Throw the hazards on and be happy around 45 mph.

 

Put the load as far forward as possible. A trailer can self-correct sway if it's loaded properly

 

Well here’s the update on what happened with the knocking noise…..the guys at 4 wheel parts that did the regear screwed up….the pinion was about to fall out in the road. Everything else checked out and was in great condition…still getting a trans cooler and a Scangauge…now it’s just what kind of trans cooler should I get