Towing in 3.5L vs 4.0L

Yes, I too have had multiple Tacoma’s, all gens. Four personally, 37 company owned. Have towed with every one of them. Company trucks towed all day, every day. My 2019 TRD Sport 4x4 will be turned in in two years. I will find a 2015 to purchase. I love my Toyota’s. My first was a 79 SR5 pickup I bought in 1980. But Toyota botched up the third gens big time. They mated an engine which makes it power in higher rpms to a transmission which shifts early to keep rpms down. Wtf, Toyota? The only way to enjoy this mess is with a manual. That’s an un satisfactory requirement.

 

I had one of the first 79 regular cab 4x4 pickups that arrived at dealers here. We took it on a fishing trip in the bush of quebec with nearly 0 miles on it. That little 4 cyl truck went everywhere off-road up there to get to lakes that weren't very accessible by most vehicles. On another note wasn't aware they had a sr5 version in 79.

 

I didn't realize there was a TSB for engine calibration again. I am excited to hear if my truck has had it done yet. TSB's are not typically performed on a vehicle unless you raise a concern about it, correct? Unlike recalls which have to be done because they are safety related?

I know my truck had rear leaf spring spacers and a front body mount replaced on TSB and a blower motor under recall, but nobody mentioned anything about engine calibration even though early on I had raised it to the service departments attention that the tuning felt sloppy on the truck.

 

If you scan the meat of that thread, you will see that a lot of folks struggled at the dealers, which was the main reason that thread is so long and still going. The initial versions of TSB-0058-18 and TSB-0125-18 listed MT ECUs, which could be pointed out at the dealers, but they were revised to remove the MTs while the associated software (CUW files) still existed. Somewhere in that thread is a map of friendly dealers where folks successfully got the TSB applied.

Even the AT peeps struggled at dealers with TSB-0058-18, TSB-0062-18, and TSB-0125-18.

The nice thing is that TSB-0034-20 is specifically for the MTs and contains the latest ECU calibration, 04B14.


You can check your ECU ID with the OBD Fusion and Carista apps or with TechStream.


Most of us found that it is just easier and less frustrating to flash the TSB tune at home using TS and a Tactrix adapter (instructions and tips in the 1st Post of that thread). The Tactrix is the least expensive, reliable device used to flash. Prices skyrocket from there. I used a borrowed Tractrix, paying two-way shipping and a full cost damage deposit that was refunded. The best $15 that I could have spent since the MPG bump almost immediately paid for it.


Like I said, the HW is very good. Just one small piece of software has caused unnecessary frustration.

 

I have spoken to four service representatives at 2 different dealerships and only one guy who even sort of understood what I was getting at. We read through T-SB-0043-20 and I explained to him I already have a surge that would have been covered under a previous TSB but it never got done, and now I simply want the latest ECM calibration. I don't have the symptoms, but it doesn't matter because my truck runs like crap sometimes and I'd like to simply have the latest software as a starting point. He couldn't quite grasp it and told me he would call me back. When he called me back, he said "if your truck doesn't have the fault codes, it won't be covered under warranty, so it'll be $85+tax." I said okay, I get it. No symptoms, no free service. But omg people, work with me. I spent over 30 grand for a truck that bucks when it's cold and doesn't go when you mat it.

That being said, perhaps I'll see if someone is willing to loan me a Tactrix adapter and do it myself. I see now why this is the preferred route!

I understand this may not be a fix all, but if people are telling me they are experiencing different performance than I am, then perhaps it's a smart move anyway.

 

I towed a 4000 lb boat with my 2015. It was fine but....
Really, that’s the limit I’d go.
55 mph hour ? I wouldn’t even try to go over that speed with any 6 cylinder compact truck towing over 4 k. I have a small sailboat and trailer too that weighs less then 1000 lbs. and absolutely any Legal highway speed was fine for the truck. Imo, that’s what they were meant for.....not serious heavy towing for anything but short distance and low speeds. Get an f150 for that.

 

Yeah. That's the BS right there. It is 10min of work, usually billed a 0.40hr on work orders. A bit longer if you want customizations done while hooked up. I said it many times, with all the negative stuff posted about the motor and AT shifting, Toyota should be asking folks to come in and get'er done.

 

Would agree the same with these mid size trucks. I've towed my 2k lb boat with my 2020 at 65-70 mph highway speeds, and it was fine, but i felt 3k lbs would be about any safe limit i'd want to do. At 4k it'd be only for a very short distance if at all.

 

Bah, the chassis is fine with 4500lbs of decently balanced weight on the hitch and functional trailer brakes. It's just a really slow truck. All of you guys are starting to sound like the folks that justify their 3/4ton diesels by your weekly trip to Home Depot for a bag of mulch...

I say this as my truck sits in the parking lot with yet another 3/4yd load of topsoil. These things do fine with 1600lbs in the bed

 

I figured that was low hanging fruit. Judging by the responses, I was right.

 

I was going to mention that I tow near max pretty regular but I don't think the responses I'll get would be positive so I'll just stay out of this one.

 

You have guys here afraid to tow more than 3000# in this thread, might as well let it out.

 

Somewhere between 3k and 10k is a sweet spot.

 

Truck just rides smoother with 1500#of tongue weight.
Fact.

 

Other (better) images were sort of in the ban category.

 

Yup.
Toyota was counting on improved gas mileage and towing ATVs as the selling points.

 

Towing with my Tacoma is something I do as it is my work truck. Like most light duty trucks, including F-150s as well as other makes, the one thing that must be upgraded is the rear suspension. The factory setup in most of these trucks is not suited well for towing because they are too soft and although they make for nice rides with no load in them, they are very unstable with heavy loads on behind. The load will manipulate the truck so much that it can make it "feel" unsafe. This is likely the reason a lot of Tacoma users don't feel comfortable towing more than 3500 lbs. Also, as the tongue load increases, the the rear end squats and not only looks overloaded but when you drive down the road you feel the squat because your nose is higher and you're now looking down the road with a new perspective. The only way to fix this is with better suspension in the rear to not only resist downward forces of the heavy tongue but also provide better lateral rigidity as well. Airbags will help with resisting downward forces but will do little to stiffen the side to side movements when turning or just enduring the uneven road surfaces. Adding more leaf springs (I added two more per side) in the rear fixes both the squatting and the lateral movements. One other improvement that will remove more wishy washy feeling is installing 10 ply rated tires inflated to at least 45 psi. We are almost ready... remember the two extra leaf springs in the Rear? Well... they really lifted the ass in the air and I had to add a 2 1/4" lift in the front to make the truck sit nice again. I had no intentions of lifting my truck but here I am.
Ride: Yes... with the extra leafs and the 10 ply tires inflated to 45 lbs, it does not ride like it did before. If this is your daily driver and you only tow occasionally, then maybe this is not for you. In life there are compromises and you can't have your cake and eat it too. My daily driver is a Rav4 so I'm not too concerned about my Tacoma riding like a lumber wagon.
Power: Although I have not towed with a Gen3, my Gen2 will motivate any load with gusto so much so that if I lay too heavy on the throttle when accelerating, I will beak traction. Once moving, I put it in 4th (5 speed auto) and leave it. At 55 mph I'm revving at 2000 rpm and on level ground the engine is barely working. On modest hills, I lay into a bit, it groans a bit but stays in 4th. When pulling heavy loads, don"t be in a hurry. You'll get there.

 

Agreed...had a bit over 1300 lbs in the bed. Truck rode much smoother. Empty it rides a tad smoother than an ox cart.

 

You 2nd gen guys crack me up.

 

Why do you find this funny? It's exactly how I stated because I've no reason to exaggerate. I never said my truck was better than your truck. If you like the performance of your truck then I'm happy for you but don't ridicule me when I describe the towing experience of mine. That's just immature!