Towing with the 4 banger

Thanks for the insight. I'm not into risky behavior, that ship has sailed long ago. I don't think the boat and trailer are over max towing capacity of 3500 LB but are awful close.
Unless I'm pulling my little utility trailer empty I never use over drive when towing. OD is the weak link in the drive line and I have heard of a number of tranys shelled out or autos fried because of using OD when towing. In fact my old Dodge had a button on the dash to lock out OD when towing.

 

Home and safe. Cupcake did way better than I thought it would. I had a bit more weight on the hitch than I would have liked but for the most part she performed like a champ. A few hills were 2nd gear deals but I figured that at the start. Not something I would want to do every day.

 

Glad you got it done safe with no problems

 

Thanks. I see you have a "Tractor Talk" at the bottom of your post. This boat is replacing my tractor projects (1 done, the other almost) 1939 John Deere B and a 1940 Farmall H. The B is going to someone else, I'm going to keep the H.

 

Post some pictures over in that thread of them

 

R.I.P little clutch

 

what was your preferred gear and speed. How fast were you going uphill too?

 

Know your state laws in regards to trailer speed limits and need for a brake controller/trailer brakes.

 

Our 2.7's didnt get transmission coolers (might be different on the manual) so thats something to consider adding in the future if you plan on towing the boat a lot just for the added insurance.

 

Manual does not need trans coolers.

 

You know, very little slip to get going. After this trip I really don't think I added any "bad" to Cupcake. In fact I found lots of ice inside the cabin so think I might have an extra 300 to 500 pounds to the tow and most on the front. I wouldn't hesitate to move the boat again as long as I knew how many hills to deal with. I do believe that the surge brakes were a big deal, not once did I feel that I was going to have problems stopping.
If you have a 2.7 you already know that you can't ask it much under 2k. That said, I never once went over 3.5k, I'm old and cut my teeth with motors that made the power a 3k so cranking to 5k would make my skin crawl. Overall, pleased.

 

Most of what I towed was flat or mostly flat. I never went past 4th which is the 1 to 1 gear in this truck (5th being overdrive). I was able to hold 50 to 55 mph comfortably most of the time, a few grades I was down to 3rd, and the worst required 2nd and those were pretty steep and long, but still never went above 3.5k

 

I’m absolutely fascinated by the 2.7 4cyl.

 

Impressed. I feel it really performs like a little truck motor, not a car motor stuffed into a truck.

 

In my mind it's like a little tractor motor. Slow and pokey but will pull/haul anything you ask.

 

That's because it is a truck motor!

Out of the entirety of the TR family series of engines, only one ever made it's way under the hood of a car, and that car was exclusively built for the purpose of being a taxicab. Otherwise the engine is made for trucks, SUV's, Vans and even made it's way into a Toyota bus!

 

Is this the same basic engine used in the Toyota motorhome?

 

I had the exact same truck ...loved that good old thing

 

If you're referring to the old Pickup/Hilux-based RV from the '80's - '90's, no. I believe that was the venerable 22R or 22RE.

The TR series was the successor design of the RZ series family of engines found in the first gen Tacoma and other body-on-frame Toyota trucks and vans. It supposedly shares quite a bit of design with the RZ which would further explain the low tech ruggedness of the engine. The RZ and TR are definitely the spiritual successors to the R series.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toyota_TR_engine

Here are some of the global vehicles that get the TR series in certain markets.

Toyota Innova MPV (based on the Hilux!)



Toyota Coaster Bus


Toyota Fortuner (based on the Hilux)

Land Cruiser Prado 150

Toyota Comfort Taxi


Toyota Dyna Cab Over


And the Toyota HiAce, the global answer to the Ford Econoline.

Other vehicles not pictured here include the venerable Hilux and the 4Runner/Hilux Surf among a few more.

What other vehicles get the 3.5 V6? The Sienna and the Camry (I tease!)

 

Only the 2TR-FE could pull off 135whp/155wtq motivating a 4,200lb+ vehicle... and having the vast majority of it's owners raving about it.

It's got a nice torque curve, ~95% of max torque @ 2,000rpm: