Question for "RichR" or others

I had a question on your rig. How do you like towing the 2310h with the Toyota Tacoma? I noticed the GVWR on the Hi-Lo was 7000# and the GVWR on the Tacoma is 6500#. How is the strain on the truck going up grades? I'm towing with 06' Tacoma with a 97 towlite of a GVWR of 3900# and don't seem to have any problems. Would you use a larger truck in the future? What mods have you done to the Tacoma to make towing easier?

I have a 1996 tow lite 21tl and i use our 2006 town and country and it pulls fine on flat surfaces and in hilly areas i shift into 3rd.

I am pulling a 2007 21T with a Nissan Frontier Crew Cab 4x4 and 285 HP V6, and factory tow package .... rated at 6100 lbs. The 21T weighs 3222 lbs and is about 4000 lbs with LP and fresh H2O tanks full, dual 6v deep cycle batteries, AC, spare, awning, and such ... I aim to take it to the local Ag scale and have it weighed one of these days.

Mods to the Frontie are a SnugTop XL bed shell, Firestone Air Springs, and of course a brake controller. I use a weight distributing hitch and anti sway bar. I live in the Sierra Nevada foothills so I deal with altitudes of up to 9000 ft and grades as much as 6 to 12%. Therefore there are times I am going barely 45 mph, while trying to keep the rpm under 4500 rpm and wishing I had another 100 ponies under the hood. Braking doesn't seem to be an issue with having them on all eight wheels, so long as I go down the grades at a conservative speed ... I am never over 70 mph even during the best of conditions ... usually somewhere between 55 and 65!

I am considering adding temp gages to the engine and tranny and if it is necessary add coolers to them. So far I haven't had any problems, but it is better to be cautious. So I go slow and pull over to let the duallie's and semi's pass as often as possible.

NDGent - I'll be VERY interested to learn your actual trailer weight from the AG scale. As I've posted in other threads, my trailer is about 500# heavier than the GVW sticker says it should be. And, since I have a single axle trailer, I don't have much additional cargo carrying capacity anyway.

- Jack

We tow the 2310H with no problems, the empty weight is about 4100 with the options, and we travel light when we go on long trips. We only fill the fresh water tank about 1/3 full and with our normal cargo we can't be over 4700#. I can't imagine having the trailer being loaded to 7000#. I like to keep the trailer weight to less than 80% of the truck's gross towing capacity of 6500#, or 5200#. That allows for people and cargo in the truck and for running the hills. When it comes to tow vehicle trading time I may look at an F150 or a Tundra to add a little more towing capacity, but the Tacoma has been doing a good job.

tow vehicle

i tow a2709t with a 08 tundra dbl. cab had some performance work done .hp is close to 475 hp. i like hp. towing 27t i get 13 to 15 mpg at 65mpg. have tried chevy not comfortable. ford is great but not get what i wanted. tundra is all around best truck i have had ruger1

The Tacoma has about 160 HP? My '04 Dakota has 230 I think. There are some passes on freeways here in Utah that I can't go more than 55. Does yours pull it OK over Donner's?

Rolff said:

The Tacoma has about 160 HP? My '04 Dakota has 230 I think. There are some passes on freeways here in Utah that I can't go more than 55. Does yours pull it OK over Donner's?

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The current models 2.7L 4 cylinder has 159 horsepower. The 4.0L V6 makes 236 horsepower.

We're pulling our 2007 22' towlite with a 2010 Tacoma TRD Sport, 4-door, short bed, towing package; had the rear springs enhanced via a Toyota TSB (no cost); have Reese load distrib. hitch w/ anti-sway. My main concern is the tongue weight. With the big propane tanks, awning, refrigerator, and our full size bed up front (it's the special model they had for 2007), we really can't have any water in the fresh hold. We're considering downsizing the propane tanks to save on weight. Try to keep as much of the heavy stuff on or behind the axles. The Tacoma tows it well; keeping it between 55 and 60 we got 14 - 15 mpg. My weight stats are in the truck so can't post right now; we're in for the night.
Frank

TrulyOregon said:

We're pulling our 2007 22' towlite with a 2010 Tacoma TRD Sport, 4-door, short bed, towing package; had the rear springs enhanced via a Toyota TSB (no cost); have Reese load distrib. hitch w/ anti-sway. My main concern is the tongue weight. With the big propane tanks, awning, refrigerator, and our full size bed up front (it's the special model they had for 2007), we really can't have any water in the fresh hold. We're considering downsizing the propane tanks to save on weight. Try to keep as much of the heavy stuff on or behind the axles. The Tacoma tows it well; keeping it between 55 and 60 we got 14 - 15 mpg. My weight stats are in the truck so can't post right now; we're in for the night.
Frank

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What did the TSB require to be done? I read about it but didn't really see exactly what they have to do. I notice certain bumps in the road seem to hit hard on the rear suspension.

Fireballsocal said:

The current models 2.7L 4 cylinder has 159 horsepower. The 4.0L V6 makes 236 horsepower.

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I haven't paid much attention to trucks since I bought mine. I couldn't imagine pulling a trailer with 159 hp - That explains a lot. The V6 has about the same HP as my 4.7 V8 - I have had a lot of issues with my Dakota.

The TSB was originally for certain Tacomas prior to 2010, and then extended to 2010 models. It was for those Tacomas with a three-leaf rear spring set with a particular part number. If customers complained of problems like you mentioned, dealers were to contact Toyota and replace them with a four-leaf set. Unfortunately I'm not at home right now and don't have all the particulars, but, if you go to the Tacoma forum (tacomaworld.com), you can find the info you need. That's where I got it from.