Towing with a Tacoma

[lcshurley]

We have a 13' Uhaul that we currently tow with a Toyota RAV4. We are looking to upgrade to a Toyota Tacoma and are trying to decide between the 4 and 6 cylinder. We'll be taking it on road trips from Mississippi to the northeast, so it won't all be flat land like we're used to. Can anyone give us your thoughts on which would be better? We would like to get the best gas mileage we can, but also want to make sure we don't spend money on a truck that won't do so great with the camper behind it.

Thanks!

[floyd]

Originally Posted by lcshurley

We have a 13' Uhaul that we currently tow with a Toyota RAV4. We are looking to upgrade to a Toyota Tacoma and are trying to decide between the 4 and 6 cylinder. We'll be taking it on road trips from Mississippi to the northeast, so it won't all be flat land like we're used to. Can anyone give us your thoughts on which would be better? We would like to get the best gas mileage we can, but also want to make sure we don't spend money on a truck that won't do so great with the camper behind it.

Thanks!

if you are buying a manual transmission, be aware that the 4CYL has a small clutch, Last I checked it was 9",but if a 4Cyl Tacoma can't tow a 13' U-Haul easily and without harm then it ain't a truck.

[John in Santa Cruz]

only the V6 tacomas are decently tow rated. do they even MAKE the 4 cyl anymore except in the most basic stripped models? or are you talking about an older used tacoma ?

I've towed a fair bit with a 2008 Tacoma TRD Offroad 4x4 access cab, 6 speed stick shift and the 4.0L V6.... it nicely hauled our Casita 16 all over the west for a couple years. we towed an escape 21 back from texas to the left coast and thought while it towed it OK, it was a bit too much trailer for the truck, and ended up with an f250 diesel (overkill be my middle name!)

[ZachO]

Depends on what you're used to as far as power.

The 4 cylinder (what year/engine size?) will definitely do it. The V6 will do it better, much more comfortably, but the 4 cylinder won't have a problem so long as you're comfortable taking it slow.

[mary and bob]

We tow our CT13 Uhaul with a Ram 1500 that has the 5.7 Hemi. We live in the Northeast and it tows just fine. Originally we towed it with a 4 cylinder Honda and that was OK. We only bought the Dodge Ram because we bought a Casita 17, but were looking for a larger tow vehicle for the Uhaul before buying the Casita. I would go with the V6 Tacoma.

[floyd]

Originally Posted by mary and bob

We tow our CT13 Uhaul with a Ram 1500 that has the 5.7 Hemi. We live in the Northeast and it tows just fine. Originally we towed it with a 4 cylinder Honda and that was OK. We only bought the Dodge Ram because we bought a Casita 17, but were looking for a larger tow vehicle for the Uhaul before buying the Casita. I would go with the V6 Tacoma.

Personally, I wouldn't accept a ride in a Tacoma without bringing a good pair of shoes and a cell phone, but it is a truck and certainly capable of towing a 13FT trailer at the speed limit anywhere in the country.
Towing has a lot more to do with chassis than the number of cylinders and the Tacoma is certainly stronger than a 4CYL Honda...

[Al and Cindy K]

No firsthand experience with 4 cyl but put 200k+ on an 05 and still driving a 12 with 150k Both with the V6 4.0, TRD Off-road, 4WD, Auto, Double Cab and Tow Package. Multiple cross country trips on both while towing a Scamp 19’ and completely satisfied with performance. Gas mileage not so good @ 13-14 mpg. In 2015 Toyota replaced this engine with a 3.6L V6 which I’ve heard has better mpg but less torque and may not be as good at towing. No personal experience with that engine though.

Edit to let Floyd know I’ve driven a ford but it ain’t something I’m real proud of and I sure hope Mama never finds out.

[mary and bob]

Good one Floyd. Actually it is a Honda CRV, identical car to the CRV that Norm towed his Scamp 16 all over the USA with. I was impressed with how good it did towing that Uhaul. I once rode a Honda 4 cylinder motorcycle that belonged to a friend. Quite different than my Yamaha 125 Enduro

[ZachO]

I agree with Floyd. I'm always way out in the middle of nowhere with my Toyotas, and love to hike in those areas and take photos, so the good shoes and cell phone are key.



For reference, I have a 98 Tacoma with a 3.4L V6. My trailer is a lot bigger than yours (yep, that's right). I can't say a bigger truck wouldn't be nice, but it does just fine. I definitely don't need anything bigger. I've got 250,000 miles on the original engine, clutch and transmission with only routine maintenance ever needed. I also average 14mpg towing.

I just sold an old one cylinder 1975 Honda XL250. Was a pretty cool old bike.

[tractors1]

Note that the newer Tacos have a smaller V6 (3.5L?) than the older ones (my 2013 has a 4.0L. Tacoma also changed the gearing, so to produce the same horsepower between the two different engines takes an additional 500 rpm on the new engines.


My older engine hauls a 4200 lb (loaded) Escape 21 just fine.......



Dumb Dumb Dumb change ....................

[floyd]

Originally Posted by Al & Cindy K

No firsthand experience with 4 cyl but put 200k+ on an 05 and still driving a 12 with 150k Both with the V6 4.0, TRD Off-road, 4WD, Auto, Double Cab and Tow Package. Multiple cross country trips on both while towing a Scamp 19’ and completely satisfied with performance. Gas mileage not so good @ 13-14 mpg. In 2015 Toyota replaced this engine with a 3.6L V6 which I’ve heard has better mpg but less torque and may not be as good at towing. No personal experience with that engine though.

Edit to let Floyd know I’ve driven a ford but it ain’t something I’m real proud of and I sure hope Mama never finds out.

Keep it that way, they cost enough already!

[John in Santa Cruz]

yeah, the new Toyota 3.6L(?) V6 has to be revved a lot higher for the same power output.... it gets better MPG cruising empty but I've heard its considerably worse towing

the joke is, my f250 diesel 7.3 gets the same mileage as the toyota did empty and BETTER mileage towing the same trailer. it has twice the payload, and way more room. downside of the f250 is the turning radius makes tight maneuvering with a trailer really hard. the tacoma was definitely the better offroader but the f250 is more comfortable interstating.

[floyd]

Originally Posted by John in Santa Cruz

yeah, the new Toyota 3.6L(?) V6 has to be revved a lot higher for the same power output.... it gets better MPG cruising empty but I've heard its considerably worse towing

the joke is, my f250 diesel 7.3 gets the same mileage as the toyota did empty and BETTER mileage towing the same trailer. it has twice the payload, and way more room. downside of the f250 is the turning radius makes tight maneuvering with a trailer really hard. the tacoma was definitely the better offroader but the f250 is more comfortable interstating.

Reminds me of a song...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F3a6hpIfbIc

[lcshurley]

Thanks for everyone's comments!








We're looking at used...between 2012 and 2016.

[Mike Magee]

There are a dozen Tacomas on this spreadsheet...
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets...Pkw/edit#gid=0
Only 2 of them are 4 cylinder, the rest V6. If you take the 3 V6's towing 13'ers and compare to the 4's towing 13'ers, the fuel economy difference is only about 1 mpg. Not scientific with such a small sample, but FWIW. Non-towing mpg is where you'll see a bigger difference. Figure what percent towing miles you think you'll put on it, and see how much you think you can save.


As for performance, without a doubt the V6 will be more enjoyable to use when towing. You'll go up hills at lower RPMs which means less noise, and you can climb a little faster as well. I towed extensively with a 3.5L V6 Highlander, and now I have a 4.7L V8 GX470. The V8 is substantially more rewarding to tow my Hauley with... and the trailer is only about 1600 lbs. I'm spoiled now, and have no desire to return to a V6.


Keep in mind that if you travel through the Rockies, not only do you have to pull long grades, you are pulling them at higher altitude with thinner air, and HP will be reduced by the thin air. And you also have to descend on the other side; a V6 will hold the rig back somewhat better (assuming you downshift properly to keep your brakes from overheating).

[John in Santa Cruz]

its not quite /that/ bad, but a 20' truck pulling a 21' trailer with a 60' turning circle can definitely create challenges when you're used to driving a 16' long car with a 30' turning circle...

[Raz]

Over the years I've owned several pick ups with "the smaller engine." In all cases the mpg increase was minimal because the engine had to work harder. In all cases entering a busy interstate was a white knuckle event due to poor acceleration. In all cases climbing the steep hills on the way to work was a slow process. In all cases they did the job, got me where I wanted to go, and would sooner or later get up to speed. I now drive a Nissan Frontier with the V6. It is very similar to the Tacoma. The extra power from the V6 makes towing my 13 ft. Trillium a joy. I see a 1-2 mpg reduction when towing. The 4 cylinder would be substantially more. Buy the V6. You won't regret it.

[Alice L]

Originally Posted by lcshurley

We have a 13' Uhaul that we currently tow with a Toyota RAV4. We are looking to upgrade to a Toyota Tacoma and are trying to decide between the 4 and 6 cylinder. We'll be taking it on road trips from Mississippi to the northeast, so it won't all be flat land like we're used to. Can anyone give us your thoughts on which would be better? We would like to get the best gas mileage we can, but also want to make sure we don't spend money on a truck that won't do so great with the camper behind it.

Thanks!

I got the 2017 Tacoma V6 SR5 double cab. It will tow up to 6500#. Some day you might want to upgrade to a Casita or Escape. This truck will handle it. Gas milage is decent towing at about 17-18 mpg.

[John in Santa Cruz]

Originally Posted by Alice L

I got the 2017 Tacoma V6 SR5 double cab. It will tow up to 6500#. Some day you might want to upgrade to a Casita or Escape. This truck will handle it. Gas milage is decent towing at about 17-18 mpg.

say really? My 2008 4.0 with a 6-speed stick shift could get 17-18 on the highway with 2-up in an otherwise empty truck, but towing the casita 16 usually got 13MPG at the best, and towing the escape 21 got as low as 10.6 MPG heading west on I40 in Texas... I made a point of staying out of 6th when towing, I'm sure that knocked my mileage down a fair bit, but 5th wasn't that much lower gear than 6th.


Mine was an 'access cab' (half doors with a half back seat), it had a 1200 lb payload... put the 2 of us in the front seat, and 300 lbs on the hitch, and there wasn't much left for cargo. adding airbags to it plus better shocks, made it ride /way/ better when heavily loaded. I had load "E" tires, way higher rating than the stock tires.

the contemporary double cabs had a 1000 lb payload, if you put 4 fatties in the cab, forget any cargo or tongue weight.

[ZachO]

It's almost always been the downside of Toyota, other than the price. For the size and power, the gas mileage is really pretty bad. I buy them because I'm not looking for a bigger truck, they're exactly the size I want. And because they last forever with almost zero problems if well maintained.

My first rv was a 1978 2wd Toyota with a camper built on the back. I put 30,000 miles on it in two years driving all over the west and to MN for a winter then back west. The only thing that happened the whole way was the e-brake cable snapped and an axle seal went out. That axle seal had been replaced before I left for my trip and according to the mechanic in Flagstaff, the wrong size seal had been put in.

Anyway. Floyd's just got the Toyota lovers fired up, which is exactly what he wanted!

So...4 vs 6. Obviously the 6 will tow better and I agree with everything everyone has said here. But if both have the capacity for the weight trailer you own, then it just comes down to your mentality. That 78 Toyota was way overloaded, with an old 2.2L 4 cylinder engine. I drove over Tioga Pass in the Sierras, Vail Pass in Colorado, tons of steep, up to 10,000ft elevation passes. It struggled but it made it. It's the VW bus mentality, which a lot of us here also have. Use the slow lane. When you come to a pass, shift into 3rd gear, 45mph, flashers on, and just relax and let people fly by you. It's ok.

The other mentality, which includes having the truck floored and still only going 50mph, all tense and stressed out that you're only passing that semi at like 1mph faster than it's going and there's 7 cars behind you trying to get around it too...then yeah, you don't want a 4 cylinder.

When I was in the market all I wanted was a 4 cylinder, regular cab truck. But my friend was selling my current truck for a good price, and I had known that truck since a friend bought it brand new back in college. It's just a great truck. So I couldn't pass it up. Man I love the V6...