Forum Discussion

mmtt's avatar
mmtt
Explorer
Sep 06, 2014

anybody tow toyota tacoma ?

I have a 1995 Toyota Tacoma 4x4 manual transmission
anybody ever tow one ?
  • I looked in the Dinghy forum. It would be nice to see if the older ones are towable. Good luck.
  • j-d's avatar
    j-d
    Explorer II
    Suggest you click "Notify Moderator" and ask thread to be moved to Dinghy Towing Forum.

    I take it you either don't have the Owner's Manual or it's silent on "recreational towing." There's a difference between short-distance, low-speed towing as in recovery by a wrecker when possibly something on the toad is damaged....AND high-speed long-distance towing as in a motorhome trip. Many older manuals don't address recreational.

    We looked at 2009 Tacomas and the manual did not recommend recreational. 2009 Frontier had a recommendation and that was the truck we went with.

    Somebody may have link to older issues of Motorhome Magazine's annual toad recommendations. MoHoMag claims to list ONLY those vehicles where the manufacturer says "OK" and/or "OK - Here are my Conditions." In other words, NOT owners telling how they got away with it.

    My totally independent opinion is that you can do it, particularly if
    1. It's manual shift
    2. It's 4*4 AND your Transfer Case has Neutral (many newer ones do NOT)
    3. You only tow relatively short distances at a crack (like 200-300 miles)
    4. On extended tows, you stop after 300 or so, start the engine, and idle in Neutral (but with Clutch Engaged - foot OFF of pedal) for a few minutes then continue
    5. Be sure Transmission and Transfer Case are full (never hurts to check Axles too)