Toyota Tacoma towing capacity

goducks10 wrote:

gmw photos wrote:
OP you should check out the TFL video where they hook a big boxy stock trailer to a new Taco and run it up the Ike.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DCkBmiZV09w

In other words, your boat would be easy work for the Tacoma.

I can tell you this, I have a '06 Frontier, V6, six speed manual with 150K miles on it. Approx 50K miles have been towing this 4100 pound Funfinder or my two horse Titan trailer with the quarter horse in it. It will maintain 60 mph up a 6% grade, on cruise control, in 4th gear.
3000 rpm. Easy. I've towed this travel trailer from sea level to the highest passes of Colorado multiple times.

Your gearings different. I would've been in 3rd wound out trying hopelessly to reach 60 mph up a 6% grade towing 4050 lbs.

GoDucks, that's true on the Frontier. The manual has 3.69 rear gear vs the automatic having 3.34. On the automatic Frontiers, you have to pedal them and let 'em rev. I have a good friend that has the identical truck to mine except automatic. For a while she pulled an identical trailer to mine, now she has a Lance. I told her, put your foot in it and let it eat.

Third in a Frontier automatic is 1.52:1. Fourth in my manual is 1.23:1. The overall ratio for mine in fourth is 4.53. The O/A for an automatic in third is 5.1. So yes you would be revving more to do the same speed, but not much.

To the OP, you're gonna have to rev the Taco to get it to do the job. It has an over 6Krpm redline. You aren't going to hurt it at all. Let it rev. My bet is you can pull that boat up the steepest hill with no more than 4500 rpm. I never rev my Frontier past 4000 to tow this trailer. Mostly, it's never past 3500.

Again to the OP, watch the video. You or I would not likely run up that hill that way in our own truck. We'd get over in the right lane behind and 18 wheeler doing 35 to 40 and just take our time. But the vid points out, the Taco can make the run in 8 minutes. For me, it's not a race to the top. To them, it is.

EDIT: a followup thought on my Frontier. I use the cruise mostly when on the highway. Even going up grades, the cruise maintains the speed in fourth ( of six ) gears. The fact the cruise will maintain the speed tells us it is not wide open throttle, because the cruise is designed such that it cannot take the throttle to WFO. If it tries to approach wide open, it kicks the cruise off. But once again, this caveat, mine is a manual transmission.

gmw photos wrote:
OP you should check out the TFL video where they hook a big boxy stock trailer to a new Taco and run it up the Ike.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DCkBmiZV09w

In other words, your boat would be easy work for the Tacoma.

I can tell you this, I have a '06 Frontier, V6, six speed manual with 150K miles on it. Approx 50K miles have been towing this 4100 pound Funfinder or my two horse Titan trailer with the quarter horse in it. It will maintain 60 mph up a 6% grade, on cruise control, in 4th gear.
3000 rpm. Easy. I've towed this travel trailer from sea level to the highest passes of Colorado multiple times.

Your gearings different. I would've been in 3rd wound out trying hopelessly to reach 60 mph up a 6% grade towing 4050 lbs.

OP you should check out the TFL video where they hook a big boxy stock trailer to a new Taco and run it up the Ike.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DCkBmiZV09w

In other words, your boat would be easy work for the Tacoma.

I can tell you this, I have a '06 Frontier, V6, six speed manual with 150K miles on it. Approx 50K miles have been towing this 4100 pound Funfinder or my two horse Titan trailer with the quarter horse in it. It will maintain 60 mph up a 6% grade, on cruise control, in 4th gear.
3000 rpm. Easy. I've towed this travel trailer from sea level to the highest passes of Colorado multiple times.

My 2.6 FI I-4 Mazda would get single digit mileage towing a 3500 LB 20’ boat over the mountains and teens towing on flat. What was reported on the Taco sounds right. I was able to maintain 45 mph in third gear doing a 3000’ climb.

I think based on experience (BTDT) that sounds about right.
FWIW and all things being fairly equal, I towed a 21'6"L x 7'W x 9'9"H TT that weighed fully loaded 4050lbs with a 2006 Nissan Frontier 2wd AT.
It struggled on hills and died in the mntns. 8.5 mpg. I had the 4.0L V6 as well.
I also had a 6500lb tow rating. 260hp. So pretty close as far as performance would be considered.
I traded up to an 08 F150 5.4 3.73 gears. Night and day as they say. MPG went up to 10.5. Towing was effertless.
JMHO but if you're a sunday driver who doesn't care when they get where they're going to, then it will be fine.
If you are the type that will pass people in a passing lane and like to run at a decent speed then you'll hate it.
What was frustrating was my Nissan empty was a pretty quick and sporty truck. Loaded up with the wife and I and the TT is was a big dog.

Just bought a 2017 Toyota Tacoma SR5 Access cab with the 3.5 v6 with the factory towing package. It also has a leer cab high shell at about 160 lbs. Listed towing capacity is 6,500 lbs. Looking at a Rockwood trailer that has a dry weight of 4,300, dry hitch weight 383,dry axle weight,3,862. Saw some videos on YouTube and this truck has problems towing anything over 3,000 lbs. Also they say mileage goes down to 8 mpg ! We live in a mountainous state.
What do you think?

The Tacoma is very nice and will tow that boat well. I would certainly test drive a Colorado though, they are very nice as well.

More realistic of what a Taco can tow is to take the rear axle capacity and subtract the actual rear axle weight when loaded people and gear. This will give you the remaining payload available for the hitch weight. Since you know hitch weight will be 10-15 percent of the gross trailer weight rating, that is your real trailer towing limit.

Simple math, but have to have the actual weight of the Taco and Trailer/Boat in order to do that simple math

Here is the GVWR & GCWR ratings per the link provided




Here is the tow rating as per the link provided




Take the GCWR and subtract the Taco's actual weight, loaded ready to go

That will be the REAL MTWR (max tow weight rating), as the above tow rating from Toyota is with a 'curb' TACO, which few people will ever order

For those who think the OEM's MTWR is an absolute...take the GCWR and subtract the curb and it will be very close to the listed MTWR (there are other things in there, like the WD Hitch system and one 150 lb driver)

{edit}...of course the above charts only matter if you believe in the OEM ratings system or not...

I've got a 2017 Tacoma TRD Sport with the tow package (6500). In 2016 Toyota went with the new 3.5L V-6 which so far is doing really well. Mine has the 6 speed auto tranny. Pulls really good in 4th gear. he 5th & 6th are mostly highway gears. I pull a 17 foot Casita trailer with no problems at all. Gets around 14 to 16 mpg while towing. Non towing, 22 to 25 mpg. I use to own a Ford Ranger with the 4L V-6. This little truck is way better.