Is the V6 tacoma enough truck for the 21

[C&G in FL]

Originally Posted by thoer

Carl, transmissions are the one part of vehicles I never attempted to tear apart in my more ambitious youth, but I am unclear why the transmission would be damaged, unless it was overheated? Maybe when the driver didn't downshift when needed and it cycles upshifts and downshifts continuously? I figured the Toyota service managers knew more about potential failures that me, but maybe they just wanted the extra service business!

Yea, Eric, I'm not sure either. For all I know, it could be a old wives tale promulgated by transmission people in service departments. I would think it logical if the manufacturer rated a vehicle to to 5,000 lbs, the manufacturer already had calculated a safety margin in the rating. So I find some of the things I have been told shall I say......contradictory.

[steve dunham]

I know when I registered / titled my trailer they did not care what the dry weight or the actual loaded weight of the trailer was .
All the state was concerned about was the manufacturer's listed GVWR. If the trailer has a GVWR rating of 5000 lbs then your tow vehicle has to have a tow rating of at least 5000 lbs . At least that's how it was explained to me but it may be different in other states.
It kind of makes sense because the fees are based on trailer weight. More weight , more money

[NEWYORKHILLBILLY]

Originally Posted by Fun&Sun

We have a Toyota Tacoma and plan to tow a 21 with it. Check out the Tacoma forum and look up towing bible this will give you more information. Also your owners manual tells you not to tow in drive as the over drive transmission will hunt for gears and this could over heat the oil.
Firestone makes an airbag for the Tacoma for $400.00 - $500.00 and can be installed by a back yard mechanic.

I ordered those Firestone air bags last week...

my Tacoma has 6400 tow capacity ,and 650 tongue weight . But i have had 350 lbs on the ball and have got a lot of sag . I hope the air bags resolves this

[Fun&Sun]

Originally Posted by NEWYORKHILLBILLY

I ordered those Firestone air bags last week...

my Tacoma has 6400 tow capacity ,and 650 tongue weight . But i have had 350 lbs on the ball and have got a lot of sag . I hope the air bags resolves this

Let me know how they work, I have not installed them on my 2014 I wanted to see how the truck sat with the trailer. I have extended warranty on my truck, I went to the dealer last fall complaining of weak springs and in 6 weeks I had new springs installed by Toyota no charge.

[thoer]

I found it interesting when we switched from the 2008 Tacoma to the 2016 Highlander, how little the rear end of the Highlander dropped with the 17B tongue weight vs what it did with the Tacoma. Supposedly Toyota was going remedy the notoriously weak rear Tacoma springs in the 2016 model change.

[Vermilye]

For what it's worth, I did some measurements with my 2016 Tacoma Odd Road (was told the suspension is longer throw than the standard Tacoma).

Loading the truck to 5180 lbs, ball drop is 1 1/8"
Adding the trailer at 360 lbs tongue weight drop is 2 1/8"

I added a set of Sumo Springs (

YouTube Video

):

Loading the truck to 5180 lbs, ball drop is 3/4"
Adding the trailer at 360 lbs tongue weight drop is 1 3/4"

I prefer the Sumo Springs over air bags because I have always had leakage with air bags & the Sumo Springs have no effect on the empty truck unless you are really beaten on the suspension. They don't touch the springs for the first 3/4" of travel, and then only gradually add their effect.

[thoer]

Great info Jon. How's the ride on the Off Road?

[NEWYORKHILLBILLY]

Originally Posted by Vermilye

For what it's worth, I did some measurements with my 2016 Tacoma Odd Road (was told the suspension is longer throw than the standard Tacoma).

Loading the truck to 5180 lbs, ball drop is 1 1/8"
Adding the trailer at 360 lbs tongue weight drop is 2 1/8"

I added a set of Sumo Springs (

):

Loading the truck to 5180 lbs, ball drop is 3/4"
Adding the trailer at 360 lbs tongue weight drop is 1 3/4"

I prefer the Sumo Springs over air bags because I have always had leakage with air bags & the Sumo Springs have no effect on the empty truck unless you are really beaten on the suspension. They don't touch the springs for the first 3/4" of travel, and then only gradually add their effect.

I wish i seen them first. I might have tried them instead of the airbags , the firestones do have a life time warranty on the bags.

did the stock spring bumpers have to be cut for installation? it does on the Firestones, that was one thing i didn't like

[Vermilye]

Originally Posted by NEWYORKHILLBILLY

I wish i seen them first. I might have tried them instead of the airbags , the firestones do have a life time warranty on the bags.

did the stock spring bumpers have to be cut for installation? it does on the Firestones, that was one thing i didn't like

No cutting; the urethane "springs" replace the stock spring bumper. It took the local spring shop 30 minutes to do the change, 10 minutes of which was figuring how to start the truck (their first push button start).

No idea how long they will last. They still look new...

So far they have survived 7,000 miles with lots of dirt roads. When off roading, you do notice them taking effect on rough roads. They only come into play when you push the suspension - it feels a bit more solid than the old stops (which I never hit).

[wetzk]

We are waiting for a 19 which seems to be close to the same weight as the 21. If the bed and a few other things were set up different we would have considered it as it should tow about the same. But it would have forced me to remodel the garage for the 2 feet of additional length and we did not like the setup as much so we went with the 19 which will fit fine in the garage.
I was curious as to how the stock transmission cooler would handle towing and we had a discussion on here about the Tacoma and the stock cooler.
I decided if it was an issue we can add an auxiliary cooler to the truck to get us home. And to monitor it we purchased a Ultragauge MX and added the transmission info for the 2012/2015 Tacoma's to it. So we have the Torque Converter temp. the Trans pan temp and the Torque converter lock along with the usual things that are monitored. If anyone wants it I can post the information needed to set up the additional 3 gauges.

Edit, this is Hubby

[Fun&Sun]

Originally Posted by Vermilye

No cutting; the urethane "springs" replace the stock spring bumper. It took the local spring shop 30 minutes to do the change, 10 minutes of which was figuring how to start the truck (their first push button start).

No idea how long they will last. They still look new...

So far they have survived 7,000 miles with lots of dirt roads. When off roading, you do notice them taking effect on rough roads. They only come into play when you push the suspension - it feels a bit more solid than the old stops (which I never hit).

I have a canopy on my truck it might weight 200 lbs do you think if I installed the urethane spring it would effect my daily driving ? I have a friend with the Firestone air bags and he keeps 10 lbs in them and has a stock ride in his full size Chevy with a canopy.
Thanks

[jerryandmaria]

We have a 16 TRD sport 4x4 4 door with the 6 foot bed and a 16 -21. I don't have any issues with the Taco except for the lack of engine brake going down big hills. I have towed up the Sierra Nevada range and never complained about power. 13.5 mpg in the mountains and 16 normal foothill range @ 60 mph. I have a wdh and the springs are fine. very little sag at all. The 16 has way stiffer springs than my 08 had. Love my Taco.
Jerry

[tractors1]

No issues with our 2013 TRD Sport Taco v6 4dr long bed and our 2014 21. We load the bed pretty full (tonneau cover)

[Ray B.]

Interesting discussion. On December 15, 2016, we took delivery of a 2016 Toyota 4Runner with the intent of being able to tow our new 19 which will be ready in July. This vehicle comes with the 4 litre V6 and five speed transmission and is rated at 5000 lbs tow capacity. It has a tow package with a transmission cooler. The transmission in this vehicle can also be used manually in order to keep it from hunting or to assist with downhill braking. I recently learned how to do this while on a ski trip in the Okanagon area with a poorly equipped (tires) rental car. Some very scary hills!

When researching the vehicle, I had to dig pretty deep into Toyota's web sites but did find a short section on towing where they recommended that heavier loads be towed with a weight distributing hitch.

I will be able to report in July how the new vehicle tows the new trailer as we will be bringing it from BC to Ontario.

[Jake930]

Here's a report from Trailer Life. 2016 Tacoma, pulling a 2016 Oliver Legacy Elite 2. A much heavier trailer than the Escape Oliver’s Twist

[jrb1947]

I also have a 2016 4runner and will be picking up a 21 ft next month. I pulled a 17ft casita with a 2003 Highlander. When loaded, it slightly exceeded limits. Towed to Alaska and back. Pulled out of Death Valley a couple of times. At 175 k miles, no issues. I trust Toyotas tow rating.

[AKCamper]

Originally Posted by Jake930

Here's a report from Trailer Life. 2016 Tacoma, pulling a 2016 Oliver Legacy Elite 2. A much heavier trailer than the Escape Oliver’s Twist

We just bought a 2017 Tacoma TRD Sport similar to the one in the article to pull our Escape 19. I really think the Oliver in the article at 5,120 pounds is too much trailer for the Tacoma, but I think it will handle the Escape 19 just fine. We have a weight distribution hitch. The Tacoma towing the Oliver looked like it really needed one. We have our trailer stored in Montana and won't get a chance to tow with it till next July. I can hardly wait.

[Vermilye]

Originally Posted by Fun&Sun

I have a canopy on my truck it might weight 200 lbs do you think if I installed the urethane spring it would effect my daily driving ? I have a friend with the Firestone air bags and he keeps 10 lbs in them and has a stock ride in his full size Chevy with a canopy.
Thanks

No idea for sure, but all the measurements I gave were with a topper of about the same weight. During normal use the Sumo Spring does not touch the stock springs, so it has no effect unless you hit a large bump.

As you load the truck it gradually engages with the stock springs & has little effect on ride until you have a fairly heavy load.

So far, I like them, however I have no idea how long they will last. Only lots of miles will tell...

[Fun&Sun]

Excellent thanks so much for the info, will look at getting them for my truck

[arniesea]

I also have a 2016 TRD Sport 4x4 4-door but with the short bed. I added the Sumo springs and they work great. Just as Jon described. No issues towing my 2013 Escape 19. My prior truck was a 2014 Tacoma SR5 with the tow package. I installed Firestone air bags on it. They worked great but were a hassle to adjust. Also the drivers side hose kept leaking.

Originally Posted by jerryandmaria

We have a 16 TRD sport 4x4 4 door with the 6 foot bed and a 16 -21. I don't have any issues with the Taco except for the lack of engine brake going down big hills. .... Love my Taco.
Jerry

Jerry, use the "manual" mode to use engine breaking. While in Drive, move the shift knob to the left and forward in one motion. That will put you in 5th gear. (If you just move to the left it will go into 4th). Then you just move the shift knob back or forward to downshift or upshift. I would suggest you practice without the trailer attached to get a feel for it before towing.

And I agree, I LOVE MY TACO!