Inquiry regarding towing

[MrTorgue]

First things first, I’m a towing noob. I’ve never towed a thing so forgive my ignorance if this is a really dumb series of questions. As I understand it GX460 has a 6,500lb tow rating. Only mods are 265/70/17 Nitto Ridge Grappler tires and heavy duty brake pads.

My questions are:

1. What would be (if any) a physical size limit? Could it tow something like this (or longer) assuming it’s not over the 6,500lb limit when loaded? (7x16)

2. If I upgraded the brakes to heavy duty / towing (already have the pads) would that give me any additional potential capacity?

3. If so, any ideas what would be a safe amount of an increase? +500lbs, +1,000?

 

[Mountaintrails]

I tow a lot with my 470, I haven’t used the 460 yet. I have towed a mini excavator that was at maxing my rig and trailer out. It did it with no problem but I did not exceed 50 and did not take the freeway. I tow a 22 foot camp trailer with a flipped axle and over sized AT tires. I live in the northwest and pull over a lot of mountain passes. My trailer dry is 3500 lbs and after loaded with all my gear I figure at least another 1000 pounds. I use a WDH hitch with anti sway bar and it tows great.

 

[Mountaintrails]

This was still stock size tires but 2.5 inch OME lift. I am now running TRD rims and 265/75 Wild peaks.

 

[re_guderian]

I haven't towed much more than my utility trailer with my 460, but towed 3 horse trailers with my 100 series. it did fine. Does the trailer you pictured have brakes? You'll need a trailer brake controller for you rig, should be pre-wired for it, the later 100's were. These rigs are "capable" of towing up to the limit. I find it a bit stressful, as when things go wrong, they are amplified if you're towing. Most of all, go slow, and make sure everything is in good shape, double checking frequently. Trailer tire pressure and condition being tow of the most overlooked aspects. Go forth, and Tow!

 

[MrTorgue]

Thanks all. I was more worried about crosswinds and swaying than anything.

 

[Mountaintrails]

Weight distribution hitch with an anti sway bar is your friend. My outfit can do 70 no problem and doesn’t move around on the highway. I try to keep my speed around 60 or 65 max for safety. Use a brake controller and if you sway ,manually apply the trailer breaks and slightly step on the gas. You will stretch the rig out and stop the sway. I’ve use E rated and LT tires. I do fine with 115T S rated tires and air my rears up to 45 Psi. I leave my fronts at 35.

 

[Rednexus]

Towing "feel" is pretty subjective. I tow a 3,000-lb dry folding camp trailer, and my GX tows it fine. However, I would not personally want to tow something up above 5,000 lb, as the GX has too short of a wheelbase, and I think it would also be way short on power at that point. It's not fun being the slowest person on the road - I can tow 70 mph no problem with 3,000-lb. However, many other folks on here do pull 5,000-lb trailers without issue...it just takes move driving attention and thought/care. I think towing at the 6,500-lb limit would be a pretty miserable experience, outside of a short trip across town.

Other things to consider is that the max towing rating gets reduced based on how much load you have in the vehicle. So if you have 1,000-lb of people and gear and then hook up to a 6,500-lb trailer, you'll be overweight. The OEM transmission cooler on these is also really too small for towing, so it's a good idea to upgrade, and to watch the trans temp using an OBDII app. Also, regarding your gross towing load, it's not necessarily based on the brakes, but is based on some combination of your suspension, axles, wheels/tires, and engine/transmission. So even with a brake upgrade, you still may be overloaded (which is also probably not legal).

 

[Acrad]

Has your AT fluid ever been replaced?

Do you have product to monitor AT fluid temps?

Have you added an external AT cooler?

 

[MrTorgue]

Towing "feel" is pretty subjective. I tow a 3,000-lb dry folding camp trailer, and my GX tows it fine. However, I would not personally want to tow something up above 5,000 lb, as the GX has too short of a wheelbase, and I think it would also be way short on power at that point. It's not fun being the slowest person on the road - I can tow 70 mph no problem with 3,000-lb. However, many other folks on here do pull 5,000-lb trailers without issue...it just takes move driving attention and thought/care. I think towing at the 6,500-lb limit would be a pretty miserable experience, outside of a short trip across town.

Other things to consider is that the max towing rating gets reduced based on how much load you have in the vehicle. So if you have 1,000-lb of people and gear and then hook up to a 6,500-lb trailer, you'll be overweight. The OEM transmission cooler on these is also really too small for towing, so it's a good idea to upgrade, and to watch the trans temp using an OBDII app. Also, regarding your gross towing load, it's not necessarily based on the brakes, but is based on some combination of your suspension, axles, wheels/tires, and engine/transmission. So even with a brake upgrade, you still may be overloaded (which is also probably not legal).

I don’t anticipate towing up to the limit, but more of a just in case scenario.

In reality we would be towing a cargo trailer like that one I posted, a pontoon boat and maybe one of these (Sol Dawn):

inTech Sol Dawn Travel Trailer

Sol Dawn is an all aluminum travel trailer like no other.

intech.com

Has your AT fluid ever been replaced?

Do you have product to monitor AT fluid temps?

Have you added an external AT cooler?

1. Yes, just recently
2. Not yet
3. No

 

[URJ150L]

That looks like a 2000 lb trailer. What are you going to be hauling? A side by side or a couple of atvs?

If you really want to dive in, there’s this:

The Tacoma Towing Bible

So After responding to many posts and answering many questions about towing with the Tacoma I figured I’d compile it all into one thread so that I can...

www.tacomaworld.com

Personally, I use these basic guidelines for frequent towing:

1. Take your max tow rating and cut it in half… this is what you can comfortably tow. Under no circumstances would I ever go over 75% of the rating.

2. Mod the truck… heavy suspension, trailer brake controller, transmission oil cooler, and depending on the trailer, a wd hitch are things to look into.

3. Alter your driving habits… 65 is your new max speed, and keep it in drive. Don’t tow in overdrive. That’s a good way to over heat the transmission. Manually shift the transmission into lower gears when going down hill to slow down. Avoid using your brakes. Pay attention to the speed limit… including the signs for upcoming turns, they’re your guide for safety. I usually drive 5-10 under the speed limit. Leave extra plenty stopping space between you and the car in front of you.

Follow this and you’ll generally have a comfortable and safe towing experience in the gx… you will know its back there though. The GX more meant for trails… not trailers. If you want an experience where you dont even know it’s back there, I’d start looking into a tundra.

 

[Acrad]

Even if you don't add a cooler you can help keep things cooler by keeping the transmission in lockup.

Using OBD Link/Fusion as an example

There is a gauge you can add called "Status of the Lock Up"

1 = locked and 0 = unlocked

You will notice temperature start to drop if high once locked up.

I noticed on Tundra forums a member modded the gauge so it showed gear in the middle and the outer ring gave indication of lockup... IIRC... green locked and red unlocked

 

[Bang Bang]

And keep in mind that NO ONE around you gives 2 f***s that you are towing anything. They will cut you off, move in front of you and slam on the brakes because they thought they could get further ahead in traffic or because they waited until the absolute last possible second to make a turn, etc. No matter what, you are in their way and the reason they can’t get to where they want to go. Leave plenty of room in front of you and let the assholes be assholes.

I have only towed a very lightweight 4x6 utility trailer I have a RTT mounted to with the GX. For my real towing needs we use the wife’s 2014 Tundra Crew Max. We don’t even know a trailer is behind us.

 

[TFAST]

I tow my track miata with my 460, roughly 4500ish lbs. Does just fine, only really issue is when towing it exacerbates the need for me to re-gear for my tire size. Other than that it would be nice to have a tow/haul mode.

 

[MrTorgue]

Good stuff thanks all. The cargo trailer would not have much more than 300-600lbs in it at most.

To take it out of overdrive should I slide the shifter over to sport?

 

[GX Kai]

Good stuff thanks all. The cargo trailer would not have much more than 300-600lbs in it at most.

To take it out of overdrive should I slide the shifter over to sport?

I’m not familiar with the 460 drive options but overdrive is just the ‘manual’ mode that lets you manually shift gears up or down. It may be sliding the shifter to the ‘left’ when in drive (D) on the 460 - not sure. As mentioned, you shouldn’t drive in overdrive full time when towing but you can use it to help with hills - both up and down. For climbing hills, you can down shift to a lower gear to help but don’t ride the gas, don’t keep the RPMs high, and understand you may need to drop 10-15 mph below the speed limit. I’d down shift on a hill climb to keep the truck going 50-55 mph max - just enough so I’m not going 40mph on the highway.

 

[Rednexus]

In my 470 with the 5-speed auto, I can tow my 3000# camper, plus a family of 4 and gear, in 5th gear on flat ground/light inclines at 65-70 mph with no problem, with the TC locked. I only use 4th gear on hills. The transmission gear ratios on a 470 and 460 are exactly the same, only the 460 has a double-overdrive 6th gear (0.59) that the 470 does not.

IMO, for a light trailer, there is no issue towing in OD 5th gear in good conditions, as long as the engine is not straining, and the torque converter is not constantly locking/unlocking. When keeping the speed to 65 mph or less, I've gotten 14 mpg towing in this manner. I do manually downshift to the 1:1 4th gear in advance of a hill, in order to gain a bit of momentum before climbing (if left in D, it will slow down, then shift into 4th a little more violently). 3rd gear is sometimes needed on steep hills.

 

[Acrad]

If you heat up transmission these safeguards kick in on the A760F used in 460

 

[Rednexus]

I can't imagine driving with a ATF temp of 275F! Mine has never gotten above ~220F and usually stays at 150F or lower, due to having an Hayden 678 cooler added. I haven't done any hot weather towing yet, but it's stayed below 180F while pulling some pretty steep hills in 3rd gear with the TC unlocked.

Either way, definitely watch the trans temp any time you are towing, over even heading up a long grade while empty (mine got up to 217F out west, due to needing to stay in 3rd gear). It's pretty easy to watch it with Torque Pro and a OBDII adapter. And, as mentioned earlier, do transmission fluid exchanges on a regular basis.

 

[URJ150L]

Good stuff thanks all. The cargo trailer would not have much more than 300-600lbs in it at most.

To take it out of overdrive should I slide the shifter over to sport?

Correct. Sliding over into sport will down shift the transmission into 4th gear which is your 1.00 ratio gear. From there you can manually shift into a lower gear depending on your needs.

 

[Acrad]

I've seen some on GXOR overheating transmission (display on so over 300) with extended beach driving in 4H when they should have been in 4L with speed they were traveling in while in deep sand.