3rd Gen vs 1st Towing

I own an '02 TRD OR V6 4x4 MT and I've been using it the past few weeks to tow my race car to the track. The motor does decent but the suspension just squats so much. Even with a new frame, leaf springs, and Bilstein 4600s. Would love to pick up a 2016 TRD OR MT with towing package but am worried it won't be any better than my 1st gen. Thoughts?

 

I think the third gen will hold a bit more weight better and tow better than the smaller 1st gen. Not leaps and bounds better, but better if anything because the 1st gen is.... 14 years old?

 

Air bags in the rear might help? Cheaper than getting a new truck that's for sure, unless the overall weight is just too much for the 3.4.

 

Sumo Springs

 

Thought about air bags. But I also don't wanna mess up the 150k baby rear diff or the clutch towing such a heavy load for it. I'd rather have something with a warranty lol. Also, a new 4 door Tacoma would be a truck to keep for a long time I feel like.

Do Toyota dealerships generally offer decent trade ins for 1st gen? Or will they most likely offer me something stupid like $6k?

 

I'm not sure if this will help you. We just bought a jayco travel trailer that weighs 2950lbs and has a dry tounge weight of 280lbs. Im running icon suspension with rear AAL and firestone ride rite bags. The first pic the bags are at 0psi (I run daystar cradles and keep a negative pressure so they are tucked up high, I know 5psi min reccomendation). The second pic has about 20 psi to level it up. No WDH at time of pics. Im running a WDH in the last picture with 5psi in the bags. Im not sure WDH is recommend on 1st gens due to possible frame damage. Don't quote me on that.

The 3.5 was able to maintain 60-65 mph in the hills. I felt more controll with bags but it was still manageable a 0psi.

 

2016 has a lot of issues. Might wait a bit for a new purchase

 

This truck will tow like a champ. Be smart about it, use a trailer with brakes and get a brake controller in the cab.

 

Love your truck, you've got it sitting perfect!

 

Thank you! I'd love to go a little bigger tire but these get me where I need to go offroad and I'm afraid towing and and turning bigger meats would be asking too much of the 3.5. Maybe 265 75 16 but somebody else needs to do it first before I spend money it lol

 

We have a 16 foot Airstream we pull with my 2001 Tacoma TRD five speed on 265's with 178,000 miles, but are updating to a four door 2016 TRD off-road six speed with the towing package since kid number two is on the way. Since we are not taking the Airstream in off camber situations, we use load balancing bars to level the load. Additionally, to keep everything under control, we are using a pendulum brake controller, a Tekonsha P2.

Here is a picture to give you a feel of how it sits fully loaded with this setup on a trip from coastal Washington to Idaho for a week. I did not weigh the whole shebang, but the curb weight of the truck is listed at 3,877 pounds. The trailer is 2,750 dry, but 3,500 GVR with a 350 pound tongue weight. On top of this is the shell (~300), raft (~300), frame, oars, boats, and other assorted gear (~500-700).



Needless to say, the the little truck earns it's keep with me. In my opinion, it does great. Granted, getting much over 65 is not really going to happen without a lot of effort, there is no doubt you are towing, and on the big climbs we are going about the same speed as the semis. The standard transmission really helps to keep it all under control when coming down the back side of the big passes. During all of my towing, the temperature needle never even budges, even when towing in triple digits temps over passes fully loaded. Also, as you can see, the rear is squatted a little, but not dramatically so. This is due to the use of load balancing bars. They really do work.

While I am very happy with this truck, and was planning on keeping it to give to my son as his first car. My son is 16 months old. However, we found out my wife is pregnant with our second about 13 weeks ago now. My son's car seat does fit in the extended cab, albeit very tightly. Unfortunately two carseats are out of the question. As a result we headed down to the dealership and ordered a four door 2016 TRD off-road six speed with the towing package.

The four door is obviously for the kids. The TRD off-road is because I use the rear locker. The towing package means the truck comes pre-wired for lights and brakes, and as I understand it, also includes a larger rear axle and lower rear end. From what I have read, the towing package includes the 8.5 inch as opposed to the standard 8 inch rear axle, and also includes a 4.3:1 rear end. I cannot find the documentation where I found this, so other people may want to chime in to either verify, correct, or rebut these assumptions.

Correction from later posts: 8.75 rear axle 24% stronger with 4.3 final ratio vs. normal 3.91

I am definitely going to transfer the brake controller, and continue to use the load balancer bars. Since the new truck is has a longer wheelbase and is slightly heavier with more horsepower and torque, there is no doubt it will tow better. Like any car, especially oen with a standard transmission, it definitely is going to require driving to the truck's strengths. In this case, it is going to mean winding out the engine a bit more than I am used to based on the power curve. However, this engineering is very similar to the V-Tec technology in a high performance Acura Integra I owned and really loved driving years ago, so I definitely know this can work well. Like anything, it is a learning curve, but I think it definitely will do better for towing.

 

/\ /\ /\ This!

 

Do you actually mean BRAKES? Or are you suggesting that he destroy things?

 

Sounds like gen 3 manual will tow better than the auto due to the beefier rear-end diff that gives more torque to the wheels. MPG might not be as good but hey, you're towing. My 2002 Tacoma pulls my 2800 lb Casita TT well until it hits any grade. Then the struggle begins. I think the 2016 3.5+ manual will tow better than my 2002 3.4 + manual tranny.

 

Its not "beefier", its just geared lower.

 

You caught me on that one. One to many hits to the head in my previous life.

 

My main concern with my 2002 is my rear end. Thing is so small. Has to get boiling hot.

 

Hit it with an IR gun after pulling hard for a bit and see what it turns out? And you can always give it some better oil. They're spec'd for mineral oil, so give it a synthetic oil that is a bit heavier (say 110?), and that should keep it happy.

 

Thought about going up to 75w-110. I'd much rather have a truck with a warranty though. Lol.

 

If it's a trd off-road or a manual sport it is beefier