2006 Tundra TRD a slow - tow

Greetings all!

I have a 2006 4 door Tundra with TRD tow package and 4.7 engine Original owner. 48,000 real miles. We have a 2006 26 foot Fleetwood "Prowler" camper (second owner) that allegedly weighs approximately 5,000 lbs. I am always having difficulty towing the trailer. Based on the truck, and its great condition, I believe I should be able to tow the camper easily. We live in So California. We were coming back from San Diego to Palmdale, Ca on the 15 fwy going north. For those that do not know the area, the 15 is the fwy you take to Las Vegas. The 15 has some very steep grades. At the worst part of the grade, with the pedal to the floor, I could only make 30 MPH. I had turned the AC off (105 that day!). If I have any kind of incline I am lucky to make 50 MPH. A few years back I had the brakes inspected on the camper and all was well. At the end of July 2021, we plan to go to Yosemite. Yosemite has some very steep, winding mountain roads. I am very concerned about blowing up the engine or transmission on this upcoming trip! Or, cause a hazard for other drivers because of the slow crawl of the Tundra. I had anticipated a better towing experience with the Tundra when we bought it in 2006.
Anyhoo, is this just how the 2006 Tundra performs when it is towing? Are there any suggestions on making towing experiences less stressful? So. Cal is not a pleasant place to be "slow" in. Finally, is it safe to go into second gear when pulling up a grade? I really would appreciate ALL advice!

Thanks in advance,

Richard

 

Tow the trailer to a truck stop, loaded just like you would for camping, and put it on the scales. You need to know what it actually weighs as you tow it.
A trailer with a 5K pound listed weight is the dry weight. That is before any trailer addons from the dealer, before batteries, propane, camping gear, water in the tanks, etc. You could easily have another 1000-2000 lbs of stuff in there.

Some quick googling I found this info. The yellow one ONLY shows 2wd trucks, so if you have a 4x4 you would likely have less towing capacity. You are easily near, at, or even over what your truck is rated to tow.

 

Sounds like a good candidate for 4.56 gears, maybe even 4.88's? Someone with more gearing experience than I should be along shortly to advise.

 

I have some bad news for you.

You might be able to tow this safely/legally (barely and only maybe) but it will never be easy.

You have a capacity sticker on the left side of the trailer. You also have 2 capacity stickers inside your drivers side door. We need to see those.

My guess is your trailer is 6k# loaded. It has 750# of tongue weight (that is the max weight of the hitch or a bit over. You are going to be very near payload capacity and the rear axle limit of the truck. A visit to a catscale should be on your to do list.

Give this a read
https://www.tundras.com/threads/the-official-1st-gen-towing-thread-any-and-all-things-towing.81071/

 

I've had the 4.7L V8 in (5) different Toyotas from Sequoias, 4Runner, to Tundras and none have ever impressed me with their towing capability - especially on hilly roads. Unless you find a way to reduce weight or increase torque, I doubt things will change much to improve your situation. For me, the remedy was moving up to the 5.7L V8 Tundra.

 

Even at max weight, 30 up an incline seems off. How long and what grade was the incline?

 

Folks, thanks for all the input. My truck is rated at 7,000. I did not realize the trailer tongue was NOT counted in trailer's weight. Unfortunately, a new truck is not in the cards. I asked a mechanic about putting the larger engine in and he said it would be cheaper to buy a new truck... not sure how that math works. I am having the trailer safety inspected next week at an RV place to make sure there is nothing going on causing the difficulties from the camper side of things.

 

@richtrek Have you thought about regearing?

 

But something is wrong. My ‘04 sequoia had no trouble with 8100 lbs. i wasnt way up in elevation, but i did some hills with it.

 

I am not sure who I would speak to about re-gearing. That is far out of my skillset.

Sirfive - this is one of the things I am finding is that some folks have no difficulties towing. If we (members) have a V8 it is the same engine up to 2007. The transmission is the same and I do have the tow package. Extra cooler, suspension, etc. We also HAD a smaller camper that the Tundra did not seem to pull well. It was OLD and I believe it was as heavy as the newer 2006 trailer we have now. A new truck is not in the cards.

The re-gearing (in the future) would be a possibility if it was economically viable and would pay off benefits. Again, I asked about putting the 5.7 in my 2006 of a mechanic I like and he poo-pooed the idea. I know that would be involved and pricey, but it would have to be cheaper than a new $60,000 truck or mid - $30,000 for a used truck.

 

Your ‘06 has an extra gear and vvti. I wonder if the vvti is working properly.

 

@richtrek I was speaking about re-gearing the rear end. I have a 4x2, I spent about $1200 for 4.88 gears, master seal, Eaton TruTrac and installation. I went to my local gear shop and installed in a day. It would be the cheapest option.

 

Am I wrong to think the motor RPMs will increase when regeared? My ‘06 Tundra would already be screaming over 4K RPMs pulling a 3,500lb boat up a steep incline. If you don’t increase torque, what’s the point?…or does regearing provide more torque?

 

Regearing to shorter (numerically higher) gears increases torque. More engine revolutions per wheel revolution.

also, peak torque for an ‘06 is at 3400rpm.

 

Thanks. So if I had re-geared and the transmission drops down to 3rd when towing up a steep incline trying to hold speed, I will be at a more optimum towing torque and higher RPMs vs the old gearing?

 

Yeah, I would think it isn’t an easy task to squeeze a 5.7l in there and make everything work right. Too bad the TRD super chargers didn’t work out on the 4.7l or this would be another alternative.

 

https://www.507garage.com/product/elate-1uz-vvti-supercharger-manifold/

Someone get one of these and a eaton m112. Be my lab rat.

 

I was thinking about it for my LS430 but ended up changing my mind and just saving the money. If tuning support was there then it would be different.

 

Yea, thats why im not jumping all over it, computers scare me.

 

Hi Richard.

Do you have OD turned off? Is the transmission down-shifting.

What were the RPMs in this case?

What were the RPMs in this case?

 

I’m just not sure I want Russian hackers tuning my car

Also that series on YouTube of the supercharged LS with that exact kit. They dynoed at something like 289 to the wheels. My TRD supercharger felt much quicker than that.

 

Yea, the heaton wouldnt be my first choice, but maggnussons are harder to find in junkyards.

 

Gearing will help some, But thinking you can drive 70 up a steep grade in 5th gear at 2200 rpm with a 6000# plus load is not reality. Physics says it's gonna take more power than that to move that load. "my truck tows easy or better" is all subjective and isn't the same as your situation. I pulled a 7000# camper with mine up some short steeps grades towards the lake here and it downshifts to second or first and holds some high rpm's to maintain 30-40mph also. The real answer if you want better towing performance is new truck. Plain and simple. These trucks are two generations behind the current crop, they all have more power, better transmissions, better frames, better brakes and most have tow/haul modes and brake controllers as well. Upgrade time.

 

99.9% likely your mechanic doesn't mean that an engine swap is more than the cost of a new truck. He is saying you sell your current truck and take that cash plus throw in another 5k or so to get yourself into a 2nd gen tundra in similar condition, but with the 5.7 (for example).

Also, if you were swapping a 4.7 in for a busted 4.7, it might cost 3-5k. Swapping a 5.7 into an 06? Don't think I've ever even heard of it. At least 5k I would guess.

 

Try more like $10k+ with lots of integration issues. Wouldn't be worth it other than fabricator bragging rights. Rest of the truck would be lacking then. Still not a great tow rig.

 

^^^ This. The OP has an '06 with 47K miles, if it's in decent shape that'll get $20K nowadays and go a long way to buying a stronger tow vehicle instead of a modified headache.

First steps are to confirm the weight of the trailer, the trans is shifting, the engine is running/breathing (cat isn't clogged, etc.) right, etc.

 

Way more than 20k here in Ca. Right now 200k trucks that are clean are 20k. No joke just check CL.

I wouldn’t even think of towing that big of a trailer with my Tundra. It’s like a parachute also. 3,500lbs is the most I’ll tow with mine. Things I’d check would be clogged cat, loose spark plugs, cracked coil packs. But with on 40k on it, those should be good to go.

 

Greetings folks!

This discussion has been educating the "heck" out of me.

We are likely canceling our Yosemite trip. And, just use the truck/trailer for easier, flatter trips. I don't want to break a good truck. And, it is a good truck!!

One of the issues I believe I do/did not fully understand is how the 2006 TRD tranny works. Example - "Your ‘06 has an extra gear and vvti. I wonder if the vvti is working properly." What is "VVTI?" I see that I have "Drive, 3rd, and 2nd." I know there is the overdrive button... but that defaults to "off" if the engine is working hard... Yes? Should i put the truck in 3rd on a grade? I assumed it defaulted to the lower gears. Forgive my ignorance on these specifics. You all clearly have more auto knowledge than myself!

Thanks for all the input!

Richard

 

From ‘00-‘04? Tundras had a 245hp v8 and an a340 4 speed, the ‘05-‘06 had a 280ish hp v8 with variable valve timing and an a750 5 speed but after looking at gear ratios, the extra gear is first, so wouldnt really change a whole lot once your moving.

maybe someone who knows a little more about the vvti stuff will correct me, but it uses engine oil to advance or retard the (intake?)camshafts, to move the power curve higher into the rpm band without sacrificing bottom end power. But theres also a vaiable intake manifold and air injection setup that does things for reasons.