first long tow with the Tundra, 2200 miles

I towed a 4000# car in a nearly 3500# trailer from Massachusetts to Murfreesboro TN and back with the Tundra. For anyone interested in my set up, I had about 850# tongue weight plus 80#'s of hitch. Just a floor jack and a couple light things in the bed and a suitcase, cooler and small things in the cab.
I have air bags and had 15# in them and a weight distribution hitch. You can see the truck is sitting level. I probably could have gotten by with just one or the other but I liked the potential sway control of the hitch. The trailer manufacturer, ATC, says you don't need a WD hitch with their trailers and suggests not using them. I felt better having one. Also have 8 ply tires on the rear.
The Tundra pulled the load well. I had no issues with sway, even when a semi raced by me. I averaged 11 MPG. Much of the time you wouldn't be aware there was a trailer behind the truck.
I have the tundra tow mirrors and liked them. I know some don't like how narrow the parabolic mirror is but I did like how wide it is. I also have a wireless camera on the rear of the trailer and a 5" screen in the cab and liked being able to see what was behind me.
I tested this set up with the factory brake controller and even after the brake controller "update" was still unhappy with it so I used the Tekonsha P3 often recommended here and thought it worked great.

 

Nice write-up.

At an average of 11MPG, what speeds were you going? Did you leave the truck in D, S5, S4?

I can eek out over 10 mpg at lower speeds, but if I get a headwind the mpg goes way down.

 

65 MPH most of the time. I had it in S5 when the roads were flat. Went to S4 for climbing and descending hills. I know the manual says leave it in S4 for charging and engine braking but I didn't see the need for engine braking on flat roads and staying a reasonable distance behind the vehicle in front of me.

 

Torque converter still locks in S5, so I'm with you. S5 when you're not climbing hills is perfectly fine. I've had my trans temps stay at a steady 212F in 90 ambient at 65 mph with a 4500lb trailer in S5.

 

Is this really the case? I thought the torque converter could still unlock in S5? Bear with me here...This last trip (over 3K, ND/SD/MT/ID) had lots of flat spots. In S5 the RPM would be at 2000. At the slightest incline (or wind) the RPM would go to 2200-2300, just a slight little blip up in RPM. My wife didn't even notice until I pointed it out. If the speed decreased more (due to incline), the Tundra would shift to 4th eventually.

So, isn't that slight blip up in RPM the torque converter unlocking?

 

Edited to add correct info

From what I’ve read, our 6 speed trans allows t/c lockup in 4-5-6 but will only unlock in 5 and 6 when in S mode.

Staying locked keeps the temps low.

 

Huh??? I thought that an unlocked torque converter heats up the fluid due to friction, whereas a locked converter (turbine and impeller moving as one) is what one wants and keeps temps lower. What am I missing?

 

Edited for correctness

slippage occurs when “unlocked” is what builds the heat.

I’m definitely not an engineer. @mech_engineer09 @mechengineer13 care to help us out?

 

I also thought it was staying locked and minimizing shifting that keeps temps low but I'm not an expert by any stretch.

 

Nope the purpose of a torque converter locking is to stop slippage and avoid generating heat

 

Thank you guys for the quick correction.


Traced the source of my confusion back to a scan gauge programming error.

https://www.tundras.com/threads/torque-converter-lock-up-with-od-off.75000/

 

Great example of how these trucks can be very capable tow pigs with preparedness and a well thought out towing setup.

 

I have a VeePeak scan unit and I had set up the program to monitor trans temps a long time ago. When I left in the morning the phone wasn't bluetoothing to the unit or something and I wasn't getting the data. I never bothered messing with it and didn't end up monitor my temps.
Also 11 MPG is according to the dash calculator, not sure it's accuracy. I was expecting 9, so 11 seemed good, but for all I know it was 9.

 

Yes, you really can't count on that dash display. When I'm towing it could easily say 11 and be 9-10 based on fill up and manual calculation. I normally tow in S4 with my 7,700 lb camper and get around 10 in the summer so you may have done better than that spending time in S5.