Towing with a V6 manual transmission

So my wife and I have been camping with a class C RV, but are thinking about switching to a travel trailer so that we can unhook and drive around. I have a 2001 access cab Tundra 3.4 with a stick shift. Looking online, I need to keep the weight under 5000 pounds, but I'm tending to think that a manual transmission would mean I might want to go lower. Any bits of advice? And no, I don't want to tow anything with the class c, it's already woefully under-powered.

 

Next you’ll be saying the 3.4 is woefully underpowered. Not sure what it’s rated to tow but 5k sounds like way too much. Towing in flatlands or hill country?

 

Yes, I'm guessing the 3.4 will struggle with something too big. Looking at keeping it under 4K in weight. We'll be mostly the hills of Virginia, NC and WV. Not the Rockies, will definitely need more power for that. Any other things to consider? Like upgraded springs, struts, sway bars or brakes?

 

Consider the aero resistance. The v6 will struggle to push the wind a TT carries. I think a pop-up would be the ticket.

 

Are you running stock size tires? If not, I would be changing the gearing first.

 

I did lots of towing with Toyota V6 manuals before my Tundra. 1993 T100 3.0L V6, 2001 Tacoma 3.4L V6, and 2018 Tacoma 3.5L V6.

Under 5000lb is a smart bet, especially if you’re going to be pulling a big box in the form of a travel trailer. Wind resistance is going to make the engine work very hard above 60-65.

The manual transmission and small engine are going to make you work hard. Lots of shifting to stay in the power. You will never have to worry about getting sleepy towing with a manual transmission because you are always changing gears through the hills.

I put about 10k miles of towing a U-Haul 6x12 on my 2018 Tacoma. Loved every minute of it, you are the tow/haul mode. My wife was less thrilled, however. She couldn’t hold my hand or lean against me to take a nap any time we had a trailer back there.

The truck will absolutely do it, you just have to be prepared to pay much more attention. And stop for gas A LOT.

 

Should do good as long as you keep the speed low and the camper as small as possible.
I've been looking at some campers myself in the 17' long range

 

My trailer is about 2500....I can't go faster than 70 in third gear. Uphill is about 50 mph....in 2nd.

7.5 MPG.......

And that is the 4.7 V8.....

I would not tow with your rig unless its a tear drop.

 

Good advice.

Yes, you can pull a TT but it will be a struggle. Even with a popup you'll likely be seeing 2nd gear on mountain inclines. But with a TT it will hurt a lot more and you might visit 1st gear. Stick with a pop up and you'll feel a trailer back there, but switch to a TT and you'll feel a whale. It will suck all the fun out of your drives, and that's an important part of your camping trip. You're putting a lot of stress and pain on yourself. You're also putting a lot of stress and pain on your truck.

Been there done that. Pulled a travel trailer with a 3.4 3rd gen 4runner myself and finally had it and bought a Tundra 4.7. My TT was 3500-4000 with a weight distribution hitch, and it still sucked everywhere not flatlands.

 

Use the drop down to select your specific truck here https://www.edmunds.com/toyota/tundra/2004/st-100344139/features-specs/ and it will give you the basic brochure specs of your truck. Keep in mind, it's giving you the magical advertising numbers that few if any production trucks actually achieve. The real number is likely a bit lower with yours being 4WD and not a regular cab. You also have to deduct from payload passengers, gear, mods and options in the truck.

That said, here's a screenshot for a 2004 Access Cab SR5 short bed 4x4. Notice the max tow is 4800 pounds. Even if your truck is the unicorn that actually has the advertised ratings, for comfortable towing you will likely want to stay well below the limit. Towing at max capacity is seldom fun, never fast, and always taxing on the vehicle. I'd personally point you toward a teardrop or an adventure trailer with a RTT on it.

 

I looked up the specs on my truck ('04 Tundra 4WD, Access Cab, 3.4 V6, 5 speed SR5), and NH appears to require trailer brakes when towing trailers over 1500#.

Here's the link: https://www.rvtravel.com/trailer-br...aws are similar,the requirement at 2,000 lbs.

FWIW, I regularly tow an 18' Ranger bass boat w/ a package weight of about #3000. (hull wt #1080 iirc, motor #400, troll motor, fuel + batteries around #500, gear 300#, trailer - maybe #600). The truck will pull it reasonably/barely well here in the NH hills. I'm usually running a gear lower than I would empty on the same terrain. I would not like to haul it in the mountains, or with another #1000. For the record however: I have two saddle boxes on the bedrail, and the back seat removed - with those areas stuffed with construction tools (probably #500, plus my #240 tail).

P.S. I almost learned the hard way last Saturday why I might want to install brakes on the trailer and a controller in the truck. I'm pulling at 55 MPH, with a pickup well out in front of me in the rain. He comes to a full stop for several wild turkeys. I put my foot through the floorboards, and was pretty sure I was going to cover the 100'-150' buffer and smack him. Turns out, I blew a rear brake line right then and there, and I suspect the antilocks thought they were doing me a favor. He got moving just in time (I think he saw me comin'!). FWIW, the proportioning valve did it's job, I got home without knowing I blew that line. I checked the fluid when I parked it - maybe 1/4 low: about what you'd expect with well-worn pads and shoes? Got up in the morning and the reservoir was empty, and I had a big ol' s^*tstain on the driveway. Spent Sunday AM replacing corroded lines.

 

@w666 your truck had total brake failure when your line blew out. This seems like a rear brake failure vs front. Wonder if that's the difference.

 

Good observation, but I still haven't solved the mystery. I blew out the left front corner, and subsequently lost all the fluid. I still suspect my MC is also bad, allowing fluid to pass from the front half to the rear. Or maybe the LSPV?

 

I'd suspect the MC before the LSPV, all day err day.

 

Yes. I blew one of the lines going to/from the load sensing proportioner for the rears.

 

What do you all think?
Will the V6 Tuntra do okay pulling this 18ft camper trailer? I want to buy it with my first paycheck

 

What happened to the boat?

 

Are you asking me? You may have me mixed up with another poster because I don't have a boat

 

How much does it weigh? I have a similarly sized camper (19' hybrid) that's 4200 lbs dry/6000 gross.

Google says the towing capacity for our trucks is 4950 - 7200 lbs. Yours being a V6/manual trans/4WD will be the lowest -- so 4950. (I think the highest rating is for a regular cab/V8/auto/2WD)

I have a V8/4WD/auto/Access Cab and it does it, but it struggles at highway speeds. I would think yours with the 3.4 liter V6 would struggle even more.

 

Hard to say without specs on the trailer, and I don't wanna' be the one who rains on your parade... but that's a lot.

Pulling something with that much frontal surface area is big time wind resistance. Both you and truck would be working your tails off.

A quick Google search looks like that might be a Cruiser RV "Fun Finder 189xxx"?

Sleeps 5 Slides 1
Ext Width 7 ft Ext Height 8 ft 9 in
Int Height 6 ft 4 in Hitch Weight 255 lbs
GVWR 5855 lbs Dry Weight 3368 lbs
Cargo Capacity 2487 lbs Fresh Water Capacity 25 gals
Grey Water Capacity 25 gals Black Water Capacity 25 gals
Furnace BTU 16000 btu

 

I’d pull that with the V6 manual. Just maybe not through the Rockies.

 

Why not flat pull the tundra behind the class c?

 

Can I flat pull the Tundra? I looked it up somewhere that said it's a bad idea. Or do I need a dolly and disconnect the driveshaft? Or is putting the transfer case in neutral good enough? Does having a manual make a difference?

 

You can 100% flat tow the manual equipped 1GT. Trans in neutral, tcase in neutral, rock and roll.

As for towing a TT with a 3.4... egads. I've had two Supercharged 3.4L Tacomas and even with the added SC power I wouldn't want to try pulling anything with those. Pulling loaded up uhaul 6x12 trailers was bad enough.

I'm now pulling a dual axle 5500 GVWR 21ft TT with my 06 1GT DCab and it's barely cutting it for me. Actually pulls awesome on the flats, but Utah Mtn passes... barely tolerable.

Then you got to think about stopping it all. Trailer brakes and controller are mandatory, IMO. (For anything over the payload rating which is like 1200-1500 lbs). The stock 1GT brakes are such shit (the big ones and the small ones). I'm now on full GX460 front brakes now and SOS rear disc conversion and it is a whole new world. Stops like it actually should.

 

Need a bigger truck or a smaller trailer, IMO. I wouldn't try to pull much more than 3-4K lbs with a V6. Not unless it's a once a year thing for something like 50 miles. Even then I'd want more truck for it, and I'd probably rent a bigger pickup to do it.

 

how do you get the t-case into neutral? Or do the manual trucks have a manual t-case?

 

It appears they have a manual transfer case with a neutral position.

 

Man, those floor levers turn me on, gang!

 

Me too!

 

Says dry weight is 3,300lbs