Just came back from a towing test - underwhelming!

I did enjoy towing with my 3.4 Tacoma 5 speed. I like towing with the Tundra better, but I liked the Tacoma manual transmission, and especially the low gearing of 1st gear. But I wouldn't trade my auto 4.7 Tundra for a manual 3.4 Tundra. Same not-so-powerful V6 as the Tacoma, but in a bigger, heavier truck.

 

I think my Tundra is rated at 271 horses.... but I haven't tested this to see what she is actually producing.

So far, she's doing it all just fine. I have a little "squat" when hooked up to the 18 foot 2-axle when loaded with the two zero turns. So far, no issues with control. I don't use cruise control at all on anything that would make it downshift and even when I depress the pedal more I have to push it pretty far down to cause the tranny to shift into a lower gear.

However, after reading this thread, I just now looked into a "weight distributing hitch." The article recommended it if the truck was squatting. However, this set up looks a bit expensive and annoying to deal with since we have to switch from the 2-axle to the 1-axle sometimes in the same day and the former is a 2 5/16" ball and the latter a 2" ball.

I can run by the local trailer dealer and ask for some advice. Maybe tomorrow as it's supposed to rain and we won't be mowing.

 

Western NC? I assume you had some pretty big hills to deal with there.

I went to Georgia via Ashville, NC and back the same way last April. Very substantial hills around Ashville and those hills were on I-26 IIRC.

Those hills were steep enough for me to consider returning via I-85 if I had bought that 7.3 L IDI diesel dump truck I had gone down to look at. (Didn't buy it, tranny's synchronizers where shot, something not disclosed by the seller).

Is 3,000 rpm something of a "towing sweet spot?"

So what upgrades would a 2006 4.7 L need to have a bit more power?

 

Supercharger or LS swap.

 

I'm not doing either of those.

What's an "LS swap?"

 

Chevy LS series of engines. Common to swap them into everything.

 

Peak torque for the 4.7 was around 3200rpm. So yeah, that’s the sweet spot for maximum engine power output.

 

All our trucks in are slightly different condition, so we aren't comparing apples to apples. But for my truck, like I mentioned, there's a huge difference between just a couple miles per hour, a couple hundred rpm. Huge difference in how much it downshifts. 68-70mph, way more downshifting than 72mph. At 72mph I'm right at 3200 rpm, so that checks out. What speed your truck hits 3200 will depend on gearing and tire size. I think it's worth experimenting with if you typically tow at lower speeds, so long as you still have stability and the ability to stop and that's not way over the speed limit

 

GenIII SBC. “LS” is misleading/common misnomer, LS, LM, LQ, etc. series of engines from GM. This is a former wheelhouse for me.

 

3400 for non-vvti. 3600 for vvti (or maybe just sequoia, dont remember). Where did you find 3200? I havent seen a stock dyno in a while, so i’m just going by what articles said.

 

At what weight payload would yall consider the threshold for consistently driving with OD off? If not weight, then what other indicator?

 

Wind. If youre pushing wind, drop the OD. No worries pulling 5klbs in overdrive while the road was flat, but it wasnt pushing TT wind. In the hills, i’d kill OD uphill, then coast downhill with OD on.

 

I generally do 55 mph on the interstate, no matter what I am driving or towing.

We may have one more chance to tow with the 2 axle and two mower loadout where we have to pull those big 5% grade hills. ("Southern Route").

I will try the 3,200 RPM suggestion.

In fact, now that we've dropped that one customer, we no longer have a need for the 2-axle on the "Northern Route," as we won't be using 2 mowers up there at the same time.

 

Since you're a 4wd get BOTH front diff and rear 3rd member from a 1st gen seqouia. They have OEM 4.10's and are a direct swap iirc.

 

Another forum member told me the same thing.

I think about it......I don't guess it would change max towing capacity but would allow more torque to "get a load moving?" "Stronger towing pull on hills?"

 

Exactly. More low end off the line and through all the gears.


Side benefit, I also get better mpg around town AND on the freeway.

 

4.10 gears gives you better mpg over a 3.91?

 

Yep. Slightly higher rpms means the engine produces more torque with less load (throttle).


I went from 12-13 around town to 15-16 and 16-17mpg on the freeway to 18-19mpg.

Personal best at 60'ish mph was 20.6mpg.

 

My best on interstate is 18.9 mpg but I wasn't towing and holding it at 55 mph.

I may have to add this "upgrade" to my "list of planned changes."

Thanks.