L2 with the 3rd Gen?

Short story is that I need to back trailer(s) up my steep driveway with a sharp turn. I've used LO gear on my AWD LX470 in the past. Could H2 put unreasonable stress on the tranny? Would L4 put unreasonable stress on the gears? Has anyone else had a desire for L2?

Thanks for any/all input!

 

are we talking in snow or mud or clean asphalt here?

 

Clean asphalt. Crap , I really should have included that above!

 

you shouldn't need 4WD if you have the right tongue weight and decent tires.

but to answer your question, do not use a part time 4Wd system like the tundra with a heavy load around a sharp corner, thats about the worst thing you can do and something will likely give as you feel a TON of binding

now snow or mud you can try it as there will be enough slippage for the system to work as designed which is based on slippage

 

If you want L2 head on down to your local offroad fab shop and tell them you want a twin stick transfer case fitted up and they would be happy to take the $10k-$30k it would take to install one and trick the computer into not throwing all sorts of codes. Its just money its not like you can take it with you.......

 

being able to use 4L Unlocked in the LX/GX/Sequoia is so awesome. Everyone gets all bent out of shape here when people complain about the tundra not having a full-time t-case but I use 4L unlocked for moving my trailer around all the time. Nevermind the benefits of full-time 4H when daily driving.

If you are able to get the truck and trailer straight as you are backing up the hill then I don't see why you couldnt use 4L on the tundra. Just don't make any big turns while in 4L

 

If I am understanding you are on clean dry pavement and your vehicle's back wheels spin when backing up the hill in 2wd.
The problem is your rear end is really light over the rear drive wheels. Add alot of weight over the wheels in the bed and try again.
If this does not work, you can use 4wd but you need to create some slip but still have enough traction.
So back up you trailer as normal straight up 4h or 4L, then when you are about to make the sharp turn you refer to,
put down some material behind the two outside wheels, that gives you enough traction, but introduces a little slip.
The two outside wheels do most of the turning.
Hope this helps.

 

Thanks for all the information and suggestions. My main concern is backing a 6500lb trailer up a fairly steep hill could over-stress the transmission in H2. (I'm used to my (AWD) LX470 maneuvering trailers like a tractor in L4.)
I was hoping there would be a workaround to electrically unlock the Tundra front hubs/axles in L4, but teab made a good point about sensors/codes/alerts/lockouts which would likely come into play. I found the transmission temperature display configuration for the dash and maybe that will be my first indication of over-stress.

 

Never a good idea to run in 4L with front hubs unlocked. Had a friend do that in a stock Jeep and twisted the rear drive shaft off. All that low end torque to just one axle is too much.

 

Reverse gear is pretty low at 4.30. First is a little lower at 4.92. That is quite a bit of weight to push up a hill. I’d have liked to see your LX470 do that. I may be over imagining this hill.

 

Interesting you mention this.. I had a 3rd gen Tacoma that was modded to use 2L. All it took was some relays and a couple switches to make it happen. Of course that is drastically simplified, and in reality, it isn't quiet so simple. The good news is, the 4wd system in both is very similar. I'd imagine it could be done, just a matter of someone coming up with a plug and play kit. With that said, I doubt it will happen anytime soon. Especially when you consider how much more after market support there is for the Tacoma vs Tundra.

 

Sure. It’s possible to interrupt the front axle disconnect motor and send a signal back to the ECU that it closed the axle coupling. I don’t have facts/figures but 4L is reported to double the torque. That can be a lot for the rear driveline to handle alone.