Torque Converter Question When Backing a Trailer Uphill.

Hey all. Recently bought a travel trailer to pull with my '23 Tundra Limited. My driveway is about 140' long and around 18-20' of elevation climb. It starts with a shallow transition incline off the road for the first 15' then there's about 60' of decent incline (maybe a 25-30 degree angle up), and then it starts to flatten out towards the top where the garage apron sits almost leveled out. Because I don't have the room to pull the trailer in forwards and loop it by the garage door, even with a 3 or 5 point turn, I'll back it in up this incline to it's home on the side of the garage.

I brought the trailer home yesterday and my Dad spotted to make sure my tail end didn't bottom out on the slope. He mentioned yesterday to also put the truck in 4L on the steep incline because in 2WD, backing a 29' trailer up an incline like this could cook the torque converter. He's been a car guy his entire life, but he is not a Tundra specialist and has never owned a Toyota, so while I trust and value his advice I also wanted to reach out to this community for your thoughts as well.

The trailer box is 25' and overall 29'. We will probably use it 6-8 weekend/weeklong trips per year so for wear and tear thinking, it won't be a daily occurance. And it's worth noting the driveway is straight until it flattens out up top, then I need to "S turn" it over 15' to get to the side of the garage, vs straight at it. This is where 4L was fighting me yesterday, despite the rainy weather helping, vs dry pavement. Maybe the answer is to back the trailer up the incline in 4H or 4L and then switch back to 2WD to begin the final positioning? Open to any/all opinions. Thanks for reading.

 

Youll get a transmission overheat warning on the dash if it ever starts getting warm in 2 or 4wd. Your pops is well intentioned, but let the truck tell you what it doesnt like. I love my dad, and I learned a lot from him but his knowledge in vehicle technology stopped being relevant in the 2000s.

 

Interesting. I didn't know there was a tranny overheat warning light. Good to know. My Dad, probably similar to yours was a true shade tree mechanic back in the late 50's and early 60's messing with his High School cars right away, so there's some truth to your last sentence. Thanks for your input.

 

The transmission temp warning doesn't come on when it's "getting warm", it comes on when the temp is so high that it will cook the fluid and damage the transmission if you keep going.

 

I wouldn't rely on the temp light, but I also wouldn't expect the transmission to get that hot unless you're taking an hour to back up.

 

there is a trans temp gauge in tow gauges , not just an idiot light

don't back up in 4lo on dry pavement if there are any turns, with a bunch of weight you'll break something trying to over power the binding on the turns if sharp at all

reverse is geared pretty low, I think you'll be fine.

you can also get a scan gauge if you want to know the exact temp

 

Torque converter will get hot. If you had a straight shot backing the trailer up, it doesn’t hurt to use 4L. It will be terrible turning tightly though so you’ll have to do it in 2H.

 

Have you considered a front tow hitch? It will help parking the trailer. There are not many choices on the market yet. This dude did it but had to remove the electric dam and motor:
https://www.tundras.com/threads/front-hitch-for-snowplow.118664/

 

dude, thats awesome.

if I had a bigger trailer and smaller areas I would have one of those, cool find.

10K trailer and only 900 tongue rating though, how does that work?

 

I have a Parkit 360 that I got off Craigslist several years ago.

I have a weird parking spot for the trailer which includes an uphill, downhill, 2 sharp 90's and a narrow lane where the land barge Tundra has to navigate the neighbor's fence and my fence opening.

I think the conditions have to be good to use this dolly, I have yet to get mine to work. I tried again recently to move the trailer but just dug holes with the tires.

I do think it is a great idea for tight spots if you can get it to work.

 

Even on the hottest days, unless it's taking more than 15 minutes or so to back your trailer into the parking area, I can't imagine your tranny would get that hot.

 

I have a 2024 Tundra hauling a 25 ft (29ft overall) trailer at a gross of about 8000lbs. Towing is fine. Backing in to my uphill storage spot is not. It's about a 4ft climb from an already steep sloping road, with a tight turn over a 60ft distance. After five mins of backing up the tranny oil temp is at the top and starts to flash red. Using 4wd lo is not an option as the turn is too tight both getting off the road and then into the parking spot. Toyota who I have spoken to at length suggest this may well have been an issue before the temp gauges were introduced, but nobody knew it. Reading this thread it looks as though I may need to back it in in two stages if the temp gauge shoots up again. Advice from Toyota is to leave the engine running to keep it cooling the oil, rather than switch it off when the gauge flashes red.

 

4low is a good idea, except for turns. I back my trailers up a gravel hill so 4low is used. When I had my F250, there was a way to put a switch in to disengage the front drive instantly, so I could basically use 2wd low. It just de energized the front lock solenoid. This would be perfect for the Tundra as well but haven't heard of anyone doing this. It was simply called the 2low mod. If anyone is interested.