2011 toyota tacoma TV

NWest · 06-04-2012, 04:02 PM

It seems to be a popular question but does anyone pull with a Tacoma? I have a 2011 Tacoma DC 4x4 with the 4 leaf option added after purchase rated at 6500 and 650 on the tongue. The additional leaf makes it much stronger than what was on it from factory. My Bullet 230bhs is 5000 loaded and pulls great until I get on a steep grade at low speed. Other than that no sway and stops great. Gas mileage is another story, the Tacoma drinks it towing. It looks like a upgrade will be soon.

Festus2 · 06-04-2012, 04:47 PM

NWest -
The addition of air bags or extra springs may help with the comfort level of the ride and with the level of your TV and TT but will not increase your towing capacity at all. You should expect lower mpg when towing but if you are overloaded, your mileage will be almost certainly lower than it should be - especially with a smaller TV like the Tacoma. Your plans to upgrade soon sound like the best course of action.

mguay · 06-04-2012, 05:00 PM

A friend of mine has a 4Runner as his TV. His TT is a 29'??? Slingshot. He put a set of airbags in it and the ride got 100% better.
Gas mileage is horrible as well.
The company I work for has 10 Tacoma 4cyl's, a v6 Tundra and a v8 Tundra. They all have "some" weight in them. And yes we have added a leaf to all of them. The v8 gets better mpg than the v6. We find the v6 never knows what gear it wants to be in. We've also found an average of 2-6mpg increase on Super Unld rather than Reg unld. On all engines!

rhagfo · 06-04-2012, 06:06 PM

Most TVs near Max tow weight, will not fly up steep grades, don't care of it is a Tacoma or F350! If you can hold 50 to 45 that is pretty good for a small TV.
Just how bad is your mileage Anything over about 10 mpg is good towing near max.

jbsmith · 06-04-2012, 06:29 PM

I towed our last trailer, a 2011 Coachmen 23GSX, with my 2008 4Runner 4x4 V8 Limited. It's got a 7000 lb tow rating with 700 lb tongue rating. It pulled the heck out of the roughly 5,000 lb trailer and got 9-12 mpg.

Unfortunately, I wasn't comfortable with the short wheelbase. I had an Equalizer hitch which did a great job handling sway. However, I was concerned that in an emergency I wouldn't be able to effectively control the trailer.

NWest · 06-05-2012, 12:35 PM

Thanks for all of the responses, I am currently getting about 13-14 mph towing with the Tacoma. I can maintain a 40 mph speed when climbing a hill and the Tacoma does not hunt for gears. That is what surprised me when I pulled with the Tacoma for the first time. There is a service bulletin out that Toyota does not advertise, that will give you the 4 leaf option. I pulled once without it and it was horrible. I have pulled 3 times since the 4 leaf option was installed and it was a huge improvement. Thanks again for the comments. It looks like a new TV is on the Christmas list if I plan on doing any long distance trips.

NWest · 07-12-2012, 05:02 PM

Well it seems that Christmas came early! I stumbled accross a to good to be true deal on a 2012 Titan Pro4x demo that I pounced on. The Tacoma is a great truck but wow is it nice to have some HP to pull with. As others have noted the Tacoma is an excellent truck but has an exaggerated tow rating.

You may also like: