I towed my ski boat the other day. I think that boat minus the trailer weighs 2700lbs. I didn't have any trouble with it, I didn't go that far either. It pulled all the hills with no trouble, I did have it in 4'th gear and not overdrive.
I have the factory Toyota hitch assy. I use it to tow my snowmobile and sled trailer and also my ATV. As far as weight goes, the ATV and trailer would be the highest weigh, atv at 600lbs, and the trailer I believe is about 800lbs. The truck pulls it like it's not even there. I have the 5spd auto. I can pass cars like nothing. The truck is fantastic. The only thing I would say is that the brakes could use help if you are towing anything really heavy. Trailer brakes would be a good option or better pads. I might try the TRD pads at some point.
TRD Sport 4X4 DC 6 spd towing package. I've towed my single place semi-enclosed snowmobile trailer about 1500mi this year (more than I put on the sled sad to say). Trailer and wet sled about 1000 lbs. No trailer brakes so I give myself a little room (although with snow tires, no problem anyway). As far as towing it, hardly notice it. MPG was a consistent 16. Much better in every way compared to my old 4.0 4x4 ranger SC. Also helped a buddy with his boat 3200lbs, just a few miles, truck did fine, but could obvoiusly feel it more than the little snowmobile trailer.
Also the hitch stores nicely in the bed storage compartment when not in use (with an old bike tube inside to keep from banging loudly), always handy to pull out when I need to use. Dont be stealing this $18 gem, haha
I tow a Sea Ray 21.5 weekender. It weight about 4500. I change my Sequoia 2002 V8 2wd for the Tacoma 2005 V6 4x4. The Tacoma have the power that I need.
__________________
Carlos
Puerto Rico
Tacoma 2005 SR5 4x4 Dub Cab White Roof Rack
Factory tow package, 6 speed. I pulled a 6x12 uhaul trailer today. They said the empty weight was 2K. Obviously we filled it up, no clue as to the weight of my junk, but it pulled it better than I could have expected.
I went about 200 miles with the trailer, averaged 16 MPG, probably had a 20+ mph headwind the whole time. It was great, even passed a few people. Also, I run 91 octane if that is an issue for you.
__________________
Joe Knight
'05 AC
4X4 Off-road package
Impulse Red
Dbl Cab 4x4... trailered my Chapparal 220ssi (22ft) boat about 350 miles 2 weeks ago. Did extremely well with the ~5500lb load considering the size of the vehicle pulling/being pulled (see pic). Hills kept it revved up a bit, but on the straights it did well. It had a bit of a problem with swaying when winds got near 25mph sideways, but I couldn't have been happier for how well it did overall.
Downside... we got 7.5mpg on the worse tank of gas, and 10.25 on the best running 87 octane. All non-diesel engines take a big hit when towing.. but ouch!
I usually get around 17.5-18.5 with 87 running 75%/25% hwy/city.
__________________ Sound system (so far):PIE Auxillary input, Belkin Power adapter (for line-level iPod output), Infinity Kappa 6x9 3-ways in front, Infinity Kappa 6.25" 3-ways in rear, Pioneer Elite Shallow mount 12" sub, Soundstream Van Gogh 800.5 amp.
2wheeeltraveler Man, seriously, the engine wants 91 + octance in the first place, then your towing 5500 lbs, Let me tell you the truck will do better on high octance gas. Even with no load mine runs like sh*t on 87. Forget what the dealer says. But thanks for the story, Chappral is great boat enjoy.
2wheeeltraveler Man, seriously, the engine wants 91 + octance in the first place, then your towing 5500 lbs, Let me tell you the truck will do better on high octance gas. Even with no load mine runs like sh*t on 87. Forget what the dealer says. But thanks for the story, Chappral is great boat enjoy.
Actually I've played the 87-93 (we don't have 91) switheroo a ton since I got the truck in November... I had a 19' bayliner previously and it didn't make a lick of difference... and on the road, I don't get any better gas mileage and the truck feels a tiny bit quicker but at 2.50$ a gallon here for premium i'm not sold on the benefits.
I'm on my 2nd tank of premium this time around since the prices were down a bit, and i'll be pulling it this weekend so we'll see if there is a difference with this boat vs my old 19' (~3400lbs).
It would be nice if Toyota or someone would publish an "official" statement of the power/torque differences, etc regarding the different octanes since there is a ton of variability with the different owners reporting their results.
__________________ Sound system (so far):PIE Auxillary input, Belkin Power adapter (for line-level iPod output), Infinity Kappa 6x9 3-ways in front, Infinity Kappa 6.25" 3-ways in rear, Pioneer Elite Shallow mount 12" sub, Soundstream Van Gogh 800.5 amp.
Actually I've played the 87-93 (we don't have 91) switheroo a ton since I got the truck in November... I had a 19' bayliner previously and it didn't make a lick of difference... and on the road, I don't get any better gas mileage and the truck feels a tiny bit quicker but at 2.50$ a gallon here for premium i'm not sold on the benefits.
I'm on my 2nd tank of premium this time around since the prices were down a bit, and i'll be pulling it this weekend so we'll see if there is a difference with this boat vs my old 19' (~3400lbs).
It would be nice if Toyota or someone would publish an "official" statement of the power/torque differences, etc regarding the different octanes since there is a ton of variability with the different owners reporting their results.
Actually from what I've been reading it's not really a difference in torque or power it's mainly performance. I posted this on one of the RV forums but the information is probably usefull here as well. The main reason for using premium fuel is due to the fact that it contains additives that allow for a complete burn in the cylinder. The higher octane helps this as well. In today's modern engines they have what's called a "knock sensor". This sensor on the VVT-i engines can actually change the timing and such on the engine to prevent the "knock". Lower grade fuels can actually "cause" knock on "high performance" engines as the fuel has a tenancy to burn incompletely or ignite too quickly causing the "explosion" in the cylinder to happen too soon thus the "knock" sound. Obviously if the knock sensor makes timing changes and air fuel mixture changes it could potentially lower engine performance. If you use a good quality fuel however (not the AM/PM market stuff) you may not need the premium grade. They say all gas is the same whether you go to Shell, Chevron, Exxon or the AM/PM however that's not always true. It's the additives (or lack of) that cause fuel differences. As well the quality of the underground tanks and how well they're kept makes a difference. The local Shell station at one time had a problem with their tanks and people were getting an abnormal amount of water in their tanks due to condensation. What a mess that made. Gas dryer was the only solution for a while.
Something else to think about as well. I read somewhere that for every 1000 feet you go up you loose about 2HP which is why at higher altitudes you have problems well lower HP engines. Premium fuel can help this as well. This is probably why you have 93 available to you and here in CA we have 91. Octane requirements can change depending on the altitude. Way too technical stuff for me. All I know though is that there is a difference but how measureable it is.. hmm.
Just curious to see how many people with the tow packages are actually using thier '05s to tow? If you are:
What are you towing? 28 ft Pontoon boat; Yamaha FX-140 Jet Ski
How much does it weigh? It was about 4,000 pounds. Jet Ski was about 1,500 lbs with trailer.
How well would you say your 05 is doing in terms of handling and tow ability?
It pulls the jet ski awesome. I didn't even notice it was there on a 600 mile trip to Jacksonville. The boat was a different story. Like others, the mileage hit was amazing. Averaged about 10 mpg over a 300 mile trip through the mountains. With either, the cruise control gets hyper-active, but without it, things are fine. With the boat, it never felt under-powered; it just sucked thought the gas.
This may sound stupid, but the only reason I got the towing package was becuase of the 130A alternator, so I have enough power to run my amps. Plus that Oil Cooler and Tranny cooler will do good if anyone ever comes out with a blower for this thing...
Just curious to see how many people with the tow packages are actually using thier '05s to tow? If you are:
What are you towing?
How much does it weigh?
How well would you say your 05 is doing in terms of handling and tow ability?
I just towed a 5x15' or so old U-haul trailer this afternoon. It towed it fine, granted, the trailer was empty but probably weighs around 2k. We'll see how it does tomorrow when I load the trailer up. It already does a TON better than my old 97 Chevy S-10... I have an AccessCab, 4x4, v6 6-speed.
I've got a small 5x8 utility trailer with a set of Dana 60 axles on it right now and I'm running the 4cyl 5speed access cab. I was expected the engine to not be happy. It does perfectly fine. I take back some of my comments on this little 4 banger. I'm very happy.
Anyone Tow with an 05 Tacoma?
Linear Mode
