Considering a Tacoma as a Tow Vehicle......Thoughts??

[2kwik4u]

Been doing some research on a new tow vehicle. My 2006 Trailblazer SS has some issues I'm not sure I want to fix, and my wife's Traverse is only front wheel drive. The SS tows well, but is a 11yr old truck with issues. The Traverse tows much better than I expected, but the FWD only has me concerned with some of the local ramps that are notoriously slippery and steep. I've watched other rear-wheel-drive trucks struggle, I don't even want to try with her FWD vehicle.

Boat in question being towed is a '17 AR190. I've read several folks comment that thier boat only ran about 3,500 lbs fully loaded on the trailer. The Tacoma is rated at 6500lbs, so I don't think that is a problem. Looks like others here are towing the 23/24ft boats with this truck with good results.

Saw an ad on TV this morning for a $299/mo lease on new Tacomas and got to reading. I'm still super early in the process, and still need to drive/look at them, as well as run the actual numbers however the preliminary look is encouraging.

SO......here's the question......The Tacoma is offered in a V6/4x4/4door MANUAL transmission configuration. I've always preferred a manual transmission to drive, but have only ever towed with a manual transmission once. That was my father-in-laws 39ft 5th wheel camper hooked to his F350 with a manual transmission. It looks good on paper with less overall maintenance, and an increased "fun to drive" factor. Initial purchase price is $2k lower as well. Obviously the hardest part will be getting the boat out of the water, however a hand brake and experience with the clutch will help there. I've read where some Tacoma owners have rigged up a way to engage the low range on the transfer case and not engage the front axles, allowing for a 2-LO configuration that might work well for getting the boat out of the water.

Any thoughts from boat owners? Anyone out there towing with a manual transmission? Any input would be greatly appreciated.

Have an appointment to go look/test drive the trucks tomorrow evening. Anyone think it's out of line to ask to tow my boat behind their truck before making a decision? I would think if it came to that point I would have already agreed to the truck and that would just be a condition of sale. Any thoughts on that aspect?

 

[giroux68]

can't go wrong with a toyota truck. I have a 1990 with 320,000+ miles that I use everyday.

 

[Bruce]

Will you ever have a boat larger than a 190? If so buy a tow vehicle larger than a Tacoma.

 

[Neutron]

Being a Toyota tech i will tell you the new 2016 and newer Tacos with the new 3.5 v6 doesnt pull at all like the 15 and older 4.0s
The suspension, transmission and brakes will do well but the motor has a lot to be desired

 

[malibu Dan]

Used to drive 2015 taco and 21ft Reinell (cuddy)...

 

[RiverRat]

For the 190 you should be sweet with the Tacoma, but if you're like me, and plan on upgrading boat length once you upgrade tow vehicles, I would look into a full size.

 

[RiverRat]

Also can't hurt to ask about hooking your boat up, especially if you bring it to the dealership?

 

[itsdgm]

I've towed our 21'er a few times over short distances with my Tacoma and you definitely know it's back there.

 

[2kwik4u]

Thanks for the replies guys.

Will you ever have a boat larger than a 190? If so buy a tow vehicle larger than a Tacoma.

For the 190 you should be sweet with the Tacoma, but if you're like me, and plan on upgrading boat length once you upgrade tow vehicles, I would look into a full size.

Doubt we upgrade the boat in length any time soon. We bought the 190 to fit in our garage, and that helps keep the price of ownership low. No storage fees, a single engine to use fuel, and a generally light load make the 190 a good fit. I can't see us upgrading this boat for a good while, and even then I would suspect we'll stick with the smaller size. Our last boat was a 19'er and we had it for 6yrs before upgrading to this one

Being a Toyota tech i will tell you the new 2016 and newer Tacos with the new 3.5 v6 doesnt pull at all like the 15 and older 4.0s
The suspension, transmission and brakes will do well but the motor has a lot to be desired

Thanks for the insight. I was wondering how that did. I compared the HP/Tq ratings, as well as where peak HP/Tq was delivered to the wifes Traverse (3.6L V6), and they are VERY similar in terms of output. I would expect similar results from the Taco as the Traverse. An honestly, the Traverse does fine towing aside from a couple of long hills it has to "scream along" at 4k rpm to maintain speed. Not really all that bad, just a little unnerving coming from a big V8 tow vehicle history.

Also can't hurt to ask about hooking your boat up, especially if you bring it to the dealership?

That is kind of what I thought. If it comes to that point it will mean that I'm ready to sign up for the truck and buy it under the condition that it tows acceptably. The dealership I'm headed towards is right near the expressway, so a quick 10 mile loop will tell me everything I need to know about merging, accelerating, stopping, turning, etc. The loop doesn't have a particularly steep or long grade, but there is a sizable expressway hill on it. I can't imagine them letting that hold them back from making a sale, but I'm somewhat expecting a "our insurance won't cover that" or something along those lines response.

 

[GoVols01]

Before you buy a new one, you should seriously consider buying a used truck - the market is absolutely flooded with off-lease vehicles right now and it's a buyer's market. If you're going to buy new, you should wait until the manufacturer enacts their 4th of July Day sales because all manufacturers up their incentives for the holidays.

A good alternative to the Toco would be a Frontier crew cab 4x4 or Pro4X. I had a long bed, which made it just as big as some full size trucks. The 4.0L V6 in that truck will haul @$$. It did a great job towing my 19' Regal 1900ES.

Good luck!

 

[swatski]

@2kwik4u We towed our old SX190 with wife's 2016 4Runner for a while, including some long hauls. No concerns other than fuel efficiency goes to the toilet. That truck has 4.0 V6 and pulls very well, the vehicle is also very stable. I did not like the engine initially when it was new, it was just not sounding quite right - all until about 5k miles on the clock - after that it became a different vehicle (sweet).

Incidentally, I believe mother Yamaha uses 4Runners to tow factory models.

So, if you get the 4.0 which is older but tried-and-true engine, I would make sure you put some miles on it before judging the potential. Overall I was impressed.
That said I was less impressed pulling the new 240 which was expected. Still okay but I would consider it marginal and would be strenuous for long distance or lots of hills, which is what we face in our tows.


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[2kwik4u]

@swatski Thanks for the report on the platform. I figured it would probably be adequate for the load, but it's nice to hear others with very similar loads and good results.

Going to look at them tonight. Read some reviews this morning over coffee and it looks like some taller folks have problems finding a comfortable seating position in them. I had a '96 nissan Hardbody pickup years ago and had a similar seating position (very low to the floor), and it wasn't bad. I was a good 20yrs younger then too though.

I've considered a used truck. Was even looking at fullsize variants awhile back. The problem is the pricing on the used is not much less than new, and the financing and lease deals aren't as great. I'm so frustrated with the SS and it's constant maintenance that things like "2 years free maintenance" are very enticing for me. We'll see where I land when the dust settles, I still have to get all this past the "Budget Comittee", and her.....er...I mean.....their criteria

 

[Rainmakr]

I towed the SX190 from Georgia to Virginia when I bought it. And I've been towing the boat every weekend since then. It handles the 190 without any issues.

 

[props2you]

Is the boat the only thing you'll be towing? The Taco is capable, but going full size is certainly worth considering. I was unfortunately in the same boat. My '11 Tahoe SES light came on and it needed repairs in the high 4 digits, it was not worth it to repair. So I was forced into an upgrade. I did a lot of heavy research and found the ford 3.5L twin turbo Ecoboost to be the best option or a V8 with torque and high gear ratio. When my Tahoe was at the shop, my wife has a '15 Explorer Sport with the 3.5L twin turbo, that was our next option to tow our '16 242 LSE. I was very skeptical of the Explorer's capability, until I hooked it up and pulled away. WOW, that 3.5L twin turbo has some balls!! It pulls the hell out of that boat, but needs the bigger frame for longevity pulling. It pulled it out of the ramp better than the Tahoe and pulled the boat better. The Tahoe won in the sheer size and handling department though. With my budget in mind it was hard to find what I needed/wanted with low miles and towing being the primary responsibility of this vehicle. (we snowmobile up north every weekend in the winter). Staying domestic and reading many negative reviews of the Chevy 5.3L (which just took a shit on me) and having 2 other ford products, I was leaning towards either the 5.4 or the 3.5 ecoboost, and a pick-up was not an option for our family. So I ended up with a Certified Pre Owned Lincoln Navigator 5.4L with the towing package that pulls up to 9200 lbs (heavy duty hitch, trans cooler, higher gear ratio, electronic towing options, sway control, load-leveling, etc.) Pulls the boat like a dream, it is under powered compared to the 3.5L ecoboost but does WAY better than the Tahoe. Of course with a Navigator you get the comfort as well. Overall I'm very happy with the tow rig upgrade, but not the circumstance it happened. It is certainly a buyer's market in the used truck category, do your research and know what you want,test drive and be patient.

Good Luck!!

 

[Neutron]

I towed the SX190 from Georgia to Virginia when I bought it. And I've been towing the boat every weekend since then. It handles the 190 without any issues.
View attachment 58445

Yours has the older much better 4 liter. The new Tacos have a 3.5 liter which is identical to the 3.5 that in in the 17 Highlander and Sienna. Its great in those vehicles but not up to the job in the new Tacos. Every customer that traded up from the previous gen Taco complains about it. And a loaded TRD sport or off road 4 door is almost 40 grand. I would bite off a little more and opt for the Tundra. 410ft lb of torque is plenty.

 

[Neutron]

On another thought. My friend traded in his two wheel drive 2016 Tacoma TRD sport 4 door in for a 4x4 Crew max Tundra XP Black edition (lease) and lowered his payment 200 bucks a month

 

[Rainmakr]

Yours has the older much better 4 liter. The new Tacos have a 3.5 liter which is identical to the 3.5 that in in the 17 Highlander and Sienna. Its great in those vehicles but not up to the job in the new Tacos. Every customer that traded up from the previous gen Taco complains about it. And a loaded TRD sport or off road 4 door is almost 40 grand. I would bite off a little more and opt for the Tundra. 410ft lb of torque is plenty.

I have heard that the new Tacomas with the 3.5 have had some issues. Also I've heard when towing the new transmission is constantly shifting. The new tech features look nice though

 

[Neutron]

I have heard that the new Tacomas with the 3.5 have had some issues. Also I've heard when towing the new transmission is constantly shifting. The new tech features look nice though

Haven't heard any specific complaints about towing. Just lack of power complaints. They are still as bullit proof as the previous gen.
The transmission,diffs, frame, brakes, suspesion is 99% identical to the older model

 

[2kwik4u]

Well.....That was an easy decision.....Pass on the Tacoma. It seems like a nice truck. The exterior styling isn't the best, but it's OK. The engine and transmission reviews aren't spectacular, some good some bad. I was going to get a manual transmission anyway, but there aren't any of those in a 500 mile radius according to the dealer, so I would have to special order. The biggest problem was the seating position. I'm 6'2" tall with a 36" inseam and with the seat all the way back my knees were only about 1/2-3/4" away from the steering wheel. The wheel was almost a full arms length away at that point and it wouldn't telescope back or high enough. Also once seated at that location I had to physically lean forward to reach ANYTHING on the dash. The interior just simply isn't for me.......it was a quick and easy decision there.

So I drove around the corner to the Chevy/GMC dealer and drove a demo Colorado they had on the lot. It's seating position was much more favorable, and the interior in general seemed nicer. It's a VERY similar engine to the Tacoma at 3.6L and 308hp/275tq. It drove very similar as well. at $35k for a "demo model" it had a LOT more features than the Tacoma at $31k. I liked the Colorado quite a bit more, but I don't think I'll be getting it either. After sitting in two of them I think I'm just too large of a person to really be comfortable in a mid-size pickup again. Granted my SS isn't much larger on the inside, I really don't want to get into something smaller.

It was also VERY obvious, VERY quickly that I've been spoiled by the 400hp/400tq of my LS2 powered SS. These little trucks felt VERY underpowered. I'm sure they're just fine in actual usage and driving, but hopping out of a stout V8 powered truck into a marginally powered V6 truck was somewhat eye opening.

The search continues. Friend of mine suggested a '14+ Dodge Durango, and even located one somewhat locally for $31k with 45k miles on it. There is also a '14 Jeep Grand Cherokee (with EcoDiesel engine) that I want to go look at tomorrow. It shows some promise financially as the fuel savings help offset the increased purchase price. I'll be sure to keep everyone posted as I figure out what to buy.

 

[fireflymedic]

Think I would want the park feature of an automatic for parking on a ramp