Horsepower?

So, I have a 2006 Tundra 4.7 V8 that makes about 271 hp....nothing done to it to get much more than a K&N filter.

Just bought a 2018 TRD and thought that the 270 hp V6 would at least be comparable?!?

Hooked up my 20’ Sea Ark to go on our trip and I think it’s rather a dog....not sure I’m getting out of anyone’s way quickly!

Unlike the Tundra that has no issues towing the boat....am I missing something?

 

One I know for a fact is different gearing in your rear differentials. And im not 100% sure if they have different transmissions, but i feel like they do, and that would also contribute to it.

 

Well, we made the 350 or so mile trip with no major issues. It towed rather well but the issue was the long uphill stretches with a 70 mph speed limit. Had to get in her ass a little bit to get it to shift gears and get going. My Tundra has the ability to turn off overdrive but I guess we don’t have that in the 4R. Where it did really well actually was the hilly switch backs going up and downhill....I was impressed with the handling while towing this big ass boat.

 

I want to research if there’s an add on transmission cooler for towing. I didn’t buy it to be a toy hauler but def don’t want to overheat or destroy anything.

 

the V6 engines lack torque that is the problem.. constant down shifts on slight grades @50-70MPH.. I do not like this at all... my family member has the 4runner V8 no problems has proper torque..

 

So, now that I'm back in the land of WiFi and stable internet I wanted to just give an update to our little trip. Attached is a picture of my haul. I definitely need a lift and stiffer springs in the rear, that is for sure. I usually tow the boat with my Tundra but it'll be needed for any more trips for towing with the 4R. The tongue weight is pretty heavy with this boat, it's a beast. My driveway is at a pretty good angle so when pulling out, the hitch/tongue scraped my driveway. When I got home, I needed to put the boat away with the Tundra because I couldn't back up in to the driveway with the boat on the 4R, it would have gouged the driveway and probably gotten me stuck. Anyway, for my ride from Delaware to Virginia, I just took it easy and pretty much stayed out of the way in the right lane. Not sure I ever hit the left lane except to pass a couple folks which was amazing that I had to do. I won't ever claim to be a genius but after my tow there, I decided to use the manual shift on my way home so I could control engine braking and shifts, etc. It seemed to do MUCH better than when I just left it in automatic D. We got to get out a couple days to go for some drives while in Virginia. I'll say, I LOVED the ride and handling on the twisty curvy back country roads....flat Delaware sucks. I never felt any worries, not that it was a sports car but it was fun to drive. I'm not sure what was or is attributed to the KDSS but it was nice with just the stock suspension. If it gets better later when I modify it, that'll just be a plus. I would have liked to find some moderate off road trails/roads to drive on but was not successful at finding anything through Google searches. I do still have the stock tires but would have liked something mild to try out.

 

dont go stiffer springs unless you have a constant load in the rear of the truck or your ride will be less than fun. I would personally go with rear air bags so you can deflate when you are not towing.

 

HP alone is a bad indicator of towing ability. You're expecting a midsize SUV with a V6 to pull like a full size truck with a V8 based simply on HP.

That's like saying the 375 HP Ecoboost F150 can pull like a 385 HP Cummins Ram 2500. Similar horsepower, but they are miles apart in towing ability (470lbs vs 900lbs of torque).

 

Agreed, I didn't buy it as a tow vehicle but at first thought I did expect it to be similar. The torque discussion did answer my questions.

 

I'm not talking about a rock solid spring but I would think any upgrade over stock would be better. I went with the Billstein 5160's with remote reservoirs on my Tundra and there was less sag with the same boat. That's all. 90% of the time if I'm taking this boat out it will be with the Tundra. We just happened to use the 4R to travel for the trip.

 

Whats the full towing weight of the boat? Just curious.

 

this is aluminum boat ? so IMO boat weight is about 2KLBS and trailer 500LBS.. so the tongue weight should be about 150LBS... trailer tires very far back on trailer so set boat more to rear of trailer to lighten the tongue weight.. you probably have 200 plus LBS on the tongue too much IMO...

trailer wheels should have been more to the forward position .

 

The boat was actually already moved back on the trailer awhile ago bc tongue weight was too heavy to lift. I’d venture to say it’s more than 200 lbs now.

 

The boat is 775 lbs plus a 4 stroke 60 hp Mercury. I can’t find the trailer weight but as mentioned below it’s probably around 500 lbs....it’s 21’ long or so.

 

SeaArk website says it’s only 775 lb boat but it is HEAVY as heck. I like your thought on the trailer axle being a little more forward. When I just looked at the Load Rite trailer page, they do seem a little more forward than what mine is. The package was 2 years old when I bought it used and I’ve never even thought of that. I am going to find out if/how much I can move them forward. The previous owner had the boat setup bracing moved back some, maybe I can move it back forward and also move the axle forward. Thank you!!

 

For starters, and bear in mind I have this mod on my 2016....

Consider a Pedal Commander. $280 direct from the manufacturer. Check my posts and/or the threads I've posted in (others have postes thoughts as well). The 4.0 motor has enough juice, but the factory electeonic gas pedal and subsequent throttle response are killing the performance of the T4R. Check it out. Click on Performance tab under Garage tab

 

Agreed, I've looked at the Pedal Commander and it's something I may do a bit down the road but the torque really answered my missing information. It's not much difference but a little bit helps. I think it's 278 lb-ft for the 4R vs. 313 lb-ft for my 06 Tundra.

 

Big no no. Towing in D - you're not locking out the O/D, bad for the transmission.

 

How do you lock out overdrive then? Or, can you even do it?

 

Where in VA did you go?
Lots of good twisty mtn. roads out in my area.

 

We went to Smith Mountain Lake...it was pretty awesome. It was also fun driving on the back roads....

 

Great spot, im 4 hrs north by Leesburg.

 

Have to manually shift to '4' from 'D' .. your trans is prob fine but you will damage your transmission if you tow a lot in 'D'

 

Now you confused me. That's what I was saying in the first place....when I manually shifted from 1-2-3-4....it was better. Are you saying the same thing? I was thinking it was better NOT to tow in 'D'.....but not because it would mess up the transmission...only because the shift points seemed off. What part of towing in 'D' will mess up the transmission? I do it all the time in my Tundra.....or am I ok there just because I have more torque to handle it?

 

If you tow you shoul always lock out the o/d .. there's good articles floating around but here is a good example on a boat forum I lurk on

https://forums.iboats.com/forum/gen...-towing/390643-why-is-towing-in-overdrive-bad

 

My '03 T4R with the 4.7 tows a 17' Sportsman with ease. I would say the weight of my boat, motor and trailer is pretty close to yours. I think gearing/torque is the biggest factor, the 4.7 makes 320 Lb-Ft so that helps a lot.

 

Agreed.....very similar to my Tundra.

 

Some towing conditions will cause the trans to hunt. Meaning a lot of shifting from d to 4th (shifting back and forth every 3 to 5 sec) by the ecu. 5th is an overdrive. Towing increases the engine load. Plus the decreased mechanical advantage of the gear ratio. The ecu see's that and will down shift to 4 earlier, possibly to frequent. The torque convertor coming in and out of lock and the tiny slip before the shift locks in gear, increased by the load of what your towing, Contribute to heat in the trans while towing which over time can cause damage. By holding the trans in 4, It prevents the hunting and reduces trans temp.

In short always tow in "4" unless it is a light load on a flat highway. If the rig is having trouble staying in OD then you need to shift down to 4 and leave it there. Also you do not need to shift from 1-2-3-4, if you have it in 4 the transmission will use all the gears available, it just locks out the OD...make sense?

 

Absolutely makes sense! Thank you.