2nd gen (and misc) towing help needed!

[pyrodork]

tonight i bought myself a 15' 1969 kit companion travel (camper) trailer in eastern washington. drove it back to tacoma through the mountains. i got really frustrated with a 70mph speed limit and me barely being able to hit 50 unless i was going downhill. i also tried 4wd with the ept button (or whatever) pushed sometimes.

i did, however, already point out some of my errors...
-overdrive was on. didnt think about turning it off.
-never shifted to 2nd. unfamiliar with that and when to do it.

how big of a difference does that make? is there any way (relatively cheap) to increase the torque?

also heard things of higher octane gas and getting the tranny fluid changed.


now for the reason...
i am going to be driving from tacoma, washington to minneapolis, minnesota next week. i also have a bit of cargo, which is one of the reasons i bought the trailer in the first place (i have a few milk crates full of records as well as common luggage and aquirements from the past year).
most of my concern is going through the mountains. if i had a hard time towing this thing with it and the truck empty, how much worse will it be when it's loaded with stuff?

also looking for advice on parking/backing up that darn thing.


i have a 94 3.0 v6 automatic w/towing pkg.



thanks in advance!

 

[mikes4runner]

Our 3.0 engines are slow.

The ECT button is (electronic controlled transmission) gives you a higher shift point.

shift to 2nd going up/down steep inclines.

you answered your own overdrive question.

Higher octane gas won't make a difference.

Change the tranny fluid always a good thing if you are going to do allot of towing.

There is very little out there to help the 3.0 with HP/torque for little money.

As far as backing up you have to do it like a tractor trailer driver does. turn your wheel to the left to turn your camper to the right,
turn your wheels to the right to turn your camper to the left.
takes some practice to master.

hope this helps.

 

[pyrodork]

i dont know how i forgot, but i also noticed i was leaking some sort of fluid. kinda over the front passenger axle. a friend thought it was the brake line because a union piece was all gunked up. i tightened the three unions and then decided to look some more. then i noticed a tube that wasnt connected to anything. it seemed more likely that the fluid came from that. i cant tell what kind of fluid it is but i now have spots all over my trailer from it, and i had a wet spot where i parked my truck when i got into town.
is this some kind of overflow? transmission overflow, maybe?
any ideas on why this fluid came out and if it's normal?

 

[pyrodork]

oh, and is the ECT "safe" to have on... more or less meaning, is it okay to have it revving high (4-5k) over a certain amount of time?
would this be a benefit for me to have turned on while towing a travel trailer 1700 miles, or just during specific times?

i want to get home quick, but not at the expense of my truck.

besides headers, throttle body, and exhaust, what else is there i could do to improve engine performance? i just won a k&n high-air flow replacement filter on ebay.
i've also seen things on these little computer chips for $5-10 or something. my friend thinks that these are useless to buy/dont work. any experience?


thanks!!!

 

[bluewolf]

What does this trailer weigh unloaded?

 

[pyrodork]

trailer is about 1500-2000 lbs. i know my towing capacity is 3500 total. i have the extra cooler and all that, too.

also have to get this stupid brake control cuz it's over 1000 lbs. any good places to get one installed for under $200 (currently in tacoma, wa)? or how easy is it to just buy the box, outlet, and wiring and do it myself?

noticed my truck is staggering a bit while idle. even has quit a few times. didnt do it before. an easy fix, but it's what caused it to happen (without shifting the nuts) that causes my concern.

 

[bluewolf]

trailer is about 1500-2000 lbs. i know my towing capacity is 3500 total. i have the extra cooler and all that, too.

also have to get this stupid brake control cuz it's over 1000 lbs. any good places to get one installed for under $200 (currently in tacoma, wa)? or how easy is it to just buy the box, outlet, and wiring and do it myself?

noticed my truck is staggering a bit while idle. even has quit a few times. didnt do it before. an easy fix, but it's what caused it to happen (without shifting the nuts) that causes my concern.

I frequently pull a utility trailer with my 93 Toyota pickup (3.0 V6) that pushes 2200 to 2400 lbs fully loaded. No problems really, except that it works fairly hard on the steep climbs. I just take it nice and easy, and be courteous to the traffic behind you. A brake controller is nice, and it's a pretty easy installation. You can pick one up that will work fine for as little as $50, and you could probably keep it under $200 if you chose not to install it yourself.

 

[pyrodork]

where may i find these cheaper brake controllers? do they have them at auto parts stores? i saw one at g.i. joe's for about $80. that's the only one i've seen locally i can purchase seperately.

is there a website or something that shows the installation? i also have a haynes manual but i dont know if it would go into detail on where to tap into the brake line. i'm a bit nervous about doing it myself, and yet i dont want to spend a lot on it... partially because it's a small trailer, and partially because of time restraints. i will be going halfway across the country with it, though; washington to minnesota. once i get through washington and part of idaho (no, YOUdaho!) i know i'll be fine.


i suppose if i happened to get pulled over (or some kind of random cop-trap) i'd be fined for not having a brake control hooked up.
dont want to get into any of that.




oh, and i'm actually planning on leaving later today or early tomorrow (probly the latter).


thanks!

 

[bluewolf]

You're towing a 15' trailer. I seriously DOUBT if anyone will think it necessary to inspect your vehicle for a brake controller. This has never been an issue for us, and my family pulls trailers from 1500 lbs to 30,000 lbs virtually every weekend. If you plan to install a brake controller for additional ease of pulling that trailer of yours and safety, then I'd say you're right on!! You will be glad you have it when going down steep hills or doing 70 mph and a deer runs out in front of you. It will also save your 4Runners brakes from premature wear. If you're saying you need it for legal resons, I'd say don't bother.

A brake controller does not "tap-in" to your brake line. It sends an electric signal to the brakes equiped on your trailer, provided it has electric brakes equiped. The amount of braking force your trailer applies can be adjusted via the controller. Some devices have a cable which attaches to your brake pedal arm so that the more you depress your brake, the greater the signal to the trailer brakes. I'm considering the Jordan controller for our 4Runner (click the link below and go to "installation"). This one is $150 however. You should be able to find the more basic $50 to $60 type at any RV store.

http://www.jordanbrake.com/