Transmission Selection for Towing

[jed1177]

I have a 2008 Toyota 4x4 4Runner Limited with the V6. Although not new to towing trailers, I have never towed one with the 4 Runner. I recently purchased an enclosed 5x10 v-nose motorcycle trailer that weighs approx 900 lbs empty. The motorcycle will add another 900 lbs , all in all, with accessories, under 2000 lbs total. No trailer brakes.

In reading the manual, if I an understanding it correctly, I should tow with the transmission selector in "4" instead of "D" to keep it from cycling back and forth into overdrive. Is this correct?

Thanks in advance for your help.

 

[stofficer2]

I tow my race trailer which is similar size and weight to yours with my bike in it. Although I am towing a R6 which weighs about half of what you claim your bike to be, I have always just towed in "D". I've towed up and down the East Coast. If you're familiar with Summit Point (West Virginia) or VIR (Virginia) the route to those tracks are very up and down. Towing from Jacksonville to Miami it just stays in high gear unless I step on it to pass then it will downshift. I average about 17mpg. My trailer is about 8" higher than the 4runner and is NOT a V nose.
This is all done with a '03 Limited V8 with 180k miles.

 

[blackfc3s]

I have a 2008 Toyota 4x4 4Runner Limited with the V6. Although not new to towing trailers, I have never towed one with the 4 Runner. I recently purchased an enclosed 5x10 v-nose motorcycle trailer that weighs approx 900 lbs empty. The motorcycle will add another 900 lbs , all in all, with accessories, under 2000 lbs total. No trailer brakes.

In reading the manual, if I an understanding it correctly, I should tow with the transmission selector in "4" instead of "D" to keep it from cycling back and forth into overdrive. Is this correct?

Thanks in advance for your help.

You are correct. Tow in 4th. Locks the torque converter.

 

[RAWTAZ]

I have towed about everything you can imagine from 42ft fifth wheel trailers to single bike trailers with Chevy gas trucks, Chevy Duramax with Allison transmissions, Volvo XC90, Ford Escape and now the 4Runner. All vehicles have a threshold you will need to find with your specific set-up.

First if you find that in Drive the transmission is 'Hunting' for right gear between overdrive and 4th you should manually place the transmission in 4th. 'Hunting' being defined as in a mile or two of travel the transmission unlocks the torque converter repeatedly.

This 'Hunting' behavior will change from road to road and in direction, you may not see it 'Hunting' going east but it may hunt the entire time going west. Only you can determine in the moment what is best.

I you just take the default of tow in 4th gear you are going to pay at the pump, if you try to tow in overdrive all the time and the vehicle cannot do it, you will burn up the transmission.

It is really very specific to the situation you are in at the moment with the vehicle, trailer and load.

Each transition from lock up to non lockup causes heat build up in the transmission and heat build up causes the fluid to age and eventually fail. This heat build up can increase as the transmission hunts and overtime you can burn up and glaze the lock-up clutch pack.

At half of the rated capacity of the T4R I doubt that you will need to tow all the time in 4th gear.

Towing speed will also determine the ability of the transmission to manage the load, at 70 mph you may be hunting like mad, but at 65 it never hunts. There are too many variable to just say do X, and that is why you see the Owner's manual saying do X. They cannot fix stupid in the Owners manual so they just default to the lowest common denominator.

Taz

 

[Rocket61]

This is interesting, I haven't heard of anyone towing in 4 before. I assume you'd only do this if you're travelling up or down hill? Wouldn't driving 65 in 4 keep your RPMs close to 3k? I bet I'd barely get 250 miles on a tank if I kept my RPMs that high on the freeway.

 

[MikeInNH]

I tow a 2500lb pop-up trailer...and I drive in 5th. The only time I drop it down to 4th is when I'm driving in the mountains.

Drive it in 5th and pay attention to what gear it's in. If it's not shifting a lot..then keep it in 5th.

 

[ebg18t]

When I tow in my 4Runner I drop it out of OD to the gear where it is closest to 1:1. Which in the. 4 Runner happens to be 1 gear below OD.

This is for 2 reasons; 1 to keep the tranny from hunting, but 2nd to keep the engine rpm slightly higher so that water pump is really pumping. This keeps engine temps under control with heavier loads. I notice engine temp creaping up under load when towing at the lower rpm of OD. Just my 2 cents.

 

[JimKW]

I tow about 4,000 lbs fairly often. My rule of thumb is put it in D (or 5th as some say). When I start up a hill, if it downshifts, I pull it into 4. At the top of the hill I put it back in D.

If I'm in a real hilly area I will leave it in 4 until I'm on fairly level ground. I will not let my transmission keep shifting, but I will not drive at high rpm's when it could be going at lower rpm's without shifting. I will pull into 4 going down a steep grade also, but don't find myself doing that very often.

 

[peebee]

This is interesting, I haven't heard of anyone towing in 4 before. I assume you'd only do this if you're travelling up or down hill? Wouldn't driving 65 in 4 keep your RPMs close to 3k? I bet I'd barely get 250 miles on a tank if I kept my RPMs that high on the freeway.

Too many factors. At high altitude you're not going to have the power you did at sea level. Combine this with a heavy head wind and I can almost guarantee you'll feel the difference. You'll notice it when the transmission starts hunting earlier than expected.

 

[Rocket61]

Too many factors. At high altitude you're not going to have the power you did at sea level. Combine this with a heavy head wind and I can almost guarantee you'll feel the difference. You'll notice it when the transmission starts hunting earlier than expected.

I definitely noticed my tranny hunting earlier when I bumped up my tire size. Haven't towed with the duratracs yet but I'll keep this in mind, thanks!

 

[jed1177]

Thanks to all of you that responded to my question. You were all very helpful.
I took my T4R out and ran it up to 70mph (speed limit) in 4th and the tach was right at 3000 rpm. I then shifted over to D (5th) and the tach dropped to 2100 rpm.

I clearly see the difference not only in rpm but also projected mpg with the different gears.

I will try the T4R/trailer combination and see how "hunting" for gears go. I surmise from your posts that I will probably be fine with the less than 2000 lb trailer/motorcycle and will try the 5th gear to start with. If in hills, etc, I will then shift down to 4th and work the gears vs. hills thing accordingly.

Again, thanks for sharing your experiences.
Much more helpful than the manual.

 

[wnelax04sr5]

heres my formula, and this is with a dual axle utility trailer loaded at about 4000-4500 depending on extra equipment i have with me, and i tow this load once every week if not more

hills=not in OD
no hills=OD

i have the v6, an external tranny cooler, and I've never had the temp go above normal operating, no burning smells, runs normal, just could use a little more low end torque