Hi folks,

As I posted a while back, I bought a 2006 Tundra with the 4.7L V8, which does not have the tow package. I put a good Curt hitch on it, and it already has the 4-pin connection for my trailer lights. Rated tow capacity on the truck and the hitch is 5,000 lbs. My boat weighs about 2640 total, with trailer, full fuel and motor. And it's hardly ever going to have a full 50-gallon tank of gas.

I towed the boat to Calaveras two weeks ago (first time out with the truck) and let my speed get away from me ... noticed I was doing 70 and the engine oil was verging on hot. This would have just been for about a couple of miles at the most. No warning lights or alarms, or anything of that sort.

Ever since then the truck has seemed louder to me ... like there is slightly more drive train noise and more engine noise. I hope it's just my paranoia and not that I hurt the truck with that little bit of strain.

I towed it with overdrive off, in Drive (4th). I've been wondering since then if I should have been towing in third, but I figured it was enough to turn off overdrive. The drive to the lake and back was about 35 miles.

Is it okay to tow in 4th with the Tundra? I always towed in 3rd with my S10 Blazer, but that's because 4th on it was overdrive.

I still need to get an auxiliary tranny cooler for the truck ... now I am wondering if I need an oil cooler too.

Thanks,
John

Your truck has an oil temp gage? The 4.7 should tow that weight very easy. A trans cooler would not hurt at all.

TOW IT WITH OVERDRIVE AS LONG AS IT'S NOT GOING IN AND OUT OF OVERDRIVE. IF YOU DRIVE ON REALATIVELY FLAT TERRAIN, LOWER RPMS USUALLY EQUALL LESS HEAT. THE MORE COOLERS(OIL,TRANS,REAR END) YOU CAN ADD THE BETTER. JUST MAKE SURE YOU DON'T UPGRADE SO MUCH THAT YOU COULD HAVE BOUGHT MORE TRUCK FOR THE MONEY INVESTED IN UPGRADES. I UPGRADED MY OLD CHEVY 1500 WITH ALL THE TOWING BELLS AND WHISTLES AND IT STILL DID'NT DO WHAT I WANTED IT TO DO SO I HAD TO TRADE UP AND NEVER RECOOPED THE MONEY THAT I HAD THROWN INTO IT TRYING TO MAKE IT INTO SOMETHING IT WAS'NT. WITH A BOAT AS LIGHT AS THE ONE YOU HAVE A FEW MINOR MODS SHOULD HELP YOU SEE A MAJOR IMPROVEMENT. KEEP YOUR FOOT OUT OF IT IS THE MOST IMPORTANT.

Thanks -- yeah, I guess that I should tow at no more than 55-60 mph. It was real easy to get going too fast.

I have the same truck, I tow my Basscat Cougar with no problems,
pulls like a dream. Only thing I had done to the truck was i had dual exhaust flow masters put on.

I asked my friend who has the New Tundra with the 4.7 and tow package how his is...He has no problem with an older 18 foot fiberglass heavy as heck boat. I tow with the 5.7 Tundra it is so too much truck for the wieght I tow. Next year I am stepping down to a Taco.

pull it hard till the wheels fall off.

if you want to pull and not worry about a thing get a diesel and something 3/4 ton and you will not worry about anything.

hook and go.

Okay, I feel like an idiot ... I was referring to the oil pressure gauge, not the oil temperature gauge. Oops. I plead first-time truck buyer's ignorance.

Would it make sense for me to get the differential serviced and sealed by a shop before I dunk it in the water too much? The one on my Blazer was not watertight ... not sure how the Toyotas are from the factory.

Think of your overdrive as another gear that puts the rear end ratio to 1:1. As long as you are pulling on pretty much level ground, it's OK to tow in OD. If you are on hilly terrain, and the truck shifts in and out of OD, you want to tow in the next lower gear. If it continues to shift in and out of that gear, then you want to go down another gear. Also, your oil pressure should go up when you tow, as it is lugging the engine a bit. The rear end is sealed, via gasket, Remember that when the truck is running, all fluids in the truck are under a bit of pressure, therefore, even rear end fluid, should be forced out, not in. The only way you would have to worry about possibly getting water in your rear end, is if you left it on the ramp for an extended time period, not running, and you had a rear differential seal leak, and it would have to be pretty bad to get water in. Me thinks you worry too much.

As long as you do not back it in over the vent you do not have to worry about water in the diff.. I do not know where you are lauching but I normally barely even get my rear tires wet. At least one thing that you do not have to worry about anymore is the rear drum brakes. The springs did not do weel with repeated dunkings. I would try to avoid submerging any of the drivetrain components as much as possible. An old saying that we had when 4 wheeling and that is to remember that it is a truck not a boat.

Thanks folks -- yes, I worry a lot about breaking stuff. I am too cautious ...

Hmm ... I do have rear drum brakes on my truck. A lot of the companies are apparently going back to them. Guess I will add that to the maintenance schedule.

Listen to all of the above, you'll be fine!

safisher,

This must be your first Toyota Truck (I don't mean that in rude way). Take it from a guy with a Toyota truck with 300,000 plus miles. Don't worry, just fish! Hey, it's better to be cautious than not cautious at all. It's not cheap to fix any car, but I don't think you have to worry much. Dollar versus dollar, the part for a Toyota truck maybe higher, but when you have to buy that same part for the other trucks 2x or 3x as often, it turns out to be more. Trust me, its cheaper to maintain a Toyota truck than any other because things rarely ever break or wear out. I don't want this comment to blow up into Toyota vs. whatever, because I understand that parts wear out on all vehicles, but some more often and faster than others. The key thing is just to keep regular maintenance and you'll be fine. Now if you live near the sea, nothing will last there with all that salt.

i second that

After my experience with a truck that had 227k+ miles I would agree...just drive it and go fish...

A rear diff is not sealed ,they are vented. If it was sealed, as the temp rises & pressure buils up, the seals would blow. In the old days there was just a vent cap on the top of the diff. Now they use a hose.

If you climb under your truck & look on the top of the diff you will see a fitting with a rubber hose that runs up & just ends. They are usually clipped to the frame rail just below the bed. If you make a mental note & don't submerge this hose you'll be fine. Even without the hose you'd have to completell submerge the rear diff, which would mean you're in too deep.

Just got back from Canyon ... everything went great. I hardly feel the boat behind the truck.