jandpc4176
Las Vegas
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Has anyone been towing a 5500lb plus trailer with this vehicle regularly? I got a new trailer and was wondering what others have done to make this a better tow vehicle. I want to change the Differential gears; has anyone done this? I will also get a tranny temp gauge; does anyone know if there is one I can get that plugs directly into the factory tranny cooler?
Thanks,
Jon
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skipnchar
Topeka Kansas USA
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Lower gears may help ANY tow vehicle but if you have warranty concerns left it COULD have an effect on it. This is true if you change to a ratio not offered on the original truck. None of the transmission temp gauges I've seen do not plug into ANY transmission cooler. Some go into the return line and others into the transmission oil pan. NONE of them do anything other than tell you when there is a problem so they don't actually improve towing in any way. Provided 5500 lb. is your fully loaded weight you SHOULD have few problems with your truck if it's already equipped to tow and within the rating for the truck.
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jdubh2
The Midwest
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Pffffffffffft...you don't need a Tundra for that, my Tacoma does 5500lbs with no problems.
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Bigdog
silverdale wa.
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I have seen a couple of Tundra's and the Nissan large p/u with tranny problems alongside the road,but they all seemed to be caused by that old phrase"the salewsman told me there wouldn't be a problem pulling this rig".
I'm not saying that they don't hold up,just that you really have to be careful with what you put on the back.. Sure Toyota says it has a 10K towing weight on a level track and will stop the same weight,BUTTTTt,what happens to the tranny when you're pulling that weight up and down hills and up and down in gears.. Also,how well does it stop when you're going down a mtn side or in heavy traffic in a panic stop and your trailer brakes aren't set quite right...
I mean,holy cow,I've been there a couple of times in my "EX" and was glad that it weighed as much as it does and has VERY large brakes..
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jandpc4176
Las Vegas
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Copy all, thanks for the words. My WW will be no more than 6,000 fully loaded with 2 quads and gear plus camp supplies. With that I should be fine. The only reason I want the tranny quage is to know when the tranny is getting hotter than usual so I can pull over and avert a cooked transmission. I'm having a hard time finding the 4.56 gears for the 06 Tundra so I may just pull the trailer with my 3.91 gears and see how she does. My tires are 285s (33") so I know that doesn't help much. I'll see what 4-wheel parts has to offer for the problem.
Any other advice or words appreciated.
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jdubh2
The Midwest
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The Tundra will not have any tranny problems, in fact I've never seen a Toyota or a Nissan broken down beside the road towing, wish I could say the same for the big three..hmmm. As for stopping the Tundra has the biggest front disc brakes of any 1500 truck and in fact the front rotors on it are as big as some of the other guys HD truck brakes, like Ford's F250 which has smaller rotors...
Tow vid: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R9jaOROeYII
If there isn't a tranny guage you can buy a scanguage or another similar device and watch the temp.
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eurohazard
Travis AFB, CA
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I think a few folks have forgotten that the OP is talking about a 2006 model Tundra. It didn't have the "biggest brakes", and it didn't have a "10k lb tow rating".
It's a decent truck, a tad more light duty than the other 1/2 tons of the day...but perfectly capable of the weight you're talking about. With oversized tires, lower gears is always a good thing to think about (if going original is not gonna happen). And this isn't an import thing either. There's another thread here with a Chevy 3/4 ton truck not being able to keep 60 mph because he has 35" tires (not exactly extreme IMHO).
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saltbayou
hammond,la.
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What about distance of tow. Would'nt that make a difference in how well the tranny will perform. Had a 2000 tundra and towed about what you're doing and had no problem but I could'nt use cruise control so that told me I was pushing the limit.
2007 Tundra DC 5.7L
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Ron3rd
Upland, CA USA
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jandpc4176 wrote:Has anyone been towing a 5500lb plus trailer with this vehicle regularly? I got a new trailer and was wondering what others have done to make this a better tow vehicle. I want to change the Differential gears; has anyone done this? I will also get a tranny temp gauge; does anyone know if there is one I can get that plugs directly into the factory tranny cooler?
Thanks,
Jon
Jon,
I towed the trailer in my sig (right at 6,000 lbs loaded) with my old 2000 Tundra with the 4.7 V8. Your rig will do OK on the flats but will be slow on the big hills. The '06 Tundra had a few more horsepower than the 2000 models. A good weight distributing hitch with sway control is a must. I'd go with the Reese Dual Cam setup for what you're doing. You don't need a tranny gauge or extra cooler if you have the factory towing package. Most Tundra forums recommended that you tow with overdrive off, which is what I did. You won't win any races, but the truck can handle it. You'll find a lot of Tundra specific info at www.tundrasolutions.com. Check there for info on the gear change.
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jandpc4176
Las Vegas
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Thanks all for the great posts, I feel a bit better about towing this load now but will keep looking for a decent gear change. I have equilizer hitch so hopefully that will work. My tires are only 285s so maybe I can drive on the 3.91s for now and see how they do.
Thanks for all,
Jon
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