2000 Tacoma prerunner, 4 cylinder??

[Incaboater]

Hello all, I have a 2000 2.7 liter prerunner, 4 cyliner of course. I am using this to tow a 1981 16 ft. ranger bass boat with a 1980 70 hp johnson motor. The truck came with everything it needed to tow right out of the factory. It said that its maximum towing capacity is 3500 lbs, what do you guys think? Its about a 10 minute drive to the local lake, but I wouldn't mind taking it to North Georgia which is more like a 40 mile drive.

I have 66,000 miles on it and changed the trasmission fluid to synthetic at about 50,000 miles. I always run synthetic oil in the motor.

I have taken it to the lake 4 times so far and never had any problems at all, I just want to hear any opinions or tips you guys have.

Here is a link to pictures of the boat
http://forum.gon.com/showthread.php?t=102785

 

[bruceb58]

Re: 2000 Tacoma prerunner, 4 cylinder??

Do you know how much the boat weighs? Probably around 3000lbs would be my guess. Is your 40 mile drive through any hills?

Make sure you don't use the ball mount that is part of the bumper.

 

[Incaboater]

Re: 2000 Tacoma prerunner, 4 cylinder??

Wow, you really think the boat weighs 3,000 lbs? Its only 16 ft long and I looked up the most recent ranger bass boats and the ones that are 21-22 feet long weight 1,700 pounds. They aren't using a new lightweight fiberglass are they? I need contact ranger and find out, but I thought that this boat weighed about the same, maybe 1700 at most.

No, the truck came with the whole towing system preinstalled by Toyota, its connected to the frame.

 

[Silvertip]

Re: 2000 Tacoma prerunner, 4 cylinder??

One can easily under or overestimate the weight of a trailer and its load. The error is usually on the low side. Let's add them up. I have a 17 foot aluminum walleye boat with an advertised dry weight of 900#. Your glass boat will be a little heavier. Here goes:

Boat: 1100
Trailer: 400
Engine: 340
Batteries: 100
Troller: 75
Gear: 200
Fuel: 140
Miscellaneous: 100
Total estimated weight = 2455#
You are well under the maximum tow rating for the vehicle and should have no problem on a 4 mile, 40 mile or 400 mile trip.

 

[Incaboater]

Re: 2000 Tacoma prerunner, 4 cylinder??

Great, thanks for the responses guys, like both of you said Its hard to estimate the weight of the boat, so I emailed ranger and hopefully they can provide me with an answer. Everything else posted above seems pretty much right on.

 

[Incaboater]

Re: 2000 Tacoma prerunner, 4 cylinder??

Wow guys, I just got very nicely detailed response back from ranger about my boat, believe it or not its lighter then silvertips aluminum boat, wow :^ .

Anyhow here is what they wrote to me

"Bill,

Thank you for visiting our website, and for being a member of the Ranger
family!

The approximate weight of your boat is 675 pounds. This is the hull
weight only, and does not include the weight of the outboard engine,
trolling motor, electronics, or any other equipment or gear that may be
in the boat. It also does not include the weight of the trailer.

The easy way to determine the required towing capacity for a vehicle is
to look at the GVWR stamped on the plate on the trailer. Whatever that
shows is the weight the vehicle must be capable of towing, regardless of
the actual weight of your rig.

We hope this helps answer your concerns. If we can be of additional
assistance, please let us know."

 

[bruceb58]

Re: 2000 Tacoma prerunner, 4 cylinder??

I looked at the Ranger site today and they say that the 17' Ranger's trailer is rated for 2970 so your weight is obviously less than that for a 16'.

 

[JB]

Re: 2000 Tacoma prerunner, 4 cylinder??

And that JohnnyRude 70 weighs 250#, not 340#.

I think you are in under 2,000# ready to launch, Inca.

Your Toytruck should have an easy time with her.

 

[Incaboater]

Re: 2000 Tacoma prerunner, 4 cylinder??

Thanks again fellows, I now feel a little more secure. I didn't want to burn up my transmission or anything else in my truck. Seems like I should be just fine. I just wanted to double check since it was only a 4 cylinder. Guess I will take that trip up to the north Georgia mountains.

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: 2000 Tacoma prerunner, 4 cylinder??

your close to 1500 lbs, and should be fine with your truck,, just watch emergency stops, might consider hydrolic trailer brakes.

boat 650
motor 250
batts 100
fuel 140
trol 75
misc 300
total 1515

here's boat weight

http://www.nadaguides.com//Values/V...&Letter=R&Com=1330&Year=1981&Model=1600146389

 

[ddennis]

Re: 2000 Tacoma prerunner, 4 cylinder??

If ya need a fishing buddy for that trip lemme know! LOL... I live in Winder..

 

[steelespike]

Re: 2000 Tacoma prerunner, 4 cylinder??

While I wouldn't do it as a rule I towed a 2,800 lb car about 200 miles on a tow dolly.with my 2001 2.7 automatic Tacoma extended cab 4X4 pu.Pretty much uneventful.Though hilly conditions may have been a problem braking there was no down hill that amounted to much.

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: 2000 Tacoma prerunner, 4 cylinder??

i tow with a 2005 Mercury Mariner same as Ford Escape, 2.4 liter inline 4, have had no problems. if towing in the mountains, i would like the 6 cly. i've had to go from fiberglass boats to aluminum.

 

[Incaboater]

Re: 2000 Tacoma prerunner, 4 cylinder??

I towed the boat fine on both Saturday and Sunday with no prob what so ever to the local lake. I was reading the tacoma owners manual and it stated not to go over 45 mph or else trailers will have a tendency to go crazy :^?? Luckily on my trip to the local lake I never get on a road that you have to go faster then 45 mph on. If I go to the mountains then will I have to find nothing but backroads to take the boat up there. I wouldn't touch I-75 or 575 because you will get run off the road if you're not doing at least 70 MPH, and since I am not in OD, the manual sais to turn OD off when Towing, then I will be reving my engine high at these speeds. So looks like backroads is the way to go.

 

[bowrider]

Re: 2000 Tacoma prerunner, 4 cylinder??

Hey bud, don't under estimate your 4 cyl:

Performance
Horsepower: 150 hp
Max Horsepower: 4800 rpm Torque: 177 ft-lbs.
Max Torque: 4000 rpm Maximum Payload: 2069 lbs.
Maximum Towing Capacity: 3500 lbs. Drive Type: RWD

With 177 ft-lbs torque, it is a very strong engine. ALL manuals will tell 45 mph is the recommended speed, but that's only a "recommended speed" you can do more than that just get to know your truck+trailer combination, check your RPMs, you can easily let the engine rest with you r overdrive on, and do kind a manual shifting when needed.....Just learn from your truck, listen to the engine...it will tell you a lot.....

 

[bruceb58]

Re: 2000 Tacoma prerunner, 4 cylinder??

You really think 177 ft-lbs @ 4800 RPM is good for towing?

As far as towing at above 45... If you are going up some mountains, I have a feeling you are not going to have to worry about going faster than that.

Main thing will be to select the gear in your auto transmission so that it is not "hunting' for a gear to be in. Since your engine develops its peak torque at such a high RPM, you may have to drive at a higher RPM(lower gear) than you are accustomed to.

If your trailer is balanced properly with 10% tongue weight, you should not have a problem with trailer sway, which must be what the manual was referring to as "erratic".

 

[bowrider]

Re: 2000 Tacoma prerunner, 4 cylinder??

You really think 177 ft-lbs @ 4800 RPM is good for towing?

It is 177 @ 4000 not at 4800, Or 160 @ 3500...still not bad for a 4-cyl engine.