Towing in OD OK with this situation?

[gtochris]

It's my 2005 4 Runner V6 5 speed automatic and 19ft Stingray which weights around 3500lbs even including the trailer.

I found the torque converter would lockup and RPM's would drop to under 2K, It held up some surprisingly steep highway hills without down shifting, torque converter un-locking or loosing speed, in 4th gear it was over 2500rpms on the highway and would slow down the minute I let off the gas. I towed about 500 miles round trip in OD and got between 17 &18 MPG which truely surprised me. I was extremely impressed with it's first big pull and think it out performed the former Tahoe V8 I had!

If I hit a long steep hill and it downshifted to 4th I manually downshifted so I could reduce throttle pedel and climb the hills. it worked good.

Is this technique OK?

 

[oldjeep]

Re: Towing in OD OK with this situation?

Sounds fine to me. As long as it is not hunting for gears then it must be happy. The 17-18MPG is a bit hard to believe though, what does it normally get when not towing?

 

[Thalasso]

Re: Towing in OD OK with this situation?

It's OK as long as the tranny doesn't start hunting for another gear constantly.(17-18MPG):facepalm:

 

[alorio1]

Re: Towing in OD OK with this situation?

Your tecniqe seems fine to me and maybe your vehicle has a trailer towing pkg installed with a transmision cooler already in place. But if you don't have a tranny cooler, your transmission may have a short life. Just my .02 cents on your post.

 

[gtochris]

Re: Towing in OD OK with this situation?

Your tecniqe seems fine to me and maybe your vehicle has a trailer towing pkg installed with a transmision cooler already in place. But if you don't have a tranny cooler, your transmission may have a short life. Just my .02 cents on your post.

It has the factory cooler and tow package.

I too was blown away with the MPG, I was expecting 10-13 at best, I fueled up prior to leaving and reset both the trip odometer and the MPG counter (separate). Did my tow, the MPG counter is always over optimistic and gave me a an even 19MPG, I did the mileage from the trip odometer / gallons consumed and got 17.5 which I would consider right. The return trip I am estimating around 16, I havent fueled up since, but was more taxing and hilly. I did a max of 65 MPH.

Normal commuting to work I get 19.5-20.(hand calculated), the truck reports 20-22 on the MPG counter.

 

[alorio1]

Re: Towing in OD OK with this situation?

You are doing great with MPG and your vehicle must like the weight it's towing. Is the trailer single or double axel?

 

[gtochris]

Re: Towing in OD OK with this situation?

it is a single axle with torson axle and disc brakes. I bought it brand new in 2010 so it tows amazing! (had a real POS trailer before and it makes all the difference)! I was also towing with a trailering cover on (tie down straps) Which I think helped with the wind drag.

Our friends that joined us have a 2011 Eco-boost F150 and a 24ft bayliner, leading up to this trip he was busting on me if I can keep up, turned out I was the one that had to keep slowing down for him as he kept loosing lots of speed in the hills, he said it was as if sometimes it just didnt have the power and othertimes had it. He was getting 10-12 MPG consistantly and needed to fuel up before me. (no boat cover though). I was begining to think he maybe should go faster so the truck wouldnt down shift so easily (again we didnt break 65).

 

[alorio1]

Re: Towing in OD OK with this situation?

That may be the key to getting better gas milage and less strain on a vehicle, a boat cover to reduce wind drag. My old Dodge truck has plenty of power with a 360 engine, but when I tow the boat gas milage drops dramatically to 10-12 GPM from 17-18 GPM on the norm. I am ready for a new boat cover and I will shop around for one with tie downs so I can enjoy some of the benefits you are experiencing. Thanks for sharing your info. Joe

 

[haulnazz15]

Re: Towing in OD OK with this situation?

Sorry, I have a hard time believing 17mpg towing 3K+lbs worth of boat and trailer unless you had a hell of a tailwind going both ways. I doubt wind resistance has much to do with it, boat cover or not. The EcoBoost in your friend's vehicle isn't really the factor so much as it is the 24' Bayliner which is significantly heavier than your lightweight Stingray, and has a much larger wind profile as well.

 

[H20Rat]

Re: Towing in OD OK with this situation?

Sorry, I ha ve a hard time believing 17mpg towing 3K+lbs worth of boat and trailer unless you had a hell of a tailwind going both ways.

I was thinking the same... Had a friend who had a slightly older 4 runner, he constantly complained about mileage while towing!

 

[gtochris]

Re: Towing in OD OK with this situation?

Sorry, I have a hard time believing 17mpg towing 3K+lbs worth of boat and trailer unless you had a hell of a tailwind going both ways. I doubt wind resistance has much to do with it, boat cover or not. The EcoBoost in your friend's vehicle isn't really the factor so much as it is the 24' Bayliner which is significantly heavier than your lightweight Stingray, and has a much larger wind profile as well.

Sorry I dont have anything to back it up with, but it really pulled these numbers and I hand calculated it based on re-setting the trip odometer at my previous fill up when we started the trip.

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Towing in OD OK with this situation?

Even hand calculations can be misleading unless you fill at the same pump, facing the same way and use the very same "top off" procedure. Just use one less gallon of fuel in your calculation and see what happens to the economy number.

 

[haulnazz15]

Re: Towing in OD OK with this situation?

Sorry I dont have anything to back it up with, but it really pulled these numbers and I hand calculated it based on re-setting the trip odometer at my previous fill up when we started the trip.



View attachment 204923

I realize that, and I'm not saying you are lying about it, it just seems to good to be true, so I'd be looking the data sources. I've towed everything from empty flatbeds to loaded up car haulers and I've never seen the fuel economy stay the same even with an empty trailer. Heck, even towing the jetski will lower the fuel economy a few tenths on my 5.4L F-150. The increased weight/load on the engine will use more fuel, it's almost impossible to offset it, even if you have a tail-heavy single-axle trailer making your vehicles rear end lighter (dangerous towing situation, btw).

 

[ricohman]

Re: Towing in OD OK with this situation?

As long as the convertor isn't unlocking all the time you should be fine.
I had a 2005 4Runner, and you are getting the economy that I got going to work and back. And I live outside the city so its mostly highway.
When we towed our Coleman tent trailer, the 4Runner was always 11-12 mpg.
Sorry, I cannot believe you are getting 18mpg.

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Towing in OD OK with this situation?

A 180 mile trip for example in which 10 gallons of fuel was required to top off would equate to 18 MPG. Unless the top off procedure was identical as I stated earlier, a one gallon difference reduces economy to 16.3. "Feel Good" economy can be enhanced by squeezing in every drop of fuel when you fill up, but clicking the handle twice at the end of the trip obviously does not fill the tank as full as at the beginning of the trip. For this reason, fuel economy based on a one or even two tank fill up is not a good measure. Keeping a 1000 or 2000 mile log provides the best measure of "overall" fuel economy since this "top off" procedure is negated.

 

[jkust]

Re: Towing in OD OK with this situation?

Those are high mpg numbers. Here's what I'll say after towing for years with 3 identically set up GM truck based Suv's. Same v8 engines, rear ends, everything the same (except different tires) plus the same boat which is in my sig. The wind is the biggest driver of my mpg's while towing. I've gotten 18mpg's one time towing home from a long trip with a very heavy tail wind. I couldn't believe it but it happened and the trip computer matched the hand calc which it does anyway. Usually the wind will account for +-1 to 2mpg's and the 18 was a big outlier. I'm usually at 13-14mpg towing, loaded up. As for overdrive, on one of the enthusiast sites I used to be on for my particular suv's, one of the guys was a tranny rebuilder. His rational for not towing in OD at least for my particular tranny is something along the lines of the pump not pumping as good while in OD and towing and of course ultimately causing heat related problems. It was one of those complicated explanations that made sense at the time.

 

[ricohman]

Re: Towing in OD OK with this situation?

Usually the transmission will generate more heat towing out of OD. This is mainly due to the converter slipping.

 

[oldjeep]

Re: Towing in OD OK with this situation?

Usually the transmission will generate more heat towing out of OD. This is mainly due to the converter slipping.

??? The convertor can lock in any gear except 1st on most transmissions, has nothing to do with OD unless the tow mode locks out the convertor lockup on your particular vehicle.

 

[ricohman]

Re: Towing in OD OK with this situation?

Depending on the vehicle and the situation and the programing, usually you will have more heat towing out of OD. At least with light duty diesels and gassers in 3/4 and 1 ton trucks. Just try it and watch your trans temp gauge.
On my SD you need big rpm to lock it in 3rd so you get more heat. Custom tunes can fix this though. My buddy has more control over this in his new 1 ton Dodge. But he has already smoked a few trannies so custom tunes have their downside.

 

[gtochris]

Re: Towing in OD OK with this situation?

Just try it and watch your trans temp gauge.
.

I dont have one of those:blue: Nor do I have a tow-haul mode: I actually dont miss that feature that much-seems to shift firm when needed and doesnt hunt.

The Tahoe I was using before for the last 10 years (2002 4.8L 4x4) prefered 3rd gear and tow haul. It just would not hold OD at all! I towed a pop up a few times and was in the 11's, normal driving 12-13 and a trip 18.

Next time I go a distance with the 4Runner towing I'll fill up and log the mileage again.