Towing with a Toyota Tacoma or Nissan Frontier

[Jazzmanic]

Anyone out there tow their CD22 Cruiser with a late model Toyota Tacoma or Nissan Frontier? When I look at the current tow ratings for both of these vehicles, they are listed at 6300#, plenty for the 22. But how do they handle towing the boat up hills and mountains? Do they struggle and feel underpowered going up hills?

I'm currently towing with a 2000 Dodge Durango, which tows great but I can't stand getting 10 mpg in city driving.

Peter
C-Dancer

[Pat Anderson]

Yeah, that Durango is in Titan territory mileage-wise! I never thought I would yearn for the fuel economy of the Expedition, but I do now!

[oldgrowth]

Peter - I have an 06 Frontier that I tow my boat with. I also have a flatbed trailer that I tow lumber from my mill (in south Thurston county) to The Dalles. My boat is usually loaded heavy when I am towing (usually just under 3000 lbs including the trailer). The flatbed trailer weighs just over 7000 lbs. with my loads.

With the boat around western Washington, it has done a good job. Going over the pass, you notice it but as long as you are willing to keep your speed down around 60 mph or less, it will do the job.

The flatbed trailer is a 1941 M5 military bomb trailer and it tows nicer than my boat. I have not ever taken it over the pass loaded but between here and The Dalles, you don’t even know it is back there, however that has more to do with the trailer than the truck.

I have the crew cab version of the Frontier with the five speed automatic. I do turn the overdrive (fifth gear) off when towing. Your mileage will really drop when towing. Normal freeway mpg is around 20 or better, depending on how you drive. Towing my trailer, it drops to 13 mpg or less, again depending on how you drive. I try and not drive in city’s with or without my boat, so don’t know what kind of mileage you will get.
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Dave

[C-batical]

Hi Peter,

My tow vehicle is a 2005, Tacoma, 4X4, 4 -door, 6 foot bed. I estimate that I tow my boat about 3,000 miles per year. My boat is fully loaded and around Michigan I could not ask for a better combination. The mileage is similar to what Dave reported for his Frontier. I get 19-21 mpg, general driving and 11-14 mpg towing. I try to keep the speed between 60 and 65 mph but the rig is very stable at 80. I do not use overdrive. I drove this truck out of the showroom three years ago and have not been back since, absolutely no problems.

Best regards,

[Notayot]

We had been towing our 22' C-Dory with a 2004 Ford Ranger 2WD until a couple of weeks ago. We purchased a 2008 Toyota Tacoma, partly to get the higher tow rating (6,300 vs 5,600) and partly to get 4 wheel drive and more comfort. The Ranger always did just fine towing and pulling up a launch ramp. I hope the Tacoma will do better. We always got about 12 mpg with the Ranger when towing.

Dennis

[hardee]

Peter,
When we first got SleepyC we had a Tacoma. It was '96 4x4, so not exactly late model, but in excelent shape. I felt like it was a bit light in front when towing, and though I never pulled it over real mountians, I think it would have but it would have been in the slow lane on the right, with the flashers on. The pulling would have been possible, but the stopping or braking in a turn gave me the feeling I always needed to be driving way ahead down the road, which I try and do anyway. We took it in for an oil change, and come home with a new to us, Tundra one day. It really feels better pulling. It has the body weight so that turning and braking feel fine, (I still drive ahead of where I am, but now I don't need an extra 200 yards more or less.) The Tundra with 4X4 and auto work fine, and feel much better on the launch ramp and in the corners. The Tundra MPG is not as good as the Tacoma, but I feel the safety factor is better. Good luck.

Harvey
SleepyC

[Jazzmanic]

Thanks guys for your thoughts. I'm leaning towards buying a new Tacoma. It sounds like it should be able to tow just fine according to your experiences. I guess the mpg is not that big a difference between the full-size trucks and the mid-size trucks like the Tacoma and Frontier but I like the size difference as well. I'll keep you posted.

Peter
C-Dancer

[jennykatz]

The Honda ridgeline tows 5000lb has all wheel drive and gets about 21mpg on highway about 16around town I own the honda Pilot and it tows the c-22 cruiser easily no problem on slick ramps or doing 70 on the highway I get about 10-13 towing and about 16-17 around town and 21-22 on highway without the boat . The ridgeline has the same eng and drivetrain all wheel drive check them out ,
I looked at the Tacoma and Frontier but the Pilot won out the first mate liked it better easier to drive good luck

[Wandering Sagebrush]

When we first got Constant Craving, we often towed with our '96 Toyota T100. 4WD, V6 and automatic. Towing from the Willamette Valley to the beach over Highway 6 is not that big of a climb, but the T100 felt underpowered and did not have any acceleration in the steeper sections I am much more comfortable towing with the F250 or the Expedition that replaced the T100.

I miss the Toyota, as it was a great, comfortable and reliable truck, but for towing I don't think you can beat the smooth power of the V8. BTW, the Expedition gets almost as good mileage as the T100, and the F250 diesel is equal to the Toyota (if I keep my size 13 out of the accelerator).

[Threeweight]

Note the engines on the late model Tacoma's and Frontiers have way more power than the previous generation. Before I bought my Jeep, I looked at both, and recall they run around 240-250 hp, 260-275 foot pounds of torque with the new 4.0 V6's (thats getting into small block V8 territory).

My old Tacoma w/ the 3.4 V6 was at around 190 and 220 torque.

I posted this in another thread as well, but unless you need a truck right now, it might be worth waiting 9-12 months to see what develops with the light-duty diesels that the domestic truck makers are rolling out for 1/2 ton trucks. I'd expect that the 4.5 liter that GM is working on will churn out gobs of power and deliver significantly better highway MPG than either the Nissan or the Fronter. My Jeep CRD, which is a 5000 pound piglet with the aerodynamics of a shoebox, can hit 30 mpg on the highway with summer fuel. You'll pay more for fuel, but at current prices I still come out ahead vs. the 19-20 mpg highway for the standard Jeep Liberty.

[Capital Sea]

Though the boat is only a few weeks old, we tow it with a 2006 tacoma prerunner with a tow package and it handels fine. We went with a tandom trailer in order to get 4 disc breaks under the boat and are happy with this choice.

[Jazzmanic]

So, I went and purchased a 2008 Nissan Frontier. It's a V6 with 6100 lb towing capacity and the improved 261 hp and 281 ft lb torque.

Since we'll be primarily towing everywhere this summer, I'm hoping that the Frontier will work out, towing-wise.

Thanks for all your responses.

Peter
C-Dancer

[oldgrowth]

Peter - you will be happy with it. I am assuming it is a four-wheel drive model. What cab did you get? Looks like they de-tuned it from 06. My 06-crew cab has 265 hp, don't remember the torque.
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Dave

[Jazzmanic]

Dave,
I got the Crew Cab 4x4 in black. Darn if they don't carry it in C-Dory Green any longer!

Peter

[Wayne McCown]

I had a Tacoma V-6 (my son now has it). I loved it, and it did a fine job of towing my CD-22. However, I had trouble getting it out of the hole on certain ramps when retrieving the boat The problem was not inadequate power, but insufficent weight (on the rear wheels). TAKE NOTE.