Toyota T100 V6 Tow Vehicle

We are possibly interested in purchasing a preowned TM, but are uncertain about the towing capability of our pickup. It is a 1993 Toyota T100 with a 3.0 L, V6 engine, automatic transmission, and an 8 foot box. The manual says it can tow up to 5,000 lbs., with a hitch weight up to 500 lbs., and a combined vehicle weight not to exceed 9,000 lbs. From reading other TM messages, it appears most of you TM owners have tow vehicles with larger engines. We are interested to know if there are any TM owners using a tow vehicle with a 3.0 L, V6 engine, and how well it tows. Thank you in advance for any feedback.

TrailManor has a very nice site on the Internet.  While all specs are not available at this site, (such as tow vehicle requirements)  It does provide useful information.  That site is www.trailmanor.com.  A tow vehicle chart is sometimes included with the brochure that they have free for the asking.  I would specify that you need this chart.  Be aware that there is some controversy over the "real" weights and the weights as listed by Trailmanor.  By the way, we replace our Toyota 4-Runner with a '96 Jimmy powered by a V6 (200 hp?)  The Toyota would not have had enough umph and the Jimmy does real well.  We pull a 2720.

It might be recommended that you not use a tow vehicle that will just get you by.  Most people are not aware that they overload their trailer by bringing anything that pertains to camping, even grandma especially if she is a good cook.

I tow a 2720 with a 4.3L V-6 Astro Van.  I find the TrailManor tows effortlessly at steady state speed because of its low profile.  However, it is still 3,000lbs to accelerate and get up hills and I am well reminded then that it's there  3.0L is a pretty lightweight engine inspite of the trailer towing specification.  

However, all of this is subjective consideration if you're within range of the OEM recommendation.  In your shoes, I would buy the TM and see how things work together.  Or, if you have the hitch and brake controller installed, a dealer may let you test tow one.

It takes more than engine size to make a suitable tow vehicle. I suggest you review Steve Henkel's book `Boat Trailers and Tow Vehicles, A User's Guide' for more details. He suggests that `a vehicle's capacity to tow a trailer depends on a combination of more than a dozen different elements'.
If the vehicle has a towing package as provided by the manufacturer the vehicle is more likely to be adequate.
Dick_B

Dick's right, one of the biggest factors is the transmission. If you have a lightweight transmission, and especially if you don't have any external coolers on it......you might kill it! I've got a 3023 that I tow with my 91 blazer 4.3. But it has a tranny cooler made for a full sized motorhome on it. (But not cuz of the towing capacity, just haven't had much luck with transmissions....lol). Point is tho, be sure to check into that though. It does sound like your t100 could handle it, but definately look into getting a tranny cooler (external) and get one that's rated a bit higher than you need for just your vehicle (IE, to handle the towing). I'm certainly no expert on the subject, but my family was the first ones on this side of the Mississippi (east) to start selling aftermarket automotive radiators, (where the transmission cooler usually is) and trust me, there are different lengths inside the tank of the radiator.....some of them have heavy duty coolers in them, but ANY transmission shop will tell ya to get rid of it, and get an external...........My system is set up running through the regular cooler on a brand new radiator, then goes into an external where it is cooled even further by a 10" x 12" external cooler for a motorhome. The reason? My radiator was bad, and running the ac, the temp kept getting too hot and I ended up with yes, a THIRD transmission in my blazer, thank god for warrenties! (Rad was clogged up somewhat and wasn't cooling it properly with the ac on). The T100's are still fairly new tho and you shouldn't have that problem especially if noone's ever used stop leak in it. All I can say is I can only imagine what would have happened if I had towed a trailmanor last year down to the outter banks last year. (I just got mine, and haven't towed it any real distance yet to know how it tows). But I can tell ya this much......You're t100 if a v-6 is actually a 3.4L and not a 3.0L, you have a 16.75" Trans cooler in it though I can't tell you how many plates it has. On the other hand, on the big boy of em all radiators for a full size suburban it has a 8.5" 5 plate cooler, which is pretty big. On another note, you have a 3 row radiator in it that's 2" thick which is really good. (Yeah, just looked it all up in my books). My guess is your TOC (Transmission Oil Cooler) is about the equivelent.....longer, but not as many plates and the plates are thinner for sure being on a downflow instead of a crossflow radiator (tanks on top and bottom on yours, on the sides on the big boy suburban so can be thicker)...Lol, anyway, I'm rambling on, but seriously consider adding an external cooler....and only include the one on your radiator if it's a new radiator as crud builds up in the radiator transmission coolers that can break loose and clog up stuff....sure, they can flush em good with hot trans fluid....but no guarentee it'll all come out......trust me, I *know* this.......lol But any transmission shop should be able to do a good professional job for around 100 bucks, and 100 bucks is 1400 saved if it saves your transmission from overheating. Something to think about, and hope all of this helps!

Bill
PS, in a lot of cases, a heavyer duty radiator, and/or one with a bigger TOC is available for most vehicles if anyone's interested....especially domestic trucks/vans. Email me at [email protected] if you're interested, I don't mind looking it up for ya, can give you a WAY better price as I look out for my friends and we buy direct from just about all of the manufacturers. Just be sure to put "radiator" in the subject line so's I don't delete it. I'll know if it's from you guys as I've not posted that info anywhere else. We're in VA, and can ship next day to VA, WV, NC, and parts of TN. Other places depend on how far out depend, but most of the eastern seaboard is only 2 days, (regular UPS, no fancy airmail or anything that costs a bundle)

Thanks again for all the advice and ideas.  You are a great resource.

I previously talked to our Toyota dealer in Bismarck about a transmission cooler, and they definitely recommend having a good one, and will install a new large capacity cooler for an estimated $200.  

By the way, we seem to prefer the floor plan of the 3023TM, plus it will fit into our garage. Maybe there is a good preowned one out there that will fit  our pocketbook.

Yup, no problem. BTW, we got our 3023 because the guy didn't know what he had.....I stole mine for a measly $400.00!   (It was what he had in it, and didn't have a clue what he had!)