The Toyota Tacoma maximum towing capacity for any 2023 model is between 3,500 lbs and 6,800 lbs.
The 4-Cylinder engine trims have significantly less towing power than the larger V6 engine.
This article will help you identify the towing capacity and GCWR of your Tacoma based on trim.
You should always check your manual and weight ratings (on the inside of the driver’s door) for the most accurate information before towing and make sure you are properly equipped.
The information taken from this article was compiled using the ebrochure.
If you are looking for the weight of a Toyota Tacoma, read here, otherwise, continue reading.
Though I tried to make this information as accurate as possible, you should always check your manual or contact your local dealer to determine the appropriate towing capacity of your vehicle and necessary equipment.
Towing Capacity by Engine
There are two main types of engines in the 2023 Toyota Tacoma. There is a less powerful, 2.7L 4-Cylinder and a 3.5L V6 engine.
2.7-L 4-Cylinder Engine
One of the engine options in the Toyota Tacoma is the 2.7L 4-Cylinder engine. This engine is the standard in 6 different types of truck trims and options which can be seen below.
| Trim | Drive | Cab | Bed Size |
| SR | 4×2 | Access | 6 ft |
| SR | 4×2 | Double | 5 ft |
| SR | 4×4 | Access | 6 ft |
| SR5 | 4×2 | Access | 6 ft |
| SR5 | 4×2 | Double | 5 ft |
| SR5 | 4×4 | Access | 6 ft |
It is a less powerful engine at 159 hp @5,200 and 180 lb.-ft. @3,800.
In all of these models, the maximum towing capacity is 3500 lbs.
There is no option in the Tacoma to increase this value for your truck.
3.5-L V6 Engine
The V6 engine is the more powerful option of engine offered in the Tacoma.
This engine offers 278 hp @ 6,000 rpm and 265 ft-lb @ 4,600 lbs.
This engine can tow up to 6800 lbs and on the low end, 6400 lbs.
This engine is in every type of Tacoma other than what is listed in the previous section. This engine is also offered in a manual version as well, but only for a few trim option levels.
Toyota Tacoma GCWR
What makes the Tacoma fairly unique is that the GCWR is the same for all trim levels.
The GCWR for the 2023 Toyota Tacoma is 11,360 lbs.
The GCWR is the maximum weight that a truck can have with a trailer.
This means that at any point in time, the scale of a truck plus a trailer should never exceed this amount.
This takes into account the weight of the passengers and cargo.
All of the values below are taken from the Toyota brochure.
Towing Capacity by Trim
Maximum towing capacity is calculated by taking the GCWR and subtracting the curb weight.
Find the curb weight of your Tacoma here if you want to do the calculation yourself!
However, you may notice that the numbers reported below are lower than the calculated value.
Because the Tacoma lists these towing capacities separately, I would take the values listed below.
Toyota likely takes into account an added safety factor for their users.
All values listed below are for the automatic transmission vehicles. These values are also only listed for conventional towing with a hitch. 5th wheel and gooseneck towing is not an option on the standard Tacoma.
SR
| Drive | Engine | Cab | Bed Size | Towing Capacity |
| 4×2 | 4-Cyl | Access | 6 ft | 3500 lbs |
| 4×2 | V6 | Access | 6 ft | 6800 lbs |
| 4×2 | 4-Cyl | Double | 5 ft | 3500 lbs |
| 4×4 | 4-Cyl | Access | 6 ft | 3500 lbs |
| 4×4 | V6 | Access | 6 ft | 6500 lbs |
| 4×4 | V6 | Double | 5 ft | 6400 lbs |
SR5
| Drive | Engine | Cab | Bed Size | Towing Capacity |
| 4×4 | V6 | Double | 5 ft | 6400 lbs |
| 4×2 | 4-Cyl | Access | 6 ft | 3500 lbs |
| 4×2 | V6 | Access | 6 ft | 6800 lbs |
| 4×2 | 4-Cyl | Double | 5 ft | 3500 lbs |
| 4×2 | V6 | Double | 5 ft | 6700 lbs |
| 4×2 | V6 | Double | 6 ft | 6600 lbs |
| 4×4 | 4-Cyl | Access | 6 ft | 3500 lbs |
| 4×4 | V6 | Double | 6 ft | 6400 lbs |
TRD Sport
| Drive | Engine | Cab | Bed Size | Towing Capacity |
| 4×4 | V6 | Double | 5 ft | 6400 lbs |
| 4×2 | V6 | Access | 6 ft | 6800 lbs |
| 4×2 | V6 | Double | 5 ft | 6700 lbs |
| 4×2 | V6 | Double | 6 ft | 6800 lbs |
| 4×4 | V6 | Access | 6 ft | 6500 lbs |
| 4×4 | V6 Manual | Access | 6 ft | 6500 lbs |
| 4×4 | V6 | Double | 6 ft | 6400 lbs |
| 4×4 | V6 Manual | Double | 5 ft | 6400 lbs |
TRD Off-Road
| Drive | Engine | Cab | Bed Size | Towing Capacity |
| 4×4 | V6 Manual | Double | 5 ft | 6400 lbs |
| 4×2 | V6 | Double | 5 ft | 6700 lbs |
| 4×4 | V6 | Access | 5 ft | 6500 lbs |
| 4×4 | V6 Manual | Access | 5 ft | 6500 lbs |
| 4×4 | V6 | Double | 6 ft | 6400 lbs |
| 4×4 | V6 | Double | 5 ft | 6400 lbs |
Limited
| Drive | Engine | Cab | Bed Size | Towing Capacity |
| 4×4 | V6 | Double | 5 ft | 6400 lbs |
| 4×2 | V6 | Double | 5 ft | 6600 lbs |
| 4×4 | V6 | Double | 6 ft | 6400 lbs |
TRD Pro
| Drive | Engine | Cab | Bed Size | Towing Capacity |
| 4×4 | V6 | Double | 5 ft | 6400 lbs |
| 4×4 | V6 Manual | Double | 5 ft | 6400 lbs |
Towing Package for Toyota Tacoma
There is no longer a towing package listed for the Toyota Tacoma in 2023. Any truck with a V6 engine comes with what was previously known as the towing packing.
This includes:
- Class IV Towing Hitch Receiver
- ATF cooler
- Engine Oil cooler
- Power Steering Cooler
- 130-amp alternator
- 4-pin and 7-pin connector with converter
- Trailer-Sway Control (TSC)
If you do not have the V6 engine, you must take extra precautions to make sure your truck is well-equipped to tow.
What is the tongue load of a Tacoma?
The tongue load is the amount of weight that can be exerted on a trailer hitch.
For most trailers, this value is 10-15% of the total trailer weight.
Toyota specifies that for all of their engines, a tongue weight of 10% should not be exceeded. That means that a max towing capacity of 6800 lbs can only have a tongue weight of 680 lbs.
How can you make sure you don’t exceed this value?
In the case of towing with any truck, you should always make sure that your tongue weight never exceeds 15%, but if you have a Tacoma, it should not exceed 10%.
You can make sure of this by weighing the tongue weight of your trailer.
Not sure how? Check out What is trailer tongue weight? & How to Measure It
Believe it or not, there are scales that can read the tongue weight of a trailer up to 5000 lbs, which is listed below.
Sherline 5000 lb Tongue Weight scale
Amazon Affiliate Link
Towing Capacity of Toyota Tacoma by year
| Year | Towing Capacity | Payload Capacity |
| 2023 | 3,500 – 6,800 lbs | 1,095 – 1,685 lbs |
| 2022 | 3,500 – 6,800 lbs | 1,095 – 1,685 lbs |
| 2021 | 3,500 – 6,800 lbs | 1,095 – 1,685 lbs |
| 2020 | 3,500 – 6,800 lbs | 1,120 – 1,620 lbs |
| 2019 | 3,500 – 6,800 lbs | 1,120 – 1,620 lbs |
| 2018 | 3,500 – 6,800 lbs | 1,120 – 1,620 lbs |
| 2017 | 3,500 – 6,800 lbs | 1,120 – 1,620 lbs |
| 2016 | 3,500 – 6,800 lbs | 1,120 – 1,620 lbs |
| 2015 | 3,400 – 6,500 lbs | 1,175 – 1,500 lbs |
| 2014 | 3,400 – 6,500 lbs | 1,175 – 1,500 lbs |
| 2013 | 3,400 – 6,500 lbs | 865 – 1,535 lbs |
| 2012 | 3,400 – 6,500 lbs | 865 – 1,535 lbs |
| 2011 | 3,300 – 6,500 lbs | 880 – 1,510 lbs |
| 2010 | 3,500 – 6,500 lbs | 995 – 1,570 lbs |
| 2009 | 3,500 – 6,500 lbs | 895 – 1,570 lbs |
| 2008 | 3,500 – 6,500 lbs | 865 – 1,620 lbs |
| 2007 | 3,500 – 6,500 lbs | 875 – 1,640 lbs |
| 2006 | 3,500 – 6,500 lbs | 875 – 1,640 lbs |
Looking for more details on the towing capacity of a particular year? Check out each article below.
How to determine how much your Tacoma can actually tow
Typically towing capacity is calculated by subtracting the curb weight from the GCWR.
This means that the total weight of a truck plus a trailer at any point cannot exceed 11,360 lbs in this case.
The Tacoma, however, specifies different values than the GCWR.
The best way to ensure that you can determine the exact amount your Tacoma can tow is by checking the manual.
The manual should specify the specific GCWR of your truck and towing capabilities.
The information in this guide is simply a guide and should be used as such.
Toyota can help to answer specific questions you have about towing capabilities.
If you have a 4-Cylinder Tacoma, it is more important that you follow the guidelines in the Toyota documents due to the fact that the GCWR seems too high for this truck and the calculations for towing capacity do not align with the value.
The towing capacity reported in this guide provides to you the maximum value that your truck can tow, but with any cargo or passengers, the actual weight that can be towed will change.
If you add any passenger weight or cargo weight, you will need to subtract this from the towing capacity to determine the actual towing load allowed.
Don’t forget that you will need to consider whether or not your truck has exceeded its payload capacity with this load.
Does this confuse you? I run through an explicit example of how you need to know both the payload and towing capacity to determine if you have safe driving conditions.
Check out: How to Calculate Towing Capacity for more in-depth information.
