Member - Bob replied:

There was also mention that this will cause excessive wear in the fifth gear cog.

Member - Willem replied:

Hatcher,

5th gear lowest speed has been advocated over the years as 80 km/h. 5th gear is an overdrive gear to reduce revs when motoring at speed. The gear is not designed to work under load. I am not sure whether the weight of the vehicle comes into contention. My dad was a Jaguar enthusiast and had a string of manual cars commencing in 1973. They were pretty heavy vehicles as I recall and the Drivers Manual stated that the electric overdrive should only be activated at speeds higher than 80km/h.
Your Toyota Drivers Manual should tell you which 5th gear speed is advisable.
Cheers, Willem
Never a dull moment

Treading Lightly replied:

I have juts looked up the Owners Manual and there is no mention of min speed for any gears only the max. However it does say not to labour the engine in any gear.

So it's up to your ears and judgement I guess. Great waggons arn't they.

JDLife is to good to be dead.

Bob Y. - Qld replied:

Hatcher,

Was advised by an ex Tojo dealer to use 5th only above 80 clicks. Have used this method for over 10 years, with no problems with 5th. Only gearbox problem have ever had with a tojo, was with 2000 model 79 series, when all gears lost syncro, speedo stopped working and bearing noise had to heard to be believed. Repaired under warranty.

Don't worry about whether the motor is labouring, do as Willem said, and don't overload 5th. Happy travels, but you should have bought a diesel. Hooroo...