Toyota Tundra Towing Questions
I own a 2000 GMC Sierra 1500 Ext.Cab 4x4 with the 4.8L V8.I have a hybrid camper that has a wt. of about 3500#.With the truck and camper, loaded I'm probably looking at about 4500#.I often wish that I had a little more power.I am now shopping for a new truck and I have narrowed my selections to a 2006 Chevy Silverado Ext.Cab 4x4 with the 310 HP 5.3L and a 2006 Toyota Tundra SR5 Double Cab 4x4.Price,reliability,four full doors,warranty and fuel mileage have me leaning towards the Toyota.I know that the Chevy would have no problem towing my camper but I'm not sure about the Toyota.It has less HP(271 vs. 285) but more torque(313 vs. 295) than my GMC.Will the Toyota pull our hills of PA better than my GMC?Any input would be greatly appreciated.
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I'm in the same boat... I drove the Tundra, loved it and I didn't think I was going to like it because it very bland but functional inside. As well, when it comes to towing you just can never have enough "beef". My concern is that I tow a Jeep CJ7 that weighs loaded around 4400lbs with a tool box (150 lbs.) on the tongue of my tandem axle trailer Bri-Mar trailer that I put my CJ7 on when I go to Jeep Jamboree's. I want a truck that I can drive everyday with ultimate reliability for the price manufacturers are charging for these vehicles as well as decent fuel mileage for everyday use. I only Tow about 10 times a year with this heavy load and I can't decide between the Tundra or the Chevy/GMC half ton Crew Cab. My goal, get decent fuel mileage, easy to drive, be extremely comfortable, ease of towing and something that I can drive everyday and have the ability to put professional work colleagues and customers in it if the need should arise with my work. Anything you find out would be great. I think the two vehicles drive much differently and the Chevy had some nice creature comfort features but their viability and inconsistent quality is what concerns me about their product.
bsr7696@yahoo.com
Over the next 6 months we will be researching, buying, and outfitting our Tundra for towing a travel trailer...I'm trying my hardest to find a TT that is under 5,000 pounds but I think we'll be lucky to find one under 5500 that will fit our family of five and 2 dogs. We'll have to learn to pack really light..no water, no groceries, just a few clothes to get us going and pillows and covers for the bed...try living on plastic cups and such until we find our true weight.
But, I must admit I had delusions of a bigger tow potential...hey, I can get 1600 in my truck and tow 7000...sure on paper...but not TOGETHER!! Only when I dug deeper did I realize with trailer and truck contents I can't exceed 11,800...truck weighs about 4,800 (need to weigh it for sure)...family, dogs and bikes weigh about 800 pounds and growing! so now I'm at 5600...figure on about 100 for propane and hitch equipment...now at 5700...clothes and gear about 500 now at 6200...so the max trailer we can pull would be 5600 pounds!!! EEK! I was hoping to have us only pulling 11,000 and be on the underside of that weight...need to find a 5000 or less trailer bad...
And footage...I have found a few 4800 pound trailers that would be great but they're pushing 30 feet long...my wheelbase says 26.5 would be perfect..is is safe to push it if I have the dual cam Reese set up? Think Hensley arrow is overkill for our situation...but would entertain opinions on that as well..
Just posting to say that over the next year, I'll have a purchase and bad/good experiences to put down to help others...for now I love my Tundra!
Tara
The limited slip differential as explained to me is a helpful thing if you get stuck...rather than having a wheel spin and getting sunk...the slip differential balances out something that makes it less likely for you to sit and spin your tires out...so in short, less likely for you to get stuck in the mud. HOw's that for technical?
Tara
Even though mine (truck) has 7200 capacity, my RV only weighs 4750 dry. I am actually selling it, but the secret is aluminum to keep the weight down.
You need to leave some breathing room like 1000 lbs in your GCWR. Having said that, my V6 Tundra was at the limit and did not have a problem. Its limit was 9250.
The first camping trip in my V8, I had a panic stop, which the truck did real nicely, but that camper is going to push that truck until it stops.
I had to have it replaced at 87000 miles.
Considering the light duty and maintenance, I don't think it should have failed. I spoke to Toyota national, and they indicated I was on my own for the cost of the repair.
Be careful with Toyota transmissions after the warranty runs out. Some people may be talking about making it to 100000 miles and beyond, but it's not worth the risk of the replacement costs after 60000 miles. Toyota transmissions: :lemon: and the company will not support after 60000 has been my experience.
You sure are going a long way to bad mouth the Tundra. Do you know why there are so many posts complaining about the Tundra in these forums ( I'm sure you can guess
Your efforts are like screaming at the wind to stop.
What does the tow package include? Does anyone have experience towing a trailor with a Tundra that doesn't have the tow package? Thanks.
Does anyone know if any other 2007 Tundras come with this towing package?
According to the "Tundra 2007" brochure (38 pages), on page 32, the Tow Package has a footnote #5 that says, Standard on Long Bed.
Footnote #5 is for Reg Cab: Base V8 and SR5 V8, Double Cab: SR5 V8 and Limited V8.
Mike
Duramax diesel. I know that the Duramax will tow anything I purchase but I don't know how much weight the Trundra will tow comfortably--I know it is rated for over 10,000 lbs. but was wondering if anyone had actually towed, over a variety of flat and hilly roads, 8,000 to 9,000 lbs trailers with the new Tundra?
In our “Double Nickels” scenario, we towed a Sea Ray 220 Sundeck completely empty, and covered its bow and cockpit to reduce drag. We made sure the boat and trailer were level with the truck, and checked that all the tires were filled to their recommended psi. We also never drove faster than 55 mph on our test route.
In our “Speedy” scenario, we kept the same setup, but drove 65 mph instead of 55. This change in speed will answer whether it’s worth resisting the temptation to travel at the rate you are accustomed to when not towing.
In our “Does It Matter?” scenario, we really messed with our rig. First we dropped the air in the Tundra’s tires to 25 psi, down from their original 35 psi. Then we took off the Sea Ray’s covers, and even latched the door separating the bow area from the cockpit for some extra wind resistance. Finally, we added 500 pounds of weight to the boat, in the form of a dozen 5-gallon buckets filled with water. The 220 Sundeck has a 50-gallon fuel tank, so this weight is the equivalent of driving with a full tank of gas and 200 extra pounds of gear.
The Tundra’s computer confirmed what we experienced on our test route. In our “Does It Matter?” scenario, we achieved only 8.0 mpg, compared to 9.3 and 11.1 mpg for our “Speedy” and “Double Nickels” circuits, respectively. The actual numbers showed the trip computer was being a little generous, however. Our data, based on gallons burned and the miles we traveled, showed only 7.3 mpg for the “Does It Matter?” loop, 8.1 mpg for the “Speedy” scenario (an 0.8 mpg or 11 percent improvement), and 9.9 mpg for the “Drive 55” setup (a 2.6 mpg or 36 percent improvement).
However, I can't seem to get the towing stability like I like it. I recently purchased a Flagstaff V-Lite (weighs 6250 dry). I have an Equalizer load leveler/sway control hitch system. I even purchased air bag spring helpers to go on it, which did help a good bit. After much adjustment, I've finally got it to where it will tow pretty good at around 62 mph in high winds (both times I towed it with air bags was in high winds; I had towed it previously with low winds).
I'm pretty sure I have the towing package (I have the connectors, the tranny cooler, etc.) but I'm wondering if the suspension isn't the tow suspension (meaning the rear leaf springs).
Anyway, if someone could give me some suggestions on possibly things I could try to improve towing stability, I'd really appreciate it. I'd like to be able to tow comfortably at 70 - 75 to keep up with traffic, but I haven't made it there yet.
Thanks,
RCP357
There is one thing I'm curious about though. There is a lot of play in my drawbar/receiver. I put the drawbar in a another 2" hitch receiver and there was much less play. I measured my hitch receiver and it measured 2 1/8" inside-to-inside. I can move my drawbar around a good bit within my hitch receiver.
I'm wondering if the slop in my receiver could be having something to do with my problem.
Does anyone know anything about this?