Toyota Tundra as a Tow Vehicle

[slowmover]

KONI is the better choice. Much better. Custom valved shocks past that. An amazing difference if available.

Weigh truck at four corners with full fuel, driver and permanent gear aboard. That is solo empty weight.

Work the tire pressures carefully; calibrated gauge. A 10% rise after two hours steady state means bring it up 5-psi. Maintain FF/RR bias on pressure. Per axle tire pressure is from heaviest position. Low as possible with testing.

Check again with WDH applied.

If "bed bounce" means bad ride, but not crow hop, then a drivers seat cushion will help. Oregon Aero, or WonderGel SuperCushion.

Erect posture, too.

There will be a correlation between fat boys and complaints re bad ride as most do not sit upright or avoid leaning to one side.

With feet flat on floor behind pedals and knees relaxed adjust seat for no thigh pressure at edge. Hands at two and four with elbows relaxed. Mirrors adjusted for peripheral vision, not head turning. Nearly everyone sits too far back.

Best tires at best pressure with best posture minimizes truck actions when best shock absorbers are used.

[m.hony]

Originally Posted by srpuywa

we looked at getting a Tundra crew cab but the way the rear seats folded down (the seat backs) was no good for hauling our dog with us.

Went with a silverado crew cab because the rear seat bottoms fold up and makes the whole rear floor usable

The seat backs folded down up till 2013. In the new ones the seat bottoms fold up like the Chevy's.

[TG Twinkie]

SteveH: the 10# in the air bags has no effect on the ride of the Tundra. A minimum pressure is recommended by Firestone. I believe it is to prevent "scrubbing" of the bladders. Which could cause a hole.
But that is just my guess.
I check the air bag pressure each time I check tire pressure.


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[GettinAway]

Originally Posted by KJRitchie

I've read installing air bags and setting to about 10lbs helps but I haven't installed them. For the most part I haven't felt the ride was that bad. I have to admit on Highway 69 going south through Oklahoma from Missouri to DFW the ride was not comfortable in sections on that terrible road. Mine is 2wd 2010 Tundra Double Cab.

Do you have 4x4 and the TRD package?

Kelvin

Mine is a 4x4, but not the TRD package. I've got a set of air bags I bought foe the Tacoma, but never used them. Maybe they will work on the Tundra..

[OrquiAH]

We are towing a 22 foot Silver Streak trailer (tandem axels) with a 2004 Toyota Tundra. It's like pulling air. The Tundra zips uphill at 65 MPH no problem. If we decide to sell it and replace it with a newer truck, it will likely be another Tundra. It's a great truck, hauls without a glitch, has a good MPG rating, and is very well built...never in the shop except for normal oil changes, tires and brakes as needed. It has almost 100,000 miles on it and ready for more.

[m.hony]

I don't think the current generation Tundras are built as well as the first generation- more plastic, less mechanical fasteners- but still my truck of choice-

[Gene]

I'm confused by the question of rear seats and how they fold up. On our 2007 double cab the seat bottoms fold up. This allows a lot more stuff to fit in the back and keeps dirt off the seats when I put tools, etc., on the rear floor. I can't imagine why anyone would want seat backs to fold down in a pickup—less storage space. In an SUV that does make sense when you can fold the entire seat against the back of the front seats to create more storage space.

Ours has the TRD and tow packages and it came with Bilstein shocks. The Tundra rides like an SUV, not a truck. Some say the ride is "numb". If you think the ride is rough, you never drove a truck a generation ago or a car 2 generations ago. We don't think the SR5 seats are comfortable, however, so we put sheep skins on them—the backing makes it about 1/2" thick and greatly improves the seat comfort. The OEM tires were crappy Goodrich passenger tires and we are on out 2nd set of Michelin LTX tires. The first were all terrain, but the 2nd set are M+S2. They both ride smoothly and have a much better ride than the Goodrich tires.

The Tundra actually has a smoother ride than our FJ Cruiser. We put sheepskins on those seats too. The FJ came with Goodrich tires too, but they are greatly improved from 2007.

Gene

[m.hony]

The seat backs fold down in the 2007-2013 Tundra Crewmax. The seat bottoms fold up in the 2014-2015 Crewmax. I could have said that exactly backwards in a previous post.

[reelfastgreg]

Originally Posted by Gene

Ours has the TRD and tow packages and it came with Bilstein shocks. The Tundra rides like an SUV, not a truck. Some say the ride is "numb". If you think the ride is rough, you never drove a truck a generation ago or a car 2 generations ago.
Gene

the 'truck', especially the crew cabs have become much more popular with this generation of young folks, the millennials. as a result, 'towing' is pretty much an after thought by Toyota and therefore that SUV ride, they want a part of that F150 market from Ford.

for example:
- tow package, TRD, a good one, but lacking appropriate rear suspension necessitating air bags and that mushy ride;
- tow mirrors, well good luck finding those;
- power extending mirrors, not even a thought;
- around the town fuel capacity of 25g
- 5 1/2' bed with the crew cab, not very useful and out of proportion;
- we also found the captains chairs to be uncomfortable after the first 200 miles;
- 'P' rated tires instead of 'LT' rated tires with the tow package.

having owned 2 of these trucks, i have moved my dime back to Ford. maybe there next redesign will intrigue me again.

in the meantime, drive what you have and enjoy the road.

[Gene]

I believe the new Tundras have a much bigger fuel tank. We always carry extra fuel just in case, but the only time it was needed was in Montana even though we have been to much more remote places.

The double cab was fine for us and has a 6.5' bed—good enough for us, but 5.5' would not be for building materials we use at our perpetual remodeling projects at home.

I do think Toyota has kind of ignored the Tundra. They screwed up on the FJ Cruiser by not fixing the things people complained about and sales dropped fast and now they have discontinued it. Other companies have similar vehicles and I guess they sell them. The company is promoting sexy and fast cars, including the Lexus. That is fine, but their attention span seems short and narrow. Even with the problems with the Tundra, it is still a very reliable and powerful vehicle.

Gene

[reelfastgreg]

Originally Posted by Gene

I believe the new Tundras have a much bigger fuel tank. We always carry extra fuel just in case, but the only time it was needed was in Montana even though we have been to much more remote places.


Gene

the 2014 i traded off for a Ford still had the 26g fuel tank. aftermarket offers a 46g but that is going to impact GVW and is against the law in CA.

[Phoenix]

Personal observations and comments on above items (in blue text):

• tow package, TRD, a good one, but lacking appropriate rear suspension necessitating air bags and that mushy ride -- We ordered our 2008 CrewMax with the TRD and towing options, and factory-installed TRD rear sway-bar, which reduces the squishy feeling in the rear end. However, we like the limo-like ride of our Tundra while cruising with our 19' Bambi in tow. If air bags or aftermarket springs are needed, this 1/2 ton pickup may not be big enough for your application, and a 3/4 ton TV may be justified. I don't think that's a design deficiency; it's more of a misapplication of a good pickup.
  
  
• tow mirrors, well good luck finding those -- Again, we ordered our Tundra with the factory-installed tow mirrors, which are also available from most Toyota dealers or online. See this link for details: http://www.airforums.com/forums/f42/...ml#post1541673
  
  
• power extending mirrors, not even a thought -- Not really needed for towing, when they remain extended nearly all of the time. We have used non-power, factory tow mirrors for seven years; and they work fine for us.
  
  
• around the town fuel capacity of 25g -- I think the actual fuel capacity of the Tundra (5.7L) is 27 gallons; and ours has a range of about 325 miles per tank while towing (325 miles/13.5 mpg = 24 gallons), which is plenty for us. However, we do have an emergency reserve, which is a six-gallon, portable marine fuel tank that carries fuel for our generators.
  
  
• 5 1/2' bed with the crew cab, not very useful and out of proportion -- Personal preference: This truck bed works fine for us and contains two mountain bikes, two generators, six-gallon portable fuel tank, seven-gallon portable water tank, air compressor, several cases of bottled water and drinks, emergency food & supplies, camping chairs & table, floor jack, Denver Boot, cooler, small vacuum cleaner, extra clothes, and miscellaneous tools & junk that we don't seem to ever use. NOTE: We have a SNUGPro fiberglass bed cap on our Tundra.
  
  
• we also found the captains chairs to be uncomfortable after the first 200 miles -- Personal preference: We have the power, heated, leather seats, which we find very comfortable on long trips.
  
  
• 'P' rated tires instead of 'LT' rated tires with the tow package. -- Agree; Tundra should come with LT tires. The OEM Goodrich Rugged Trail, P-rated tires were kind-of squishy, even when inflated to the maximum 44 psi. However, they lasted 35,000 miles (mostly towing) and wore evenly; and we had no problems with them. Replaced OEM tires with Michelin LTX MS/2 LR-E, which should twice as long. Michelins are much better tires, and are not squishy when inflated to 55/65 psi (front/rear) for towing.
  

[TG Twinkie]

Look on ebay for Tundra tow mirrors. There are aftermarket and genuine Toyota tow mirrors.
I bought genuine Toyota tow mirrors on ebay and installed them myself. Took less than an hour.
I found a video from Taco Tunes on how to remove the door panel on the Tundra. TT installs stereo speakers, therefore they know how to remove the door panels.
I watched the video 3 times before I even saw the truck.
You will see what I mean. LOL


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[GettinAway]

Interesting how we all have different perspectives. I've only had mine for a few weeks and love it. (Although I've not towed anything with it.) I went through four fords several years ago, three explorers and a expedition, I could not keep them running. It would take a huge hick up on toyota's part to ever get me to go back to a ford. We drive a lot. I've put well over 200,000 miles on several Toyotas. I think I've replaced one wheel bearing in all that time.

[m.hony]

Amen!
Paid for trumps any new styling or technology. 10 ,15, or 20 years from now, let's compare a V8 Tundra and a Ford Ecoboost with 400,000 miles on them.

[TouringDan]

Originally Posted by gpt

the 'truck', especially the crew cabs have become much more popular with this generation of young folks, the millennials. as a result, 'towing' is pretty much an after thought by Toyota and therefore that SUV ride, they want a part of that F150 market from Ford.

for example:
- tow package, TRD, a good one, but lacking appropriate rear suspension necessitating air bags and that mushy ride;
- tow mirrors, well good luck finding those;
- power extending mirrors, not even a thought;
- around the town fuel capacity of 25g
- 5 1/2' bed with the crew cab, not very useful and out of proportion;
- we also found the captains chairs to be uncomfortable after the first 200 miles;
- 'P' rated tires instead of 'LT' rated tires with the tow package.

having owned 2 of these trucks, i have moved my dime back to Ford. maybe there next redesign will intrigue me again.

in the meantime, drive what you have and enjoy the road.

I was fortunate to find my new Tundra with stock tow mirrors. I like them, but half the time I forget to extend them. Power? No thanks, more complexity, cost and weight.

The double cab with the 6.5 ft bed provides a nice size bed along with adequate rear seat room for passengers along with real doors and windows, but this comes down to personal preference. The crew cab provides a larger back seat with a smaller bed. Take your pick.

We find the 27 gallon tank to be fine, although a larger tank would provide some flexibility. This is not a huge factor in the truck decision area for us.

We have found the captains chairs combined with the floor shift to be quite comfortable.

Our truck came originally with P Michelin tires. We were happy with their performance. After some input from some Air Forums tire engineers, we replaced them with higher capacity P Michelin tires. We are happy with their performance and load capacity.

If I were truck shopping the only thing I would really be looking for is more load carrying capacity and a real mechanical limited slip differential. But I am not. I expect to have my Tundra for a long time.

Dan

[ROBERTSUNRUS]

Originally Posted by m.hony

Amen!
Paid for trumps any new styling or technology. 10 ,15, or 20 years from now, let's compare a V8 Tundra and a Ford Ecoboost with 400,000 miles on them.

Hi, let's not; As far as I'm concerned, with very few exceptions,*** any vehicle with anywhere near that many miles may be still running, but will be a miserable piece of junk.


*** Commercial vehicles driven a lot of miles in a short time frame.



PS, I don't think I will ever keep a vehicle to 200,000 miles and most are gone before the 100,000 mile mark. My Lincoln has about 120,000 miles on it and I'm sure that's a record for me.

[m.hony]

I have a different approach. I drive them a really long time. I manage a fleet of 400 mostly GM trucks. 1/4 of the fleet is over 200,000 miles, 1/4 over 300,000 miles, 1/4 over 400,000 miles. There is one Chevy van with 525,000 miles. We never really have any trouble with GM till 250,000-300,000 miles. At that point, we put in a used under 100,000 mile motor, rebuild the transmission, starter, and alternator, rebuild the front end including hub bearing assemblies, put in a new seat, and let her go again. I have driven many vehicles to 200,000, 250,000, and 300,000. It's cheaper to keep 'er. I hear testimonials all the time and have known people personally who drove Toyotas and Nissans to 430,000 miles. One guy I new with a 430,000 mile Tundra used it to haul customized vans and pickups from the conversion factory to the dealerships. He still drove that truck from La Mesa, Tx to Greenwood, MS. He towed a 28' sob trailer with it. That is my goal. 400,000 miles. If I get to 300,000 I'll be happy. I think a simple V8 will get there with less maintenance. I drove a 1987 Mazda B2000 pickup to 200,000 trouble-free miles and thought I should get a new truck. I got a 1995 Nissan King Cab to replace the Mazda, but continued to drive the Mazda to 250,000 miles. The Mazda still looked new when I sold it with 250,000 miles. That guy drove it a couple of years and sold it. I saw the next guy still driving it around 3 years after that. It must finally be in the junk yard (or the owners moved away) because I haven't seen it in a few years. The moral of the story is if it ain't broke, don't fix it. Replace it when you need to. That might be 100,000 miles like our 2001 Ford Taurus, but most vehicles will go 200,000-300,000 before a major expensive repair.

[m.hony]

I can take you for a ride in many high mileage (200,000-500,000 miles) vehicles that ride and drive no different than new. The only way you know is to look at the odometer. As far as that goes, I can take you for a ride in a 1953 Chevrolet 3100 pickup, a 1957 Chevy Bel-Air, a 1971 Volkswagen Beetle, or a 1978 Jeep CJ5 that still drive as new.

[TouringDan]

My 2002 BMW 330ci has 233k on it and runs just like new. I would be shocked if my 2008 Tundra does not make it to 300k without major problems. Especially since the motor is only turning 1,600 rpm @ 60 mph. It only has 57k on it now.

m.hony's experience just gives me more confidence in my plan. I suspect my Tundra may well be my last pick up truck/large tv.

Dan