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Old 03-27-2009, 09:44 AM   #121
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Looks like they changed brands from time to time. SRW, you have the same tires I have, though I don't know about the DT. We bought the Tundra at the end of September, '07. Of course, they could have come from different plants in different countries. I have tried different pressures and more than around 4 extra pounds while towing starts wearing the center of the tread too much. Tread depth was from 5 to 7/32 the other day at about 19,000 miles—half towing. Since we don't drive like maniacs and have comparable trailers, I can't account for why you are getting better wear out of yours.

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Old 03-27-2009, 02:57 PM   #122
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Originally Posted by CrawfordGene View Post
Looks like they changed brands from time to time. SRW, you have the same tires I have, though I don't know about the DT. We bought the Tundra at the end of September, '07. Of course, they could have come from different plants in different countries. I have tried different pressures and more than around 4 extra pounds while towing starts wearing the center of the tread too much. Tread depth was from 5 to 7/32 the other day at about 19,000 miles—half towing. Since we don't drive like maniacs and have comparable trailers, I can't account for why you are getting better wear out of yours.

Gene
Gene:

Tread depth estimate (I used a business card to make crude measure of tread depth and measured the mark on the card with a tape) at 3/16" avg. on all four tires. Little less at center vs outside.

Wear is pretty even.

Hard to know exactly, but at least 50% of driving is on Interstate.

Rare that speed exceeds 65 mph.

SRW
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Old 04-01-2010, 04:27 PM   #123
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In July and August of 2009 we did 9,798 statute miles with a 19' Bambi using a 2007 5.7 Tundra...in the mountains and rough areas. On return we traded for a 25' fb Safari ls and still use the same tow vehicle....also for my daily driver. It works great! 10.5 to 11.5 mpg (gas) on average. Highly recommend. rjack
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Old 04-03-2010, 01:56 AM   #124
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We have similar experiences with our 2008 CrewMax. The BFG Rugged Trails are wearing fast and, except for the expense, I can't wait to replace them with Michelins. The BFGs will probably last another season, so will be looking for new tires before next summer.

The new LTX M/S2 is rated 720-A-A, but is the regular LT tire. While these look tempting with the 720 mileage rating, we will probably get the same tire in load range E for the safety margin when towing.

By the way, we run the BFGs at 44 psi (the max) all around, and they are wearing evenly. They ride firm, but not like truck tires. We had Michelin LTX M/S LR-E tires on our old 1978 Chevy crewcab longbed, which definitely rode like a truck.

If you live in snow country, the Michelin LTX A/T2 looks like a good alternative, but I think the M/S2 might wear longer and more evenly here in the desert southwest where we are more concerned about heat. We are also considering going up in size a little to the 275/70x18, which is only a little larger; and it may wear a little longer for only a few dollars more.
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Old 04-03-2010, 08:29 AM   #125
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We replaced the Goodrich tires with Michelin with A/T2 LR E and we are very happy with them. They ride better than the OEM tires and are wearing better too. We now have around 20,000 miles on them.

We've fooled around with different tire pressures. We called Michelin two or three times and got different recommendations about that each time. Generally mid-40 psi without towing and 4-5 pounds more towing seem to work about right if I remember correctly.

We also replaced the Goodyears on our Safari with Michelin LTX M+S LR E. These are 16" tires, so we had to replace the wheels also. The OEM wheels' coating was coming off anyway. The trailer seems to feel like it tows better with the Michelins but we could be imagining it. I can't remember whether we settled on 65 or 70 psi on the trailer tires.

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Old 04-04-2010, 11:33 AM   #126
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I was asked about the wheels in a message. I got them at JC and they come from the distributer they use for wheels in Fort Wayne. I worked out a deal with them because of the problems with the OEM wheels. JC changed distributers during the 2008 model year.

You can get wheels at any tire shop or online. It's important to get the right offset. It's 0˚ on our Safari, but may be different on other trailers. Offset refers to how far inboard or outboard the wheel is from it's mounting—I don't know if that's understandable, but if it's wrong, I imagine it can strain the wheel bearings and seals. All the specs should be located somewhere on the Airstream website, or you can call customer service to get them. If you buy wheels and tires from the same tire store they may cut you a better deal.

The other thing is: will it fit if you go from 15" to 16"? While all wheels of the same size are the same size, tires can vary. On tire websites, at least some of them, you can find the outside diameter of the wheel. This depends on depth of tread and the manufacturer's ways of doing things. Some trailers have less space in the wheel cutout than others and measuring that as many different ways as you can think of is a good idea so you don't end up with a problem.

Last fall, after we bought the new Michelins for the trailer, the LTX M+S was upgraded and is a better tire than the previous model. It appears it'll last for more miles, more than I think we will put on the trailer before they are too old to use. I knew the new version was coming, but didn't see it would make a difference for us and didn't want to wait since we were going to JC and wanted to get the wheel thing fixed.

Tire Rack's website has tire ratings and Michelins usually rate very high, but there are other well regarded brands. We almost always buy Michelins and they have served us well for 40+ years. Getting the tire pressure right when you buy LR E tires where D or C are the ratings for the vehicle can be confusing. We use less than the maximum pressure ratings for the tires, but more than the OEM pressure recommendations. Thus, on the trailer I think we settled on 68 psi. The truck has been harder to figure out. You want the truck to be level when hitched up. The Tundra calls for low 30's with LR C, but with LR E, you could double that according to the tire. We don't. You can also find the weight ratings for all sorts of tires online and have to figure in what seems right for the truck, tire and load. Then guess and hope for the best. Tire threads have recommendations for pressure all over the place and in the end you have to make your own decision.

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Old 04-05-2010, 11:28 AM   #127
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Quote:
Originally Posted by CrawfordGene View Post
We replaced the Goodrich tires with Michelin with A/T2 LR E and we are very happy with them. They ride better than the OEM tires and are wearing better too. We now have around 20,000 miles on them.

We've fooled around with different tire pressures. We called Michelin two or three times and got different recommendations about that each time. Generally mid-40 psi without towing and 4-5 pounds more towing seem to work about right if I remember correctly.

We also replaced the Goodyears on our Safari with Michelin LTX M+S LR E. These are 16" tires, so we had to replace the wheels also. The OEM wheels' coating was coming off anyway. The trailer seems to feel like it tows better with the Michelins but we could be imagining it. I can't remember whether we settled on 65 or 70 psi on the trailer tires.

Gene
Gene:

Did you have to do any trimming to accommodate the larger wheels and tires?

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Old 04-05-2010, 01:11 PM   #128
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Quote:
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Gene:

Did you have to do any trimming to accommodate the larger wheels and tires?

SRW
No.

Each trailer is different. Tires are different too. Most manufacturers will have the diameter of their tires on their websites and while they don't differ by much, it's best to check.

Airstream was selling 16" wheels and tires—they were on display in JC last fall, but I can't find them on their website now.

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Old 04-05-2010, 02:58 PM   #129
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Exclamation

I have to tell you about our experience with the new 5.7L Tundra as a TV.

Pulled our 1989 29' Excella last year with a 2008 Tundra 2WD for about 5,000 miles thru the NC, TN and VA mountains and beach. At first we thought it was going to be a great tow vehicle but once you get to the foot-hills, that ends the Tundra's capabilities. It shifts from 6th to 5th gear constantly and has a bounce that seems to reverberate for 5 to 10 seconds after the smallest road bump. It shakes you like a bad road but there isn't one. In our opinion, it's not a very good TV for anything above 5,000 lbs.

We sold it and purchased a used F250 and couldn’t begin to tell you the difference it has made on our trips. We both feel much safer with the heavier TV and our fuel mileage is actually better.
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Old 04-05-2010, 05:01 PM   #130
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NCX', I'm sorry to hear of your bad experience. We have towed our Safari about 20,000 miles with our Tundra and have had none of the experiences you've had. In hilly country it would never be in 6th gear or probably 5th because those are overdrive gears mostly for cruising on level ground. Did you try to get the transmission tested for an adjustment? We haven't experienced the kind of reverberating bounce you've described either—perhaps the hitch wasn't adjusted properly. We find the truck rides very smoothly under any circumstances.

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Old 04-06-2010, 09:46 AM   #131
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Also if the transmission is hunting inbetween gears it is better to lock it in to a gear say 5th or 4th with the auto stick than to leave it in drive and have is constantly shift. If it is constantly shifting the transmission will over heat alot faster and cause alot of damage to the transmission.

I have the bed bounce you speak of and it sucks but when loaded down it goes away I am not sure why it would still an issue while towing as it would seem you have plenty of weight on the rig to smooth out the ride.
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Old 04-06-2010, 09:48 AM   #132
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I'm pretty sure our experience was very unusual. Too many happy Tundra owners out there for it to be a problem across the board. We did take it back to the dealer for adjustment but it didn't change anything. We use 4th and 5th gear in the mountains so that cured the shifting problem. The bouncing never stopped, even with new shocks.
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Old 04-06-2010, 10:12 AM   #133
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Do you two (NCX' and 'welder') have the TRD option? Ours does and it has Billstein shocks.

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Old 04-06-2010, 02:07 PM   #134
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Toyota recommends "tow/haul" mode when towing heavy stuff. That changes the shift points and reduces hunting between gears. We also have the TRD and optional rear sway bar, and have not experienced the problem you describe. However, our 19-foot Bambi is significantly lighter than your rig. We also lock out the overdrive gears when in the mountains.
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Old 04-06-2010, 02:35 PM   #135
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no trd option but I dont have bilstien front level shocks and will be adding them to the rear as soon as I find the money to do so.
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Old 05-15-2010, 01:08 PM   #136
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Just wanted to add my 2 cents worth since I have an 08 2wd Tundra 5.7L with the SR5 package, backup camera and tow mirrors. This is an outstanding 1/2 ton tow vehicle. Mine only has 15k miles on it and I use it mainly for towing my 66Tradewind. It has everything I could ask for an a tv except blue tooth and satellite radio and I guess I could add that if I wanted. It has plenty of power ,403 ft-lbs torque, 4.3 rear end provides towing grunt, and a 6 spd transmission for cruising at 60 and only turning 1,200 rpm. I took my TW down the Blue Ridge Parkway and got 14 mpg and also took it down to the outer banks of North Carolina and got 12 mpg. So fuel economy is outstanding. I would not hesitate to tow my TW anyplace with my Tundra and I plan to take it to Alaska in the next year or so. I can't say the same about towing my 84 31ft Excella, but I would tow it on flat land and watch my speed accordingly. I recognize I may be at the trucks published limits towing my 31 footer, so I would tow it very carefully and not ask it to tow thru the rockies etc. Afterall, it is a 1/2 ton truck and the gvwr is its major limitation.
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Old 05-15-2010, 02:02 PM   #137
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Dan, I don't know the GVWR of your Excella, but it should be well within the total tow capacity of the Tundra. Dry weight is as much as 600 lbs. more than our trailer depending which Excella you have, so my guess is your trailer's GVWR is between 8,000 and 8,500 lbs. That would be roughly 80% of the Tundra tow capacity. Our Safari loaded with all sorts of stuff can be towed up high Coiorado passes at 65 or more, but 55 makes more sense unless you own an gasoline refiner.

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Old 05-16-2010, 11:21 PM   #138
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Gene

My Excella gvwr is 8,300 lbs and my Tundra max trailer rating is 10,600 lbs. However I think that I will hit the Tundra GVWR of 6,900 lbs long before I reach the max trailer weight of 10,600 lbs. My Tundra is only a 2wd so I am about 300 lbs lighter than a 4wd- payload is about 1,700 lbs. However I have a bed cap, plan on carring a power board with about 300 lbs of batteries in my bed, about 150 lbs for a generator and then the weight of two adults, gas and all the other normal stuff that goes into the bed and the enclosed interior of the truck. It is not an issue when towing my TW, so I have not even taken my truck to the scales yet, but I will when I tow my Excella. I have no doubt that the Tundra will have plenty of power to tow the Excella. The motor is not the limiting factor that makes the Tundra a 1/2 tv, it is the chasis (frame, suspension,wheels, axles, brakes, etc.). With the Excella, I expect to be very close to or possibly over the gvwr of the Tundra. I will still tow the Excella with it but I will be extra careful with a mindful eye on elevation and speed.

Dan
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Old 05-17-2010, 07:46 AM   #139
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Dan, your Excella GVWR is more than I thought. Payload on the Tundra (another way of saying what you're saying) is the limiting factor. When I crawl around under mine the brakes, size of the differential, size of the driveline, all say 3/4 ton to me, so it's hard to reconcile that with the ratings of the truck. Glad you understand payload as many don't.

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Old 05-17-2010, 01:57 PM   #140
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We also tow a 27-foot Bayliner cabin cruiser with a combined boat/trailer weight of about 9000 pounds. The towing experience is much different than our 19-foot Bambi, as the tongue weight is only about 250 pounds, and the triple axle trailer has surge brakes.

Our previous TV was a 1978 Chevy crewcab 3/4 ton pickup (Hal) with a 454 V8. In comparison, our 2008 Tundra CrewMax has a lot more towing power and stability than Hal, even though it is only a 1/2 ton pickup. While we haven't towed our boat over the Rockies, the Tundra works great for the local lakes.

We haven't tried pulling the Bayliner to Lake Powell yet, which would be a better test, as there are several long grades on that trip; but if and when we make that trip, I'll post the results.
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