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Old 11-30-2008, 04:23 PM   #1
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Toyota Tundra as a Tow Vehicle

I was recently rear-ended by an 18-wheeler (trailer not in tow) which ended the towing career of my Cadillac ESV Escalade. I tow a 2007 27 FB Classic. I am fully aware that I towed at the edge with the Escalade, but carefully controlled loading and never had any problems. However, I am considering replacing the Escalade with the Tundra with 5.7 liter engine and 6-speed transmission. The listed tow rating of this truck is 10,100 lbs. My 27-footer typically weighs in at about 6,600 lbs (NOT counting 800 lbs on the tongue), but is rated up to 9,000 lbs.... can't imagine loading to that limit.

All of my weights are within the advertised capacity of the Tundra with 15 to 20 percent margin.

The truck will become my daily driver and I prefer not going to a 2500 HD Dodge/Chevy/Ford. Have cosidered a 2500 Suburban or GMC, but Toyota looks more user friendly for me.

Any knowledge, experience, or advice out there?

Thanks, Bud (evsjr)
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Old 11-30-2008, 05:23 PM   #2
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Quote:
Originally Posted by evsjr View Post
I was recently rear-ended by an 18-wheeler (trailer not in tow) which ended the towing career of my Cadillac ESV Escalade. I tow a 2007 27 FB Classic. I am fully aware that I towed at the edge with the Escalade, but carefully controlled loading and never had any problems. However, I am considering replacing the Escalade with the Tundra with 5.7 liter engine and 6-speed transmission. The listed tow rating of this truck is 10,100 lbs. My 27-footer typically weighs in at about 6,600 lbs (NOT counting 800 lbs on the tongue), but is rated up to 9,000 lbs.... can't imagine loading to that limit.

All of my weights are within the advertised capacity of the Tundra with 15 to 20 percent margin.

The truck will become my daily driver and I prefer not going to a 2500 HD Dodge/Chevy/Ford. Have cosidered a 2500 Suburban or GMC, but Toyota looks more user friendly for me.

Any knowledge, experience, or advice out there?

Thanks, Bud (evsjr)
My BIL has a tundra thats maybe 8 years old. He likes it but it sucks the fuel. He also was not happy to have to replace the very expensive exhaust manifolds at a bit over 100K miles. IIRC it gets only about 15 driving empty. It drives and rides pretty nice though.
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Old 11-30-2008, 05:41 PM   #3
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I tow my '09 25' Int. CCD with an '07 Tundra 5.7 and it works very well. I almost got a 28' CCD instead, but wondered if it would be too much for the Tundra. I feel that it could tow either, but I wanted to be on the light side of things. As it stands, the Tundra is very well suited for the 25'. This way, I don't have to worry about towing with full tanks up a grade, which I will do frequently. Also, some say the wheelbase of the Tundra is also an issue with the longer trailers, tho I can only comment on the 25'.

I feel the 5.7 6 speed Tundra is a dependable, capable truck. Acceleration while towing is impressive and when hooked up, my entire rig is level. I would like to say go for it.
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Old 11-30-2008, 05:42 PM   #4
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Bud, I have an '07 Tundra double cab with the 5.7 L. and a 25' Safari FB. I think it's a good combination, but I wouldn't tow a 27' Safari much less a Classic. I see in your post you say it's a Classic, but under your name it's an International CCD.

Look at the payloads for the Tundra—they are different for each trim line. They are adequate for a 25' Safari (now Flying Cloud), but anything heavier, and the Classic is a lot heavier, and I think you will have to have a truck empty of everything but the driver after a severe weight reduction program and no more than 5 gallons of gas (maybe an exaggeration). Payload is the limiting factor for the Tundra. It is a 1/2 ton, not a 3/4. I believe the standard cab model with 2wd—a hard combination to find—has the highest payload.

The Toyota is a very good truck, very reliable, though it uses more gas than I am happy with and changing the oil filter is a horrible experience. Because we wanted the Tundra, we limited our trailer selection because anything heavier than the Safari 25' was too much for the truck in our opinion.

Welcome to the Forum. There are endless threads about weight, various brands of trucks (be prepared for people's personal bias toward specific brands), hitching systems, etc. Some will recommend nothing less than towing with a monster truck and others will say you can do it with a Smart car (another exaggeration, but you'll see it starts to seem that way). It'll take a while to sort out.

Right now there are excellent deals on trucks and most especially on recent model trade ins.

Gene
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Old 11-30-2008, 06:06 PM   #5
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I love my Tundra

Well I have a 08, 5.7. I tow all 4 trailers with it and so far so good. I get 11 mpg towing and 16- 17 mph on the road without the trailer. In the city about 14.

I 'm not afraid to tow the 30 or the 18 its all good.
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Old 11-30-2008, 08:11 PM   #6
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Let's see now, a '68, 30' Sovereign, weighs around 4650 dry, an '07, 27' CCD, is around 6700, about 2,000 lbs. diff, almost 50% more with a some miss. stuff thrown in. Not such a good comp. The payload capacity is what hurts the smaller trucks.
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Old 11-30-2008, 08:30 PM   #7
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It will tow just fine.. I have the Sequia that has a little less payload, and have no problems with my old 28'.. I have also towed my friends 2004 28' safari.. Which is 2000# heavier than mine.. Still had no problems... Even going up the mountains at 75 mph..... I get 11-12 mpg towing and 18-20 mpg driving around without the trailer..


You could also look at the F-150 it has the same pay loads, and from the videos I have seen a stiffer frame... Not sure what a stiffer frame does for you in a 1/2 ton though...

I think you would be fine with either one... But I like the toyota.. Just my two cents..
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Old 12-01-2008, 05:21 AM   #8
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Don't Forget the 88

Quote:
Originally Posted by rangebowdrie View Post
Let's see now, a '68, 30' Sovereign, weighs around 4650 dry, an '07, 27' CCD, is around 6700, about 2,000 lbs. diff, almost 50% more with a some miss. stuff thrown in. Not such a good comp. The payload capacity is what hurts the smaller trucks.
The 88 is a heavy trailer at 29 feet, don't discount that one, and again the truck does a good job. I saw a Tundra in Yellowstone this past summer pulling a 34, talked to the driver and he was happy too.
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Old 12-01-2008, 05:57 AM   #9
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There are two people in our unit that tow with the new Tundra....one tows a late model 31', and the other tows a late model (90's) 34'. They make it to the rallys every month without incident. Obviously it works, however this is not something I would recommend.
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Old 12-01-2008, 07:58 AM   #10
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There are many posts on tow vehicles. It's important to look at more than just "towing capacity" as listed by the manufacturer. Toyota has a good explanation of the terms online.

Where half-ton trucks can get into trouble is not the "towing capacity" but the GVWR. Let's say you have a '08 Tundra with a curb weight of about 5500 pounds and a GVWR of 7100 pounds. If you put 800 pounds on the hitch, that is about half of your payload capacity. That means you, passengers, gear, things in the bed, etc., are limited to 800 pounds. For some folks, that might be plenty... but many of us want to throw luggage in the back of the crew cab and load the bed with "other items." While it may seem like you have a great deal of excess capacity... you really don't.

Can you tow the described travel trailer with a Tundra? Yes. But you need to be conscious of the rated capacities, not just the trailer weight.
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Old 12-01-2008, 06:29 PM   #11
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"Going up the mountains at 75mph", man, I wish I had a tow rig, that could climb an 8% grade, at 75mph, with 7,000lbs of trailer behind it.
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Old 12-01-2008, 08:02 PM   #12
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If you read the Toyota specsifications you do not inclued the first 150 pounds of he driver. I guess I need to loose a few more pounds.
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Old 12-01-2008, 08:03 PM   #13
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I could go up the mountain at 75 if I want to watch the gas gauge drop faster than 75%—need a gas station at top of the pass. I try to go about 50-55 up steep grades, though I have gone a lot faster and used gallons of gas doing so.

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Old 12-01-2008, 08:11 PM   #14
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With my lighter smaller trailer I could do 75 easily up most mountains, but as Gene said it will burn way too much fuel doing so. I went over Wolf Creek Pass this summer and averaged 55-60, but did speed up at times to get around some very smelly diesels.
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Old 12-01-2008, 08:16 PM   #15
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I works for me........

I have the same trailer, Airstream 2007 27' FB Classic and tow it with a 2008 Toyota Tundra with the 5.7 engine. There has been almost no issue. We did take the combo to Nova Scotia and Cape Breton. There are some hills where more power might be helpful, but in almost all cases I don't even know that the trailer is back there. The reason we selected the Toyota is the way it handles on its own. Both my wife and I found that the 3/4 and 1 ton trucks ride is rough and unpleasant.

We are leaving soon for a 4-5 month trip and we look forward to many hours of happy travels.

Best wishes on whatever you choose.
Larry
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Old 12-03-2008, 08:28 AM   #16
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Hi Tod, The only limits will be the GVWR of the Tundra. I am towing an 08 FB Safari SE but I changed out the mattress for a Tempurpedic, must add 200 to 300 lbs to the tongue, about 1100 tongue wt. I am pretty much fulltime so bed is very important. With TV and AS fully loaded there is about 14K rolling. Going across the Cascade Mts. I have to the check my mirror to see if AS still there. Thanksgiving we drove to Bend over highway 58, Willamatte Pass, set the cruise at 55, speed limit, and let her go. Had to watch the speed on the 40 mph curves, which 45 felt good, and was back up to 55 at the touch of the resume. On the downhill side the speed control downshifts to hold back on speed. Only had to brake on some of the slow curves.
I have 4K/5K on AS and 7K on Tundra averaging 11-12 mpg towing. I am in no hurry, so I keep it down to 55-60. Worst milage on the flats was coming down the Columbia Gorge with a 50 mph head wind, 8 mpg.
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Old 12-03-2008, 08:52 AM   #17
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Yep, going 75 mph will suck the gas down, With my '68 I be I could do 80+ up some of the passes, NOT THAT I WOULD. that would be a little scary. 60-65 is your best mpg, but I keep it at about 70-75 mph on the interstate where posted. get about 11 mpg doing this..
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Old 12-03-2008, 08:56 AM   #18
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I have a 2008 Tundra 5.7 crew cab, SR5 trim. I LOVE IT. Tow capacity is 10,800 with the tow package.

The only problem I have is that it is easy to forget your have a trailer.

Absolutely an excellent tow vehicle, I use it weekly for the Argosy and/or my 5,000 lb boat.

Best of all, I get 19-20 MPG on the highway with cruise control, better then I got with my 2004 Honda Pilot. I get 11 MPG pulling the Argosy. Not bad.
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Old 12-03-2008, 09:03 AM   #19
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Richard,
Bet you slowed down a little on the hairpins on the east side. Have they got all the work done on he west side yet?
Scotty
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Old 12-03-2008, 09:18 AM   #20
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You bet there are a couple of turns on both sides of that hill that will make you slow down. I remember my wife commenting on how beatiful the views were. I stayed very focused on the road ahead. It looks like all the construction is done for now. The road is much improved since the last time I made the trip.
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