Truck Decisions

[rambn]

Originally Posted by rbkhale

Hello Bill,

My Tundra is full tow, 4wd, includes an electric tow gear switch for low gears plus a tiptronic type transmission for mountain driving, transmission cooler etc. I flip the back seats up and insert a memory foam folded in half for our golden retriever. Plenty of room in the back seat (extended cab).

I would not hesitate pulling 7300-7800 anywhere.

Like I said in the earlier post, I'm just giving my experience with the 5.7. I love it.

Best of luck with your TT experience.

RBK

I just bought a '07 V8 5.7 Tundra extended cab. The sales guy said that it had a complete tow package, but after reading this post I'm begining to fear that maybe it doesn't. What's a 'tiptronic type transmission'? And are there different kinds of towing packages? The limited edition Tundra comes with the TRD package, which I'm told includes tranny cooler.

Clearly it will have no trouble towing my 19' Bambi, but I'm wondering if I upgraded to a 22' or a 25' someday, would the Tundra handle it well?

Please tell me I won't have to spend another 30K on a truck anytime in the next 10 years...

[Rollertoaster]

Hi rambn,

I also have an '07 Tundra Limited. I believe that Toyota has equipped all of the 5.7 motors with the tow package: tranny cooler, 4.10 diff., hitch receiver,
7 pin connector, transmission temp gauge and a tow/haul mode switch. If you have any of these, you have them all.

Don't worry about the towing capacity. We have a 25' Safari FB and I am very happy with the truck's performance.

Terry

[BillTex]

Originally Posted by rambn

I just bought a '07 V8 5.7 Tundra extended cab. The sales guy said that it had a complete tow package, but after reading this post I'm begining to fear that maybe it doesn't. What's a 'tiptronic type transmission'? And are there different kinds of towing packages? The limited edition Tundra comes with the TRD package, which I'm told includes tranny cooler.

Clearly it will have no trouble towing my 19' Bambi, but I'm wondering if I upgraded to a 22' or a 25' someday, would the Tundra handle it well?

Please tell me I won't have to spend another 30K on a truck anytime in the next 10 years...

Rambn, you will be fine with the 19' even up to a 23' probably. When you get into the 25' length/weight (for newer models, the older AS are MUCH lighter) you will find that any 1/2 ton TV is pretty much maxed. Not a good way to go...
Will you be able to pull it? Yes...
Will it be a safe comfortable experience? Not really...
OK if you don't like to go to far or to often, but not the safest way to travel.
You may want to peruse this post I wrote a while back about my experience with 1/2 ton trucks in case you do ever decide to go bigger; http://www.airforums.com/forum...tml#post313803

But sounds like you are in good shape for the time being; get out and enjoy your Bambi!

Redshed; Reading further into the body of the patent it becomes clear that the patent is applied to the method for adjusting brake booster vacuum. Not an algorithm as defined (algorithms, of course, were used to develop the method).
And, yes, mpg is a unit of measurement.
Now, back to the topic...

[mrchinup1]

BillTex, What year was your burb? What wheelbase was it? I have a 98 dodge ram, that would have trouble towing my 23ft, everything about that truck would have trouble. It's a great running truck, but i wouldn't feel safe towing 6k pounds with it. I don't think the old half tons compare with the new ones. Now i guess i can only speak for the new silverado, it does everything better and rides better than most big cars. The wheelbase is 143.5 i think, probably just long enough. The difference in weight fromt the 23 an the 25 is only about 700lbs, it is 8 inches wider, i really would like to tow one to compare. Like i said no white knuckle driving even with 20+ mph wind and rain on rt 10 in texas, for hundreds of miles. Over 3000 miles my first trip, zero problems.

Would a longer truck tow better, yes, would a diesel have more power, yup probably twice as much. But there are big downsides to huge trucks and diesel, when you use it for everyday driving too. Would i want a diesel, not until they get rid of that stink and noise. And now the price is 25 to 35 cents more and that adds up on big trips and around town use.

I tried the toyota and didn't like the ride or the looks and i heard the mileage wasn't to good, But that 5.7 with a 4.10 rear has to have a huge amount of power. Now i don't know about the wheelbase on the extended cab. I guess what i'm trying to say is, some people would need a mac truck to feel safe and others feel safe with much less. I used to take my 21 ft boat 30 miles out of boca inlet, my buddy needed a 40 fter to do the same.

I would have to say the new silverado is closer to a 3/4 than an older 1/2. I'll have to check the wheelbase on my dodge extended cab. But the new silverado crew cab tows like night and day compared to my old truck.

[BillTex]

Originally Posted by mrchinup1

BillTex, What year was your burb? What wheelbase was it? I have a 98 dodge ram, that would have trouble towing my 23ft, everything about that truck would have trouble. It's a great running truck, but i wouldn't feel safe towing 6k pounds with it. I don't think the old half tons compare with the new ones. Now i guess i can only speak for the new silverado, it does everything better and rides better than most big cars. The wheelbase is 143.5 i think, probably just long enough. The difference in weight fromt the 23 an the 25 is only about 700lbs, it is 8 inches wider, i really would like to tow one to compare. Like i said no white knuckle driving even with 20+ mph wind and rain on rt 10 in texas, for hundreds of miles. Over 3000 miles my first trip, zero problems.

Would a longer truck tow better, yes, would a diesel have more power, yup probably twice as much. But there are big downsides to huge trucks and diesel, when you use it for everyday driving too. Would i want a diesel, not until they get rid of that stink and noise. And now the price is 25 to 35 cents more and that adds up on big trips and around town use.

I tried the toyota and didn't like the ride or the looks and i heard the mileage wasn't to good, But that 5.7 with a 4.10 rear has to have a huge amount of power. Now i don't know about the wheelbase on the extended cab. I guess what i'm trying to say is, some people would need a mac truck to feel safe and others feel safe with much less. I used to take my 21 ft boat 30 miles out of boca inlet, my buddy needed a 40 fter to do the same.

I would have to say the new silverado is closer to a 3/4 than an older 1/2. I'll have to check the wheelbase on my dodge extended cab. But the new silverado crew cab tows like night and day compared to my old truck.

Welcome Chinup, Had 2 new Burbs, 01 and 04, identical except for final gear ratios; 4:10 and 3:73 respectively. Didn't really see any difference in performance between them (towing or mpg). Wheelbase of a Burb is same as CC truck I believe. Great vehicles. Had a 97 ½ ton GMC Ext cab pick-me-up too (one of my all time favorite vehicles, what a nice truck this was. The old-original- small block is probably the best motor ever built, but not for towing). But when we got our 25' it was clear that the TV was no longer in charge as it was with the 21'. It has been my experience that a ½ ton is good up to about 6000#, after that, if you like to go long and often, a ¾ ton is in order. You can do it with a 1/2ton, but it is no where near as comfortable/safe an experience. It’s one of those things; until you’ve tried both, you just don’t know. You obviously read my previous post, it details the timeline of my experience with different TV/TT combos and what I learned along the way; http://www.airforums.com/forums/f238/02-worth-towing-advice-28886.html#post313803. I could still be towing with that ½ ton Burb (we really like Burbs) if we didn’t go more than a 1 hour or so from home. But it was clear that with a ½ ton and that kind of load, it would require constant tweaking to get the system handling safely, i.e. move weight forward, move weight backward, adjust the WD hitch, etc, etc. Every time the load changed. It was just too close to max capacity. I would rather just back up, hitch up the caboose, and head out. No worries about pulling up the mountains, getting pushed on the way down, blah, blah. Rock solid going down the road, this is really how you want to tow. Do you need an HD truck for a Bambi? No, I wouldn’t suggest that. But it is always better to have more truck than trailer, whatever your combo is. No one ever complains they have too much TV. I guess one qualifying statement I could add to that post is; you really have to ask yourself how you will be using you AS…if you stay close to home, and you are near your max capacity, then you can probably “get by”. No one should ever travel over-capacity for many reasons (some legal!).
There are many others here that can tell similar stories, and many more that will learn for themselves. It’s a great story for someone in the market for a new TV and not sure which way to go might save them some time and $...

Stink and noise of diesels? Not for several years now...common rail injection has changed everything. Did you drive the new DuraMax? I have to pry the keys from my Wife’s hands-she loves it! I am not saying diesel is for everyone, big block gassers are fine too. But I have to say now that I have a few miles on the DuraMax the fuel economy is really starting to improve; 21 mpg last ski trip (not towing, maybe 500# in the bed, and 3 folks on board). I would expect 15-16 mpg towing this coming season. I used to get that unloaded with the small block Burbs, and 11-12 mpg towing the 21’er. So the economy of the diesel is for real, at least in my case.

You should be fine with a 1/2 ton and a 23'er. It would be my guess that if you hooked a 25' you would in fact feel quite a difference.
Kind of like that boat thing; big difference between a 23' boat and a 25' boat.
FWIW we fish a lot here in New England in summer; 22’ Grady, often 70-90 miles out at the Canyons (continental shelf). Whole different world out there!

[ticki2]

FWIW wheel base for GM '03

Yokon 116
Reg. cab short box 119
Yukon XL 130
Reg. cab long box 133
ex cab short box 143.5
ex cab long box 157.5
crew cab short box 153
crew cab long box 167

[2airishuman]

superduty cc long bed....

172.4 inches baby!

it's long!

2air'

[mrchinup1]

Hey bill, thanks for the welcome. I didn't drive a duramax, but there was an 06 running right next to my truck when i was at the dealership. I still smelled the diesel, not as bad as it used to be but i still could smell it. And it was still noisy, but i think the new 08's are supposed to be better. I will consider one next time i buy though, i do want to do very long trips. I know they are superior at towing and i would like a longer truck, but i didn't like some things about last years model. I was rushed also, my wife totaled our honda accord so she had to use the other truck for work. I wanted to wait until summertime for a new truck but it wasn't in the cards. If i decide to move up a model in the airstream most likely i will move up in truck size after reading your post. I plan on a few trips out west and to the north west to the mountains, a diesel would be the best choice for that i'm sure. But i am very happy with this truck so far. Thanks for the help