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Old 06-10-2015, 05:04 PM   #1
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2015 25' FB Flying Cloud
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Safely pull 25 FC with 2000 Tundra?

We have narrowed down our choices. I believe we would be most comfortable in the 25' twin which comes in at about 5500#. Our 2000 Toyota Tundra (first year for the Tundra) has a max gross trailer weight rating of 7100#. The dealer is advising us to go with the 23' which is about 4800#. I would really prefer the 25' twin configuration, but don't want to catch the engine on fire, blow out all the tires simultaneously (because a kitten will die), and end up on the side of the road wishing we'd gotten the 23' instead. What would you do?

Bonnie
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Old 06-10-2015, 05:16 PM   #2
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Buy the trailer you want. Where you will be limited with the Tundra is not the gross weight of the trailer but the tongue weight. Look at the door sticker on your truck, then subtract about 110% of the advertised tongue weight of the 25'. That will tell you what your remaining payload is for the truck.

So, it is likely you will be very limited in what you can take with you in the bed of the truck after passengers (the driver is already figured in).

Pack lightly and all should be well. You can always fleet up your truck later but if you settle for the 23' trailer when you want the 25', you will be unhappy from the git go...

My humble opinion, of course,

Mike
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Old 06-10-2015, 05:25 PM   #3
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Get the 25', you will be much happier. You can always upgrade the truck later, cheaper than upgrading your trailer. Just don't take more than you need.
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Old 06-10-2015, 05:51 PM   #4
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2015 25' FB Flying Cloud
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Thanks for the thoughts on this. I really do believe we will be more comfortable in the 25' but it's a little scary also. We are first timers at pulling anything. We will be pulling this AS across country shortly after purchase. We'll have a short ride on the I-26 before picking up the I-40 in NC and heading through the Smokies - steep grades, tight curves. I'm already thinking of mapping out a different route to pick up the I-40 later near Nashville or Memphis just to avoid the Smokies. Beautiful as they are, I don't think we will enjoy it when we're driving white knuckled all the way through.
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Old 06-10-2015, 05:57 PM   #5
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Ditto on get the 25ft. Your Gross weight on that 25ft AS is rated at 7200 lbs not 5500 Lbs as you stated. You still will be ok of with the Tundra presuming it's the V8 power plant.
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Old 06-10-2015, 06:06 PM   #6
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The worst hill on I26 is just past the Columbus nc exit. It's long but you can take it slow, 10 Miles further is the green river bridge. 7% grade up and down. It's short 2 miles each way. That's the worst of it. I40 west is nice and easy. You could take I20 to Birmingham Al and take US78 west to Memphis.
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Old 06-10-2015, 06:21 PM   #7
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Get what you want, the 25'
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Old 06-10-2015, 06:46 PM   #8
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Originally Posted by Mrjkq View Post
Ditto on get the 25ft. Your Gross weight on that 25ft AS is rated at 7200 lbs not 5500 Lbs as you stated. You still will be ok of with the Tundra presuming it's the V8 power plant.
I was looking at the base unit weight. I thought the gross weight was the base plus what you could add (food, clothes, water, etc.). Am I looking at the wrong numbers? If it's the base weight, we can manage what we load into both the TT and the TV.
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Old 06-10-2015, 06:52 PM   #9
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I would get the 25. Your Tundra will be close to maxed out on paper. However, with a properly set up WDH and a brake controller that works well, it will do a fine job.
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Old 06-10-2015, 11:24 PM   #10
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Grades are what the gear numbers on your shifter are for. Keep the revs up around 3500 while you are climbing and the cooling system (engine and transmission) will be happier.

On my Titan, I can climb forever in 3rd gear at 55mph and 3600 rpm. Temp needles don't budge. It is loud and the gas mileage horrible but there are very few minutes that you actually have to do this in most trips.

Mike
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Old 06-10-2015, 11:57 PM   #11
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What size engine do you have on the Tundra? When I bought my 2011 Tundra, I wasn't into hauling a trailer so I bought the small 4.6L V8. I've been hauling my 23' FC around with it for the last couple of years, and it has been okay. We just weren't happy with the performance, so recently traded it in on an F-250 diesel. I'm sure if we had a 25', we would have traded the truck in sooner. If I had bought the 5.7L V8, it probably would have been fine for my 23' AS. The F-250 is probably a bit of an overkill, but nobody really spends too much time worrying about excess power.

I'm sure your 15 year-old Tundra has depreciated about as much as it can, as long as it's still running, so there's really no downside to using it for a while, as long as you don't blow it up. I'm sure you won't be happy with it pulling your 25' AS for very long, but it's probably not going to cost you anything to use it for a long enough to decide if trailering is really something you want to do. If you decide it is, it will cost you a lot less to upgrade your truck than to upgrade your trailer. If you decide it isn't, you won't lose much more selling your 25' than your 23'; both are popular sizes.

I like my 23', because I can get into more places than I could with a 25', but that may not be a concern for you. With me, it was a choice between an 18' and a 23'. If 25' best suits your needs for a trailer, go for the 25' and worry about upgrading your truck later.
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Old 06-11-2015, 04:55 AM   #12
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You will barely notice the difference pulling a 25 or 23 with your Tundra (assuming you have the V8). If it's okay with a 23, it will be okay with the 25. If it's bad with the 23, it will be bad with the 25.

I think you will be somewhat unhappy pulling a 23 or 25 with the Tundra, but if you take it easy on speed up and down hills and avoid the steep ones, you can get along. We pulled a 20 and then a 25 with our 2006 Tundra (could barely tell the difference), it wasn't bad but you have to manage your power and engine braking using the transmission.

Like all tow vehicles, satisfaction comes down to owner expectations. Plan on reduced speed with either Airstream, but you will like the livability of the 25 much, much more in the long run.
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Old 06-11-2015, 09:52 AM   #13
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The Tundra is a 4.7 V8 w/4 wheel drive. When looking at the engine info it seems to make a big difference in whether it is a 5VZ-FE or 2UZ-FE. The manual says the Access cab, 4wd, auto trans, 5VZ-FE engine has a gross trailer weight of 4900#. But the same with the 2UZ-FE engine has a gross trailer weight of 7100#. Ours is the 2UZ-FE engine. McDave, ckottum, do you know if your engines have this designation? I don't know what it means other than it has them both listed and gives different trailer weights.
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Old 06-11-2015, 10:23 AM   #14
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Quote:
Originally Posted by BKuhlman View Post
I was looking at the base unit weight. I thought the gross weight was the base plus what you could add (food, clothes, water, etc.). Am I looking at the wrong numbers? If it's the base weight, we can manage what we load into both the TT and the TV.
You're correct the base is the 5500lbs. But remember the gross is the real number because it's the maximum weight including water, propane, hitch weight, clothing, food, anything in that trailer. Unfortunately all this stuff adds up quickly to the max weight.
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Old 06-11-2015, 10:26 AM   #15
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Time to trade the first generation Tundra for a second generation Tundra-
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Old 06-11-2015, 10:27 AM   #16
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Our 2006 Tundra had the 4.7 V8 with the larger tow ratings. Shifting down to climb and descend hills is part of towing a large trailer, we do the same with our 2012 Ram 1500 5.7 Hemi. It's faster the the 4.7 Tundra, but the driving technique is the same.

The third important element in safe and comfortable towing is the weight distribution/sway control hitch. Get a quality hitch that is capable of your truck and trailer, and it must be set up properly for good results.

cheryl
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Old 06-11-2015, 10:31 AM   #17
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Originally Posted by m.hony View Post
Time to trade the first generation Tundra for a second generation Tundra-
Yes I would agree, it would do everything better with either a 23' or 25' Airstream and make your trips much more pleasant.

You will still need a quality hitch and setup.

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Old 06-11-2015, 11:12 AM   #18
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Quote:
Originally Posted by BKuhlman View Post
We have narrowed down our choices. I believe we would be most comfortable in the 25' twin which comes in at about 5500#. Our 2000 Toyota Tundra (first year for the Tundra) has a max gross trailer weight rating of 7100#. The dealer is advising us to go with the 23' which is about 4800#. I would really prefer the 25' twin configuration, but don't want to catch the engine on fire, blow out all the tires simultaneously (because a kitten will die), and end up on the side of the road wishing we'd gotten the 23' instead. What would you do?

Bonnie
Hey;
I'm pulling a 6000#gross wt. (avg. wt. 5400#), Hi-Lo with a 2007 4-Runner 6 cyl. for the last six years; no problems, no issues, drove from Nova Scotia, back through the Vermont hills; no problem.
Go for it, and get the AS that you want.
(FYI: I just put an order in for an AS Flying Cloud, 25'. from Can-Am.)
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Old 06-11-2015, 11:20 AM   #19
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The PO of our 1973 Overlander pulled it all over the western U.S. with the first generation Tundra. I questioned him about it and he said if anything, a steep grade would slow him down a little, but otherwise he was comfortable pulling it with his Tundra. He upgraded to a newer 25 foot after he sold us the Overlander.
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Old 06-11-2015, 11:24 AM   #20
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Regarding "I-40 through the Smokies," technically it doesn't go through the Great Smoky Mountains National Park (U.S. 441 is the only east-west route through the Smokies), but the section of I-40 from about 20 miles west of Asheville to a little past the Tennessee line, while beautiful, is one of the scariest pieces of interstate I've ever driven, even in a car.

The reason is that the road had to be cut through mountain terrain, and to control costs they kept the roadbed as narrow as possible. One result is that there are frequent rockslides, and it was just a couple of years ago that this section of I-40 was closed for months to remove literally part of a mountain of rocks and then rebuild. The other is that there is no real median between the two sets of lanes, just a low concrete wall.

So here you are driving on a curvy, mountaineous interstate between narrow shoulder and a concrete median. What makes it worse is that this section is heavily used by tractor-trailers so many times you're squeezed between a long row of big rigs and a concrete wall.

I get anxious driving it even in a car, and I'm an Asheville native used to curvy mountain roads. It's potentially a really scary experience pulling a new trailer, especially if it's raining (or snowing in winter.) I avoid this part of I-40 whenever I can and agree that if possible that would be a good plan for you towing your new Airstream.
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