First tow with Tundra, 25' Safari

[tpi]

I'll bet that Tundra is a hot rod towing the Bambi. I had mine (not towing) up to 9K ft. yesterday and power still wonderful. Effortless fast acceleration. Even down nearly 30% due to altitude, it just hauled..

[Ed Emerick]

The factory tow mirrors were the best purchase I made, they work great!

[tpi]

Gotta post a pic! Taken at sunset. Truck is not hooked up.

[JFScheck]

Great news - I have to tell you, my 2011 f-350 with 19" rims rides great so I guess they must have sorted out the ride a bit.

Still - sounds like you made a great choice - congrats!

[tpi]

The F250 rode pretty well solo. I suspect some kind of harmonic due to spring rates, shock damping, wheelbase or something I else I didn't think of. Probably on a 30 it would have been a completely different picture. I wish there was a try before you buy.. more than just a short towing test, but a couple hundred miles of known roads. I'd be willing to pay any reasonable rental fee for that.

[aftermath]

Phoenix, we also have a Prius as our other car. The way I figure it, we get 55 mpg with the Prius, 15 with the Tundra for a fleet average of 35 mpg. Can't beat that!

Love my Prius.

[Phoenix]

Aftermath,

Exactly... Driving our Prius as the commuter car makes our roadtrips in the Tundra affordable. The Tundra is a much more comfortable highway cruiser with so much room and the nice ride. We have a one pice metal tonneau cover and use the bed as a trunk; so the pickup is basically our station wagon/limo.

Can't beat the Prius around town though. Especially, the turning radius for parking and u-turns. We can drive down the angled parking lanes and make a u-turn straight into spots going the other way. Great car on San Francisco's narrow streets when visiting relatives (we get lost alot there).

We haven't found a grade yet that our Tundra, with 19-foot Bambi in tow, didn't have enough power to pull out and pass slower traffic. Also, it can accelerate up to the legal speed limit on grades where one really doesn't want to go that fast; e.g., the approaches to the Eisenhower Tunnel (both ways) on I-70, west of Denver. It even powered up some nine percent grades in Utah.

We are really happy with our Tundra/Bambi combination, and I don't think there is any place it won't go. If the Tundra will make it, our Airstream will go, even on length-restricted roads with hairpin turns. (Both are just under 20 feet in length, and under 40 feet total.)

[tpi]

Drove back from Bishop CA. to OC. 395 to Victorville area, then 15 to 91. Fuel economy 13.6 calculated, 14.1 on the info readout. Approx. 3000 ft. elevation loss on this trip and very little city driving. About 12.8 for 600 mile round trip towing. Avg. speed approx 57. Mid grade fuel-didn't want any chance of knock retard. I'll refine the numbers more in the future with GPS verification of speedometer. Generally the speedometers are optimistic. The best fuel economy was on the 395 portion between Bishop and Coso jct. Thin air, lots of steady 1500 rpm 6th gear, early morning, no wind or traffic, cruise control, slight loss of elevation. Readout at times showed over 15 MPG. The poorest fuel economy on the trip was from the jct of hwy 14 to the top of Cajon pass. Rolling terrain and small mountain passes at times required lockout of 6th and lots of time in 5th and some time in 4th. Engine speeds to 3700 RPM to maintain 58 mph (3rd) on a steeper grade.

I'm going to predict that this truck (and probably Ford ecoboost) can get 13 mpg on flat roads, steady high 50s speed, no wind in their overdrive 6th gear towing a 25. While the real world doesn't often provide such optimum conditions, it can at times. Especially if you try to minimize wind with early morning departures. I've encountered it in CA central valley, from so. CA to Phoenix area, and nearly that from so. CA to Las Vegas and southern Utah ( a couple of 4K passes).

I think I've struck a nice balance for a light to moderate user. I will not wear out an engine before age related issues set in (electrical, rubber, etc.).Recent years I've towed about 2-3K per year, and max years have been about 5K. The Tundra handles the 25' Airstream well, it is no more affected by passing semis or wind than my previous F250. It rides better and doesn't porpoise on the freeways when towing. It is more pleasant to drive when disconnected from trailer-it handles better, rides better, and is quieter.

If I was a very heavy user with very high towing mileage, I'd still consider a 250 diesel. First for the extra 3 mpg fuel economy. For the feeling the weight of the trailer would never contribute to significant extra wear on the engine or other drivetrain components. For the torque and power. For performance at very high elevations.

[Goal15]

tpi:

All in tow/haul mode? I think I've finally got used to the idea that the engine is going to be at higher rpm when towing and the increase in pitch of sound when doing so but Im getting about the same rpms in 6th so I guess it's normal

[tpi]

No not all in tow haul, but most. On the rolling section of 395 was in S selecting gears. Too many shifts in tow/haul. Almost like big whoop de dos, it was almost funny, it would shift from 5th to 6th on each one till I put an end to it. The transmission may have a brain but it can't see the road ahead. I'd guess out of the 300 mile trip about 250 was in tow/haul. I showed abut 2K rpm in 5th at 58. And mid 2s RPM in 4th. But the real fuel economy was in 6th if I could hold it. 5th wasn't much of a downgrade.

[ROBERT CROSS]

tpi

When we first got the 06 Burb I noticed the same difference between the DIC mpg and actual. When I found out that it was calibrated for a 30in tire height I was able to re-set the ECM to the correct 32in. height. It's now within .2-.3 mpg.

You may have the same concern, or it could be the nature of the Toyota system, if it can't be reset. Ask the dealer.

[tpi]

On another thread I griped about the aggressive styling, size and height of today's pickup trucks. But hooked up they're in their element. Maybe the Airstream just brings out the best in a tow vehicle. For all its problems, the Dometic Penguin is certainly the best looking roof air unit. I'm probably in the minority here but I didn't install any vent covers etc. in effort to keep the roof as smooth looking as possible.


I ordered a factory grill for the upmarket Platinum truck (replace standard black grill) I think it dresses up the front nicely.



Would love to see other Tundra/Airstream pics

[Goal15]

Here's mine:

Have wanted a green pickup since I was like 5... only took 55 years, but look at the nice shiny toy my DW bought to go with it :-)

[Goal15]

and one more . . .

[tpi]

Nice! Looks great! Not only do I like to see the trucks and trailer but fun to see the different local environments across the country. I see the Cipa extensions. Once they get adjusted they seem to work pretty well.

[smhx4]

[Goal15]

tpi:

The CIPA's are a good starter for getting things going and being able to tow right away but Im saving up to replace them with Tundra tow mirrors because while they always seem to be tightened on, i just know one of these days one of the wedges is going to slip and im going to see my $39 mirror extension sailing and bouncing down the side of the highway

[azflycaster]

Why not get the expendable towing mirrors that are on option on the 2nd generation Tundras? I have seen people trading for them on some of the Tundra forums...

[Goal15]

may have to look into that.... ive got a good mechanic who probably could handle installation quite capably.... i don't want to try to pull off door panels to do it

[Gene]

After reading the tow/haul info in post 19, it appears the setting inhibits engine braking downhill by keeping the transmission from downshifting as soon. This is not good as down shifting is important going downhill while towing tons of trailer. The good news is you defeat this by manually downshifting.

After replacing rotors at 62,000 miles, I think the Tundra front brakes are not up to a lot of towing—of that 62,000, 38,000 are towing. In the Rockies, long and steep grades are common, but steep hills everywhere require manual down shifting to keep the brakes from getting too hot and warping the rotors. We do that, but the OEM rotors weren't up to it.

A mechanic told me they started making rotors thinner thinking that they would cool faster. It didn't work—good testing engineers! They didn't cool faster and thinner means easier warping. Now the trend is to thicker rotors. I got thick ones, not Toyota ones.

Gene