Tow Vehicles - Tundra 5.7

[Boomer]

Good morning everyone, I'm new to the Forum, well not new but this is the first time I've stepped out and wrote something.

I have a '08 Clasic Limited and I tow it with a '08 Tundra 5.7 with a tow package. Now I tow all over Texas with no problem at all, well I do have to look in the rear view mirror occasionally to make sure it's still back there. We recently took a trip to Arkansas and had no problem with the "Hills" there. I want some advise from all you "Pros" about trying this package in the mountains of New Mexico and Colorado. I'm affraid that might be a strain and I don't want to get half way up Monarch Pass and find out. Does anybody else have a similar set up that has taken it through Colorado. Should I just bight the bullet and get a diesel. I really like what I have and hate to trade but I plan on many trips to the "Mountains"

[ROBERT CROSS]

Gene will be here soon to help you out....

If you insist on posting.....we INSIST on photo's.


Stream Safe

[Boomer]

Guess I should have mentioned it's a 27' FB

[kingfisher24]

i am a relative newbie as well and had, have those thoughts as well...just made the first trip to new mexico and into cloudcroft and up and down there and then to fort davis...i pull with an 04 GMC sierra denali K15 with quadrasteer and AWD...it is rated to pull 10,000#...Gas engine with the 6L engine.... no problems...but there are greater mountains in the future...the climb out of palo duro canyon was neat,,,,but i think i can handle all that i want to encounter....

[Airstream01]

Go diesel and don't look back. Preferrably '01-'03 Ford 7.3L Powerstroke.

[farmboydkb]

Boomer, I've not driven a Tundra. From the outside, they're attractive and impressive trucks. My hunch is that you shouldn't fear the mountains with your rig . . . or be in a sweat to trade. You'll get along . . . but you'd enjoy the trip a lot more in a diesel.

We have a '03 25' Classic. It weighs about 6800# when we leave home.
My base weight for the trailer is 5900#; I think yours is about 6500#. So you're pulling at least another 600# than we do. 'not sure you'd notice the difference.

We did have a GMC 3/4 T 6.0 liter engine that I loved. We pulled that trailer from Illinois to Seattle twice. The first time I was afraid we'd be chugging slowly up the mountains in low gear . . . not so. We went over the continental divide 65 mph passing everything going uphill. Did it shift down? Yes . . . but not a problem. The 6.0 liter had a lot more to give. Still, I was aware that it was working.

That truck was not a 4WD, however, and for reasons totally unrelated to towing the A/S, I wanted a 4WD. In the process, I decided to bite the bullet and bought a GMC 3/4 T Dura-max - 6 speed. Oh my . . . ! I get about 3 mpg better mileage with the diesel, overall, but I'll not even attempt to justify it on the basis of cost.

The difference is in reduced driver fatigue . . . and stress. With the Duramax, we've now pulled the A/S from Illinois to Colorado once and to Seattle twice more -- this summer via Banff/Jasper and the engine seems never to labor. I'm rarely aware if it shifts. I'm rarely aware of the engine, period. It's a delight to drive. And it's not just in the mountains but on the Interstates where there may be rolling terrain . . . with smooth slow inclines, the 6.0 gas would shift down and the engine would work . . . . The Dura-max rolls along at a lower RPM like a locamotive. I'm much more rested when we get to the campground.

Bottom line: I think your truck will likely do the job . . . but it will labor and you'll know it. I love the Dura-max/Allison. Happy travels. dkb

[Phoenix]

The Tundra is rated to tow around 10,000 pounds, so your Airstream should be file. We have towed a 19-foot Bambi all up and down the Colorado Rockies with absolutely no problems, but it is significantly lighter. However, if we did have your trailer, I wouldn't hesitate to take it to the high country.

Note: You probably want to use the tow/haul mode to reduce excessive shifting, although we don't use it with our Bambi.

[msmst25]

I upgraded from the '04 tundra to the '09 when I went from a 22 footer to a 25 footer. I've driven to Yellowstone from Washington with no problems whatsoever. The truck gets better mileage than the old one, and has about 4000 more pounds of towing capacity. I would have no concerns about towing a 27 footer.