Towing an RV?

How many pounds can I tow ?
I’m going to buy an rv and I need to know

 

This thread will be good!

 

Itll tell you in the tundras owner manual based on what motor and trim .

 

Need more information...

What year?
What motor?
4X4?
Crewmax, double cab, regular cab?

Try and find your specific truck's configuration in the charts and you should find your answer.

https://letstowthat.com/toyota-tundra-towing-capacities/

 

Year:2008
Engine:5.7l
Tranny:2x4
Double cab

 

A really short answer to this question would be to look at trailers weighing less than 4000 pounds. A trailer in that weight range would likely fall within the limits of the truck and therefore be a “safe” choice in my opinion.

A longer and more useful answer would involve looking at your payload sticker, the trailer payload sticker, hitting scales for true numbers, considerations of passengers/cargo in the truck and trailer, type of terrain you plan to tow on, your level of comfort with risk, and so forth…

 

Where I see the capacity in this chart?

 

Do you have much towing experience? If not, I wouldn't run out and buy the biggest trailer that it says you can tow "On paper".

Scary stuff happens, other drivers are stupid and will always do stupid things... Sometimes they'll do them right in front of you and your big-ass trailer.

Our Tundras will pull the shit out of heavy trailers, that's typically not the issue. Safely stopping it, or having to take evasive action without a catastrophic sway event are the more important considerations. towing at or near max capacity is fatiguing and could get sketchy fast. I like a little buffer.

Payload capacity (like the tongue weight of your trailer, your passengers, your dog, your horseshoes and cornhole game, firewood, E-bikes, BBQ, that 5 lbs of Carne Asada, etc.) is usually a limiting factor long before towing capacity is reached.

That being said, I don't want to scare or dissuade you. Do your due diligence, err on the side of caution for the safety of you, your family, and everyone around you, and get out there!

 

The second line has your Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (the total max weight your vehicle should weigh after loading passengers and cargo) of 6900 lbs. Your curb weight stock is (probably) in the 5400-5600 lb range, which give you a payload range of 1300-1500 lbs.

If you have the factory tow package, which most 5.7's do, but before 2011 not all did, your Gross Combined (weight of truck plus weight of trailer) is up to 16,000 lbs, which would give you a tow rating of 10,100 lbs. BUT, if you don't have the to package, it is closer to 6000 or 7000 lbs. The easiest way to see if you have the tow package is simply look for a Tow/Haul button. If you have a column shifter, it would be a button on the end of the column shifter. If it has the center console shifter, the button should be on the dash if you point your index finger forward while resting your hand on the shifter.

Don't throw all of your junk in the bed of the truck and you should be fine towing most travel trailers while satisfying the requirements of payload and rear axle capacity.

 

Agreed. But why only 5 lbs - do you camp by yourself, or what?? And for the record, Tri-Tip is my slab du jour...

 

Well most of our camping trips are just local weekenders, but yeah.

Not sure where you're located, but there's a sorta' famous Tri-Tip here in San Diego called "Cardiff Crack"

Burgundy Pepper infused... OMFG! They sell it at Seaside Market in Cardiff, and Crack because it's addiciting as Hell!

They'll pack and ship it to ya' if you want.

https://seasidemarket.com/order-online/tri-tip-chops-sauce/

 

Ooooohhhh.... that looks delectable! I'm drooling a little bit.

Here's my usual smoked tri tip.






What were we talking about again..?

 

Do you have a trailer brake controller? You should definitely have one if you'll be towing . They arent hard to hook up . I recommend going out to a parking lot or driving on a road without traffic and adjusting the controller according to your trailer.

 

Tekonsha P3 is highly recommended for a brake controller. I enjoy the three trailer settings and will adjust them whether or not I am in city or highway (i want max braking power at highway speeds - but it feels like superman is stopping us at low speeds)

I just sold my 2014 KZ Sportsmen 19BHS as my children are outgrowing it (one has had to sleep on the dinette for a few years - that gets old) It was 3500 GVWR and 23' hitch to bumper.

We are about to buy a 2022 Keystone Bullet. 5400ish empty 29' hitch to bumper. I have zero concerns other than doing a trans fluid change, tailshaft seal and rear diff fluid change prior to our new adventures. One of which is from Dallas to Orlando to stay at Fort Wilderness while Disney rakes me over the coals.

 

More important, where do you want to camp, for how long, and how many kids. For example, 3 young kids for a week you need a serious sized trailer for all the food and toys they want to bring. A couple who likes to read books you can buy a teardrop

 

You’ll run out of payload before you hit your max tow or GCWR numbers. Your driving experience will be more pleasant if you keep the tongue weight under 700

 

Yup, tongue weight against your available payload is the weakest link in this chain.... I've run all the numbers on my truck, multiple times. Granted, I am dealing with a CrewMax.

 

No kids, travel from Alabama to Orlando,Florida;staying in a park for a month and then back to Alabama(northwest)

 

What kind of tires you recommend for pull the rv?

 

Plenty of tread and fully inflated ones. LTs have stiffer sidewalls and feel less squishy, but every P-rated I've seen for trucks is rated for way more weight than the rear axle is rated for.

 

What you mean when said fully inflates?

 

A tire has a rated weight capacity. That carrying capacity is not at your door sticker inflation pressures. When towing, be sure to air your tires up to increase the load carrying capacity. Some tires will have a guide online to describe what pressures equate to what weight rating. The more pressure in the tire, the more weight carrying capability. Door sticker says 33psi for example, that's more for comfort and handling when not carrying a load. When carrying a heavy load, you'll need to air up, more like 40-44psi for P-rated tires and as much as 65psi for LT tires. Again, there's no one number across all tires, it's specific to the tire on your vehicle. Underinflated tires cause a majority of on road tire failures, towing and hauling heavy will exacerbate this.

 

To add to what @KNABORES said, under inflated tires create more heat in the tire itself. Every time the tire rotates, it goes from round to deforming slightly in order to make a flat contact patch with the road, back to round as is continues to rotate. Some part of the tire tread and sidewall is always deforming to make contact with the ground. Lower pressure or increased weight makes for a larger contact area and more deformation. The MFG’s rated load@psi ensures that the carcass of the tire can endure the heat produced by that load. Air can be added beyond that rated load@psi up to the tires max PSI; this produces less heat and a stiffer ride (or more controlled ride) but only to a certain point. Too much pressure and you now have a tiny contact patch and less traction/control. So proper inflation for the load is important. The tire will actually support the heavy load with less pressure, it just creates more deformation and heat. At low speeds off pavement on trails or even just sand/snow/dirt/rocky roads, lowering the tire pressure has several benefits without the tire self drstructing and can actually be better for the tire and vehicle.

Remember the Ford Explorer Firestone tire debacle? Ford spec’d the inflation pressure at 26 psi for the sake of ride comfort in order to gain market share for the best riding midsized SUV; I remember cuz I owned one for a while. They also spec’d the vehicles much lighter than they actually were and didn’t account much for passengers, cargo, or towing. This caused the tires to heat up too much, then the treads separated and the tires blew up. Madness and mayhem ensued when a few people rolled their new, short wheelbase, narrow track, top heavy SUV’s… In the case reports I read, some said that as little as 29 psi would have mitigated a large part of those tire failures. So the first thing I did when I got the car was swap out the p rated tires that had the thing wallowing like a stuck pig, and replaced them with some LT tires of the same size. It rode 1000 times better and handled much better, as well.

Anyways, IMO, tire pressure is the first thing someone should check/change when towing. Michelin specifically states for their P275/65r18’s that came stock on 14-21 TRD tundras that max load capacity is accomplished with 35 psi, but max tire pressure is 51 PSI for tire tuning for hauling, towing, or handling requirements of the customer. I’ve run two sets of p metric and three sets of LT tires on my tundra and I continue to choose LT’s; the p rated tires can be too close to max load rating sometimes for me. That, and my LT tires last twice as long, partly due to the increased tread depth.

 

Lots of great info in this post. I’ll just add p rated tires will tend to “bounce” or cause porpoising way more when towing heavy and encountering a bump (like a bridge joint) than LT tires due to the weight and structural differences of the tire. I’m a fan of LT tires if towing significant loads with these trucks for the stability and durability already mentioned.