Is my Tundra suitable for towing a camper?

Ok, I’m sure this has been discussed but here goes anyway…I’m looking at a new camper, I own a 2014 double cab, SR5, 6.5 bed, it has a hitch and trailer brake package so I’m assuming it’s has the towing package.
According to Toyota it can safely tow 10200 pounds. The trucks curb weight is 5380 and the GVWR is 6900….
so I found a camper weighting 6327 dry and 33 feet long. That puts my hitch weight of the camper at 658lbs (max is listed at 1020) Even if I load the camper to its max (7995lbs) and load the whole family in the truck(say that’s 670lbs (wife 3 kids). I’m still well within the range of the tundra correct? I’m under the max pay load of the tundra and under the max towing capacity and max hitch weight…..just doing a sanity check before I pull the trigger…I did call the dealer and didn’t get a real good answer, I googled my vin (lost my owners manual) and found the towing capacity. The other numbers came from the truck sticker and the camper manufacturer.
Any help/reassurance would be amazing! And yes I’m using a blue ox weight distribution hitch….oh and it’s a
2021 Grand Design Transcend 265BH Camper! And yes I’ve pulled heavy things just not with this pickup and never really gave it much thought!


Thanks! Love this forum

 

I believe that your truck has a gross combined vehicle weight rating of 16,000 pounds. This should be printed on your door sticker. If that is the case, you should be OK.
Make sure you run across a scale to be sure
I went out west with mine at 15,600 pounds. That was too much. The truck did great but.....

 

I'm hard pressed to believe you could tow a trailer that big and not be over your payload/GVWR.

 

Even if it was under, that's going to feel like towing a drive in movie theatre screen.

https://www.tundras.com/threads/towing-33-travel-trailer.40555/

I never understood giant trailers, unless towing to a seasonal spot. In which case, use a towing service.

 

Awesome thanks! That’s all great info…maybe I’ll pass on this camper and keep looking! That’s why I asked!!! Thanks again

 

So with my truck that I discribed what dry weight should I be shooting for? What have you guys comfortably Towed…I need a bit of room. 3 kids…might upgrade the truck but not this year. Thanks again

 

I used to pull a 31' TT with my tundra when it was bone stock. First tow with it was 250 miles of freeway at 70+ MPH on a near 100 degree day that included two mountain passes at about 6% grade. Zero issues. Sold it a few years later then a few years after that ended up buying a shorter camper (but about the same weight) off a family member that needed to get rid of it. My truck and sequoia both pull it without issue. But that's just my opinion.

Honestly, my enclosed cargo trailer is more of a drag than the travel trailer and can weigh just as much. It handles it just fine. Payload and GAWR aren't hard to meet or stay under as long as you put your gear in the trailer instead of the bed.. if you are worried about that sort of thing.

 

What are YOU comfortable towing? I get in trouble here when I say I don't mind pulling at 16,000 Gross Combined. Many will say that your trailer needs to weigh less than 5k or you are gonna die an instantaneously ignominious death. I was at 14,000 lb last week on a six hour round trip and didn't sweat a minute of it. The truck is setup to tow. Set up the truck and trailer properly and I don't have qualms with the ~10,000 lb tow rating imbued upon the Tundra.

 

You’re fine with that trailer IMHO. I tow something similar very frequently. That said, that dry weight and length is probably the largest I’d want to tow on a somewhat regular basis.

 

I’m comfortable with whatever the truck can handle…I take my time and leave space. I just don’t want to be unsafe is all. I‘ve never even looked up my specs until a few days ago and I just wanted to make sure I wasn’t over looking anything. My thought was I was good to go…but after reading some of the above comments haha but that’s why I asked!! I don’t “plan” to travel at the max. We do weekend trips…clothes, food, bikes. Empty water tanks…

 

This, plus whatever is under the legal load limits and ratings for your vehicle.

Remember, you aren't the only one on the road. If something does happen to go wrong, you have to consider the other vehicles/people on the road.

 

After using my trailer for 2 years. Im starting to think i would be better served by a toy hauler just to have a big open space for bins of kids clothes/toys and an air mattress

 

I took a 7000# toyhauler with a couple motorcycles cross country in a 2014 double cab 5.7l stock wheels. 70+mph the whole way. 120degree desert. Monitored my trans temps with a scangauge2. Everything was perfect. But you definately feel the weight and mpgs

 

I pull a 26 footer and that's as big as I am comfortable towing with the Tundra (or any half ton, really). The truck has no problem pulling it, but I can definitely tell that it's there. We'll be taking it on our longest trip yet next week, so hopefully it all goes well.

For reference, my trailer is a Flagstaff MicroLite 25BRDS with a dry weight of about 5500 lbs and 6500 lbs loaded, tongue is about 840 lbs loaded.

 

Everyone on here disparaging the OP for wanting a TT can exit the chat. Dude wants a trailer to camp in, that's his choice. He's getting a camper, help him with that. You CAN pull a large camper with the Tundra. Whether you SHOULD or not is the question. How large? Previous replies have outlined the method to achieve that answer scientifically. Weigh the truck, use those numbers vs. your models capacities to decide what will fit. Length is not the deal breaker everyone says it is, but it is a big factor. Just as much as weight. Where you will be going over what elevations and through what wind conditions is also a big factor. I tow a large TT (29' model, around 34' long at 7150# dry) a short distance to the lake with only 2 or 3 steep inclines that are short. Wind is really not a factor here and the elevation is low here, less than 2000' everywhere we go. My trailer CAN be pulled by my truck. At the same time, it's too much to comfortably pull long distances or at higher elevations. I feel the camper back there. I'm likely over payload with a tongue weight over 800#. I'm under GVWR and GCVWR. I'm under RAWR as well and use a distribution hitch that does a nice job of keeping the rear suspension level with the front and has sway control built in. I would rather have something in the 5000# range around 22-24' box if we were gonna travel around the country and camp. This one does fine back and forth to the lake for the weeks we stay there. Wife will not tent camp after last time, which admittedly was miserable. Maybe if we had that dry California climate.....

 

I don't see anyone disparaging OP for wanting a TT, just for wanting to tow one that big with a halfton.

 

I wholeheartedly agree. I have a Jay Flight 267BHS that weighs in the same. Borderline needing a bigger truck.

 

They're in every towing chat. Kinda like the non-3rd genners disparaging those that buy 3rd gens. Two posts above mine it was already creeping in. The camper OP was looking at was within the trucks towing capabilities. Depends on how it's setup. Trailers that big are doable, but they aren't a fun tow. Long distance would wear me out. If we hadn't lived in ours between houses, I would not have bought one as big as we did. I flat out wasn't buying a truck that wasn't a Tundra, so I picked the one we could get away with, otherwise I would have went for the 32' version with the slide in the bedroom and W/D connections.

 

Manufacturer's published dry hitch weights are optimistic at best, and usually bordering on false advertising. IIRC, those are with one battery and one propane tank filled. My Lance has three propane tanks and they love to list the "Tri-5" feature.

In 2017/2018 (My trailer is a '17.5) the Lance camper website had a nifty little page that categorized their trailers by vehicle's towing capacity, basically telling people "Your vehicle is rated to tow "X" so you can buy trailer A, B, or C."

Weight
Dry Weight
3,805 lbs.
Payload Capacity
1,695 lbs.
GVWR
5,500 lbs.
Hitch Weight
405 lbs.

Their advertised chart showed my model (1685) as being acceptable for a TV rated for 5,000 lbs.
Well okay, sure... "Technically" if you never put anything like food, water, clothes, camp chairs, and that box set of MacGyver DVD's in it I guess you "could" pull it with a 5K rated TV.

My 4Runner was rated for 5,000 lbs. and I towed some ATV & utility trailers... (Towed with some weight but no frontal area or big crosswind catching box like a TT)
You couldn't pay me to tow my Lance more than a few miles with a vehicle that maxed out, let alone try to go on an actual camping trip.

Trailer manufacturers and dealers want to sell trailers, bottom line. Fortunately I did enough research and have enough skepticism and common sense to know that manufacturers and dealers telling me "Suuuuure, you can tow it with that!" is absolute bullshit... they just need you to be able to tow it off the lot.
I can't imagine how many people have bought something because the mfg's specs or trailer "salesman" said it would work, then they're shopping for a bigger truck or selling their trailer for something smaller after a couple of white knuckle towing experiences.

I absolutely LOVE our Lance trailer and I'm not just bagging on them... they all do it.

I don't ask a car salesman for advice on the strengths, weaknesses. and capabilities of the Tundra he wants to sell me, I ask you guys.
I didn't ask the trailer salesman if my truck was a good match for the trailer he wanted to sell me, I did a shit-ton of research and asked questions on a very helpful and knowledgeable Lance Owners forum.
I don't ask the gun store guy about guns (they're the worst!)

FYI, the "Real World" tongue weight of my trailer wet and loaded to actually go, you know... "Camping" is usually almost double the published Hitch Weight.

I prefer how it tows with full fresh (45 gallons) and I don't wanna' be looking for water of unknown quality when I get somewhere, I just wanna' set u and start chillin' and grillin'!

OP, good on ya' for doing your due diligence beforehand... I did exhaustive research and talked the wife into basically adding a "0" to our trailer budget and we bought our third RV first. I didn't want something that would be a negative experience IN ANY WAY!! (Not that my beautiful bride would ever say "I told you so")

I just wanted to set us up for success. Our first trip it POURED rain, but we were warm and dry. We had some little windows between downpours to sit by a fire, take the dogs on a hike, etc. and I'll never forget the moment when she turned to me and said "I love our trailer". We're almost 7 years in and she still says that on most trips.

BTW, you may not to go as big and long if you find one with a good floorplan and a slide. The box on mine is only 16' 6" but 7 years later I'm still amazed how roomy it becomes when I hit the switch and the U-Shaped dinette goes out. Granted, it's just us two and two dogs, but a couple sizes up might serve your family well. I'm somewhat biased, but I really think Lance floorplans (and similar ones I've seen in other brands) make VERY good efficient use of space. I've seen other floorplans that look super cramped at the same size.

You might look at the Lance 2185, which has bunk beds.

Good luck in your search for the perfect trailer.

Damn, I wanna' go camping now.

The day we took delivery.



First Campfire...



Cookin' bisuits, 'cuz "We have an OVEN!"



Storytime.

 

I'm not even sure the published tongue weights include that.

 

Hey thanks for all the info! I think we are going to opt for a smaller TT, most of our trips will be local but I don’t want to be restricted on where I’m comfortable pulling it! I’m going to weigh my truck this weekend and if I end up getting a TT on the heavier side (within the ranges of the Tundra) I’ll use a tongue weight scale to set it up for towing. I appreciate all the responses…..even the ones that told me I was camping wrong . I’m not new to towing, I was just surprised to see the tundra towing capabilities and was wondering peoples thoughts on pushing that limit with theirs and their experiences doing so!

 

Also if anyones got a Travel trailer near Charlotte NC….drop me a line!!! Thanks again!

 

You might be right, it's hard to get a definitive answer on that.

I think trailers with electric brakes have to include a battery in the weights, since the brakes need it to operate. I could be wrong about propane.

 

I know for Forest River, their web site states that empty weights do include LP gas, but there is no mention of batteries, so I suspect they don't include those in the dry weights.

 

This is so cool! I want to do that, but chances are, I'll use it once or twice and it'll be sitting in the driveway until tires go bad..

 

Well apparently I'm full o' crap once again.. dammit!

I just did some reading on my Lance Owners forum, and popular opinion is that batteries are considered a dealer add option and are NOT included weight.

 

Rent one and give it a try! You might be surprised.

It's trippy how just being somewhere in the trailer puts the brain into "Relaxation Mode".

I use the same coffee and the same creamer when camping. Only difference is that it's made in a french press instead of an automatic coffee maker, but I swear it's SOOO much better! I think it's just 'cuz I'm camping.

That's just one of many examples.

 

Which, as you say, is extra goofy because you have no lights or brakes without the battery.

 

Ok so I did the above
Truck weights 5840 (with hitch in the back) which’s seems much heavier than I anticipated and way over the listed curb weight.
Family weighs 340
So total truck weight with family is 6180
6900 is listed truck payload capacity
6180 weight (family in truck unloaded)
720 remaining weight, that’s crazy to me ha

so with the above statement above I can safely tow a trailer with a tongue weight of 720 lbs. correct?

Now…without actually measuring tongue weight, because I haven’t bought the TT yet…can I trust the weight stickers on the trailers?
I’m past practical now hahah this is just fun!!

 

Assuming you put nothing else in the truck and 720 lbs is the loaded tongue weight of your trailer, yes. Don't forget to include the weight of the battery, propane and everything in the front storage compartment.