Weight questions

Hi, new to the site. I own a 2019 Toyota Tundra SR5 V8 truck. I’m looking to get a pull behind camper and wanted to know what is the max weight that I can tow with my truck without messing up my transmission?

 

Add a transmission cooler

If you’ll be driving over mountains I’d shoot for 6,500 lbs or less with tongue under 800.

 

Start here. https://www.tundras.com/threads/tow-ratings-guide-how-to-be-safe.39211/

 

I have a similar truck and pull a 23' box with a gross weight of 6,080#. My Tundra weight is very close to gross even with my CM rear seats removed. In the Tundras defense I go south for 7 months and pack accordingly.
Monitoring my transmission fluid temperatures is a must when traveling in the hills. We haven't installed the cooler yet but are doing a drain and fill annually. Even if I use Tow/Haul and S4 I can see pan temps in the 230°F range while going up Black Mtn on I 40 east of Asheville NC. Highest TC temps have never exceeded 250°F and that is only for a very short time. On a side note I can see similar TC readings going up my steep driveway with no trailer in tow. Torque Converter temps can rise very quickly but also come right back to around 210°F which seems to be a normal operating temperature for both the pan and TC.
Am I worried about it? Not at all. I'm very careful to keep the TC locked, did my first drain and fill at ~23k and will do each following drain and fill each summer. I put about 10k miles a year and of those about 2,500 are towing the trailer.
Furthermore there aren't many posts (if any) about the cooler-less Tundras puking their tranny guts.

 

PS.....

Don't be like this guy.

 

Yer just jealous that Ridgeline has a higher payload capacity than your tundra

 

It says nano which means small. And it only has one tiny propane on it. No problem for a Ridgeline

 

Technically could be within the limits of a ridgeline as long as they are loading within the limits

 

I might have been a little jealous of that... if it wasn't so goofy looking!

My experience is very similar to @Retired...finally above.

I have a '19 4X4 Crewmax and my trailer is 5,500 lbs. GVWR. I run pretty close to that most trips with full fresh water and all the crap I bring for a few days "roughing it"

The weight you can tow isn't as much of an issue as these are pulling beasts.

The problem is their low payload capacity. I'm bumping up against it (maybe a skosh over occasionally) most of the time. I load what I can in the TT to keep it out of the bed.

I recently joined a FB called Tundras and Trailers, and I'm honestly a bit horrified at some of the trailers these guys tow with their Tundras.

FYI, if you get a good floorplan, your trailer doesn't have to be huge to be very comfortable.

Welcome aboard OP!

 

I pull this 22’ bunkhouse with no slides. It’s about 4500 pounds dry. Tundra pulls it great. I live in Az and we pull some steep grades going up to the high country. Truck hasn’t given me any issues. I’m sitting at 140k miles currently on the truck. I am going to add airbags this spring to help with the sag. But other than that this trailer setup has been good for my tundra. I’m guessing fully loaded with the family and water etc.. I’m probably close to payload if not a little over.

 

Is that Lance a 1685? We're really looking hard at Lances right now: 1685, 1875 or 1985.

 

It is indeed!

It's a 2017.5 that we bought in November of 2016 and I've had exactly ZERO problems with it. If you have any questions I can help with just let me know.

We love the smallish trailer that's very roomy when you put the slide out. If I were doing it over again, I might opt for the walk around bed of the 1985 but we really love this one.

I heard some complaints about quality when REV group bought Lance (Like '19 & '20 models I think?) but most of that has been ironed out.

I've been super impressed with the build quality of our Lance. I put together a tool kit to keep in the trailer when we bought it expecting to fix things that rattled loose here and there, but so far the tools have just been dead weight that I haul around.

I'm on a Lance owners forum that I joined before we bought so I could do my research. Super friendly and knowledgeable bunch and it's a great resource. You can join for free, or $35 lifetime membership opens some areas that the free account can't access.

https://community.lanceowners.org/

 

I tow with a 2012 regular cab short box with 22" Black Rhino wheels and low profile streets, and pull a 29' RV (34'9" overall) dry weight 7400 lbs. (always travel with 1/2 tank of fresh water because I often boondock). I use a load-levelling anti-sway device with two 1,500 lbs. torsion bars. In addition, I have a Subaru 3200 watt inverter in the box, firewood, equipment, etc. I've towed a lot of RVs over the years, including a 30' RV that I pulled for 7 years in Canada and the US with a 2003 4x4 Durango with the 4.7 L (lovely engine). With the Tundra in this configuration I've never felt that I was overloaded, whether on divided highways or county roads. Great truck.

 

I drag a 9k 5th wheel thru the mountains of Tennessee/North Carolina 2x per year to and from Michigan. I do yearly drain and fills on the transmission fluid. I've got 240k miles on the truck. I've got no worries.

I run 100% of the time 4th gear. The transmission pan temps have never been above 220°f.

The truck runs great at 3000 rpm/ 68 mph.

 

Looks like we're settled on the 1685, closing a deal right now on a left over 2022 at a dealership in TX

We did look at the 1985, but all things considered the better fit/deal for us was on the 1685.

 

Wow, good for you!! I hope you get as many years of trouble free enjoyment from yours as we've been blessed with from ours.

It's really a perfect size... tows little and lives large!

Post up some pics when you get it.

I highly recommend joining LOA when you get it. Great resource, but be warned... they love to help spend other peoples money.

 

Will do. One of the first trips will be over to SD to see the daughter (lives in Coronado) so possibly Silver Strand SP if I can get a reservation.

 

Oh nice! Hopefully it'll be better weather than we have right now!!

 

My trailer is currently closed up and winterized in the carport, but this thread always makes me eager to get back out there. I will de-winterize it in April or May and we'll hit the campground in June!

This picture is of the trailer in the carport (barely fits!), but is not a recent picture. I just have a need to post a photo...

 

Man, you ain't kidding it barely fits! Looks like the AC unit only has an inch or two to spare, and only if you're centered.

I wish I could store mine at home, my covered storage place is almost as much as the trailer payment!

On the plus side, my trailer was winterized from the factory... the dealer flushed and sanitized it, and it's never been winterized again. I plan to keep it that way.

To me, "Winterizing" means we can start camping in the desert again.

 

I bought and assembled the carport when we had our GeoPro, and that trailer easily fit, even with the slide-out mostly extended. The new trailer fits, but is far more challenging to get in and out, but at least it works. I did the concrete, gate, and carport, and the previous house owner put in a sewer dump/connection, so I'm pretty well set up here.

 

I received a call today from the service manager at Niagara Trailer that they had finished the list of repairs and upgrades to my 2015 ROCKWOOD SIGNATURE ULTRA LITE 8329SS (pic on Jan. 20 above). I'm considering hauling it with the Tundra to Texas and Arizona for the balance of Feb/Mar.

 

Ted, do you have room for something like this in the driveway?

This has inspired me to consider a shelter for the Airstream

 

I made a pad for the trailer and thinking that I could add a framed structure with a roof like JDR76 has. I already have the 6x6 lumber around the pad which could be the place to the mount the posts!

I picked up a used Parkit 360 10k trailer dolly a few years back so that would help to thread the needle when parking

Our parking is a bit of a thing as we come off our alley and have to make a few quick turns and a rise to get onto the pad.

 

How do you like the Parkit unit? I'm looking for a powered dolly at the moment...

Parkit360 5K
Trailer Valet MV Pro

 

I picked it up on CL for 1,400 CDN. It was used by a contractor to move site trailers around.

I haven't had too much use of it to date but it does work well. It has a brake controller built into it so pulling up or down a grade is still safe. When moving, it is very slow and torquey so it would do a great job with most of our trailers.

If I built a structure, I would probably use it more to fine tune the parking position.

 

Here is an example of one that is currently for sale on CL: https://seattle.craigslist.org/see/bpo/d/bellevue-parkit-dolly/7708233660.html