Tundra as a Tow Vehicle for 24' Bunkhouse

[Garfman]

The towing capacity of a 2016 Tundra is 10500 pounds. You will be towing the trailer. Payload is how much you can carry in the truck. Equalizer hitches, sway bars, etc. are not optional with the trailers you have mentioned. Air bags will smooth the ride, but Toyota designed the Tundra drive train to handle a maximum of 10500 pounds.
As mentioned above, ignore anyone who has said they've towed over my capacity without a problem.

[flyfishMT]

Originally Posted by WDPatterson

Here are some specifications for the 2016 Tundra. Do you have the trailer pulling package on that truck?? Did it come from the factory that way?

https://www.galetoyota.com/blog/offi...oad-specs/amp/

I have a tow package - trailer brake and hidden hitch with trailer wiring, and yes it came from the factory that way.


I've gone through the specs pretty exhaustively (I think!)

[flyfishMT]

Originally Posted by WDPatterson

I'm pretty sure they pulled the shuttle with a tow bar. That weighs next to nothing. The shuttle is its own dolly. There is no tongue weight.

Well I just need a tow bar then

[flyfishMT]

Originally Posted by James p

I tow a 25ft keystone cougar with a Chevy duramax 2500hd.
I would not recommend towing with a half ton

What bunkhouse would you guys recommend?

[flyfishMT]

Originally Posted by travelin texans

I agree!
BUT, over time using it, regardless of the GVWR, you WILL keep adding this or that "cause you might need it" & I'll tell you from experience you'll be fully loaded in the blink of an eye & never realize it.
So use the 13% of the posted GVWR on the particular RV your wanting to tow & don't exceed any of the numbers on your particular truck.
Simply put get/have more truck than you need & NEVER think/say "I load light & only travel xx miles" cause it most likely ain't happening for long.

I hear ya, but we have had a small travel trailer (RPOD) for the last 3 seasons and camp alot, we're pretty dialed in on gear. But I hear ya - get a bigger trailer and who knows what we'll add.

[WDPatterson]

Originally Posted by flyfishmt

well i just need a tow bar then

😂🤣🤪😜😁☺🤗🤓😏😎

[sourdough]

Originally Posted by flyfishMT

I hear ya, but we have had a small travel trailer (RPOD) for the last 3 seasons and camp alot, we're pretty dialed in on gear. But I hear ya - get a bigger trailer and who knows what we'll add.

I hear ya, but we have had a small travel trailer (RPOD) for the last 3 seasons and camp alot, we're pretty dialed in on gear. But I hear ya - get a bigger trailer and who knows what we'll add.




You know, I've been through that scenario many times and watched others as well. I remember taking a guy from FL (who became my best friend) camping in the remote mountains of NM for his first time. Tent, sleeping bags, coleman stove and lantern, ice chest...the basics. After we had done that for about 3 years I called him up and asked if he wanted to go camping; "oh yeah!", I've got some new stuff!. I loaded and waited for him to come to the house to leave. I don't think you can imagine my bulging eyeballs as he came around the corner; 1978 Ford F150 Supercab (if I recall) longbed..... All I saw was "stuff" hanging over the sides (strapped down) and sticking up over the roof! Saying "WHAT" to myself. He had bought some huge tent, fancy cots, sleeping bags, a toilet, 12vdc TV, every kind of stuff I can't remember....but, he had a HUGE roll of carpet to put in the tent!! I was speechless. And when we got there he put all that paraphernalia together...called it his Taj Mahal.

All that to illustrate that what starts out small can really grow as you get into it. I've gone from tents to pop ups to small trailers, larger trailers and even larger trailers. I can promise you that the "stuff" I had in my first pop up would fit in about 2 drawers of the new HC. It grows and that's just the way it is as far as I've seen in my life. And, if you get something larger and nicer, human nature wants you to grow into it and experience the benefits of the new unit....just plan for it. They say "build it and they will come"; in RVing it goes "buy it and it will grow".

[Gkula]

As a Tundra owner, we have had zero problems SAFELY towing a 8200# GVW, 35ft, keystone bullet premier up and down the Colorado mountain passes (11,000+ ft). Payload could always be more, but we plan and pack based on what we have. No, I am not telling you to overload or ignore the numbers. But, me being someone with several years of towing experience and a proper setup (ie. weight distribution hitch etc.), I feel confident to pull my rig with my '14 Tundra. And yes, I live in the high country so this is my towing ground.

[travelin texans]

Originally Posted by Garfman

The towing capacity of a 2016 Tundra is 10500 pounds. You will be towing the trailer. Payload is how much you can carry in the truck. Equalizer hitches, sway bars, etc. are not optional with the trailers you have mentioned. Air bags will smooth the ride, but Toyota designed the Tundra drive train to handle a maximum of 10500 pounds.
As mentioned above, ignore anyone who has said they've towed over my capacity without a problem.

That 10500 lb tow capacity is about as much of useful information as the dry weight of any RV.
With that tow capacity the percentage of tongue weight is in the neighborhood of 1200-1500 lbs on a truck with 1500 lb payload, it's overloaded before you start.

[sourdough]

Originally Posted by Gkula

As a Tundra owner, we have had zero problems SAFELY towing a 8200# GVW, 35ft, keystone bullet premier up and down the Colorado mountain passes (11,000+ ft). Payload could always be more, but we plan and pack based on what we have. No, I am not telling you to overload or ignore the numbers. But, me being someone with several years of towing experience and a proper setup (ie. weight distribution hitch etc.), I feel confident to pull my rig with my '14 Tundra. And yes, I live in the high country so this is my towing ground.

As you pass on "irrefutable" evidence of a Tundra's ability to tow a 8200#, 35' trailer could you share the scale specifics...or is this just your feeling on how it works because you've not had anything else? As you said, "payload could always be more"...that in itself says it's not up to the task.

If you are towing a an 8000# plus trailer up and down 11k ft. passes in CO with a 5.7L Tundra with "zero" problems....you need to take that to the factory so they can replicate it....because you have the only one that was ever made..... I've been up and down those passes all my life with all kinds of stuff; at times hard enough to do with just the vehicle....but then, over 8k behind a 1/2 ton with "zero" problems....I know where I log this. Sorry.

[flybouy]

It's been my experience that

1. people don't know what they don't know, Until I towed the same trailer with a 1/2 then a 3/4 (diesel) I didn't know.

2. some people, probably most, drink the Kool Aid that ad agencies spoon feed the public. Mine is THE best because it pulled the space shuttle! Mine is THE best because it pulled a train! No mine is THE best because it won an award in a magazine that they advertise in on every other page! Still thirsty? No worries, they have plenty of Kool Aid

3. some people are brand loyal like they are in a gang. Could never understand that myself. Now I can appreciate a good product as much as the next guy but I'm not paying to advertise their product.

4. some people must justify their decisions. After all, they are the smartest people in the room right? You know the type, the guy or gal pulled over for doing 50 in a 25 mph zone, arguing with the cop that his radar must be malfunctioning. These typically are the same people that will ask for advice then want to argue how invalid the advice is because it doesn't agree with their preconceived ideas. They will offer no facts mind you, just a "never had a problem", or "lots of people do it" or the one person they did believe (the salesman) said it was o.k. See line # 2, that Kool Aid sticks with some folks!

5. Some folks, no matter how well you present the facts, no matter the evidence, will not listen. These are for the most part easily identified. Just look at the people setting in the ditch in a snow storm when the governor or state police say don't drive today. You can hear them say "but I have 4 wheel drive and they said it will go in the snow", the same people that don't evacuate an impending hurricane, volcanic eruption, whatever. The same type people that go on spring break, drink each others drinks, throw up on each other, sleep 10 to a 2 bed hotel room ... all during a global pandemic.

So don't let it upset you, it's just people being people.I like to help people. I try to present the facts and if some one comes along with facts that I'm unaware of then I will stand corrected. If they want to argue because they drank the Kool Aid then they can "win" and I will not argue because I know they are what they are.

[flyfishMT]

I'm not brand loyal I just think Toyota makes an awesome, reliable truck that holds its value very well. It's my second Toyota, but before that the trucks I owned were Chevys. I test drove a 2500 Ram and an F150 (in 2015) before I bought the Tundra and wasn't impressed.

I also think the Duramax/Allison combo is bulletproof (besides maybe the DEF stuff). I just saw one on craigslist with 400,000 miles on it. But I can't justify that kind of crazy money just to tow a camper a dozen times a year. If I was retired and a full time camper I could see it.

Toyota will probably never make an HD but I wish they'd offer a heavy half package.

[LaTundra]

I have a Laredo 291TG, 33ft. My 2010 Tundra, 5.7L, 4.30 rear end pulls it just fine. Stay 65mph or less, expect 7-10mpg.

[travelin texans]

Originally Posted by LaTundra

I have a Laredo 291TG, 33ft. My 2010 Tundra, 5.7L, 4.30 rear end pulls it just fine. Stay 65mph or less, expect 7-10mpg.

"Just fine" as compared to what?

[flybouy]

I think that was the Kool Aid tastes "just fine".

[Gkula]

Originally Posted by sourdough

As you pass on "irrefutable" evidence of a Tundra's ability to tow a 8200#, 35' trailer could you share the scale specifics...or is this just your feeling on how it works because you've not had anything else? As you said, "payload could always be more"...that in itself says it's not up to the task.

If you are towing a an 8000# plus trailer up and down 11k ft. passes in CO with a 5.7L Tundra with "zero" problems....you need to take that to the factory so they can replicate it....because you have the only one that was ever made..... I've been up and down those passes all my life with all kinds of stuff; at times hard enough to do with just the vehicle....but then, over 8k behind a 1/2 ton with "zero" problems....I know where I log this. Sorry.

@ sourdough (Matt 14:31). My experience(s) is to help flyfishMT, so no worries. Feelings have nothing to do with driving up and down the passes. Its all experience that includes other vehicles (Chevy) towing and non-towing. Is it the Best vehicle? Well what is the BEST vehicle for towing? For my numbers, towing experience, and most importantly family safety my Tundra gets the job done w/o white knuckles. Come to Colorado and we can take a trip together. I can show you better than I can tell you. I just want to make sure it gets logged correctly ��
Be safe and wash your hands.

[sourdough]

Originally Posted by Gkula

@ sourdough (Matt 14:31). My experience(s) is to help flyfishMT, so no worries. Feelings have nothing to do with driving up and down the passes. Its all experience that includes other vehicles (Chevy) towing and non-towing. Is it the Best vehicle? Well what is the BEST vehicle for towing? For my numbers, towing experience, and most importantly family safety my Tundra gets the job done w/o white knuckles. Come to Colorado and we can take a trip together. I can show you better than I can tell you. I just want to make sure it gets logged correctly ��
Be safe and wash your hands.

I understand your intentions and that's OK. I was pointing out, from my experience and observations after about 51 years of driving all over CO, that the combination you describe isn't, IMO, the most stable of combos I've seen. The OP was asking primarily about safety and stability. It's just a fact that a 35' trailer behind a 1/2 ton can be a handful; much more than behind a HD truck - btdt. Doesn't matter if you have Bilstein shocks, LT tires, air bags or an Equalizer hitch. Stopping power coming down sharp switchbacks on a 12k' pass cannot be ignored.

Just trying to keep the OP apprised of issues that can come up. Already owning a Tundra it would be human nature (mine anyway) to try to find reasons/excuses to rationalize why keeping the Tundra to pull a 10,500 load up and down the mountains would be "OK". It wouldn't IMO and just wanted the OP to be aware of that. It's all good, and yes, I wash my hands far more often than I used to but as much as I run around thinking about putting on a hazmat suit so I can "blend in" with the crowd.

[flybouy]

Originally Posted by Gkula

@ sourdough (Matt 14:31). My experience(s) is to help flyfishMT, so no worries. Feelings have nothing to do with driving up and down the passes. Its all experience that includes other vehicles (Chevy) towing and non-towing. Is it the Best vehicle? Well what is the BEST vehicle for towing? For my numbers, towing experience, and most importantly family safety my Tundra gets the job done w/o white knuckles. Come to Colorado and we can take a trip together. I can show you better than I can tell you. I just want to make sure it gets logged correctly ��
Be safe and wash your hands.

For me the discussion is not "the best for towing" but rather is what the OP has "enough" for towing the load he desires. If the numbers don't work then they don't work. It's immaterial what the brand, where it's towed or how far it's towed. None of the variables change those numbers. It is what it is.

[Northofu1]

The road to hell is paved with good intention
If fly hasn't figured out what's safe for him based on info on the web, in here, and youtube, then there is no hope.
Personally, I love the fail army type videos. reminds of how to proceed with caution.

[JRTJH]

Reminds me of a couple of "young male gorillas" sparring over the potential for amorous female gorillas.... Who has the stronger arms, the thicker coat, the most attractive scent or the "pinkest butt" ?????

Much the same with the "Hold my beer and watch this" crowd..... Unfortunately, some of them have either "drunk too much beer" or "honestly don't know the difference in stupidity and bravery"....

It's NOT about Toyota vs GM vs Ford vs RAM, it's simply an exercise in math. Add the numbers, if they're "bigger than the max" it's shouldn't become a "watch this" event (pinkest butt or not).....