2011 Tundra Towing Questions

[chris199]

Originally Posted by OutbackKampers

I own a 2010 Tundra, and towed a 30 ft. Coachmen, with a dry weight of 6600lbs for 2 years with no problems. We bought a 2012 Keystone Outback 312BH this year, with a dry weight of 7700lbs, and still have absolutely no problems towing. You will be very happy with your choice of tow vehicle. Good Luck!

We had a 199ML Passport and are waiting for our Cougar 32 SAB. TV is a 2012 tundr 5.7 doublecab. Looks like ur ccoach is about same size/wgt as cougar. I was nervous about the length and weights (or as my DW says...weightages). The closest thing we are approaching the limit on is payload in the truck. We have about a 200-300 lb cushion. Reassuring to know the tundra handles your coach! What WDH do you use?

[OutbackKampers]

I had a 10,000 lb. round bar wdh, with no sway control when I towed the 6600 lb. coachmen. No issues whatsoever. Moving up to the 36', 7700 lb. Outback made me a little nervous, so I upgraded to a Reese wdh with the dual cam sway control. I also put Firestone air bags on the truck. (Not a necessity) So far, the Tundra handles the Outback just as good as it did the coachmen. You're right about the payload. It's close.

[JimEli]

I pull our 35' Cougar 321RES TT at 8000+ pounds with an airbagged 5.7 Tundra and round bar WDH. No sway, no problems. Pulled over several 4000+ ft west coast mountains too. And gas is only $3.65. You'll love it.

[adkmacman]

You are all being thanked at once ... Thank you, thank you! I have looked at mirrors and settled on a pair that use rubber straps. I tried a short ride to ensure they will remain steady and so far so good!

I'd line to add another question of I may ... we are scheduled for May 3rd for the orientation and pickup. I stopped by today with my emwife and she pointed out that the bumper seems to be setting in further on one end than the other. Is this a normal manufacturing issue that the dealer can adjust? Also it's a New 2012 unit but the front right half of the axle has a lot of surface rust as well as the large "screw" inside the 4 stabilizer jacks.

Call me naive if I am but I purchased a 2011 Camry along with our 2011 CrewMax in late September )6 months ago) and not only were neither showing any rust .. But i obviously test drive every new vehicle before the final purchase. Should I test tow this camper before agreeing to take final reception and sign the paperwork saying I've been over it all and it's ok?

[Festus2]

The rust you are seeing on the axles and the stabilizer "screw" is quite common and you shouldn't be concerned. The axles are not coated with any long-lasting antirust coating and the stablilizer screw is basically bare metal that should have been lubricated. If it isn't, you can spray some dry lube on it or apply some grease/oil. The grease will, however, hold all sorts of road grime, dirt and grit. That is why I prefer to use dry lube spray.

Not sure about the bumper. It should be even from side to side and not skewed but if it is welded to the frame, it wouldn't be a simple fix.

I would hope that you would carry out a thorough pre-delivery inspection prior to signing over any funds to the dealer. If you do not have a PDI checklist, there is one available on the forum. It is a "sticky" in the Keystone Question section. You can download it and take it with you.

When you are doing your walk-through, take as much time as you need to do a complete inspection. Don't let the salesman rush you - be patient and ask lots of questions and get him to show you where everything is and how it works. Many buyers forget litle things to ask --- "How does this remote work?", for example. "How can I bring in the slide when the slide motor fails"?

Anything that needs repair, replacing, etc., make a note of it and get the dealer to make it right before driving it away.

Good luck with your purchase!
If you can take it out for a test run - by all means, take it out.

[JRTJH]

The bumper on our 2011 Springdale is very slightly off from even also. As Festus said, it's a solid, welded mount to the frame rails and not easy to fix. My thought about it was that someone would have to stand above the bumper and look down to compare the distance difference from the left to the right rear wall/bumper difference which is about 1" or maybe a little less. When standing behind the trailer looking at the bumper you can't see that offset. I thought it would be more trouble to take it all down, cut it off with a torch, and try to reweld it. I'd rather not have someone at the dealership (or anywhere else) around my new trailer with a torch trying to do cosmetic work that doesn't change any safety or operation factors and is simply a "hard to notice" cosmetic flaw. (Just my take on my own RV)

As for the stabilizer screws, and the axles, they are shipped bare and may have some surface rust on them. Over the years, that rust will more or less be a protective covering to prevent future rust. Unless it gets "really REALLY bad" I'd just leave it alone and occasionally check on it. Now if you're going to tow in the winter with salt covered roads, I'd keep them waxed or painted. But for most of us, the surface rust is of no consequence.

Test tow? Hmmm never heard of anyone doing that on an RV they'd otherwise be buying anyway. The only tests of that kind I've heard of are if there's a question about tow vehicle ability or such, and if you're going to be adding a break control, hitch, etc, after that $1000 or more, would it be a "deal breaker" if the trailer towed funny? I don't know what a limited "tow it around the block" kind of test would show you? What clicks for you to cause you to wonder about test towing?

[adkmacman]

Thanks Festus2 & JRTJH... I spoke with the dealership today and the responses from you two were dead on a match for his words.

I'm settled on these "issues" now. Thanks again!

[adkmacman]

Still waiting for my slip on towing mirrors for the Tundra. Any advice on Tow'in is welcome here... My experience starts and ends with a Corolla pulling a Coleman 8' popup!

[DTJ9610]

Originally Posted by adkmacman

You are all being thanked at once ... Thank you, thank you! I have looked at mirrors and settled on a pair that use rubber straps. I tried a short ride to ensure they will remain steady and so far so good!

I'm pulling a 2011 Laredo 303TG with my 2008 5.7 V8 DC 4x4. Have had he truck and trailer for 1 season now and have been very pleased. There are a few things I still want to do with the truck (airbags and e rated tires), however have not had any issues without them.

As for the mirrors I also use the rubber strap ones and have had no issues. Took them on a round trip from Buffalo to Gettysburg (roughly 650 miles) and they did just fine. Sure I'd like to install the factory power tow mirrors once I have the money, but for now they work.

Hope you enjoy the new camper.

[adkmacman]

Hey DTJ9610,

What does your camper weigh

What kinda mileage are you seeing?

[chris199]

Originally Posted by DTJ9610

I'm pulling a 2011 Laredo 303TG with my 2008 5.7 V8 DC 4x4. Have had he truck and trailer for 1 season now and have been very pleased. There are a few things I still want to do with the truck (airbags and e rated tires), however have not had any issues without them.

As for the mirrors I also use the rubber strap ones and have had no issues. Took them on a round trip from Buffalo to Gettysburg (roughly 650 miles) and they did just fine. Sure I'd like to install the factory power tow mirrors once I have the money, but for now they work.

Hope you enjoy the new camper.

DTJ....where did you stay in Gettysburg? We're headed there this weekend. Planning to stay at Granite Hill Resort. Thought about taking advantage of 2 free nights at the Gettysburg Resort and then getting 30 free nights but would rather chill this weekend than deal with 1-2 hrs of high pressure sales.

[Festus2]

We seem to be straying from the OP's question about towing with a Toyota Tundra. Since the OP posted, mirrors have come up as well as WDH's in general. Now we are talking about campgrounds in Gettysburg.......
Can we find a way back to the original topic?

[chris199]

Expecting delivery of our new Cougar shortly...32 SAB. 35 FOOT...Should I be concerned aboug towong it with the stock P rated tires and rims? Hate to throw new rims and tires away but also want to be safe. Have seen some posts where people swear by E rated tires....but some seem to be 5th wheeler towers. 32 SAB is TT.

Any thoughts?

Really appeciate all of the input and insight from others here! Great site/forum!

[DTJ9610]

Originally Posted by adkmacman

Hey DTJ9610,

What does your camper weigh

What kinda mileage are you seeing?

I haven't checked the dry in a while, however it was roughly 7,400. Loaded max is 9,000. I did hop on a CAT scale on the way down to Gettysburg and the combined came in at 15,280 (16k max). I know the truck was a bit over so I now know I can put more in the camper and less in the bed.

I'm usually getting between 8-10. Normally about 16.

[adkmacman]

That helps, the Hideout is 5,200 dry and 7,600 max loaded. I'm only seeing 14 - 15 on the truck display and I understand from others that they are usually generous so likely real world is less. it must be my driving style and Adirondack Mountain terrain that's getting me the lower numbers than others report.

I hate to see 7 mpg as some report while towing a lighter camper. I was hoping to be close to 10 at least heading south to Florida and maybe the 7 on the return trip for an average of 8.5 or so minimum. I'll report on my actual and the truck read out in late July when I get back.

Thanks to all those helping ... I am sure to have more questions after we pick up the new "home away from home" on May 3rd

[007stiggs]

Adkmacman,
As others have stated, the 5.7 liter Tundra will pull your newly purchased travel trailer with ease.
I have a 2011 Tundra Crewmax 4X4 with the 5.7 and pull a 2012 Cougar 26BHS with a dry wight of 5985 lbs. I'm not sure of my gearing but in any case, I have always felt comfortable with my setup. It is truly effortless. Gas mileage suffers but that is to be expected. I average about 9 mpg while towing.
I purchased the CIPA slip on tow mirrors. They are very secure and don't vibrate or make any noise when traveling at 70 on the freeway.

Happy RVing!!

[Bob Landry]

Originally Posted by 007stiggs

Adkmacman,
As others have stated, the 5.7 liter Tundra will pull your newly purchased travel trailer with ease.
I have a 2011 Tundra Crewmax 4X4 with the 5.7 and pull a 2012 Cougar 26BHS with a dry wight of 5985 lbs. I'm not sure of my gearing but in any case, I have always felt comfortable with my setup. It is truly effortless. Gas mileage suffers but that is to be expected. I average about 9 mpg while towing.
I purchased the CIPA slip on tow mirrors. They are very secure and don't vibrate or make any noise when traveling at 70 on the freeway.

Happy RVing!!

Agreed. The 5.7L Tundra with the tow package has a 4:30 rear end and coupled with the 6 speed transmission will pull that trailer easily. I'm pulling 8K lbs with mine with a properly set up WD and anti-sway, and I enjoy every trip.

[adkmacman]

Thanks again to all that helped

The proof of my ability to handle this new set up is soon ... I pick up the Hideout Thursday at 1:00pm.

I'm planing a quick weekend camp locally, then 2 four day 100 mile trip to test out my abilities and comfort towing to Lake George and Them Quebec.

If I can handle the setup, we leave for Destin, FL June 15 ... Ah 34 days of R&R

[109rfan]

Ver nice we picked ours up yesterday and had some people over for dinner in it. Tundra handled great

[DEW]

Originally Posted by Bob Landry

Agreed. The 5.7L Tundra with the tow package has a 4:30 rear end and coupled with the 6 speed transmission will pull that trailer easily. I'm pulling 8K lbs with mine with a properly set up WD and anti-sway, and I enjoy every trip.

Does the Tundra's 6 speed auto tranny have auto grade braking like the GM tranny?