# Newbie-toyota Tundra Towing



## NJMikeC (Mar 29, 2006)

Folks,

Would like some honest opinion on towing capacities before I buy the 25RSS I want.

I have a '04 Toyota Tundra Double Cab. 245 HP, 4:10 Rear w/towing package, trans cooler, oil cooler, etc.

Towing capacity is 6500lbs.

GCWR of this vehicle is 11,800 with the truck along being 4,700 lbs.

So the questions are???

1) Can I tow the 25RSS with the setup I have?
2) Will I exceed the GCWR- my math says no but experience is sometimes a better teacher then just the numbers.


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## Fire44 (Mar 6, 2005)

Welcome to the site and congrads on your taste of campers!!!!

I think that you maybe pushing the limits of your Toyota but it is close......

I think we have a few towing with the Tundra and they will chime in soon.

Best of luck in your shopping.

Gary

PS Does the NJ stand for New Jersey??? If so what part are you from.


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## ee4308 (Aug 23, 2005)

NJMikeC,

action Welcome to the site. sunny Glad to see you are looking at the Outbacks. I would think you probably could handle the 25RSS, but you would be close to max. Some of the towing experts can help you better than I and the will be chiming in shortly. Post often, and let us know what you do.


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## Herbicidal (Aug 29, 2003)

I'm not sure what the weight is of the 25RSS, but I have a 26RS that has been weighed on the scales @ 5,600 lbs (loaded for camping, minus water). I have a 2001 4x4 Access cab Tundra with some mods to help with the towing side of things. We pack relatively lite for a family of four and usually carry little to no water in the trailer. About the only thing we carry in the bed of the truck is our generator, some wood and occasionally our bikes. Don't expect to blast up the hills and keep your towing speed reasonable (55-60 mph) and tow with overdrive turned off. It's no diesel, but I'm happy with the towing capabilities of this truck.

You have the right gearing and along with a tranny cooler, you should be fine. A good hitch with anti-sway device and brake controller are a must. The vast majority have choosen the Prodigy controller. If you have anymore questions, ask away! There is also a towing forum over on TundraSolutions. It's free to register. I'm on that forum as Herbicidal also.

Take care and welcome to Outbackers!


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## NJMikeC (Mar 29, 2006)

Herbicidal and others thanks for the opinion. Would probably kill my wife (not exactly) to go down to a 23RS. Not that I'm running the numbers but I see many folks have 1/2 tons and pull larger trailers. Some have more HP but the truck also has more weight then mine as well. Decisions, Decisions.

Just want to be safe and not sorry.

$$$ outlay for the trailer is pretty big and ya got to be happy.

Fire44- I live in NW NJ (Long Valley) . I'm about 50 minutes from Otter Lake. I want to keep the trailer in Otter lake over the winter and do some snowmobiling from it. In the summer who knows where I will go. Probably a lot of places in the Northeast. I'm originally from Upstate NY near Lake George.


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## MJRey (Jan 21, 2005)

One of my friends/coworkers got a 27RSDS last year and he tows it with the same truck as yours. I thought the trailer was too big for the truck but so far he says it's doing fine.


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## HootBob (Apr 26, 2004)

Hi NJMikeC
The weight of the 25RSS is 5275
So buy the time you load it you may be close to your max if not over
It may pull fine on flat but you may wish you had more for the hills

Don


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## huntr70 (Jul 8, 2005)

NJMikeC said:


> Herbicidal and others thanks for the opinion. Would probably kill my wife (not exactly) to go down to a 23RS. Not that I'm running the numbers but I see many folks have 1/2 tons and pull larger trailers. Some have more HP but the truck also has more weight then mine as well. Decisions, Decisions.
> 
> Just want to be safe and not sorry.
> 
> ...


Just don't let the dealer sell you on the Outback being a 4 season trailer....its not.

If you keep it active for snowmobiling, I would look into heat strips on the tanks and water lines.....

Steve


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## NJMikeC (Mar 29, 2006)

Hunter 70 -great input on the winter issue. Wouldn't keep the tanks active. Would rough it on the weekends.
In fact thanks all on your input but I think I'm in the doghouse tonight. Got the wife all psyched up on the 25RSS but doing the math I don't like what I see.
GCWR of truck is 11,800lbs. If I say I want a 10% safety factor that gets me down to 10,620lbs.

Truck-4700lbs
People-450lbs (were small)
Truck Gas= 130lbs
Propane=60lbs
trailer=5175 (from the sticker)
Hitch=40lbs
Battery=40lbs
clothes=75lbs
Bedding=50lbs
dishes=20lbs
pots and pans=30
tv=30lbs
food=100lbs
water=415lbs (50gals.)
total=11,315 or 700lbs over my 10% safety factor. Some things I put in are too heavy but I also didn't include toys, bicycles, etc so it comes out in the wash.

Guess I just went down to 23RS. Anybody see flaws in my logic ????


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## Reverie (Aug 9, 2004)

The great Tundra Towing Debate rages on...

Personally I have had no problems towing my 28BHS with virtually the exact same setup as Herbicidal. I have towed in the mountains, the flats and about everything in between. I like having the space my 28 footer affords my family. I have never come close to my maximum weight. Here is the thing, if you try towing a 28 footer and you are not comfortable, don't do it. If you are the type that drags along everything INCLUDING a personal fog machine and a set of Soccer Goals, you might consider something else. I never tow with more than about five gallons of water, don't carry more than I really need and keep my speed at a reasonable level and have had no problems. Plenty of people will bombard you with "facts" and figures and tell you you can or you can't. It is more of a personal decision, one that takes soul searching about your limits and what you want out of your experience. If you feel nervous about the tow then go with something smaller. To me the trip starts when I climb in the truck.

Reverie

PS: I got your message but couldn't figure out how to return the email.


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## fishingmarlin (Nov 27, 2005)

My personal opinion seems to always be more conservative than most only because in the past 10 years I have been through 3 different vehicles and about to change again. Here is what has happened to me:
My first truck Toyota T-100 2wd was just an awesome truck!! Started towing my 85 Procraft Bass Boat 2-3 times a week. The truck had around 90k on it and within a year it started running pretty rough. After I traded it in for a Nissan Pathfinder with 40k miles I saw my T-100 twice on the side of the road. I had my Pathfinder for 3 years and it actually did pretty good but after 3 years of towing a boat on a regular basis I noticed engine noises getting louder and decided it was time to upgrade. So I got a 98 Chevy K1500 rated at 6700lbs with 55kmiles on it. It is now at 83k with a new transmission and I can tell the transmission that is only a year old is not shifting well. It has some pretty bad engine knock and runs pretty rough when I am not towing which is strange. When I tow the vehicle seems to run better than when not towing.

Maybe I have had just a bad run of vehicles but I have found that if you tow on a regular basis with a vehicle close to its limits it just destroys the vehicle. If I bought a brand new truck or a year old I would probably not have these problems but it does effect the lifetime of the vehicle.

My truck will be paid off by the end of this year but my biggest fear is the engine knock. I have been unfortunate enough to hear what a vehicle sounds like before it dies and my current truck is sounding like its getting close to death.

There are a lot of 1/2 ton owners on these boards that don't seem to have towing issues. Then again most of the 1/2 ton trucks are farely new compared to mine.


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## GoVols (Oct 7, 2005)

NJMikeC said:


> Hunter 70 -great input on the winter issue. Wouldn't keep the tanks active. Would rough it on the weekends.
> In fact thanks all on your input but I think I'm in the doghouse tonight. Got the wife all psyched up on the 25RSS but doing the math I don't like what I see.
> GCWR of truck is 11,800lbs. If I say I want a 10% safety factor that gets me down to 10,620lbs.
> 
> ...


Make sure you don't double count the hitch weight. Is the 5175 lbs you quote the camper's "dry weight" or "gross axle weight"? Dry weight includes the hitch weight; axle weight does not.

Your Tundra's curb weight should include a base vehicle with no options, a driver and a tank full of gas; that's all. To the Tundra add other passengers, weight of options, cargo, hitch weight of tongue, weight of the hitch head assembly. It is important to count the hitch weight with the truck and not the camper.

Your first calculation is to be sure you are not over your rear axle limit on the truck. Secondly, be sure you are not over your GVWR for the truck. Third, take your trailer's GAWR (or Dry Weight less the hitch weight) and add the installed options weight, which is 500 lbs for the two OB option packages. Then add all that stuff you listed like propane, battery, clothes, etc. Include any water you take with you, but you'll better off not carrying water if you can help it. This total for the camper should not be over the camper's GVWR. Lastly, add the weights of the truck and camper for your GCWR total.


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## PDX_Doug (Nov 16, 2004)

action *Welcome to Outbackers, NJMikeC!* action
I'm glad you found us!









You are to be commended for doing your homework before you buy. Smart man!

My feeling is that you are pushing the limits of your Tundra, but I will defer to those using the same rig (herbicidal, et al).

Happy Trails,
Doug


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## GlenninTexas (Aug 11, 2004)

Here's another option. If your actually not over your max weights and are primarily concerned about the 10% fudge factor, add a set of air bags to the rear suspension. This will give you increased capability to maintain your comfort level.

Regards, Glenn


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## NJMikeC (Mar 29, 2006)

Not sure I know how to figure the GAWR. For the rear is it half of the truck weight + the tongue weight? Guess I could always have the truck weighed. If GAWR is half the truck weight plus the tongue wt then that is probably 1/2 of 5000# for 2500# on the truck and 700 for tongue which equals 3200 far under the 3760 Rear. Is that correct?

The "5175" pounds is from the sticker on the trailer and that includes tongue wt correct?

Axles are 3500 front 3760 Rear which added together are greater then GVW of the vehicle at 6500 so I'm ok there I think. If I run without water then I'm at 10,900 lbs and the GCWR is 11,800. I'm feeling a little more comfortable so then maybe in a year or 2, I get a new truck.


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## camping479 (Aug 27, 2003)

NJMikeC said:


> Not sure I know how to figure the GAWR. For the rear is it half of the truck weight + the tongue weight? Guess I could always have the truck weighed. If GAWR is half the truck weight plus the tongue wt then that is probably 1/2 of 5000# for 2500# on the truck and 700 for tongue which equals 3200 far under the 3760 Rear. Is that correct?
> 
> The "5175" pounds is from the sticker on the trailer and that includes tongue wt correct?
> 
> ...


The 5175 on the sticker does include the tongue weight but not propane, etc.

The GAWR is the gross axle ratings for the front and rear axles which in your case is 3500 and 3760. For some reason the combination of the two is always greater than the gross vehicle weight rating. The actual weights probably won't be 50/50 front and back. The rear empty weight will probably be lighter than the front.

I'd agree with you the best thing to do is to get your truck weighed and then do the math from there; truck weight plus dry trailer weight plus gear and remember not to count the tongue weight twice









With our yukon we are right at the truck's GVWR, several hundred under on both axle ratings and over 2000 under on GCWR. Most times 1/2 ton trucks bump into the GVWR before getting too close to the GCWR or GAWR.

Mike


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