[tomhole]

950 lbs is a lot, but if properly set up, should be fine. The interesting thing about hitch weight is you can control it to a certain degree. It can also get a lot higher than any brochure weight. My hitch weight is listed as 480 lbs. It was 750 lbs right off the dealer lot with absolutely nothing in it. Now that I have it loaded, I can vary it from 475 lbs to over 1,000 lbs depending on how I load the trailer. I have a nice Sherline hitch scale that I use every time I load up and have a good idea how to achieve what I consider my ideal hitch weight of 700lbs.

So, starting with a hitch weight that heavy, you could easily get up to 1,500 lbs. If you load carefully (including fresh water, depending on where the tank is), you could sit right around 750-800 lbs. I like a minimum 13% on my hitch. With a 7000 lbs trailer, that' about 1,000 lbs. With a weight distribution hitch, set up properly, a new Tundra should handle this well.

I will caution you that all that hitch weight counts against the GVWR of the truck. And the Tundra has a limited supply of that.

I will also caution that not using a weight distribution hitch with that much hitch weight could kill you. Lots of bad things happen when the truck is loaded like that. The brakes are all screwed up, the headlights are pointed up and the front axles unload a lot. With 1,000 lbs hitch weight and no weight distribution, the front axle will likely unload by about 450 lbs. The rear axle will have about 1450 lbs on it. This is due to the teeter totter effect of the hitch point being behind the rear axle.

Bottom line, 1,000 lbs hitch weights on a new Tundra are achievable with a high level of safety if all the weight limits are considered and you use a weight distribution hitch.

Happy camping!!

Tom