You are currently viewing our boards as a guest which gives you limited access to view most discussions and access our other features. By joining our free community you will have access to post topics, communicate privately with other members (PM), respond to polls, upload content and access many other special features. Registration is fast, simple and absolutely free so please, join our community today!
If you have any problems with the registration process or your account login, please contact contact us.
TowingDiscussions related to towing and towing products.
This is a discussion thread titled "Went tandom with the tundra and....", within the Towing forum, part of the Technical & Vehicle Assistance Forums category.
The 5er weighs 7500lbs somewhat loaded and the boat was almost dry and weighs around 4000lbs including trailer.
So a total of 11,500 at least.
I am extremely surprised at the power the truck had with this amount of weight behind it. It did not feel underpowered whatsoever, and i was always able to find the right gear.
If you're familiar with Wahweap marina at lake powell near page AZ, there is a good pull going east past Coral pink sand dunes. Diesel rigs are down in the low 40 range pulling this hill.
The tundra did drop to 55mph on this hill, but as soon as it downshifted to 2nd, the speedo kept climbing quickly and then went to 3rd. On a grade of this size, i would have known whether or not the truck was under powered had i dropped below 40 mph. Well it didn't drop any lower than 55 at any given time. I'd say not bad considering i was towing 6 ton or more.
Knowing i was overweight, i did adjust my driving habits accordingly. I kept it under 65 most of the way, kept good distance between the car ahead, and drove extra cautiously.
I don't plan on doing this more than maybe two or three times a year, but my experiences tell me i'll be just fine.
I recorded an average of 7mpg for the trip with a lot of up and down small climbs and a few large ones. The a/c was cranked most of the way in 100 degrees F conditions, and neither of the temperature guages even flinched from dead center.
Needless to say, i am more pleased with the truck's capabilities now than i ever was before.
What a beast of a truck!
Last edited by Only Toyota for me; 07-01-2008 at 03:05 AM.
Reason: Ad pic
I am sure the weight police will shime in soon and I am not so sure I would pull that with a Tundra or a 3/4 ton... But I am impressed, cool post.
__________________ 2007 Tacoma DC 4x4 V6 TRD Off-Road
Supersprings
TRD Exhaust
AFE Cold Air Intake
URD Short Throw Shifter
TRD Supercharger (coming soon)
1967 Toyota Land Cruiser FJ40
Springover
Rear Detriot Locker
Front ARB Locker
Longfield Super Axles
SM420 Transmission
Orion 4.1 Transfer Case
Chevy 327 V8
Teraflex Revolver Shackles Rear
Trail-Gear Six Shooter Knuckles
37x14.00 Super Swamper Bias Ply Irok's
**Just to name a few**
Holy sh!t thats a load and a half. How did the transmission do? did it shift smooth or did it get clunky? do you have airbags or super springs on your truck? what tires do you have on your truck?
Holy sh!t thats a load and a half. How did the transmission do? did it shift smooth or did it get clunky? do you have airbags or super springs on your truck? what tires do you have on your truck?
Yeah, i knew i had something back there. But like i said, the tundra was amazing & never felt underpowered at all.
The transmission shifted very smooth & never clunky. But when i tow heavy loads, i'm always sure to be gentle with the trans. I beleive it is the weakest link on a truck, and the first to give you problems before anything else. But i am constantly watching the temp guage like a hawk, but it never even moved from dead center.
I try to feather the throttle so to use up the whole gear before shifting. I prefer to use S-5 most of the time so i have more control over that. But when i come to the hills, i put it in D so i get the WOT in 1st-3rd gears.
Yes, i have airbags on the truck and 10-ply A/T goodyear tires. The airbags had 24 psi in them, and the tires had 60psi all around.
Dangerous but cool. Must be fun trying to back up!
Yes, it can be dangerous & it's fun to try and change lanes, let alone trying to back it up.
I just make sure when i pull in somewhere, i don't have to back up which hasn't been a big problem yet.
It does look pretty cool going down the road though.
So everyone knows: you can tow large loads 40 miles past zero to empty on the info cluster. I did it with this load & a 30mph side wind, but i was puckering the whole way.
did your load feel stable? how did the suspension hold up?
It felt fairly stable under 70mph. At 75 you must have a steady hand or the boat would sway a little and you feel it before you see it. You feel your azz move side to side in the seat a little.
Suspension was fine with the airbags.
With a 5er you always have a little front-to-back bucking going on when you go over good sized bumps in the road. Going tandom you get a little more than normal. I think the added weight of the boat is the reason for that.
I felt secure enough that i won't hesitate for one second to do it again & again.
And honestly, for having 12klbs+ behind, i thought 7mpg wasn't too bad.
not bad at all. My uncle just bought a 28ft bumper pull travel trailer and he has the old tundra with the 4.7 which is too small to use for any distance, so he uses his son in laws dodge ram 1500 to pull it and it only gets 5 mpg and florida is pretty flat so he wasnt fightin many hills.
not bad at all. My uncle just bought a 28ft bumper pull travel trailer and he has the old tundra with the 4.7 which is too small to use for any distance, so he uses his son in laws dodge ram 1500 to pull it and it only gets 5 mpg and florida is pretty flat so he wasnt fightin many hills.
What motor does the dodge have in it?
I pulled this same 5er (just the 5er)with my 02 tundra, and it held it's own but did lack a little in the power & drivetrain department. I was over tow capacity by about 1000 lbs or so.
Has your uncle even attemted to pull the trailer with the tundra 4.7? Or is the trailer way too heavy for the capacity?
I know the 4.7 held it's own compared to the old dodge 5.9, and outperforms the dodge 4.7 by a long shot. Unless it's got a hemi in it, i'd tell him to give the tundra a shot & i think he'd be surprised. Providing it's feasible of course.
The new Tundra 5.7L drive train is the best on the market short of an oil burner, IMHO. The 4.7L I have is probably the best of the smaller V-8's. I just towed 12,800 GCW from MD and to Ohio and it was a challenge in the hills. Feels weird to have the gas pedal on the floor spinning 4200 rpm at 60 mph for several miles going up a 6% grade. 6.4 mpg over 618 miles will put a dent in the wallet.
The new Tundra 5.7L drive train is the best on the market short of an oil burner, IMHO. The 4.7L I have is probably the best of the smaller V-8's. I just towed 12,800 GCW from MD and to Ohio and it was a challenge in the hills. Feels weird to have the gas pedal on the floor spinning 4200 rpm at 60 mph for several miles going up a 6% grade. 6.4 mpg over 618 miles will put a dent in the wallet.
Tom
Agreed on the 5.7 Tom. Don't you have the 5 speed auto in your truck?
I had the 4 speed in mine, and that truck was always in 2nd gear on the hills rapped to the max. For what it was, it did VERY well but did get horrible mpg. I never did check it, but i probably got worse than 6. Surprisingly though, the 4.7 is quite impressive & you're right it's the best of the other small v-8's in the domestic's. And comes close to the bigger one's also ( 5.9 dodge, 5.4 ford, 5.7gm, older 6.0gm???? ). No?
I'm surprised you didn't have a comment about me in this thread. I know it can be unsafe, and it is overloading the truck. But i drive it that way, if you know what i mean. However, i would NEVER do a tandom setup with a TT.
Even just thinking about it is kind of scary. Just saw an accident on the news when we got back sunday night. Someone towing a boat & jetskies tandom lost control and 3 out of the 7 people on board died. The other 4 are critical.
had a great time at lake Powell with (only toyota for me)i allso towed tandem with my boat and same trailer truck pulled great had all the power that you would need truck is so impressive.hope that we can have many more trips with you o.t.f.m see ya on the road.
Long time since we talked. I would like to do this too. Tell me, how did you get a good strong hitch connection on your 5th wheel for the boat? I understand those RV bumpers can't take the load. Please provide some details of the set-up.
Also, please provide your procedure for entering your camping site. How do you deal with backing that deal in and dropping boat. Most sites I have seen are pretty darn tight.
I would like to find a way to do it. I have a Malibu Sunsetter LXI inboard ski boat with a tongue weight of about 400 pounds. (I weighed it.)
Went tandom with the tundra and....
I've seen tandems before, but they are always Super Duty trucks. /Mike
Linear Mode
