1st Gen 280BH Passport

[lukewaterhouse]

Hi all! I am currently haggling a new 2010 Keystone, Passport Ultra Lite 280BH Travel Trailer. Here are the specs I have come up with so far,

Tow vehicle:
2003 Tundra 4.7L Access Cab SR5 4x4
Loaded with me and the wife, spray in liner, tonneu cover, full tank of gas, and preliminary camping gear is 5360 lbs actual scale weight.
Max Rated GCVWR 11800 lbs.
I will replace my passenger tires with some LT tires and use aftermarket mirrors (CIPA or Mckesh) before towing.

Trailer:
2010 Keystone, Passport Ultra Lite 280BH
Brochure says Shipping Weight 4752 lbs, Carry Capacity 1293 lbs, 445 lbs Hitch Weight. That should come out to GVWR 6045 lbs. Length 31'2", Width 8'0", Height 10'2". Fresh water 30G, Waste 30G, Grey 30G, 2x20 Gallons LP, 2 Batterys, electric; awning, tongue and stabilizer jacks. Equalizer hitch with 1000 lbs bars (100 lbs shipping weight) and an Envoy proportional brake controller, both dealer installed.

So if I am figuring this correctly, add my 60lb daughter, and I am looking at an estimated Combined total weight of 11565 lbs. That leaves 235 lbs for beer, fire wood and food to keep me legal at the scales.

Please help me ensure this is safe and feel free to point this newby RV'er in the right direction.
1. Is it safe and realistic to pull this rig?
2. What tires should I use?
3. What mirrors should I use?
4. Am I missing anything or there any other considerations.

Thanks for the help! I plan to be camping in 2 weeks if all goes well.

[tomhole]

Nice trailer! 4752 lbs dry will result in a 5,800 lbs trailer ready to camp (no liquids in fresh water or holding tanks). Hitch weight should be a minimum of 12% of that or 700 lbs.

Simple Math:

6600 lbs GVWR of your truck
-5,360 lbs empty weight of your truck
-700 lbs hitch weight
= 540 lbs cargo capacity left over

11,800 lbs GCWR of your truck
-5360 lbs empty weight of your truck
-5800 lbs weight of trailer
= 640 lbs towing capacity left over

As is usually the case with any 1/2 ton truck, you hit the GVWR before you hit the GCWR. As long as you don't carry a lot of cargo in the truck when you camp, you should be just fine.

I towed my Rockwood 2701SS which is about the same weight and length, with my 2005 4x2 DC. Worked ok, but I was hauling a lot more cargo.

Enjoy the camper.

Tom

[tomhole]

Originally Posted by lukewaterhouse

Please help me ensure this is safe and feel free to point this newby RV'er in the right direction.

1. Is it safe and realistic to pull this rig?
2. What tires should I use?
3. What mirrors should I use?
4. Am I missing anything or there any other considerations.

Thanks for the help! I plan to be camping in 2 weeks if all goes well.

Sorry, should have answered your questions.

1. Is it safe and realistic to pull this rig?

Yes. You will need a properly set up weight distribution hitch and a good brake controller. Then it will be safe.

2. What tires should I use?

The P rated are safe enough, but tend to bounce when at your max weight. I upgraded to load range C Firestone Destination A/T's when I was towing with my 2005. THey were much better for towing and fine for daily driving. Load range E are fine, too, but overkill.

3. What mirrors should I use?

Opinions vary. I have used all of the clip ons. I ended up with McKesh. They work the best and look the worst.

4. Am I missing anything or there any other considerations.

Be careful what else you load in the truck. As shown, the GVWR of the truck is your limiting factor. Also, watch how you load the trailer. Put too much up front and you could easily exceed 1,000 lbs hitch weight. Put too much in the back and you could get to dangerously low hitch weights (<10%). Split the cargo front to back and you will end up right around 700-800 lbs hitch weight, which is fine.

If you tow with water, watch out as water is heavy (8lbs / gallon). 30 gallons of water = 210 lbs of weight. If your fresh water tank is in the fron storage compartment, that means 200 lbs of added hitch weight.

Same with the waste tanks. They are usually at the back of the trailer, so full waste tanks = less hitch weight.

Tom

[celica]

You will be close on that trailer. I have basically the same trailer just the older model (was called the Zeppelin 291). I tow with the sequoia and when we do we are close the the weight limits. I think I was over by 100lbs on out 2 week holiday because I always go with a full tank of fresh water. I have always checked at the scales and I am always close to the limits.

[lukewaterhouse]

Thanks for the help! I don't plan on carrying water on the road. All the parks I camp have water and sewer at the gate. I actually saw a guy in a Highlander that had just purchased a similar model getting ready to hitch up, YIKES! Tomorrow I will tire shop. Let me know if you guys think of anything else I should look out for.

[lukewaterhouse]

Just got back from the tire store. Ended up settling on a set of Cooper Discoverer ATR LT265/75R16E. Great handling, but they are a much stiffer ride. I plan on getting new shocks and struts sometime next week. Then I'll try towing on the maiden voyage, about 200 miles to the park. It's about 150 miles of flat highway driving and the last 50 is hill country.

Any advice on suspension? Right now I am leaning towards Bilstein HD's.

[Buck62]

Not to burst your bubble, but trailer manufacturers under-rate the actual weight of their trailers. My Wildwood X-Lite 26BH says it's dry weight is 4,120 lbs on the sticker on the side of the trailer. I weighed the trailer both alone and combined with my Tundra and the results were nearly identical. It's actual weight is 4,480 lbs dry. That's a sizeable difference from the manufacturers stated weight.

Now, let's talk about all the extra stuff you'll pack - the heavy hydraulic jack you'll need to bring along in case the trailer gets a flat, the WDH and it's bars, the anti-sway bar, the BBQ grille, the tool box filled with heavy tools for emergency fixes, clean water hose, sewer hose, tarps, clothes, shoes, swim trunks, games for the kids while travelling, a cooler full of ice, drinks and cold cuts for sandwiches, mini propane tanks for the BBQ grille, the laptop computer, etc, etc, etc.

Trust me, you WILL end up with most (if not "all") of this extra stuff for your trips.

Do you ever plan on leaving Indiana and going up a hill or through some mountains with that trailer? I can see some serious climbing issues if you're pushing your maximum GCVWR with all the previously mentioned stuff and a full tank of gas. I just finished a 4,400 mile trip from Chicago to Seattle and back and my GCVWR was right at the 10,600 lb mark. I'm not saying my 2006 DC 4X4 had a lot of trouble going up some of those long, steep 8% and 9% grades for 5 or 6 miles at a time, but the engine groaned significantly louder and I certainly wouldn't have wanted to have tried these grades with an extra 1/2 ton of weight behind me.

I'm not trying to dissuade you from buying that trailer, because it's a real nice one. I'm just trying to give you an honest dose of reality. The weight builds up pretty quick when you figure in all the extra stuff you need for your camping trips.

[lukewaterhouse]

Here is the update. Took the trailer to the scales with full LP and gas tanks and 2 batteries on the tongue, whole family, otherwise empty. Combined weight was 10,440 lbs. Pulled great, no sway, but got a trouble light on the way home. I'm headed to the parts store to get it read right now.

I will post the full weights breakdown with my next post.

[lukewaterhouse]

Here is the actual scale weights breakdown that I have so far. It's long winded but should be a useful guide to other 1st gen tundra owners interested in pulling a family sized camper.

Truck:
5480 lbs with a full tank of fuel, Family of 3, and the Equalizer hitch, unhitched.
Camper:
4960 lbs with 40 gallons LP, and 2 batteries, No water (thats about 176 lbs over what the manufactures sticker on the camper says it would be. I guess that Keystone's dry weights include 2 batteries but no propane). 560 lbs of that 4960 lbs is on tongue.
Combo:
This brings the weight of the truck, while its hitched, to 6040 lbs. Just 160 lbs from the 6200 lbs maximum GVWR on my door tag.

So now I here's the dilema. To get the tongue weight up to 12% I will need to add about 50 lbs to the front carry compartment on the trailer. I suppose I could load it with a few fire logs and then just spread the the rest of the wood between the front and back carry compartments. Once I get the tongue weight right, I should have about 1000 lbs of cargo capacity left over for cargo in the trailer.

So here is the summary of this truck trailer combo. If it's properly loaded front to back I will still be within the 12-13% optimal tongue weight for the trailer, under the 6045 lbs GVWR for the trailer, under the 6200 lbs GVWR for the truck, and under the 11800 lbs GCVWR for the truck trailer combo. This gives me a real world cargo capacity of about 1050 lbs for the ready to camp trailer to stay legal. I am at the limit but so far it pulls fine.

The trouble light that came on during my first outing indicated P0031 which thanks to TS is Oxygen sensor 1, Bank 1 Open heater circuit. Thats the drivers side sensor before the Catalytic Converter. Changed it myself in about 20 minutes, Cost was $70 for next day delivery from amazon.

I am about to go tweak the Equalizer hitch a bit cause the trailer is riding nose down. The truck is perfectly level now but after I add 50 lbs to the tongue it will be noseing up a bit. Hope this post will help out another tundra owner someday. I'll try and keep you all updated on any issues I have.

[TundraBay]

Nice job. You did your homework and you know where you're at. Safe and happy camping!