New to the site and have been searching for info on Fifth Wheel Towing. My baby is an 07 Crew Cab, SR5, Tow Pkg, 5,7 V-8, std bed. I know the tow capacity is hefty and can do well with a standard Travel Trailer. It seems to come up short except for only lite weight 5W Units. The problem is the payload and hitch weight obviously. The 5W I am looking at is a 31 ft HR with a hitch weight of 1430 lbs and dry weight of 7550 lbs.
My question is this: Am I just inviting trouble/problems if I even consider this 5W? Would appreciate any commments/suggestions from other fivers who have gone thru the process. Thanks..........
Loads of threads on this topic. You can use the forum advanced search and put '5th wheel' into the keyword and then 'search titles only' to get a nice shortlist including these among many others. There is a 'towing' sub-forum a bit further down that has a lot of this content you'll want to look at.
Long and short of it, pull what you feel comfortable with. Mine's a little lighter on the pin weight, little heavier on the trailer. I've had no problems so far. PM Tundrabay or Only Toyota For Me, they are the expert towers and have a lot more miles under their belts. Can the truck do it-yes. I would upgrade the tires and install airbags to do it though.
New to the site and have been searching for info on Fifth Wheel Towing. My baby is an 07 Crew Cab, SR5, Tow Pkg, 5,7 V-8, std bed. I know the tow capacity is hefty and can do well with a standard Travel Trailer. It seems to come up short except for only lite weight 5W Units. The problem is the payload and hitch weight obviously. The 5W I am looking at is a 31 ft HR with a hitch weight of 1430 lbs and dry weight of 7550 lbs.
My question is this: Am I just inviting trouble/problems if I even consider this 5W? Would appreciate any commments/suggestions from other fivers who have gone thru the process. Thanks..........
In case you're wondering if you'd be the first person to go over the Tundra's rating, the answer is no. But as far as the engineering of the truck goes, you're going into somewhat uncharted territory. There is of course a long history of people ignoring the manufacturer stated maximums, and occasionally things do break. Also, if you break something, the warranty may be invalid.
If you posted a similar question on RV.net, the overwhelming response would be to NOT exceed any of the truck's ratings. If you go to a campground and look what people are actually towing, you will see that many people are at least a few hundred pounds over their payload, some quite a bit more.
Some things can lessen the risk. First, make sure you have some experience towing. Second, upgrade the crappy tires the truck came with. Third, consider Air Bags if you're going to exceed payload by more than a couple hundred pounds. Fourth, make sure the brake controller is a good one (Prodigy or P3), and your truck and trailer are well maintained, tires are good, wheel bearings are serviced, and trailer brakes are all in good working order. Finally, remember you've got a lot of weight behind you, don't speed (60-65MPH max) leave extra room for stopping, etc.
Good luck which ever way you go.
__________________ [Tundra Bay]
Proud Member CBTMA
Radiant Red 2007 Double Cab Limited w/Graphite Leather Interior
Factory Nav, Sonar, and 10 spkr 440W JBL stereo with Sirius (sweet) Cold Weather Pkg and Block Heater. Brushed SS Stepboards,
Tires: BFG All Terrain T/A KO LT265 65 R 18, Diamondback Tonneau Cover.
Curt Front Receiver, custom 8" extension, & Warn 8000lb winch back/front mountable,
Tekonsha Prodigy Brake Controller DSP 16,000 lb 5th wheel hitch Firestone Ride Rite 2445 Air Bags
One other thing that has not been mentioned is your truck is a CM so it has a shorter than normal bed and there are only a couple hitches that have enough slide to compensate for that, unless you like see the corner of your 5'er coming through the back window.
I pull a 26' 5'er and used to pull it with my 2000 Tundra 4.7 SR5 before upgrading so pushing the limits I have done.
I run the mountains a lot in my neck of the woods and the 5.7 does it with ease, not saying it doesn't drop a few gears in the serious stuff just saying it never weezes or huffs to get it done.
You will most likely exceed the payload of the truck with that hitch weight but like said upgrade the tires to something serious, I ended up with "E" load rated as finding "D" rated was impossible in the brands I wanted.
Besides airbags there are Hellwig helper springs which work quite well and are an install and forget setup once they are adjusted to your needs.
Right now I am ready to head out of town again and have the back loaded with firewood so add that to my hitch weight!
2005 Rockwood 26' 5'er, Michelin LTX MS tires, 270 watts of solar on the roof, 4 T-105 golf cart batteries, Xentrex converter, Outback FX2012T inverter/charger.
If you can't take it with ya, why bother with an RV!
2000 Tundra (bought 9/9/99)
JBA Headers
Gone but not forgotten~
New to the site and have been searching for info on Fifth Wheel Towing. My baby is an 07 Crew Cab, SR5, Tow Pkg, 5,7 V-8, std bed. I know the tow capacity is hefty and can do well with a standard Travel Trailer. It seems to come up short except for only lite weight 5W Units. The problem is the payload and hitch weight obviously. The 5W I am looking at is a 31 ft HR with a hitch weight of 1430 lbs and dry weight of 7550 lbs.
My question is this: Am I just inviting trouble/problems if I even consider this 5W? Would appreciate any commments/suggestions from other fivers who have gone thru the process. Thanks..........
If you have a crewmax, be prepared to spend some money on a slider hitch. Toyota does not recomend you tow a 5er with a CM; however some are with good success.
You're better off to find one with a dry pin of under 1300lbs, if possible. You're over that a little bit, but a lot of folks are doing it and are well satisfied. Your dry weight sounds fine to me, and i'd tow that trailer without too many worries.
Ditto on what everyone else recomends ie; brake controller, E tires, airbags, etc...
I'm sure i was over on the trip we just got back from. I had 30 gallons of gas in the bed, plus our 1250 lb pin weight, full tank, and 5 people in the cab. Oh no, i'd better look out for the RV.net fellers.
I have been towing a Jayco 5th wheel for a couple years with about 1600 pounds on the pin, 34ft long. It tows great but you must have airbags. I like them well pumped too...30 psi -ish... No problem...Your trailer would be fine. I have double cab and really dont need a slider hitch. I put one on but I have never used it and I have shoved my trailer into very very tight turns. IMO, totally unnecessary.
Color yourself lucky. I have the 8' bed and when I do a full crank (90 degree ) the 5'er is within a few inches of the the back of the cab, and the bed is 1.5' longer than your truck. BTW with my 2000 Tundra even with the 9" slide I did put the corner of the 5'er through the back window of the cab.
2005 Rockwood 26' 5'er, Michelin LTX MS tires, 270 watts of solar on the roof, 4 T-105 golf cart batteries, Xentrex converter, Outback FX2012T inverter/charger.
If you can't take it with ya, why bother with an RV!
2000 Tundra (bought 9/9/99)
JBA Headers
Gone but not forgotten~
Some 5th wheels must stick out more in front than others. With the 6.5' bed, non-slider, I can get near 90 degrees and I'm still about 1" from the back window. The way the pin is set up it's just about EXACTLY above the rear axle.
__________________ [Tundra Bay]
Proud Member CBTMA
Radiant Red 2007 Double Cab Limited w/Graphite Leather Interior
Factory Nav, Sonar, and 10 spkr 440W JBL stereo with Sirius (sweet) Cold Weather Pkg and Block Heater. Brushed SS Stepboards,
Tires: BFG All Terrain T/A KO LT265 65 R 18, Diamondback Tonneau Cover.
Curt Front Receiver, custom 8" extension, & Warn 8000lb winch back/front mountable,
Tekonsha Prodigy Brake Controller DSP 16,000 lb 5th wheel hitch Firestone Ride Rite 2445 Air Bags
If the hitch was installed correctly the pin should be just slightly ahead of the axle. They do make extensions for the 5'er "tongue", I know my 5'er has one on it as the previous owner had a Titan. But the width of the 5'er becomes the issue when you turn tight, my 5'er is 100" wide.
2005 Rockwood 26' 5'er, Michelin LTX MS tires, 270 watts of solar on the roof, 4 T-105 golf cart batteries, Xentrex converter, Outback FX2012T inverter/charger.
If you can't take it with ya, why bother with an RV!
2000 Tundra (bought 9/9/99)
JBA Headers
Gone but not forgotten~
Even with a slider hitch I won't try a complete 90 again It cost me my back glass. Thanks to Insurance no out of pocket cost. I pull a 29footer about your pin and 8500 lb. loaded. I have airbags and 10 ply tires. I tow from upper Ny to Florida with my Tundra. I get 8.5 towing Ny and 10.5 the rest of the trip. I hope to tow with my truck many years, will only trade truck when they make the tundra in a 3/4 ton.
2005 Rockwood 26' 5'er, Michelin LTX MS tires, 270 watts of solar on the roof, 4 T-105 golf cart batteries, Xentrex converter, Outback FX2012T inverter/charger.
If you can't take it with ya, why bother with an RV!
2000 Tundra (bought 9/9/99)
JBA Headers
Gone but not forgotten~
If it's me I have the tryfold and leave it on. It's been there sence the day I bought the truck. I like keeping my box covered and tailgate locked when not towing.
2005 Rockwood 26' 5'er, Michelin LTX MS tires, 270 watts of solar on the roof, 4 T-105 golf cart batteries, Xentrex converter, Outback FX2012T inverter/charger.
If you can't take it with ya, why bother with an RV!
2000 Tundra (bought 9/9/99)
JBA Headers
Gone but not forgotten~
Tundra and 5W Towing
) the 5'er is within a few inches of the the back of the cab, and the bed is 1.5' longer than your truck. BTW with my 2000 Tundra even with the 9" slide I did put the corner of the 5'er through the back window of the cab.
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