Review 4,000 Miles Pulling 5'er, '07 Tundra Gets The Gold Star

[Tankerhank]

We just got back from a run to Minnesota from Arizona and back again. On the way up we did US Highways through the mountains in New Mexico & Colorado taking in the sights. On the way back I beat feet on the freeways for the most part (for personal issues) running 70-75 mph most of the time (before anyone jumps on the speed issue I don't run crap ST tires, I run Michelin LTX M/S tires on my 5'er), the 5'er pulls straight as an arrow (or a grizzly's D_ _ _ ), always has been extremely stable when towing, but then on the way up I ran 62-64 mph most of the time as the US Highways were posted for 65 mph. Gas mileage was not dramatically different between going up and coming back, I got one mpg less on the way back, I even tried a tank of 91 octane to see if it made a difference - it didn't. RPMs were in the 2,000 to 4,000 range, of course the 4,000 being when we got into the mountain grades and such, most of the time it was running in the mid 2's. I used Tow/Haul and sometimes didn't (would forget to push the button , there I notice small differences in how/when the tranny shifted. Overall I was extremely impressed with how well the truck did whatever was asked of it, mountain grades caused it to drop a gear or two and the RPMs to jump up but the truck never acted like it was working to pull the 5'er if you know what I mean it just sang up the road putting a grin on my face. When I would come on the "infamous packs of semis" I would just give the gas pedal a touch and soon we were sailing by the semis, upgrades even and heading way north of 75 mph . I really like the S mode as it allowed me to use the tranny for braking when coming down those steep grades again. Within the Tundra's towing weight range I can only say it is a monster; my 5'er weights in close to 8,000 lbs loaded, it has a light tongue weight (930 lbs empty), I had a Yamaha 3000SE generator with two 5 gallon gas cans in the back of the truck, the generator weights close to 150 lbs by itself, then there is myself, my bride and our two monster dogs which weight in at 13 lbs combined , I have Hellwig helper springs and the truck hardly noticed when the 5'er was hooked up. The Prodigy brake controller worked excellent even.

The Tundra just didn't care the 5'er was back there... it doesn't get any better than that!

[harper223]

I run Michelin LTX M/S tires on my 5'er

Are those Michy's made in China? I'm looking for a set to replace the POS set that came with my 09 jayco TT. Those are the Marathons/made in China BTW.

[Tankerhank]

Made in China? These are not trailer tires. Country of origin for these tires is U.S.A., the LTX M/S is a truck tire. I did a separate posting w/pics in this towing section as I had to swap out rims to get sizing for these tires (still 15" just wider).

[cwit]

I'm so glad you found lt tires in 15 ins. I know my next tire.

[Tankerhank]

Hey Charlie,

Those M/S tires have been excellent, even my bride says when the 5'er is just sitting in the yard and she goes out there to do something it does not bounce as much as with the old Carlisle. You will have to ditch those old white rims as they are not wide enough, I posted the brand and model of what I got in the other posting... rig looks good in black though .

I put 235/75 on as I wanted a little more height on the 5'er so it hooks up level with the truck. I got the rims and tires though Discount. Both the rims and the tires exceed the capacity of the old tires and rims.

I bet you enjoy them once you switch.

[cwit]

My 5er has 225/75 on it now with 7" rims. All I need is D rated tires. If these are made in D's I will have 4 before I go to Florida this winter.

[Tankerhank]

You're good to go then as they make them in D rated also.

[TundraBay]

Before any of my long towing trips I upgraded all 4 tires on the 5th wheel to 10 ply trailer tires (Carlisle makes them in 15" now) and the trailer seems to have less side to side sway than with the previous tires. After two blowouts of the Mission tires the trailer came with (and commensurate damage to the trailer) I needed something more sturdy. If these tires fail I guess there's no choice but to move to 16" rims and LT tires as well.

It is good to read of your exploits buddy, this truck seems well suited to towing heavy loads long distances. Keep it up!

[harper223]

Im going back and forth on what to do about my tires. 4 goodyear marathons from china on an 09 Jayco. I have been looking at Maxxis in the 15" size that are 10ply and getting heavy duty valve stems (like around 200psi rated). I think the factories put the cheapest sets of tires on to get the RVs off the lots, and then you are on your own. I have heard good things about the Maxxis tires too.

[Tankerhank]

Tundrabay,

I have LT tires on 15" rims much higher rated than the Carlisle that came with it, just need to be wide enough for the tires. I had to get wider rims for mine as it only had 5.5" rims and the tires needed 7".

[harper223]

I have a set of michelins LT on the truck. So you think I should do LTs for the TT. It weighs in at 9300 lbs loaded. Is there an LT that can handle that?

[Tankerhank]

I have no clue what is best for you, I know that when I started checking on new tires for the 5'er I read not so happy of stories about the Marathons, Carlisles and some Green - blankity-blank tires. I thought what the heck why not put quality truck tires on the 5'er, they are not limited to 65 mph like ST tires are and they are better constructed.

As for your TT weighting 9,300 lbs remember not all the weight is on the tires no different than my 5'er (1200 lbs is on the hitch/pin). I put C rated tires on, they had D rated when I looked also but the Cs more than handle the weight of my 5'er, heck they have a higher weight rating than the Carlisle I took off.

Take a look at the rating of the tires you have on there now and get the same or better.

[nomadic]

i found this, toyo LT285/75R16 126/123S E/10 362920 7.5-8.0-9.0 55.5 17 32.8 11.4 14.6 pounds single 3750 so i guess 4 of those could handle anything the tundra could tow... even a 1 ton could tow legally. if toyo makes thing the others better lt tire manufactures probably do. rim size will be your limiting fracture.

[Tankerhank]

15" tires on the rig has its limitations, some out there are 16" which opens up a whole new world of tires. To change over from 15" to 16" rims is not as simple as just buying new rims either, depends on the bolt pattern on the hub to a big degree and to change the hubs over to a pattern for 16" can be done but is not cheap. Then the other limitation is the space in the wheel wells on some rigs.

I do believe that a quality LT tire is a bunch better than ST tires.

[nomadic]

that's about it in a nut shell, really comes down to the bolt pattern on the rims. it was lucky with my tool trailer, it had 14" and it was a simple swap to 15", standard 5 lug ford i think... lug patterns and other "small" stuff is something 1st timers and weekenders overlook when buying a rv. it probably would be a good idea to bring a full timer along to help look at rvs before making a purchase

i wonder if there are adapters to go 5 to 6 lug, maybe in the 4x4 market...

Originally Posted by Tankerhank

15" tires on the rig has its limitations, some out there are 16" which opens up a whole new world of tires. To change over from 15" to 16" rims is not as simple as just buying new rims either, depends on the bolt pattern on the hub to a big degree and to change the hubs over to a pattern for 16" can be done but is not cheap. Then the other limitation is the space in the wheel wells on some rigs.

I do believe that a quality LT tire is a bunch better than ST tires.