Looking at purchasing a 2008 Keystone Outback Sydney model 30RLS. Shipping Weight - 7430 pounds. Carry Capacity - 2170 pounds. Hitch - 855 pounds. Length 33' 2".
Purchase price is very reasonable and wife loves size and floorplan.
Tow vehicle 2007 Tundra DC 5.7 Auto Trans with Tow Package TRD option 2 wheel drive.
Equalizer Hitch.
I know I am close to limits. I am not an aggressive driver, 65mph max pulling current trailer. Travel mostly in flat to hilly sections of East Texas, Arkansas & OK, no high mountains within 1,000 miles.
With good LT tires and possible air bags will I be in the safe range for pulling the Outback.
We camp once a month during warm months, 4-5 day trips, around 500 miles one way max from home.
Anyone outthere pulling this type of load.
Thanks.
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~
There is a lot of talk that air bags mess up the wdh. You might want to try towing without them frist you can always install later. Your going to like towing with the Tundra.
I have the same setup pretty much as you're looking to get. I have the airbags, I love them when I have a heavy load in the bed of the truck but they suck with WDH. I usually set them to around 15psi when towing and 5psi empty. Get some hellwig springs instead.
9300lbs with everything in it, and a Hensley Arrow. I think in this pic it shows the old Reese DC. I have helper springs in the back. Pulls like a champ.
I have the same setup pretty much as you're looking to get. I have the airbags, I love them when I have a heavy load in the bed of the truck but they suck with WDH. I usually set them to around 15psi when towing and 5psi empty. Get some hellwig springs instead.
What exactly makes the air bags suck with WDH? What is the problem?
Terry
__________________
2007 5.7 DC 4 x 2
Slate Metallic
Mods: Prodigy Brake Controller see gallery for location, Fold down rear seat mod, Suction Cup Holder In Place of coin holder
Bling Lights BL 500K fog lights installed (What can I say, I was one of the lucky winners!)
What exactly makes the air bags suck with WDH? What is the problem?
Terry
Picture this, you have a perfect setup on an equalizer with your camper, it pushes down on both the front and rear axle. Now with that same perfect setup, push up the rearend of the truck 2" (airbags inflated), that causes the friction bars to lift as well as the tongue on the trailer to lift--now this has the same effect on the WDH as if you were going over a bump--except it is permanent. The downward angle of the head on the WDH is what the friction bars use to lift up on the back of the truck making the weight go to the front axle. By raising the rear axle only you are removing weight from the front because you are reducing the ability of the friction bars to act like wheelbarrel handles and push down on the front of the truck.
So sure, you can resetup your hitch based on the airbag pressure...which I did...but I find that the airbags pressure is variable. Just like your tires, when you drive, they get hot, the PSI increases. Well, same thing happens with the airbags, it fluctuates, it gets higher or lower and that causes the way the WDH works to be variable as well. But say you add some stuff to the bed of your truck on a trip...well, now that lowered the truck by an inch, so you add more air, you get a more bouncy ride to try and make up for the difference in height.
Thanks for illustrating the issue. I guess I'll remove Air Bags from my wish list and bump the E-Rated tires in importance rating.
The truck doesn't sag too much since we re-arranged the trailer loading and adjusted the WDH. Trailer is dead level and truck doesn't appear to sag, sure the back end drops some, but measurements of fender height front and rear show a properly adjusted WDH.
The porpoising on rough roads (California Freeways) is a bit much at times though.
Will helper springs stiffen the ride of the truck when not loaded? I tow seasonally and use the truck for my DD the rest of the time. (5 Mile drive to work). I like the feel of the ride when not towing and wouldn't want to make it overly stiff.
__________________
2007 5.7 DC 4 x 2
Slate Metallic
Mods: Prodigy Brake Controller see gallery for location, Fold down rear seat mod, Suction Cup Holder In Place of coin holder
Bling Lights BL 500K fog lights installed (What can I say, I was one of the lucky winners!)
Actually, I have a problem with the porpoising as well. From what I've read the best thing to do is get the Rancharo Shocks and set them to 9 when towing and supposedly that resolves the problem. I'd skip the springs and airbags and go right to the adjustable shocks first if I had to do it over again. Shocks and a lift will be going on this summer...airbags will be coming off...at least for awhile to test.
Before completely removing the airbags, I'd see how it tows with just 5 PSI in them. With that minimal pressure, they should not do much at all until they're significantly compressed, and then they act more as a bump stop. Good call on the shock absorber upgrade though. I think for my needs the TRD suspension with the shocks the truck came with is OK but if you're going to spend the time and money upgrading, go all the way!
__________________ [Frankenstein's Monster]
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, TS Sticker
Tires: BFG All Terrain T/A KO LT265 65 R 18, Diamondback SE Tonneau Cover.
Curt Front Receiver, custom 8" extension, & Warn 8000lb receiver mount winch back or front,
Tekonsha Prodigy Brake Controller DSP 16,000 lb 5th wheel hitch Firestone Ride Rite 2445 Air Bags & TRD Rear Sway Bar (Best, Cheapest Mod!)
Before completely removing the airbags, I'd see how it tows with just 5 PSI in them. With that minimal pressure, they should not do much at all until they're significantly compressed, and then they act more as a bump stop. Good call on the shock absorber upgrade though. I think for my needs the TRD suspension with the shocks the truck came with is OK but if you're going to spend the time and money upgrading, go all the way!
OK, so what does 'going all the way' entail? I'm not interested in lifting the truck, I think it's high enough already. I'm not opposed to leveling the front end but it's not on my list of upgrades either and from what I can tell mostly cosmetic for those of us with 4x2.
Current setup
Stock shocks.
Stock tires P 275-65/18. The rear tires (Michelins) have a few thousand miles left on them and need replacing within the year. The fronts are almost new (Bridgestone dueler H/Ts), this is the way it came from the dealer.
Driving style and preferences:
Leisurely driver with no desire to supercharge, CAI, Cat back or any of the other young guy macho stuff.
The only off-roading I do/anticipate is getting in to a campsite or the occasional fire road. To see what's up there.
My truck is my daily driver.
I tow for our high school band and friends in need. Tow loads range from small personal utility trailers (hundreds of pounds) all the way up to 9,000 lb loaded enclosed trailers with WD hitches.
I like the way my truck rides when not towing, stiff enough to feel like a truck but not car smooth either, a good balance that the Toyota engineers arrived at IMHO.
The main problem:
The porposing and bouncing when hauling a heavy trailer (~9,000 lbs) is uncomfortable and I'm sure not the safest thing either. Not to mention the fact that my wife suffers motion sickness
The solution(s) as I see it from reading different threads on this forum and discussing with other people that haul a lot.
Get E rated Tires:
I understand these will stiffen the ride of the truck some, but most likely tolerable.
Upgrade the shocks:
The questions are :
Which shocks to upgrade to? It seems the people that tow favor the Rancho 9000 XL shocks and everyone else says the Bilstein 5100s are the best.
Which E Rated tires to upgrade to? Important to me is: SAFETY, how long the tires last, cost, road noise, weight.
I'm open to opinions and suggestions on both shocks and tires. I have learned that the knowledge level on this forum is pretty darn high and I value the input.
Terry
__________________
2007 5.7 DC 4 x 2
Slate Metallic
Mods: Prodigy Brake Controller see gallery for location, Fold down rear seat mod, Suction Cup Holder In Place of coin holder
Bling Lights BL 500K fog lights installed (What can I say, I was one of the lucky winners!)
Tirerack.com has a pretty good review of tires. It is true that E rated tires are not as soft and forgiving as the passenger car (P-rated) tires that came on the truck stock. But E rated also are much better for hauling heavy loads, which it sounds like applies to you. Do you know what the tongue weight of the 9K lb trailer is? Because if you're significantly over 1,000 lbs that may be part of your problem. How is the trailer loaded? If there's too much weight at the front and or back of the trailer, you may be getting transmitted porpoising from the trailer. I can't remember if you're towing with a weight distribution hitch, but for heavy trailers that can help a lot. Finally, the shocks that Toyota supplies with their TRD suspension are Bilsteins, but no special number is attached to them as far as I know. They're not adjustable. And according to Consumer Reports and some drivers, they do give a rougher ride than the non-TRD shocks. Personally I find them quite acceptable, but your mileage may vary. You can probably get them quite a bit cheaper than the Ranchos or the 5100 series.
For E rated tires I opted for BFG All Terrain TA KO, having run these on my previous two vehicles, and seeing them used commonly around here year round. They are snow rated (snowflake emblem). They tolerate a heavy load with no problem. I've got almost 50,000 miles on mine and still adequate tread to get through this winter, I'll be replacing them at about 70,000 miles, before next winter. That's pretty much the mileage I've gotten out of the last sets as well, on a Pathfinder and a 3/4 Ton Ram. But they have pretty stiff sidewalls and so aren't as cushy as the Rugged Trails this truck had on when I bought it.
Look it up on Tire Rack, I think the Goodyear Silent Armors are another very popular tire for this truck.
__________________ [Frankenstein's Monster]
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, TS Sticker
Tires: BFG All Terrain T/A KO LT265 65 R 18, Diamondback SE Tonneau Cover.
Curt Front Receiver, custom 8" extension, & Warn 8000lb receiver mount winch back or front,
Tekonsha Prodigy Brake Controller DSP 16,000 lb 5th wheel hitch Firestone Ride Rite 2445 Air Bags & TRD Rear Sway Bar (Best, Cheapest Mod!)
Snow rating is not a huge issue for me as I only drive to it to play (and if the roads aren't plowed then chains are required anyways) and don't live in it.
Anyone else feel free to chime in on this, I'm sure I'm not the only one contemplating changes like this and the info is always good to have.
Terry
__________________
2007 5.7 DC 4 x 2
Slate Metallic
Mods: Prodigy Brake Controller see gallery for location, Fold down rear seat mod, Suction Cup Holder In Place of coin holder
Bling Lights BL 500K fog lights installed (What can I say, I was one of the lucky winners!)
Another Towing Tundra Question
Linear Mode
