Buying a travel trailer but weight is near the max on the tundra

[buellfire]

Thinking of buying a 33 foot quad bunk front bed room chateu tt model 33 m.
The dry weight is 6800 lbs with 800 pound hitch weight. I reallize this is very close to max for the truck but will only be doing short hauls with this truck, around 50-100 miles of my home until I can buy a diesel3/4 tundra in 07. What do you think? I will have sway control and equalizing hitchs w/ elec brakes. My truck is a late 2002 acc cab v8 4wd with only 30k w/ the factory tow package.Thanks Shawn

[mustang67408]

AS RAY has said before:

GCWR:
The correct way to determine this is (as Ken suggests) to subtract the expected maximum loaded truck weight from the Gross Combined Weight Rating (GCWR). All V8 Tundras have a GCWR of 11,800 lbs. The typical loaded weight ranges a lot depending on which model (standard, Access, or Double Cab) and whether or not it has 4WD. It also ranges a lot depending on how you load the truck. However, a loaded (for a trip) AC or Double Cab 4WD will often run between 5700 and 6200 lbs. Lets assume a typical 5800 lbs. Subtracting 5800 from 11,800 means your total trailer weight (accessories, and trailer) could way as much as 6000 lbs. Allowing a 10% safety margin, that means the maximum weight of the trailer is 5400lbs.

6800lbs sounds like way to much for my taste.
maybe ray or ken will elaborate for you.

[buellfire]

Thanks I knew that was the answer but I just wanted the hear someone else's oppinion. Does any one know of a high quality lite weight bunk house with a slide and a front bedroom . Thanks Shawn

[RockyMtnRay]

Originally Posted by buellfire

Thinking of buying a 33 foot quad bunk front bed room chateu tt model 33 m.
The dry weight is 6800 lbs with 800 pound hitch weight. I reallize this is very close to max for the truck but will only be doing short hauls with this truck, around 50-100 miles of my home until I can buy a diesel3/4 tundra in 07. What do you think? I will have sway control and equalizing hitchs w/ elec brakes. My truck is a late 2002 acc cab v8 4wd with only 30k w/ the factory tow package.Thanks Shawn

A 33 ft long, 6800 lb "dry" weight trailer so far beyond your Tundra's capabilities that you will be a menace to yourself, your family, your truck's longevity, and to everyone else on the road. Don't even think about trying to safely tow such a behemoth with your '02 Tundra.

First, trailer "dry" weights do not include any options and certainly don't include any cargo/water/food/"stuff" you'll be bringing...the dry weight is the weight of a bare bones, no options, completely stripped model. A trailer with a 6800 lb "dry" weight will actually have an "empty" weight of around 7500 lbs once you add in the weight of all the dealer and factory options that RV makers and dealers add on. In most cases, those options even include a spare tire (yep, having a spare tire on a trailer is usually an "option"). By the time you fill 33 feet of trailer with your camping gear, your food, some water, propane, clothing, bedding, pots/pans/dishes, etc. you'll be up to around 8500 lbs. And that 800 lb tongue weight will rise to around 1300 lbs.

On the other side of the equation, your Tundra's real towing capability is not anywhere close to the published "tow rating". The reason is the tow rating is, like the trailer's dry weight, based on a truck that has no options, no passengers, no cargo, only 3 gallons of gas, and a 150 lb driver. Tow Ratings are calculated by subtracting the weight of this mythical empty, bare bones truck from the number that actually counts, namely the Gross Combined Weight Rating or GCWR. The GCWR is the most that the loaded truck and loaded trailer together should every weigh and is a fairly light-for-half-ton trucks 11,800 lbs. So, after you add in the options (like the AC) that are on a typical Tundra...and add in the weight of passengers and cargo/stuff that most people take with them on camping trips, the real "tow capacity" of your truck is actually more like 6500 lbs. Furthermore, even with a weight distributing hitch, the heaviest tongue weigh you should every try to handle is only about 1100 lbs.

So when you compare a trailer that's realistically going to weigh around 8500 lbs with a truck that can realistically only safely pull 6500 lbs, it's clear that the trailer you have in mind will exceed the truck's capabilities by a freakin' ton...and that's almost a 33% overload which is likely to be beyond the safety margin designed into the truck. And the tongue weight will exceed the hitch's capabilities by 200 lbs...a nearly 20% overload (also beyond the normal 20% safety margin).

And if the weight issues weren't scary enough, the length certainly is. The standard rule for safe towing is that for each foot of trailer length over 20 feet, your tow vehicle must have 4 inches of wheelbase over a baseline or 110 inches. A 33 ft long trailer thus requires a tow vehicle with at least a 162 inch wheelbase. Your Tundra has a 128 inch wheelbase...and that restricts you to towing trailers of 24.5 feet or less. Unless you invest the truly big bucks (around $3000) for a Hensley Arrow Hitch, a 33 foot trailer will very readily cause uncontrollable sway and inevitably a catastrophic accident with your fairly short wheelbase truck.

The bottom line is the trailer you have in mind is so far beyond your truck's load and sway control capabilities that you will be a rolling road hazard and very likely to destroy your truck, yourself, your family, and several other motorists within the first few hundred miles of towing. If you absolutely must have this trailer, please do all of the rest of us a favor and hold off on buying it until the '07 Tundras come to market.

[mirciulie]

I second everything Ray said. He knows his stuff.

If you're looking into a light bunk house, I found the Outbacks made by Keyston to be my favorite (from what I've seen so far). I linked one that it's on sale on ebay. The 25 feet one with 2 slides, bunks on one end, and a queen on the back slide. When you get to the campgroud this thing turn's into a 29 footer....I think it's around 4700# dry, so it's not that bad. If you want something smaller, they also have the 21RS model, which weight a few hudred # less and has only one slide.
I've been checking on them for a long time, but due to budget and storage limitations I choose a pop up. THat was free!!!!! And it's parked in my garage.

Good luck with that. And if you think you're interested, I'll let you know how much one should cost. I'm not a dealer or anything, I just did a ton of reserch on those trailers, and I know what I good price should be.... TO bad I couldn't afford.

Mike

[mirciulie]

I forgot to put the link.
There you go:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...sPageName=WDVW

[j4x4ar3]

Originally Posted by buellfire

Thinking of buying a 33 foot quad bunk front bed room chateu tt model 33 m.
The dry weight is 6800 lbs with 800 pound hitch weight. I reallize this is very close to max for the truck but will only be doing short hauls with this truck, around 50-100 miles of my home until I can buy a diesel3/4 tundra in 07. What do you think? I will have sway control and equalizing hitchs w/ elec brakes. My truck is a late 2002 acc cab v8 4wd with only 30k w/ the factory tow package.Thanks Shawn

Small world buellfire ... saw your question on RV.NET open forum as well. Any luck with finding a trailer yet? Personally I love my KZ JAG but it may be a little "small" for what you're looking for.. no slide and no sofa but it does have a double bunk and a walk around queen. I have the 24JB model which is the same floorplan as the Skyline Aljo 242LT. Skyline puts out a 261LT model with bunks and a sofa but again no slide that shows an unloaded weight of 4600#. May be closer to what you're looking for. If you don't absolutely need a walk around queen bed you may want to look at the KZ Frontier 2505QSS-F. 4 bunks and rear queen slide. Dry weight about 4300#.

Good luck

[bugmenot]

Just so you know I did a test tow on the Frontier (Outdoorsmen here in Canada) with my 2005 double cab Tundra. The truck struggled a little. I took it to the scales. Just me in the truck (i'm 180) a quarter tank of gas, full tresh water in the trailer, batteries and propane. The combined weight on it with just the above was 11100. That would have only left 700 lbs before i was over the GCWR of the Tundra. I still needed to pack in the wife, kids, dog, and all camping gear. Mind you i wouldn't normally be towing with fresh water but that's only about 300 lbs. So I back out of the sale and settled on the 2202 which is about 600 lbs lighter. The Outdoorsmen was fully loaded with A/C, awning, etc. Even still it's supposed weight as per the sticker inside the trailer was 4800 lbs. I figure this number was out by at least 700 lbs. I figure me and the truck weight a max of 5300 lbs. That would have put the trailer at 5800.

Anyway, even with the 2202 (advertised dry weight of 4300 lbs) you can still tell there's a trailer behind you. We did a trip into BC on the weekend. Truck did well even on the 11% grades but we weren't going to break any speed records. I do like my Tundra but i did the stupid thing of not actually doing in depth research into how much it could actually tow before purchasing. I'm not really dissappointed so much as surprised. Hopefully in the next couple years they'll offer a nice 3/4 ton.

[wktjr]

Being in Maine, we see A LOT of campers coming up I-95 during the summer months. Looks at Ray's post, visualize the worst case scenerio as described by Ray and that's what the I-95 looks like. It's scary. Lots of tail draggers.

[Herbicidal]

Originally Posted by mirciulie

I second everything Ray said. He knows his stuff.

If you're looking into a light bunk house, I found the Outbacks made by Keyston to be my favorite (from what I've seen so far).

I have a 2004 Outback 26RS. This is the quad bunk model with the beds in front and the queen bed rear slide. The trailer is fully loaded with all options and two propane tanks. We added an extra 12v battery up front. Earlier this month I had my 2001 Tundra 4x4 and the trailer weighed at the local dump, errr Recycle Center . Here's the results with the truck at about 2/3 tank of gas and otherwise empty. The trailer was weighed with the stuff that we alway leave in it. Such as folding camp chairs, levelers, bedding, Rubbermaid packing containers, kitchenware and so forth. The first weight does NOT include water, food, clothing or toys for the kids. By the way, we LOVE this trailer! Central heat and air, separate fridge and freezer, pantry, plenty of storage, shower that is tall enough for me (6' 1") etc. If the wife's happy, I'm happy!

Total GVWR for the Tundra: 6,063 lbs.
Total GVWR for the trailer: 6,000 lbs.

The weights (pre-camping):

Total combined weight: 10,500 lbs.
Truck only: 5,200 lbs.
Trailer only: 5,300 lbs.
Tongue weight: 800 lbs.

The weights when loaded for camping (no water in trailer - typically we would carry 10 gallons for emergency potty breaks):

Total combined weight: 11,240 lbs.
Truck only: 5,620 lbs.
Trailer only: 5,620 lbs. (interesting they are now the same!)
Tongue weight: didn't have time to weigh they were very busy that morning and were giving me grumpy looks for taking too long. Sheesh!

Difference:

Truck only: 420 lbs worth of stuff in the truck, plus full tank of fuel.
Trailer only: 320 lbs worth of food, clothing and play things for the kids.

Now I weighed the truck without people. I'm a family of four (kids are 4 1/2 and 8) so guesstimating the weight for the 4 of us would be right around 400 lbs. Which would bring the loaded truck weight to 6,020. Just under the GVWR.

I have the JBA headers and the UniChip. Together they work great and the truck definately climbs hills eaiser, holds a gear longer and overall feels like it is not working as hard. I installed the JBA's and the UniChip within about 2 weeks of each other and did not have a chance to tow with only the JBA's. I am very happy with this setup and for the future, I may regear as well. I just picked up, but have yet to install the Superlift Tru-speed speedo recalibrator. I have slightly larger tires (285x75x16's) and measuring my speed with a hand-held GPS shows I'm off by about 2.5 mph while towing at 60 mph. As my sig line shows I have also upgraded my tranny cooler and mounted a thermostatically controlled fan directly to it that comes on @ 180 degrees. Works great!

[HockeyFreak]

Shawn,

Try this one...it is the trailer we tow!

http://www.forestriverinc.com/nd/flo...aff/floorplans

Unit Dry Weight 4,251 lbs. (1928 kg)
GVWR 6,362 lbs. (2886 kg)

It has a large slide, front bed room and two bunks at the rear.

[buellfire]

Well thanks to all who replied, I ended up buying a Rockwood Premier 2516g popup. I ran across a deal on it and I can pull it with my truck or the wifes Honda van. Going this way I can still lift my truck and put larger tires on and carry my quads and be under weight.

[anmrivera]

Originally Posted by buellfire

Thanks I knew that was the answer but I just wanted the hear someone else's oppinion. Does any one know of a high quality lite weight bunk house with a slide and a front bedroom . Thanks Shawn

Jayco 26L

[Brian M]

We pull a KZ Frontier 2505 with our Sequoia. It makes our Sequoia "The hardest working truck in tow business"