'03 Tundra A/C 2wd + Haulmark 16'x7' tandem axles

[jeddclampette]

I'm getting a new Haulmark 16'x8' enclosed cargo trailer, w/ tandem axles , elec brakes, paneled on the inside, side door and back ramp-door, with two front-tire bike mounts.

I am going to tow it with my V8 TUndra A/C 2wd w/ tow pkg.

Will I exceed the limits of this truck ?

I'm going to haul 3 dirt bikes, gear, fuel, roll on tool chest, ezup, and some chairs, and later on a generator and air compressor and pressure washer.

Is a WD hitch going to be necessary ?

Do I need a 2-3/4 ball or is my 2" ball going to work for that trailer?

Thanks for any info you can give me with this.

[JeffD]

I had the same trailer and towed it w/o trouble for many many miles. I used a 2 5/8 (I think?) ball. I considered a WD hitch and it would probably be a good idea. What I found was that when the trailer was empty and the tires were new it wandered a lot. When I towed it home I was convinced I was going to need a distributing hitch. Once I loaded it up and got some miles on it I stopped worrying about it. The biggest problem I had with that trailer is that because it is so tall it killed gas mileage. I found that going slower saved a lot of gas - I am someone who normally never goes less than 10 over the speed limit - with that trailer I would frequenty run 60-70ish instead of the normal 80ish. I typically used it to pull 4 road race bikes a pile of new motorcycle tires (I was a michelin track side service guy for a while) a tire machine, air compressor and misc other stuff.

I ended up getting rid of it because I stopped road racing and stopped doing the michelin stuff. It was too expensive to tow around half full so I got a 6x12 single axle trailer which is much easier to pull because it is lower and narrower. And typically now I only tow a couple dirt bikes or a couple street bikes and some gear.

[jeddclampette]

Thanks for the reply. I appreciate it.

Can you tell me what sort of gas mileage you got when you towed yours ?

Thanks.

[JeffD]

About 8 - 10 mpg if I remember correctly. It seemed to go down greatly with speed. I am guessing the wind resistance was what killed the mileage more than the weight.