Truck is an '05 2wd DC SR5, completely stock except for Line-X and a Better-Built crossover toolbox. All weights are with driver (me), 3/4 tank of fuel, tools & misc. junk.
Trailer was a 20' steel tilt-deck equipment trailer with two 6k capacity 8-lug axles, electric brakes, 2500lb unloaded weight. Load was a Volvo EC15 mini-excavator, aproximately 4000lbs.
First time I had this much weight behind the truck and thought it would be interesting to have it weighed. It handled the load very well, power was certainly not a problem, nor was braking thanks in part to good trailer brakes.
Very interesting numbers...and you really could use a WDH
Quote:
Originally Posted by rakent
Thought ya'll might be interested in this:
Truck is an '05 2wd DC SR5, completely stock except for Line-X and a Better-Built crossover toolbox. All weights are with driver (me), 3/4 tank of fuel, tools & misc. junk.
Trailer was a 20' steel tilt-deck equipment trailer with two 6k capacity 8-lug axles, electric brakes, 2500lb unloaded weight. Load was a Volvo EC15 mini-excavator, aproximately 4000lbs.
First time I had this much weight behind the truck and thought it would be interesting to have it weighed. It handled the load very well, power was certainly not a problem, nor was braking thanks in part to good trailer brakes.
Thanks for the info...very interesting and very useful to have.
Three things I noticed in particular:
1. The realistic empty weight of a 2WD DC is quite a bit higher than I expected at 5400 lbs. Unless that included a lot of tools, the DC is one heavy sucker. By comparison, my equivalently loaded 4WD AC comes in at 5200 lbs...and that's with the 400 lb penalty of the 4WD!
2. Going down from 2900lbs to under 2700 lbs on the front suspension when you hooked up the trailer is not good. That much unweighting of the front tires is definitely reducing your steering and front braking effectiveness. A WDH would reverse that by putting about a third of the tongue weight on the front instead of your current unweighting. And a WDH would greatly reduce the over 700 lb increase you're seeing on the rear suspension. Strongly suggest you get one.
3. At 11,840 you're actually a bit over the truck's Gross Combined Weight Rating of 11,800. That 40 lb excess is clearly not an issue in flat, low altitude Florida but would be a real issue in non-flat, non-low altitude locales.
__________________ Ray
Natural White '03 Access Cab V8 SR5 4X4 with TRD Off Road Suspension, Limited Slip Differential, and Towing Package
Towing & Performance Mods: JBA Headers, Gibson Muffler, 4.30 gears, Michelin LTX M/S Tires, Hellwig Anti-Roll bar, Prodigy Trailer Brake Controller, Autometer Z-Series Transmission Temperature Gauge, Magnefine Transmission Filter
Utility & Misc Mods: Genuine Toyota OEM Step (Nerf) bars, Peragon Tonneau Cover, TracRac Rack and Rail System, Muth Signal Mirrors, Pop&Lock tailgate lock, TruSpeed speedometer calibrator, "$20" RS-3200 Upgrade, Auto-Dimming mirror w/ Temp and Compass, Clear/Red/Clear Taillights with Silverstar Signal bulbs, 3M Clear Bra
Thanks for the info...very interesting and very useful to have.
Three things I noticed in particular:
1. The realistic empty weight of a 2WD DC is quite a bit higher than I expected at 5400 lbs. Unless that included a lot of tools, the DC is one heavy sucker. By comparison, my equivalently loaded 4WD AC comes in at 5200 lbs...and that's with the 400 lb penalty of the 4WD!
2. Going down from 2900lbs to under 2700 lbs on the front suspension when you hooked up the trailer is not good. That much unweighting of the front tires is definitely reducing your steering and front braking effectiveness. A WDH would reverse that by putting about a third of the tongue weight on the front instead of your current unweighting. And a WDH would greatly reduce the over 700 lb increase you're seeing on the rear suspension. Strongly suggest you get one.
3. At 11,840 you're actually a bit over the truck's Gross Combined Weight Rating of 11,800. That 40 lb excess is clearly not an issue in flat, low altitude Florida but would be a real issue in non-flat, non-low altitude locales.
Ray -
Thought you might be interested. First, I should apologize for an addition error, the Gross weight of the truck alone was 5300lbs (2900 + 2400), not 5400lbs. Still, I would agree that the DC is a pretty heavy Tundra, though it pales in comparison with some of the other 1/2 ton trucks out there, in particular the new Ford F150's.
As far as the load in the truck, I figure there's about 75-100lbs of stuff in the box & I weigh in at about 200lbs.
I recognized when I posted the weights that the combined Gross was over the GCWR of 11800lbs. Also, please understand that I'm not advocating overloads, just posting some interesting information.
The unweighting of the front axle by 220lbs is not ideal, but I don't think it was a safety hazard in this particular situation. The truck handled the weight fine and was sitting about even, maybe a degree or so tail low, when loaded. It never hit the bump stops, or even felt like it was coming close. That being said, if I were going to pull this sort of weight with this truck on a regular basis, I'd probably buy a WDH (or more likely, an F250).
I do think that this supports the general recommendations on this board that you keep your trailer weights around 6k lbs, especially if you're driving a DC Tundra, as a trailer with a loaded weight much more than 6000lbs is going to have you bumping up against the GCWR, especially if its a 4wd.
1. Trailer weight = 6040 Hitch weight = 500 lbs Only 8%. Any problems with sway? That kind of trailer might have a boat trailer type of design, so might not be an issue.
2. The light front end on the Tundra is not ideal. You know that. If it's just around town, prolly not a big deal.
6,000 lbs depends on the trailer design and cargo in the Tundra. My trailer weighs 5000 lbs and I am AT the GVWR of the Tundra. 800 lbs below the GCWR. I carry 500 lbs of people and 500 lbs of gear in the truck when towing. I would have to go solo and leave the wood behind if I wanted to tow a 6000 lbs travel trailer.
Good data. More people should weigh their rig so they know what is happening.
No problems with sway at all, it actually handled very well. In my experience, most equipment trailers have a low center of gravity, heavy duty axles/tires and don't have the surface area to have the sail effect that you get with travel trailers or box-type trailers, so they are much less apt to sway unless loaded very stupidly - i.e. tongue heavy or tongue light.
I'm probably going to start looking for a lighter-weight trailer to use behind this truck for my occasional personal equipment hauling needs, I'd like to find something with an unloaded weight around 1750-2000 lbs.
Back to back visits to the scales
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