Having driven more than 3,000 miles from Calif, rounding S. TX and returning the long way back to New Hampshire, I can say this truck can handle a loaded Lance 815 camper at 2,500lbs (yes, yes, please spare us of the pencil pushers sermon on payload) gracefully bar none. It effortlessly climbs up steep hills, is surefooted 4x4ing over soft sandy dunes, and stops on a dime in maddening city stop and go traffic. The mods are a trd sway bar, firestone airbags, Load E tires, and towing mirrors. If in doubt, do it!
Last edited by cyclegrrrl; 01-10-2009 at 09:38 PM.
Did you gte much bounce on the front? I once had a northern light 6' camper on a taco and it sure bounced the front quite a bit.
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'07 Pyrite crewmax LTD "B" package w/ 18" wheels (BFG 285/65R18 A/T KO) - Purchased April 30/07, hit 100,000kms on Sept 2, 2009. AFE CAI, ARE canopy, hunter bullbar (careful) and running boards, TGC 2.25" front leveler, & husky liners. Air Lift 57299 Air Springs. Front diff changed.
'07 USA market Honda Odyssey EXL-RES imported to Canada (sorry Honda Canada, this one reads MPH)
"Political correctness is a doctrine, fostered by a dilusional, illogical minority, and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible
to pick up a turd by the clean end."
Did you calculate your overall average mileage? That looks like it has a lot of frontal area, makes me wonder what it did to mileage. Sounds like a cool trip, though!
Having driven more than 3,000 miles from Calif, rounding S. TX and returning the long way back to New Hampshire, I can say this truck can handle a loaded Lance 815 camper at 2,500lbs (yes, yes, please spare us of the pencil pushers sermon on payload) gracefully bar none. It effortlessly climbs up steep hills, is surefooted 4x4ing over soft sandy dunes, and stops on a dime in maddening city stop and go traffic. The mods are a trd sway bar, firestone airbags, Load E tires, and towing mirrors. If in doubt, do it!
I would LOVE to see more pics of the Camper and truck.
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07 Tundra DCSB, 5.7, Blue Streak Metallic, 4X4, SR5, TRD, BU, CK, DZ, FE, HM, MG, OF, Brushed Stainless steps, sill protectors, USMC lighted hitch plug and assorted stickers and license plate brackets, rollup bed cover, Rhino Liner, Mesh Grill backing, Black Wheelskin steering wheel cover, Wade in channel vent visors, under rear seat storage, PRG mini spring pack, Proforce rear exit cat-back exhaust, aFe CAI, TRD rear sway bar, A.R.E. MX series Cap.
I like the set up I have 07 5.7 SR5 TUNDRA I pull MY 9000 lbs COACHMAN at 80 mph you cant even feel the trailer in back.I had a 07 5.3 Chevy Sliverrodo it had a hard time hitting 70 mph it felt like I was pulling a 18 wheeler.I kept the truck only 7 months test drove the TUNDRA no turring back!!!!!!!!!!!
As for the mileage, I get an honest 11.4 mpg average (city/highway) at around 70 mph. With cruise control set at 63 on the highway, I could avg about 13.5 mpg. At 55 mph, I can get about 15.6. When I baby it around town (under 45 mph), I could reach 16.5 mpg. Gas consumption totally depends on how fast you go... at 80 (the legal speedlimit in AZ) it went down to like 7 mpg (cruise control set at 80 mph through steep mountains, etc). That was an unpleasant shock! I gave up going over 75 after that. Thank goodness gas prices went down before I did this cross country trip!
As for the ride. My firestone airbag system has a slow leak that I didn't know about for a long time because the truck handled the load so well. I only figured out the bags might be low after people started flashing their highbeams at me. That told me the weight had lowered the rear (compressed airbags) and lifted the front headlights up. Sure enough that was it. The pressure in the bags was 16 lbs instead of the 70 lbs I started out with. I figure I went many 100s of miles with them low because testing it showed the leak losing about 9 lbs of air a day. I didn't check it until I had driven a couple of weeks and more than 2,000 miles. I was (and am still) quite surprised the truck could handle the load so well with such a little amount of support from the airbags. I think perhaps my sway bar probably made the difference here. But, it was noticably less bouncy after adding the 60lbs of air!!
As to a question about the front bounce -- The front end does have more bounce in it than I would like. I'm not happy about it, but it is managable. When the stock shocks wear out, I will replace them with a heavier duty ones. The truck does have the optional trd suspension, which gives it a stiffer suspension out of the gate than the base model. Of course, you probably would not have to do all these mods if you bought a f250 or chevy 2500, but I'd rather drive and wear out a tundra anyday of the week.
I expect I will start replacing bushings and such somewhere around 80K. I probably replace the shocks around 40K. I had to do all that with my Tacoma which also carried a heavy hardsided camper (2,300lbs) for 10 years before I upgraded to this set up.
As one person commented -- The camper on the truck looks quite big. It is, however, a "small camper" when it comes to hardsided models. This is the narrowest hardsided camper Lance makes for 1/2 ton pu's (the big ones have 7 additional inches to their width and are a lot longer too). I too looked at the Lance 825, which is the only Lance will recommend for the tundra because of its lighter weight. But when you add a couple of features like a bathroom/shower, the 825's weight (and price) becomes comparable to the 815 pictured here. At the same price and weight, the 815 is a much better buy with many more standard features and a more solid construction. I ruled out pop-up types which are far lighter because they have too many functional limitations for my lifestyle. I like, for example, to be able to get out of my truck and relax in my camper as I travel. Use the bathroom when I pump gas, relax on the sofa and make coffee at a scenic pulloff, etc. Not something you can really easily do without cranking up the top on the popups. Plus, there's more storage spaces, less outside noise, and much better heat retention during a cold night with hardsided models.
Last edited by cyclegrrrl; 01-12-2009 at 05:25 PM.
If I remember right the crewmax bed is 6 inches shorter. The camper here - lance 815 - goes on both standard beds and 8-foot bed. You'll notice the 2 foot overhang in the rear here because I have a standard bed. If you purchase a camper made for a standard bed, you will have less overhang in the rear than I do with this set up.
Tundra crowned King Truck Camper
2007 Tundra DC SR5 TRD Nautical Blue, 5.7, 4X4, Toytec 2.5" front lift, 1" rear block, Diff. drop kit, BFG AT KOs 305/65R/18, JVC KW-AVX810 head unit, HD Radio, Sirius, JVC CH X1500 12 disc CD changer, Scosche piano black dash kit, Alpine 550 4 channel amp 90 watts per channel, Focal 165 V1 components front, Cliff Designs CD60-4C Components rear, Modified Pioneer sealed sub box, MTX Audio TT 6510-04 10" shallow sub, Alpine 450 mono amp 220 watts, All 4 doors and rear wall Dynamat, Hard wired Escort Passport 8500 X50, Boyo VLT 300 rear camera, Interstate Battery Mega Tron Plus MTP27F.
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