Re: towing horse trailer with tundra

Welcome to Tundra Solutions, Renee! I remember seeing several posts on the old TS from members who tow horse trailers. Where are you guys/gals? This lady needs an answer. Tell her how easy it is to tow with the Tundra.

~MustangSally, Moderator

BTW... My horse is a '66 Mustang!

 

Re: towing horse trailer with tundra

Thanks Sally. I appreciate your reply. Sally, i will go back and check old sights and continue to enjoy of your ride. I will only need the two horse trailer and wil continue to research the Tundra. Its hard to find alot of people w/ Tundras here in FORD country that's why i was counting on some info from the tundra owners..not just dealers. yay!

 

Re: towing horse trailer with tundra

You can easily haul a standard two horse trailer. I have done so myself, up steep grades on gravel roads, but loaded with Black Angus, not horses. The Tundra will handle this load easily, as noted before, however, you must keep in mind that the Tundra is only a half ton pick-up. For larger and more demanding tow jobs I would suggest you opt for at least a ¾ ton. You would probably be happier.

 

Re: towing horse trailer with tundra

Yay, what is the total weight you will be towing? I don't tow horses with mine, but I tow things that are probably as heavy or heavier, such as tractors. I've pulled two tractors at once one time, one was 4,000 lbs and the other was 3,000. Went to a tractor pull. Otherwise I normally only tow one at a time. Also tow ATV's when we go trailriding, but that isn't as much weight as a tractor and trailer. The Tundra handles it all great, but if you have a lot of tongue weight you might want to help out the back leaf springs.

 

Re: towing horse trailer with tundra

Hey YAY! I don't tow horses, but I do tow a 16' enclosed trailer filled with motorcycles. I've gone from Seattle, WA to Monterey, CA in 36 hours with 7200 pounds of bikes and trailer hooked to a load balancing class 3 hitch, and another 700 pounds of motorcycles in the bed of the truck. The truck pulled fabulously through the Siskayous (sp?) and had no trouble with steep grades. It would hold 50+ mph in 2nd gear, but was turning higher revs than I liked. But when I'm towing 6000 pounds or less, the truck will pull nicely in whatever gear it wants to be in. I think it tows great. If you ever plan on towing closer to the 10K mark, I'd suggest going for a 3/4 ton truck though.

 

Re: towing horse trailer with tundra

I use the Tundra to tow locally, but when I take my horses on the road, I use the Dodge Cummins. The Tundra spends so much time shifting between third and fourth, that I just leave it in third., and I live in pool-table flat South Florida!!! The Dodge just hums along in fifth, regardless of grade!

 

Re: towing horse trailer with tundra

Towing in 3rd (O/D off) really does work out best. I installed a Jordan 2020 electric brake controller in my Tundra, and I really like that controller--smooth, fully proportional brake control!

http://www.jordanbrake.com/id20.htm

Ken

 

Re: towing horse trailer with tundra

We towed a '57 T-bird on a U-Haul trailer over 1200 miles from central Washington to Los Angeles and were able to do at least 65mph on the freeway. We turned overdrive off which eliminated the frequent shifting between third and fourth. It did great. The mountain passes were a breeze. Our mileage dropped to around 10mpg when we were in the mountains, but otherwise it was around 12mpg with the A/C running the whole time.

~Sally

 

Re: towing horse trailer with tundra

So the best way to tow..say a 5k load is with the OD off?? Even at 65MPH??
Thanks

 

Re: towing horse trailer with tundra

Towing with the OD on??? Whether towing horses, travel trailer, tractors......neigh, neigh Yay ...would NEVER. I've known several people who tried to tow things (with different makes of vehicles) with overdrive on. Why, I'll never know because it ruined their trans. Sure, it might help the gas mileage but why take a chance? I've towed 4500# travel trailer always with OD off. Doesnt make that much difference in rpms. And really, even at 70mph is not straining the engine a bit and much safer on trans. Even my old GMC Safari with a 6 cyl pulled the trailer at 70 without any problems on the engine (with OD off)..though have to be carefull on the swaying. A trailer with couple horses shouldn't be over 6000#s should it? (using a lightweight as long as you don't overdo the bed payload with grain, hay, extra tack, extra water, etc....thus adding more weight than you might think). We plan to get a horse trailer and couple horses but plan to use a lightweight and to be very carefull in our weight management.

 

Re: towing horse trailer with tundra

Before I spent the time to actually read all the owner's manual, I turned off my OD when towing.

However, the owner manual says to leave the overdrive ON. If I was travelling in the hills, I might consider turning it off. Other than that, I follow what the manual says.

 

Re: towing horse trailer with tundra

My Tundra's Owner's Manual, "Automatic Transmission (h) Good driving practice," pg. 100, says to tow with O/D off, "When towing a trailer, in order to maintain engine braking efficiency, do not use overdrive." It also says, "If the transmission repeatedly shifts up and down between third gear and overdrive when climbing a gentle slope, the overdrive should be turned off." So, I always tow with O/D off. In any case, driving in 3rd is no problem. The engine is just humming along around 3000 rpm at highway speed. The Owner's Manual only gives gear and speed limits for 2nd and "L," and the max allowable speed for 2nd is 75 mph! Some folks who've checked their gas mileage towing have said that they get better mileage with O/D off. Maybe the excessive shifting between 4th & 3rd, and the driving in 4th with the torque converted unlocked is the reason.
Ken

 

Re: towing horse trailer with tundra

Originally posted by KLS:
My Tundra's Owner's Manual, "Automatic Transmission (h) Good driving practice," pg. 100, says to tow with O/D off, When towing a trailer, in order to maintain engine braking efficiency, do not use overdrive. It also says, "If the transmission repeatedly shifts up and down between third gear and overdrive when climbing a gentle slope, the overdrive should be turned off."

I tow with O/D on and I only turn my O/D off when I get to an incline. In the mountains, I tow in second gear going up and down the mountain. If your pulling a trailer with any significant weight, engine braking in third gear, as refered to in the manual, is almost useless. It says nothing about the life of the transmission. If your looking for a great brake controller, get the Prodigy by Tekonsha. It is the most advanced controller on the market and it has made all other controllers obsolete. No need to hook ugly cables to the brake pedal (like you have to do with the Jordan Ultima 2020), and it makes for a clean installation. Mine sits in that little cubby hole right under the ignition switch. It is easy to read and very reachable. My Prodigy is gray and matches my dash perfectly.

 

Re: towing horse trailer with tundra

I agree that Tekonsha's Prodigy is an excellent trailer brake controller. But, hey, The Jordan 2020 works equally well. The cable to the brake pedal isn't even visible without laying on your back on the floor and isn't ugly. I haven't driven with a Prodigy, as I expect that you haven't driven with a Jordan. The Jordan does it's job perfectly for me.
Ken

 

Re: towing horse trailer with tundra

I frequently tow a 4000 lb boat during the summer and have found that on incline I take the o/d off but when I get back up to speed I turn it back on. This way I can regulate how many shifts the tranny makes. With the a/c on full up a hill with 4000 lb and the o/d off the tundra just cruises. And thats hear in AZ.

 

Re: towing horse trailer with tundra

Ok, I stand corrected...I read my manual again last night. It does say to keep the OD OFF while towing to maintain braking efficiency. The manual is misleading because on the next page it changes to a section which looks like it's still part of the good trailering practice section. The new section deals with gas mileage, not towing. It states to ALWAYS keep the OD ON. I thought the section still applied to towing.....very misleading to the casual reader! Now, to me, ALWAYS means ALWAYS which is why i posted my previous post. It appears that the only reason to keep the OD OFF is for braking. I tow a bass boat and have a lot of highway/interstate travel on the way to various lakes. I don't really need any extra braking help while travelling 60 or so miles on the interstate. I keep my speed between 65 - 70 mph. So the question is, will towing with the OD ON hurt anything? I don't have a need for additional braking efficiency....so do I leave the OD on or off?

 

Re: towing horse trailer with tundra

Rebels6,
As I understand it, your tranny will lock up the torque converter in 3rd about as soon as you turn the overdrive off. That will mean the transmission will generate less heat. On the other hand, if you got the trailer towing package, you already have an extra transmission cooler in front of your radiator and A/C condenser, so transmission heat MAY not be an issue with a bass boat. (I'm assuming you're not testing the 7,000 pound limit of a Tundra's towing capacity.)
Another issue is the extra heat and wear generated if the transmission begins to "hunt", or shift frequently between third and fourth. Like the extra heat generated under load without the torque converter locked, that too can generate heat, wear, and lessen transmission life.
Since you're not really gonna get high milage while towing anyway, why take a chance by pulling in fourth? At normal freeway speeds, your Tundra V-8 ain't even breathin' hard in third.

 

Re: towing horse trailer with tundra

In addition, more ATF is being pumped through the cooler when the engine and input end of the transmission is turning faster.

Ken

 

My friend says I am crazy

I am planning to tow a 32 ft. Holiday Rambler travel trailer from Indiana to Fla. One way I am not bringing it back. My friend who has a half ton Chevy says I am nuts to even try and use the Tundra. It seems I have read somewhere on this forum that others have towed much more than this RV with their Tundra. What do you all think?

The thread "My friend says I am crazy" merged with the thread "Fifth Wheel Towing & Hitch Questions/Help/Info" as they are the same subject. ~MustangSally

 

Re: towing horse trailer with tundra

I actually towed for the first time in my Tundra. It was a 3200k lbs car + supplies which equaled to about 5000 in payload. It handled it great. Most of the driving was in the city, which didnt exceed 50MPH. I towed with the OD OFF. It did help with braking and the extra power was there without waiting for the downshift @ about 50 MPH, the engine RPM was a little over 2k. It would seem that if I would of left the OD on, it would put too much stress and the 4th gear and the overdrive. Some peeps where saying that towing at 65mph with the OD OFF, they were pushing past 3k RPMs. Thats seems like a high amount of RPMs to be at for long distance driving. Im sure MPGs would suffer eventhough Im sure that the 4.7 can handle those high RPMs. In conlusion and from what I gathered from past posts, I think it would not be a bad idea to keep the OD OFF while towing at speeds up to 60MPH and on up hills, But keep the OD ON on long flat stretches of road while towing at speeds past 60MPH Is this a good conlusion?
Thanks

 

Re: My friend says I am crazy

If its more than 7200lbs, you are beyond the manufacturers limit. a 32 footer is most likely way beyond that. You can find out by finding a sticker which says how much the rig weighs dry.. its usually up front near the propane tanks or in a cabinet inside. I certainly wouldn't do it. Sounds like a bad accident waiting to happen. If its close to the 7200lbs limit, I'd hook it up to your truck ahead of time, and drive it around town... and see how it handles. You will definitely be putting more wear on your engine than you should, but thats up to you.. just don't go out on the road with an unsafe setup that will kill someone

 

Re: My friend says I am crazy

I guess I was sounding crazy, when I bought the 32 footer I brought it home with a Nissian 4 cyl. 4x4. I will check the weight of the rig and probably just buy one in Fla.
Thanks
IHH

 

Re: My friend says I am crazy

You buddy has reached the correct conclusion, but for the wrong reason. The Tundra is a half-ton truck. No comparable half-ton truck can tow that much safely. The Tundra certainly has the power to handle as much or more than any similar pickup.

The torque number is what counts for towing. It’s 315 for the Tundra 4.7 V-8, 285 for the Chevy 4.8, 293 for the Ford 4.6 and an even 300 for the Dodge 4.7. Tundra wins, but that’s an empty victory. Engine power ain’t the limiting factor here.

It’s the towing capacity that tells the tale. Without an equalizing hitch, the Tundra is 7,100, the Chevy comes close at 6,800, but the Ford is 2,300 and the Dodge is only a bit better at 4,200. The big three jump up to 8,000 to 8,800 if you add the extras, but for some reason the Toyota stays at 7,100.

The Holiday Rambler web site says a 32 ft towable weighs 14,215. That means it just can’t be safely towed with any half-ton pickup.

 

Re: My friend says I am crazy

Herb, I just looked on a map and it's downhill all the way from Indiana to Florida. You shouldn't have any problems. Just remember to give yourself more room to get the thing stopped.

Mike
In all sincerity, if you do this please be careful. Do you have the proper hitch and electric brake hookup on your Tundra?

I just read all of Larry's post. 14,000 + pounds? There aint no prober hitch for the Tundra.

 

Re: My friend says I am crazy

Thanks everyone, after the first post I already pulled the plug on this trip. I did like the down hill theory. Just wondering now what do people that travel with these 32 ft. and larger rigs pull them with. It seems to me nothing short of a Peterbuilt would be save to pull this thing.

IHH