Hi guys,
My buddy and I towed his Doral 19.5ft boat.
The total weight of the trailer and the boat was about 4,000lbs (est)
First of all, the pin connector for the brakes and the turn signals was a 4 pin, while the tundra had a 3 pin male connector. So we had no brake lights or turn signals. Because of this the trip was slower than usual.
As a resulth though, I got the best MPG I've ever seen on the truck; 17.3L/100km for a 60 km trip along up and down rural roads with speeds between 60-80km/h. I'm confused and happy at the same time.
I was suprised at a couple of things too:
The tranny worked best if you kept it in 5th manual mode. This way it would not hunt for the right gear going uphill. Even in 5th, it would sometimes downshift to 4th. In 5th, the RPMs would stay between 2,000 and 2,500 which was fine for me.
The engine had to really work to get up to higher rpms where the powerband is. Comparing this to the domestics which I've towed in (F150 4.6, 2500HD 6.0, and 3500 6.6 diesel), the tundra doesn't have that low-end grunt that they do. I'm not saying the truck doesn't have power, it just has to spin the engine higher to get it. Still accelerated like a champ though.
Considering that the boat wasn't completely balanced on the trailer, the suspension handled the ride very well ... much better than the F150 or the 2500HD would. So thats the good news, nothing bad to report.
Good luck,
Opinions welcome
My buddy and I towed his Doral 19.5ft boat.
The total weight of the trailer and the boat was about 4,000lbs (est)
First of all, the pin connector for the brakes and the turn signals was a 4 pin, while the tundra had a 3 pin male connector. So we had no brake lights or turn signals. Because of this the trip was slower than usual.
As a resulth though, I got the best MPG I've ever seen on the truck; 17.3L/100km for a 60 km trip along up and down rural roads with speeds between 60-80km/h. I'm confused and happy at the same time.
I was suprised at a couple of things too:
The tranny worked best if you kept it in 5th manual mode. This way it would not hunt for the right gear going uphill. Even in 5th, it would sometimes downshift to 4th. In 5th, the RPMs would stay between 2,000 and 2,500 which was fine for me.
The engine had to really work to get up to higher rpms where the powerband is. Comparing this to the domestics which I've towed in (F150 4.6, 2500HD 6.0, and 3500 6.6 diesel), the tundra doesn't have that low-end grunt that they do. I'm not saying the truck doesn't have power, it just has to spin the engine higher to get it. Still accelerated like a champ though.
Considering that the boat wasn't completely balanced on the trailer, the suspension handled the ride very well ... much better than the F150 or the 2500HD would. So thats the good news, nothing bad to report.
Good luck,
Opinions welcome