toyota tundra dbl cab with new 4.6l towing rockwood 2701

[jarod]

I am just about to purchase a 2701 ss and just wanted some opinions on towing with a 2010 tundra DBL CAB with the new 4.6L. I know my
towing capacity is 8300 pounds but i believe there is more to it
than that. i do have the tow pkg and would install a proper eq hitch and brake controller

Thanks JAROD

[08flagvlite]

What is the weight on the Rockwood 2701 SS? A good rule of thumb is to pull no more than 75% of your given tow vehicle"s maximum capacity. The reasons for this, are #1, the camper's weight on the tag is listed "as delivered".....that is BEFORE you add any personal belongings, fill up the tanks with any fluids, or the fridge and pantry with food!And #2, it will be much less stress on your tow vehicle in the long run, especially if you live in a hot climate, or hilly or mountainous area. Check my rig- I made the mistake that I'm talking about! YES, it gets the job done....but am I happy with the truck for pulling this camper? NO, not really. Can I make it work? WELL....With a rear end gear swap, I have a 3:55, need a 3:92, then it should do better pulling, also JUST installed Bilstein shocks all around, and have added other upgrades to the truck, as well. While it does seem to be getting better at pulling this, my mileage still SUCKS, 7 to 8 mpg's at 65, (20mpg no camper), there's still no thing like a diesel and a 2500 truck for this job.
MAYBE the dealer will allow you to test-pull the camper on the highway first, before you decide. I've heard of some that will. GOOD LUCK on your decision!! Randy

[jarod]

Thanks for the great response. My trailer specs are as follows:

Specification Description
Classification Ultra Light Weight
Length 32'6"
Width 7'6"
Height 6'4"
Interior Height 6'6"
Hitch Weight 437 lbs
Dry Weight 4,734 lbs
Gross Weight 6,437 lbs
Axle Weight 4,297 lbs
Fresh Water Capacity 31 gals
Grey Water Capacity 25 gals
Black Water Capacity 25 gals
Furnace BTU 30,000
Sleeps 8
Tire Size 14
Slides 1

[dimurrrw]

Now, what about the specs on the truck - Gross vehicle weight rating, gross combined vehicle weight rating, HP, torque, rear end?

[08flagvlite]

Hi again, jerod. With a dry weight of 4700 lbs, you should be okay for most situations with that truck. I'm no expert, but the numbers stated fall into place pretty well, from what I am seeing. Just remember to get a good weight distributing hitch, PROPERLY set up, and a good brake controller. Your engine is a bit on the small side as far as CID goes, but if your rear end is geared in the 3:92/4:11 range, you should be ok. A good transmission cooler would help, also. Good Luck, Randy

[jarod]

Here is the truck info.

Horsepower hp (kW) 310
Torque lb.ft. (N.m) 327
GVWR (lbs.) (6,900)
Curb Weight (lbs.) (5,385)
Towing Capacity (lbs.) (8,300)
Payload (lbs)(1255)
GCWR 13500 LBS

4.10 gearing i believe

[dimurrrw]

Seems to me it should tow it OK if you are careful about not loading to the max. Personally I would opt for more truck or less trailer. Check your GCWR because you are right on the cusp if you fully load the truck and the trailer. Not much safety margin there and I suspect the performance might be a bit on the anemic side if you get into the mountains. BTW- You're right! There is a lot more to it that a simple advertising statement that the truck can tow 8300 lbs. It can, sort of, but with nothing more in the truck than gas and the driver. Try subtracting your curb weight plus ~150 lbs for a driver from your GCWR and see what you get.

[LadyWindrider]

Don't want to complain but I look at numbers, and one decimal means a lot. You listed trailer spec as height= 6' and 4". Then you listed inside height as 6' and 6". That I want to see. Also went to Toyota web site and can't find your truck. You mentioned 4.6L engine, web site list 4.7L engine. I also can't find a combination with 8300 towing capacity. Looked at several options but couldn't get that number. Found 10,600 down to 6500 pounds. ARE YOU SURE of the tow capacity?? Options such as sport package matter, and so does the rear end gearing. You better be sure before you're sorry, and get the numbers from Toyota, not a salesman. Do it the old fashioned way, read the book! Sorry for the rant. You sound like you're going to be close. Nothing wrong with being near the limit, I do it myself. Just know some things,like acceleration, are going to disappear the closer you get to the limit, while other things come in abundance, like stopping distance. Good luck with your decision.

[jarod]

Hi

I took a look at my actual manual as suggested and the GCWR is actually 14,000 for my truck which does improve the picture somewhat. With both the trailer and the truck fully loaded i come in 663lbs under the 14,000 limit. According to my manual the truck definately is rated for 8300lb as long as you have the tow pkg which i do. The Tundra came out with the 4.6L engine in 2010...prior to that it was the 4.7L engine. The specs quoted are from my manual and the Toyota website with the towing package. The trailer height spec was a copy/paste from a website sorry didnt notice the error. I think i will be approaching capacity but should be fine if I take it easy and get the proper hitch etc. I won't be looking to set any land speed records up the hills and from what you guys are telling me I wont be able to in any case. I have also confirmed in the manual that the truck does indeed have 4.10 gearing ...another plus that came with the towing pkg. I should have just gone to the manual in the first place...web info is sketchy at best it seems.

Never realized there was this much to learn about towing!!!

Thanks again.

[HeppDJ2]

Hi Jarod-

I'm towing a 2009 2701SS with a 2006 Ford F-150 Lariat Supercab 4x4, Auto, 5.4L V8 w/ 3.73. I use the equalizer WDH.

What I find with my setup is the following:
-The trailer came much heavier than the dry weight listed in the mnfg specs. It only left about 1,000lbs difference between the GVWR on the TT and the delivered dry weight. I'm sure I've got a few hundred pounds to spare, but that surprised me.
-I find two items to be the limiting factor on my setup. The TV GVWR and the Hitch weight rating on the TV.
-First, once you add the TT hitch weight to the TV, the passengers and cargo in the bed - I'm right at my max and if I need to fully load up, I would exceed the GVWR on the truck. I have the Lariat which is fully loaded trim level, which means more weight and less CCC on the TV.
-My TV is rated for 990# max hitch weight with WDH. The dry hitch weight is about 650-675#, so by the time it's loaded I'm close. I keep the weight down in the bed of the TV. (I haven't been able to actually get this weighed yet to see where I'm really at). I know this is close. I've got a bit of room to spare on the GCVWR.

That's the technical stuff (which I'm not very good at).

As far as for performance - I'm in the midwest (Chicago) and most of my towing is 2-4 hours away which is mostly, IL, WI, MI, IN and IA. Pretty flat lands - not too many hills. And I don't do any longer trips.

I'm pretty happy with the tow performance. On flat land, it tows great w/ plenty of power. I tow at 60MPH and don't go over that. Stiff head winds run up the trans temp and increase my RPM's - but that's not too often. Rolling hills aren't too bad either - just wouldn't want to do them all the time with a 1/2 ton. I do them occasionally in WI - but that's only part of the trip. Truck does ok. Overall power isn't too bad on hills I can maintain or even pick up speed if I floor it. I suspect you may struggle a bit more in this area. The 1/2 ton handles the weight pretty well - I still need to make another adjustment to the equalizer to put more weight on the front of the TV, i've got more squat in rear than the front right now. Not bad enough to create sway or handling trouble, but I don't want to overload the rear. I suspect the 1/2 ton's suspension is lighter than 3/4 tons.

My suggestion is to get a test tow in if you can. Take it in your normal traveling conditions. (keep in mind TT wont be loaded yet) If you cannot, I would say get as much feedback here and on the rv.net forums as you can. If you plan shorter trips in mostly flat land you would probably be ok with your TV's performance. If you are a power freak (need lots of power and don't want to feel bogged on hills - then you need a 3/4 ton).

If you are going to travel with 4 people all the time - make sure you look at your GVWR of your TV - especially if you have lots of gear in the truck i.e. bikes, firewood. I find that to be a limiting factor with 1/2 tons.

BTW, I also suggest getting a good gauge to monitor vehicle performance, temps etc. I use the Inteceptor scan gauge by aeroforcetech (http://www.aeroforcetech.com/). Love it. Plugs right into the ODBII port and scans like 20+ functions. I regularly monitor Trans Temp, Coolant Temp, Oil Temp, Instant fuel econ etc. Pretty cool. Not sure if they make one for the Toyota, but check it out! I like the safety factor it adds so I can be alert if trouble is brewing. Trans has only gotten above 200 degrees once. In really bad 40mph headwinds for over an hour. Ran it up... but it stayed around 200-210.

Hopefully this opinion helps a little. I'm not expert, but just went through all the same stuff you are doing this winter and wanted to share my experience.

Best of luck!
Mike

[jamesp]

I tow a 2701SS with a 1500 4X4 Quad Cab Dodge that has a 355 rear end and a Hemi. My transmission shifts on steep grades or long grades. In East Tennessess, every where I go is up hill in both directions. The truck actually does fine. I average 9-11 mph and have dropped to 8 and actually got 12 when I hit flat ground. It all relates to how you drive. I try to maintain 60-65 mph and let everyone else be in a hurry. A 392 rear end would be better for towing, but I would lose the everyday gas mileage or non-towing mileage. No more than I tow, I'm okay with the slow pace and mpg. If I were traveling for weeks, I would definitely look for a diesel T.V.