The Official 1st Gen Towing Thread - any and all things towing

This is the first Gen Forum....



Towing a 4000 flat bed with a car on it is completely different than towing something like a travel trailer. The weight of a car is centered with the front wheels just in front of the axles. This is a pretty ideal setup. It is very stable and wind has little effect on this setup. With an enclosed or travel trailer all the weight is scattered around the perimeter with empty space in the center. They also tend to be much longer. so in a sway situation they can get out of control quick. Another big difference is wind resistance. Above 50mph or so the travel trailer is going to be much more difficult to pull then a nice aerodynamic car.

Weight distribution and sway control When towing over 2k#
Your rear axle is a pivot point. Your trailer is pushing down on the hitch lifting your front tires. In extreme cases the trailer truck combo will make a V . In a braking situation this can be really bad news. This can be corrected with airbags but that does not actually fix the whole problem, I would say it fixes 20% of the problem. Airbags are great for carrying heavy loads in the bed of your truck. I plan to add some myself, but not for towing. With bags your rear axle is still a pivot, just a taller one. You are still taking weight off the front tires. I weight distribution/anti sway hitch is the safe way to tow. I do not recommend the friction sway bars. I good hitch, setup correctly will put a nearly equal amount of weight on all 6 tires. That weight is the tongue weight and the hitch is leveraging your front wheels and the trailer wheels back down. It makes for a stellar tow experience. I use a blue ox and eaz hitch. I prefer the

$879 Blue Ox BXW0753 SWAYPRO Weight Distributing Hitch 750lb Tongue Weight for Underslung Coupler with Clamp-On Latches

blue ox.

Insights from the manual
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Notice how they don't say we recommend airbags?
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Capacities


















And for the finale and the one I will 100% disregard because this must have been written by a European or something...

 

I recently came across an article by a company that manufactures towing products/accessories that I found informative, I'm in no way endorsing/promoting their stuff.

https://www.weigh-safe.com/towing-safety/definitive-guide-to-safe-towing/

That being said, I'm now interested in their universal tow ball so I can easily determine tongue weight when I pull a trailer.

 

That ball could be really handy if you carry a lot of different weight loads and want to use different bars for each. I wish I could rent something like that for a day.

 

Here is some info from tacoworld:

 

I have a weighsafe trailer ball. It works great for properly loading my tractor on my trailer or loading my dump trailer.

 

That actually makes a ton of since for loading stuff like that. I might look into one of those.

 

I found mine on CL for $50.
It has been pretty handy for sure!


And one of my favorites!

 

Isn't the tongue weight (prior to you adding anything like a bettery, propane, etc) identified on the trailer itself? My TT and cargo trailer are on the placard I believe. Now I can definitely see the weight scale being useful without a doubt.

 

Tongue weight can be pretty dynamic in a travel trailer too. Usually the fresh water tank is in the front. That adds 500 pounds of water between the axle and the tongue. How much of that comes out in tongue weight depends on where the tank is.

 

I haven't searched yet (but will) is there any info about installing an electric brake controller?

 

Get a Tekonsha P3.
Anything else?

 

I have experience with that brake controller and that is my plan. Just wondering if my 2003 Tundra 4x4 Limited Stepside with Towing Package (factory receiver hitch and trans cooler) is pre-wired or what I need to do to get the wiring part of it figured out.

 

Sorry I crack myself up usually,really.

I dont know if that truck is pre-wired but if not it is not a huge thing to do it or have it done either.
My 2001 was not ready to go but it has been for a long time now and never had an issue.

Are you aware that there is a place on the Toyota site where you input the VIN and it tells you pretty completely how the truck was configured from Birth?
I would look there first and then look under the truck at the receiver and see if there is an empty connector back there that looks like it would be for the 7 way connector.

What are you going to be towing?

 

I have been to the Toyota site and input the vin and know it was born with factory tow package and is still there (just got the truck last month), when shopping used Tundra's I was specifically looking for factory tow package and this has it. It does have a 7pin connector already there (Toyota brand) at the receiver hitch end. I just have to figure out (I think) what is going on under the driver side kick panel for the wiring inside the cab.

At least I hope it is that simple. I also have a 2016 Tacoma and it has the factory tow package and it was pre-wired under the dash so the tekonsha had the option to buy a pre-wired jumper from the brake controller to a factory connector under the kick panel that was empty. So install was done in about 15 minutes and the hardest part was determine where to mount the controller.

16 foot enclosed trailer that has electric brakes. It will have toys in it (dirt bikes and side x side) and should weigh in about 5k.

 

I think but am not sure that the 1st gen trucks were not wired for the control behind the dash?

Cant the Dealer tell you for sure?

I had mine done at a Trailer Place a long time ago and the guy there just ran new wiring and soldered it all which was nice and thats what I use in the 2001.

I also have a 2015 which like your Taco was a 15 minute job to install the Tekonsha cable and figure out where to mount it kind of job.

 

It is not to bad to install one. Do you have the factory tow package with the 7 pin connector?

 

I found this video of a first gen Tundra but not the same year as mine.

when it warms up a little I will tackle this project and open the kick panel on mine.

maybe this will help someone else? The title is “Official 1st Gen Towing” so I figure this kind of info should compliment this thread vs hijack it.

https://youtu.be/pZNNKQhQD2o

 

This helps answer that. Thanks @onesojourner

 

my '03 was prewired for the brake controller, the connector was under the driver's kick panel.I had the towing package.

 

If you have the factory tow package the plug will be up in the driver kick panel. Plug and play harnesses exist

 

I have thousands of miles on that one. You can really dial it in so braking with a trailer feels like braking with a trailer.

I installed a redarc in my tundra. It looks factory because the brain is behind the dash.

 

Hit the road to punderson state park for some winter camping this morning. 230 miles first time towing any distance with the tundra as well as the new trailer. Went great except for fuel mileage. Very stable, little bouncy on concrete sections, but I’ve never had a tow vehicle that wasn’t bouncy on the concrete.

Mileage based on scan gauge over 10 miles of relatively flat and steady speed.
71 mph - 7.4mpg
68 mph - 8.2mpg
64 mph - 8.6mpg
60 mph - 8.9mpg

I was hoping for 9-10mpg at 65-70, but I guess I’m a dreamer. My odyssey and previous 17 ft trailer would get 10-12mpg at those speeds.

 

I am not surprised by those numbers. What does your loaded camper weigh? These box trailers are like pulling a giant brick down the road. I bet there are big changes in those numbers between 50 and 70mph. Do you have more time or money?hahah... What hitch are you using?

 

Just under 4000 dry, 5000gvw. Loaded pretty light as it’s just me sleeping in it this trip. I’d guess around 300-400 lbs of gear.

I use and Andersen no sway hitch.

 

Today I was in a hurry and had to make a fuel stop no matter what. Typically I’m 65 and under.

 

I like having the lever on the traditional style brake controller for piece of mind if I begin to sway.

I have been using the Tekonsha P3 for several years.

 

He is just talking about where the brake controller plugs in. I think all controllers have a manual lever Or equivalent. The redarc I have just started using has the same feature as the lever but you push/mash button instead of a lever. The p3 is a great controller and it has been what I have used for years. For any one not familiar with the controller, it is proportional so you can set your trailer brakes to stop 100% of the trailer. So when you hit the brakes it feels like stopping with no trailer.

 

The redarc is what I intend on running. I like that it’s out of sight other than just the controls

 

Heading out on a couple day trip.

 

Well, I looked on the towing forum for this one. I am hoping I’m not oblivious to the obvious(I hope I’m not posting about something well known). Have a first Gen (4.7, double cab, 4x4) and I pull a car hauler with four quads on it or an a-frame chalet camp trailer (sorry, no pics yet!). Guessing flatbed is around 4K loaded and the chalet is around 3k loaded. Most trips are from Bremerton WA to Florence Oregon (from Bremerton to Portland to Eugene then west to the coast). Just got done reading a little information on leaving overdrive off/on. Getting mixed responses. Performance is good enough for me not to need more power as I can always turn overdrive off for more rpm’s. My question is when is the right time to turn it off based on speed? Main goal is to keep transmission alive as long as possible via decrease in heat. I try to turn OD off on hills no matter what. I don’t tow faster than 70, usually under 65. One thing too, truck sits on 285/75-r16 tires that are 10 ply rated. I feel like turning OD off more often may have a lower RPM (with the slightly bigger tire) enough to leave it there for long periods of time. Will running at 3 grand for 6-7 hours at a time in 90-100 degrees in the summer damage the engine/damage transmission?