towing advice

Recently started towing a camper. Camper weight even when loaded is only coming in around 3600 pounds, obviously well below even half of what these trucks are rated to tow. I'm new at towing so I'm wondering if there's just some things I'm not doing right, because the truck seems to act like its having a harder time than I feel it should be. Using this weekend as an example I had several occasions while in tow/haul mode where the rpm's would hang around 4200 and the trans wouldn't shift to a higher gear, this was while maintaining 65ish on flat road..... I feel like this isn't normal operation and it shouldn't just hang up like that. Over all I'm pretty unhappy with how the truck tows. I cant even manage 70 on the highway without rapping 3000 to 3200 rpm's. I'm pulling a 21 foot camper that even when loaded only weighs in around 3600 pounds. My questions are: Is there a better way I should be driving? Are there any mods I could do that would squeeze some more juice out of the 5.7 so I wouldn't feel like its struggling so much? I live in the southeast and most of where I'm traveling is flat and the truck just feels gassed. 2020 Tundra, 3.5 lift on 35's, standard hitch, all stock aside from that.

 

The issue with a big trailer like that is more to do with air resistance then weight. But it is a half ton truck.

 

That's all normal. The tow/haul mode makes the truck hold gears longer for better towing ability, increases throttle sensitivity (Try hitting that button when you aren't loaded. It's fun!), and your RPMs are normal for a gasser at your speeds. You do NOT want to tow in the overdrive gears. You'll break stuff.

Question, did you recalibrate your speedometer for the bigger tires? If not you are going much faster than your gauge shows. I plugged the stock size tire for most tundra in and then a 35" on a tire size calculator. If you are on 35s and haven't recalibrated then when your speedo says 70 you are actually going 76.3 MPH. Your Odometer is also going to be off. You are going further than it says.

Here's a link so you can plug and play on your own.




In conclusion:

• Gassers rev when they tow. This is normal.
• Tow/Haul will make the truck run in lower gears for longer. This is intentional to keep the truck in a good power band for towing.
• Recalibrate your speedo
• Slow down. Owner manual says not to tow much over 65 MPH (that means your uncalibrated speed should read 60 MPH)

 

This!

I'm always amazed at the amount of towing threads and questions when the driver states they are driving 80mph towing 9k lbs for 1800 miles uphill in 100* outside temps and they wonder why their mileage sucks and their temps are high.

 

good info, I have not re-caled, would probably be beneficial! I'm not trying to win any races trust me lol, just wanna be able to hang around 65 and feel like the truck is struggling, but I guess that's just normal. I don't know how other gassers are yanking 30 footers behind them, I thought for sure a 3600 pound 21 footer would be easy money behind the truck..

 

With no recal if you want to hang around 65 MPH you should have your speedo at 60. That said, your truck isn't struggling just because it's running the RPMs in the 3-4k range. That's normal towing RPM on gas.

You could also regear to 4.88s for your 35 inch tires. That will put you closer to stock ratios and get back some of that power you lost upsizing.

@Dilleytech is on the right track, too. It's less the weight than the wind resistance that does that to you. You have a 3600 lb trailer, but I would bet you're towing about the same as a similarly sized 5000 lb trailer. I haul a 12 foot tandem axel utility/flatbed trailer to move my RZRs around, and with or without the RZR on it the experience is pretty much the same. This is because the ramp at the back is a big ass wind catch. The 1400 lbs of SxS don't affect the tow experience much at all.

 

The 65 mph towing speed is always a good recommendation on acct of trailer tires don't generally like high speed ie. Blowouts.

 

Engage tow/haul.
Shift into S4.
Drive 60 without worrying about it.

 

Everything everyone is saying in here is spot on but I want to and ask some questions and add experience with my 2014 toying a 23' trailer @ 4500 lbs loaded. My truck is stock height and tires/rims matched to OEM spec. Even with my Hike-It in Eco mode 1, I can easily zip around up past 70 if I'm not paying attention, not in Tow/Haul mode. I don't want to though as I try to keep it at 60/65 from a safety stand-point.

Did it seem like you had a trailer behind you accelerating or braking? Do you have a WDH? TRD Rear Sway Bar? How much sag is introduced when you hook up? How are you monitoring your transmission temps on the 2020 since it doesn't have a transmission cooler? Your lift + bigger tires and rims definitely add to the weight of the truck and it takes that much more to turn them when you have something on the back.

Your experience sounds accurate in terms of higher RPMs at least.

 

thanks for the info, good to know its normal what the truck is doing.

 

Interesting. After reading the ongoing debates about using D or S4 with tow/haul (mostly debates about keeping the trans temp as low as possible), I experimented recently while towing my 5,500 lb (loaded with tanks empty) 22' TT with my 2019 completely stock Platinum.

On flat to gently rolling highway, I used tow/haul in D at 65 on cruise. What I found was it stayed primarily in 5th, occasionally shifting up to 6th, and down to 4th only on the steepest grades.

I concluded that I needed to haul in S4 to keep it out of OD.

In regard to OP's experience, I suspect the lift and 35's are the culprit. Just my guess.

 

What were transmission temps like during your experiment?

 

No clue.

 

For my own education, what's CC?

 

My understanding is the transmission runs cooler when not in OD. Again, I'm just flying by the seat of my pants.

Why not use cruise? Any reason other than the manual says not to? It's just much more relaxing, lol.

 

I do not have a WDH yet, I wasn't sure I'd really one since my camper only clocks in at 3600 pounds. I also do not have a TRD rear sway bar. Sag wise the truck pretty much levels out once it picks up the load from the camper. I have not monitored trans temps at all, which I was thinking about that this weekend.

 

cruise control

 

I forgot about this discussion...

https://www.tundras.com/threads/can-i-use-cruise-control-while-towing.38642/

 

The surface temperature of a highly active quasar minus 10°F. The ten degrees is the contribution of the liquid to liquid heat exchanger.

 

You mean that heat exchanger I paid you for but still hasn't shipped from your factory in Latvia?

 

Your payment of bald beaver pelts turned out to be shaved nutria.

You know what nutria is? Its rat pelts.

 

Thankfully no gear hunting

 

Refraesh my memory with a link, plz.

 

21 foot trailer that is acting like a sail. It doesn't matter if you are towing a 21 foot travel trailer or a 14 foot cargo trailer with the same cross sectional dimensions. If you get into a decent headwind - oye.

I don't have 35s but have 34s with a small lift and am looking at doing a gearing change specifically because of towing speeds and the ability to maintain speed and handle mountains. There are alot of opinions regarding 4.88 vs 5.29, and @dirtydeeds has sells various gearing kits and is a good resource.