Towing camper

Need some ideas about beefing up my rear suspension for towing our 10,000lb camper with my 2010 Crew Max 4x4.

 

Heavier springs and or air bags if you are going to insist on towing 10,000 lbs with a 1/2 ton

 

The camper itself isn't 10,000lbs but with it loaded for a week long trip it's pretty close to 10,000lbs. We haven't had any trouble towing it but the bed sits a little below level and I don't feel comfortable going over 60 mph. I'm sure it would help to beef up the rear end a little. Airbags are the easiest DIY to install would you agree?

 

Your owner's manual probably says not to exceed 65 mph when towing anyway. Is your WDH set up correctly and do you have the right bars on it for the amount of weight?

 

Yes it's set up correctly and the bars are the correct ones for the camper. It also has a sway bar so I haven't had any issues with swaying. I was concerned about the bed sitting below level and if I needed to do anything about it.

 

If your WDH is set properly and you are sagging a lot it's entirely possible that you are overloaded for your truck. Relatively sure that you are over your tow rating for a crewmax as well.

 

Roadmaster active suspension

 

According to the manual max towing is 10,900lbs and I'm about 1,000lbs below that and it's not sagging a lot but it's a little below level in the rear. I'm going to check into air bags and the roadmaster suspension. Thanks for the help you guys.

 

What's the payload capacity of your truck? I'm willing to bet you're way over your GVWR. Heck, I'm over mine with a ~6500 lb camper.

 

I believe I'm right at it but I'll have to check the manual. I'm sure we did when we bought the camper. Now you have me curious I'm going to check my manual for sure.

 

Welcome to the forum @tuckerstundra - you'll find lots of great information on towing here.

You're likely going to get some mixed responses to your question as a 10,000 lb trailer will likely put your Tundra overweight. Not necessarily from a max towing weight, but from a payload/hitch weight. There is a big difference between what a Tundra can do vs what it should do according to the numbers. It's the same challenge that most 1/2 ton trucks face.

To directly answer your question, a properly fitted WDH along with either Airbags or a Roadmaster suspension will level your bed. However, those two options do not change the GVWR or axle max weight of your truck.

 

You dont want to hear this but plain and simple your overweight. If your towing that much trailer, get a bigger truck. Troopers and weigh scales don't care if you added springs or leafs to beef up your suspension. All they care about is that GVW sticker on your truck. So why risk you, your family and any others out there?

Putting it out there, last year I went to a friends funeral, he was hit by a family towing an overweight travel trailer. The truck couldnt handle the weight that well and swerved into his lane.

 

Sounds like I might have to downsize our camper or upgrade my truck. I wish Toyota would build a 3/4 ton Tundra. What do you guys think of the new Tundras with the turbo V-6 in them?

 

I'll pass personally, they have them here sitting on the service lanes. lots of problems for the first year release. Still a half ton truck, so you will need to downsize the trailer for sure. The price tags on these gen 3 went up dramatically. If I do get rid of the Tundra I will looking hard and heavy at the GMC AT4 truck. heavier duty and also a good looking truck for the same money. Toyota blew it by raising their prices, $80k-$90k for their top tier line of pickups is plain stupid. that kind of money I would buy the Lexus version of SuV's or other Luxury marks.

 

So sorry to hear about your friend and you may be right I could be overweight. I haven't had a swaying issue or a braking issue and I've had to stand them really hard a couple of times due to inconsiderate drivers. I assure you I am laser focused whenever I'm towing anything but if I have to downsize our camper I will to be safe on the highway. Thanks for the info.

 

I agree Mario I'll pass as well I'm going to look at the 3/4 ton Dodge probably a diesel. Are we going to be able to get fuel for our trucks for much longer with all this green energy crap going on?

 

The manual won't tell you for your specific truck. See if you have a sticker inside the driver's door.

 

sounds like a F-350 is in your future.

 

You're right it is on the sticker inside my driver's door. I'm going to check it when I go to lunch today. Thanks again for you guys help.

 

Possibly MadMax I might look at a Ford also but I don't think I want to go to a one ton if I don't have to.

 

Better to have more truck than you need, in case you upgrade the camper later, but I get what you are saying.

 

I had to go from the door sticker back to the manual to find my true towing capacity. The door sticker gives you the model of the truck and when you look that up it has additional footnotes such as towing package etc. I think mine is knocked down to 9,200 which I'm just fine dragging 2/3 of that.

The door sticker will tell you payload before any port installed options. If anything was installed at the port you get a pretty little yellow sticker further reducing your precious payload.

 

Yeah, I was just thinking payload specifically. Realistically, you'll hit your payload long before you hit your towing capacity when towing with a halfton.

 

My Tundra came right off the assembly line in San Antonio Texas to me so those port people didn't get a chance to install any of that junk on mine.

 

When I bought mine I told the dealer to find one without any of that junk and they did. Only problem was no bedliner but aftermarket was less.

 

No bedliner? No floormats? Hell, they added the "Owner Portfolio" at the port. Seems to me when the factory suggests you keep the owners manual in the truck, they shouldn't need a silly yellow sticker to cover the additional weight.

 

I would probably doubted it. theres a big push for it to disapear. The problem I'm seeing is our country is way behind the curve to accept something else. We are definitely behind the curve then our European allies when it comes to solar or wind energy. My best friend bought one of those Rivian pick up trucks. While they are unique looking, I make fun of him that he has to take a gas guzzler to go anywhere over three hundred miles, such as the beach. Pull a trailer and your down to a 150 mile range. Don't see the battery capacity of these all electric vehicles being advance for at least 10 more years.

 

I agree Dan it is completely silly for them to do that.

Mario, did you see the performance of the new Ford Lightning F150? They tried to tow 3500lbs and the driver was so worried he would not make it to the next charging station he turned around back to the starting point and only went a total of 75 miles before nearly draining the battery. I agree with you these electric vehicles are at least 10 years away before they can become a true replacement for combustion engines.

 

I predict more then 10 years to be a viable option for people that tow or use them for more then commuting.

 

I agree I don't believe they will be able to build a truck capable of towing 11,000lbs for 4 or 5 hundred miles in 20 years or maybe never. What about tractor trailers are they going to build an electric truck to haul 80,000lbs? I don't believe they will ever accomplish that.