Towing on LT

So I WANT LT, but would be satisfied with MT. There are some trailers in my future as I plan on getting some project vehicles once we move to somewhere more comfortable. So I would like to get a car hauler. I'd love a long enclosed trailer, but will probably end up with a flatbed with deckover.

I used to own an LT Bronco with Solo front end and Giant 64" leafs and that towed terribly. I tried helping a buddy take a 68 GTO project home and after about 30 minutes into a 6 hour ride I pulled over and told him I didn't think we were going to make it home safely. The suspension was too soft and the truck too small. It could not stabilize the trailer. It felt like the whole thing was going to flip over at any moment. Anyway, we limped to a motel 6 and stayed the night till a mutual friend could come with his ram 2500.

So can an LT Tundra tow anything remotely heavy?

 

Matt over at @M C M tows with his LT and he has different rear spring rates that may help your cause.

 

I tow a 8x7x16 enclosed trailer and i have a 25ft pontoon boat i tow with my LT tundra. Here is what ill say, you will prematurely sag the leafs, all the tongue weight is a factor, however its very doable, because of the longer wheelbase of the tundra, and being wider as well adds stability even though you are LT. I actually find it a more comfortable ride towing now than i did with MT. There is options like you could put airbags on when you tow to alleviate some of the issues, but as it sits it will work. I would advise the i96xhd leafs from deaver if you do that, its spec'd for 700lbs bed weight. So if your tongue weight is 1k+ that will work well. Let me know if you have questions.

One final option would be to get 3" leafs with custom front spring hangers like @osidepunker. Ive seen his truck in person, and that would handle all of the trailers our truck is rated for. now obviously there is extra custom work involved there to get that fabbed and installed and he can get you some details on how. But that could be your solution.

 

I tow quite a bit, have a 22' boat, 18' flatbed loaded with SXS and Bikes, 26' enclosed etc. The LT leafs are long, so they will be weight sensitive. I run the I96 HD since I'm a DC. I will be doing a set up to run removable air shocks to help with load capacity and squatting.

My truck is SCed and pulls no problem, it comfortably pulled hills at 85mph with this trailer and it wasn't sketchy at all. I've been driving LT trucks since I was 17, so I don't really know much different when it comes to trucks and towing.

 

Squat city... That looks SO sick. I'm assuming the steering isn't sketchy on the freeway?

 

I looked at @osidepunker 's build. It's pretty holy grail status. I gotta give this more thought... It was awkward at times when the LT Bronco was my daily. I would occasionally drive to lunch with non car people in it. Felt bad when I got questions about if it was going to tip over.

 

Not in my experience. Since I am in Vegas, we have the boat behind it 1-2 days a week during the summer headed to the lake or river. Also do multiple day trips to the dunes in the winter. So it has a trailer behind it quite a bit.

 

Is it on bumps in that picture? I'm assuming you have hydro bumps as well, just because you are who you are and you do what you do.

 

No, about 4" til bump

 

That's actually a decent amount of uptravel considering that kind of squat. Do your springs go negative when you tow? Do you have a setup that will go negative at all?

 

Are you getting your springs re-arched on the regular? How are you dealing with the flattened springs from towing?

 

yes rearching springs is needed. probably yearly at this point. im not dealing with "flattened" springs. You can tell from rear ride height, because LT rear leafs have so much arch, flattening would mean you are at full stuff, so you just have to take regular measurements or rear ride height.

 

That picture was from when I borrowed a friends trailer to take 2 SXS, I generally don't have that king of Tongue Weight. I have had these springs for about a year so far and they are still doing good.

 

I would set up your LT so it rides nice when you run it in the desert. Make sure you box the back half of your frame and do a proper full length bed cage. That will make sure your rear end is nice and solid for when you tow.

Now, once you have that done, tongue weight will determine how much you sag. If you sag too much, install an air shock with removable pin. Any reputable west coast fab shop will know how to do this. They are becoming more common, especially on the raptors. I personally know a LT tundra built by kibbietech that has this setup and he tows a huge toy hauler.

Let me know if you have any questions. with my wider leafs, I could remove one of my spare tires and I could probably handle a tongue weight of 500 lbs without sagging too much like MCM truck

 

Thanks everyone. Sounds like this will be an involved process. I think I will go with the removable airbags. I do have to get the LT first though, so that's the starting point. Mod savings fund has been setup along with our moving fund.

 

Removable air bags is the best option. Suspension is a balance between travel and load capacity.

You can’t have a spring that travels freely, but can also hold a trailer. The spring needs to be matched to the weight of the truck alone in order to cycle freely.

 

I was also reading on pirate that people have had good luck with the Daystar cradles. Might look into those as well.

 

Ive always wondered this. Do you need to box the frame in if you have a bedcage welded at 6 points to the frame? Doesn’t the bedcage tie it all together in both horizontal and lateral direction

 

i had them before, they are great!

 

Yes. You need to box the frame. A bed cage alone is not strong enough. In fact, I have the beefiest bed cage on a tundra that I have ever seen AND my frame is boxed. I still cracked tubes in the rear on both sides recently and I had to add gussets.

Even trucks with full cages will box the frame.

 

Anymore pictures of that rear bumper? I'm assuming you fabbed it yourself?