5.7 L Max Towing without huffing and puffing

Hi,

I am looking at new trailers and want to know what is the max weight (trailer & contents) that I can tow with ease.

typical free way pass in my area is 5-6% grade with 2 or 3 lanes and the speed limit is 60-70mph.

• I don't want to crawl at 40 mph
• don't want to go 70 mph either
• like to go 55mph with ease if I want to
• don't want to floor and push the car to the limit either!

can it handle a 6500 lbs (trailer & contents) with ease? add to that 2 or 3 people in the car plus some camping stuff in the bed.

I know the book says 10K (10500?) towing ... if I wanted to tow near that much, I would have bought a diesel. in general i don't like to exceed %70 of whatever the car makers say.

Thanks

 

Don't know about grades...didn't have to go that far...but I just towed a buddy's jeep on a massive flatbed coming in around 7k+ pounds and there were zero issues. I'm at 4200' MSL here in NM and did 65 on the highway, no problems.

 

My shafta flyte is 6500lbs, 30ft probably 800lbs on the bed and I tow at 70mph with no issues..rpm about 2800. If tow button not used tow in s mode and lock it down at 4th gear

 

I towed a BMW 3 series from DC to NC on one of those chunky Uhaul car trailers in typical schizophrenic Northern Virginia traffic and didn't really notice I had a trailer behind me. That was probably close to 6k lbs

 

@ColoradoTJ has lots of great posts on towing knowledge. Awesome idea to do the research BEFORE you buy.

 

Thanks guys, I am sure you know I was not talking about on the flats or going downhill as I have a feeling that tundra can tow 10K lbs on the flat land with no problem ... my other truck rated at 5K or 5.5K lbs towing huffs and puffs going uphill if towing anything over 3500 lbs
I wanted to know what is the max I can tow with ease. sounds like based on what you guys are saying, 6500 is fine maybe I can push it to 7500

I should have listed my 4th bullet first:
don't want to floor it and push the car to the limit either!

also want to do the 55 mph i was talking about with ease going uphill

 

In FL we don't have long hills but I have caught a few and 60mph with rpm of 2900..yeah I had a trailblazer rated at 5500lbs attached my 2800lbs tt and it was hurting going up a slope

 

The most important aspect of towing with a Tundra is the rear end gear ratio. The tow/haul option on the tundra includes trans temp gauge, cooler and a 4:30 gear ratio. This combination with the 5.7 liter motor pulls my 22' enclosed trailer (3500-4000 lbs) with a car inside (3500-4000), winch, tools and extras equals a total of 9,000+ lbs, with ease. My goal is to stay in 6th gear wherever possible. On flat land, in 6th gear, my best mpg is at 2000 rpm's. In order to obtain max mpg, I set my cruise at 59 mph. As long as the ECM allows the truck to stay in 6th gear, I get my best mpg. It doesn't take much for the trans to downshift to 5th while maintaining 59 mph and that is OK it just means lower mpg. Upgrades are just fun as the truck down shifts and takes them with ease. 5th gear on a grade is about 2300 rpm's and 4th gear will mean 2700 rpm's.
Several people have responded saying they tow at 2800-2900 rpm's @ 65-70 mph. With the wind I push and weight I tow, that speed/rpm range would be about 9 mpg as opposed to the 11.5 to 12 mpg I get at 2000 rpm @ 59 mph.
Note: My enclosed trailer is slightly taller than the cap on my truck and I also have a smaller enclosed trailer that is a foot taller and it has an adverse effect on my mpg. Prior to buying my ARE cap for the bed of my truck, I installed a Tonneau cover over the bed and that resulted in an improvement of one mpg while towing. Now I have the hard cover and I also have a wind deflector I can install on top of the hard cover that gets me another one to one and a half mpg.
It has been proven to me that there isn't any mileage advantage to towing a trailer with a V neck design on the front. The one disadvantage is the V design creates instability while towing. The wind tunnels show that wind travels down the side of the tow vehicle and wraps around the end of your vehicle. With a V nose trailer, this turbulence impacts each side of the V front and this wind force pushes the front in opposite directions. I have adjusted quite a few distribution hitches and found the hitch used while towing a V nose trailer to be the most sensitive.

 

good info forespeed!

lol, I said 3500 because I didn't want to be too nitpicky. Even when my truck was new it could only tow 2500 to 3000 lbs with ease.
my friend had the same v6 Tacoma & same engine but his was automatic and it would tow easier than mine. we used to take turn towing a boat when going fishing.
I have had stick shifts forever and I prefer manual for v6 and smaller cars.
with manual trucks by the time you shift from 1 to 2 and then 3, you lose momentum no matter how fast you can shift or how high u keep the rpm ... he even confirmed it with my car and I drove his car and his auto was definitely more responsive. even going uphill his would down shift much quicker and would not lose momentum!

 

I've had the regular 5.7, the supercharged 5.7 and a modified Cummins for pulling my 9500# camping trailer. The regular 5.7 pulled it easily on the flats and slight grades your speaking of are doable with a little throttle. The 5.7 supercharged could pull it as fast as you wanted to go. The Cummins it was like it wasn't even there. I highly recommend a weight distribution hitch of the appropriate anticipated tongue weight. You'll pull 6500# but again you might have to use rpm's at times.

 

We just returned home to BC from a 2 week vacation in Oregon. I towed our 4000 pound trailer, with 2 humans and 2 dogs with absolute ease. I just bought this 2014 Tundra and can't say how pleased I am with its towing ability. We ran multiple ling grades, in summer heat, with no problems. I could pull up a grade at 55 to 60 with ease. Sometimes I forgot the trailer was even there. I have a weight distribution hitch and a sway control var too. It was just a breeze to tow with. Love this truck.

 

Ok, I know I am late to this discussion but here is my question.
I have the Tundra 5.7L with tow package, 4.3 rear gear. I also just bought a travel trailer that loaded weighs 8500 lbs.

My wife wants to go to Tennessee to go camping and I am scared to death to go down Jellico Mountian. I don't care how slow I go up the mountain. Has anyone made this trip that can offer some pointers? Best speed/gear to go down the 6% grade?


Thanks,

Tony

 

This video might give you some ideas of what it can handle.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AFg6eDuZ85E

 

I am in West Virginia, so going to Pigeon Forge Tennesse I have to go over Jellico Mountain. I did weigh the trailer and its 8500 with all
of our stuff in it.

I found this cool web site that gives you an idea of elevation changes.

https://www.doogal.co.uk/RouteElevation.php

 

I am good with all of that,, the say a prayer part scares me a little though..lol Not because of the prayer but the reason I need too..lol

 

A weight distribution hitch properly installed and the weight rating to that is equal to yoyr trailer. A good brake controller everyone on here recommends the p3. Tow mirrors dor obvious reasons and just make sure all your tires are set to the right psi and you grease your berrings. You won't have any issues really.

 

wow old thread. I think I started it ...

very good advise but I think it is much easier to just download Kerry Underwood song - Jesus, Take the Wheel ... and step on it!
I like that song!
j/k about WOT, please don't sue me anyone ... lol

 

Thanks for the advice guys. I am going to take it down a 5% grade on the WV turnpike out of Charleston and see how it goes.

 

I lived in the Charleston WV area a few years ago and routinely would go to Raleigh NC to pick up cars and Trucks on a flatbed. For the most part I couldn't tell I was even towing.

 

No offense to anyone but I always chuckle when someone says "I could hardly tell I was towing". I can feel a huge difference when I have a full tank of gas.

 

If this will help at all.

http://toyotanews.pressroom.toyota.com/releases/2016+toyota+tundra+specs.download

 

Just to let you guys know, I went down a 2.5 mile 5% grade over the weekend with no issues at all.

Thanks for all of your input!

 

Yep! I can tell when I have my daughter and her Twiggy little friends in the truck. I towed a very light boat this last summer. And while it towed it with ease I definitely knew it was back there. Maybe some people are just more in tune with their trucks.

 

First you want to be legal when you are towing. Second thing is, only tow with what you are comfortable with. AS a former truck driver that has actually pulled over 80,000# since I had overload permit, you start out slow if you are not comfortable. You also have to know your limits and never exceed them. I have towed a TT and currently tow a FW now. They are day and night in how they feel. TT weighed, fully loaded around 7500#. 5.7 never even burped pulling going from Central VA to Pigeon Forge (one of our favorite places to go). You could always tell it was there and best mpg was around 9. With the FW, again you know it is there but feels completely different since it is right on top of axle. Weight is 10000# fully loaded and 7200# dry. Again the 5.7 doesn't falter and none of my gauges are any hotter than normal. But it also comes down to how you drive. If you want to "hot dog" it, go ahead and see how long truck lasts. Use commons sense while pulling any size trailer and you will do just fine!

 

I just towed 7500lb camper from Connecticut to South Carolina with my bed full of stuff and back seat loaded. No problems through the mountain. Pulled like a tank. Never slowed down.

 

We tow a 21' TT that weighs in at just under 5000 lbs. when loaded and we towed it with our TRD Supercharged FJ Cruiser. FJ towed it fine but when the single axel trailer would start wagging the FJ would really wag. Due to the design of the trailer the only type of sway control or weight distribution you can use is a chain system that is designed by Hensley. The system works well you just can't get far enough back on the frame of the trailer for it to do any real good. Can't wait to tow it behind my new Tundra Crew Max TRD to see the difference. Will still have the same weight distribution issues but it is bound to be a night and day difference based on the weight and size difference between the FJ and the Tundra.

 

I tow a 10,000+ Truck and trailer with no problem! I know I’m pushing the limits of the truck but I really don’t feel like the truck is struggling at all.