Need opinions before purchasing travel trailer

Hey all! I'm considering purchasing a travel trailer. My work takes me across the country, and hotel expenses really add up after awhile. I found a great deal on a camper, it's an Evergreen Everlite 232rbs. Its 27ft long, and here are the weight specs

Dry Weight
5,845 lbs.

Payload Capacity
1,860 lbs.

GVWR
8,195 lbs.

Hitch Weight
400 lbs.

I have a 2014 tundra crewmax 4x4 5.7, around 186k miles and serviced regularly with the best fluids. I plan on getting a trailer brake controller, and possibly airbags. The camper is coming with a weight distribution hitch. I wont be carrying much cargo at all, probably the minimum

My dog (80lbs)
Work cloths
Xbox
Cooking set
Box fan
Cleaning supplies
Toolbag and toolset
Bathroom amenities

I believe all of this will weigh no more than 500lbs, me included. Would this camper be easy enough to pull without a white knuckle drive? Most jobs are within 12hrs, but sometimes they can be several days drive away. and pulling a camper I believe 12 hrs would be my max drive time a day to be safe.

 

You shouldn't have any problems. Just make sure you have the weight distribution hitch and a brake controller. Air bags will help also but not as much as the other 2 things.
Good luck.

 

Thank you for your input!

 

After you add your gear, even traveling light, your loaded weight will be at least 6500 lbs. And your hitch weight will be at least 10% of that, so close to 650 lbs. Doable as long as you are not putting really heavy things in your bed.

 

I would probably have most of my stuff in the backseat of my truck, minus the kitchen stuff and cleaning supplies, would that still affect the hitch weight? Or does hitch weight apply to bed cargo and anything in the TT that Is loaded in front of the axles?

 

The hitch weight, cargo weight in the bed, and weight of cargo and passengers in the cab all add up to equal the payload weight. Our trucks are a little lacking in payload weights. There should be a yellow sticker in your drivers side door that will tell you your payload weight.

I tow a TT that weighs about 4600 lbs, has a hitch weight of 500lbs, I have a family of 5 so about 650 lbs of people, and we load some bicycles in the bed, which puts us at about 1250-1300 lbs. We are really close to our payload limit.

 

You'll want to load everything you can in the trailer as low and as close to the axles as possible. Putting the weight in the trailer saves your payload and takes weight off your trucks suspension. The weight of that trailer won't be an issue, but the length will cause sway with a side wind or a big rig passing so you'll want a wdh with some sort of sway control. My springdale 260tb have very similar specs and pulls great with a 4x4 crewmax.

 

In addition to what everyone else has stated, I would also suggest the TRD rear sway bar. I found the towing benefits to be compelling, and it also improved the on-road/cornering performance quite a bit.

 

I've looked into the sway bar as well. But I do like to hit the trails and I've read that it really hinders suspension flex. When I get the trailer I'll only have the wdh, nothing else, but it's only about 30 min from the campground I'm staying at right now (currently staying in my buddy's camper) so I'll see how it goes with just the wdh.

Ill try to get a trailer brake controller before I head back home after this job, it's about a 5 hour drive. I also believe i need to bleed my brakes. The brake pedal is a little soft, which could be normal. But I feel like it needs to be stiffer. Definitely going to upgrade to some powerstop drilled and slotted rotors as well.

Thanks for the replies everybody, this gives me much more peace of mind! I have an old 95 f250 with a 7.3, but I really dont wanna drive it across the country with a camper, it's old, and almost at 300k with the original transmission, and even though she shifts nice and crisp, long hauls will burn up that trans quick with all those miles. Plus the tundra is such a nice and luxurious ride in comparison

 

Highly recommend the sway bars which it should have for the size of trailer, Tekonsha P3 brake controller is one of the best and easiest to use and also the firestone airbags. I’ve had them on all my past trucks and even my Tacoma running the same bags and brake controller. A big game changer for sure and some great assurance on the road. Member Dooododoo I believe as it won’t let me tag him makes a dash mount plate kit for the Tekonsha P3. Does require the 16+ year dash piece but man is it a flush fit. @Roman from sparks parts can get you hooked up for the newer dash kit. Get ahold of these guys for sure and you’ll be set.

 

Just ordered this. Amazon didnt have prime delivery for it, so I went to O'Reilly's and they price matched amazon!! I was really surprised, I ordered the pigtail connector too. It will be here before lunch tomorrow, faster than Amazon prime! Win win. I'll look into getting the mounting dash mount kit in the future.

 

Just got the P3 installed, the wiring harness doenst look the greatest but i didnt wanna put a hole in the plastics because I'll eventually get the nice flush mount to make it look factory, I ordered tow mirrors but the won't be here till Monday. So I'll have to pull it with factory mirrors this weekend, just gonna stay in the right hand lane and mind my speed. I was really hoping they would be here by Friday, but it happens.

 

Minding your speed is a great plan when towing anyway. It is staggering how much better behaved a trailer is, and how much easier it is on the truck and fuel economy cruising at 60 vs 70 MPH. I see lots of guys blasting down I-80 in their diesel pickups with the poor thing's RPM's wound up to the max just so they can maintain as close to the speed limit as possible. All I can do is shake my head. If you are in such a rush that you have to push your rig that hard for the extra 5-10 MPH, then, IMO, you need to plan better.

 

Alot of guys I work with have diesels and big 5th wheels. One of my buddies has a '18 platinum f450 and a 17k 42 ft 5th wheel, which is a little only over half the tow capacity of the truck. But on open freeways he runs 80 to 85mph without issue. But that would scare me to death lol. Now other guys with f250s and other 3/4s definitely push their trucks wayyyy to hard. I might go 70 max while towing if the roads are open and flat, but it will be very rare if I ever do so. and I'm gonna have tow mirrors before I attempt it

 

Solid plan. The ones I shake my head at are the guys pushing the trucks too hard for the load. I see some of the guys pulling gargantuan trailers and then they have the pedal mashed the whole time, and it's just so hard on an engine to run that way. Makes me wonder if the big 3 might have better reliability records if fewer idiots towed with them?

 

If people used their trucks as intended I have no doubt they would last longer without as many failures. I always try to stay within the manufacturers recommendations, the only exception would be pulling something across my buddies property that might be a bit (or alot) to heavy, but not taking anything on public roads. I have yet to do this with the tundra, but boy oh boy has my 95 7.3 pulled some weight!

 

I bet. Those 7.3s were monsters.

 

Mime has 294k on it and zero leaks and original E4OD trans . Dry as a bone underneath. I'm meticulous with maintenance too. Just replaced the entire front end, and every single bushing on the truck with polyurethane. Body mounts too. Took about 18hrs total. But worth it!

 

Well now you're just being a tease. Gotta see some pics of the 7.3!

 

I used to have literally that exact same truck; 95 F250 XLT. I had to replace some stuff (starter and other minor stuff) but it was a super solid truck. I gave it to my parents when their truck crapped out...it 'only' had 280K on it. LOL

 

Picked up the camper Thursday! Tundra towed it like a champ! The WDH really makes a huge difference. It towed so well I found myself going 70mph very comfortably. The P3 is a really awesome brake controller as well. I kept it in tow mode and used the sequential shifter, I kept it in 4th, but felt like I could have had it in 5th or 6th. Is there any reason I couldn't tow in 5th or 6th? I know they're OD gears, but wondering the consequences of doing so. Oh and my trans temp never got over 205 even on a steep grade. Very pleased with the towing capability of the tundra

 

Congrats! I put the Tundra in tow/haul and let it do it's thing. It will tow happily in 5th on the highway, only occasionally going into 6th on slight down grade stretches.

 

Just a quick suggestion. Don't forget the weight of any water and propane you are carrying. A full 30 gallon fresh water tank adds approximately 240 extra pounds to the load. If you buy the weight distribution kit I doubt you will need the airbags.