Tow Ratings Guide, How to be safe.

I often see threads or get PM's about:

-Can I tow this Travel Trailer?
-How do I figure out the ratings?
-Should I use airbags? LDH?
-Should I go diesel?
-MPG

Here are some useful video's on how to calculate and figure all this information out.






I know, this is a Ford F-150. However, they have 100K miles on it, towing, and one of the better 1/2 ton towing video's out there:



1/2 ton towing



New to RV'n?





Ideas before you buy:

Since we are all on a truck forum, probably already own the truck and will not part with it. Totally understand, and with the rising costs within the truck industry, we have to make things work. Now we just need to make it work safely.

-Get out on forums like Tundras.com, ask questions. More than likely people in your area that have campers/trailers that you can try out. You will be surprised on the willingness of people to let you test their stuff out before making a decision.


-RV shows. Great way to see different platforms and what works for your situation.

-RV Rental. Perfect way to get out in the RV/Trailer life and see how things go. Never know, but you may hate it. Easier to make a 4-700.00 weekly rate mistake than a $10,000-50000.00 mistake.

-RV/Trailer forums. What tires, brakes, mods, generators, areas to travel to/stay away from? Parts to carry with? (bearings, grease, light bulbs, wood, wood screws, hand tools, etc)
Insurance cost, do you need towing insurance (answer is yes, and get one that isn't for 25-50 miles). I use Good Sams Towing insurance. They guarantee the correct tow truck, unlimited miles. This is key for the adventure person in all of us that gets out in the middle of nowhere. In Alaska, Canada, western states...great idea.

Fuel economy. This seems to be a big topic whether it be empty or towing. This is a very difficult to compare due to the following:

-Wind/Weather in certain areas can just bog down any vehicle, let alone a trailer being pulled.

-Elevation. For naturally aspirated motors, you will lose ~3% for every 1000 feet of increased elevation. To put this in perspective, going over passes at 10000 ft (plenty of those in CO), you will lose ~114 hp. That my friends is a good drop.

-Grades and rolling hills. Some of my hardest towing has been in rolling hill country in the Midwest. Add some wind, and expect some dismal fuel economy numbers and late arrival due to reduced speeds.

-Drag forces. If you take the same truck and two different trailers that weight the same, one being 16' enclosed and one 24' enclosed, the 24' will net you less fuel economy every time due to surface area. This should be a big consideration when purchasing a Travel trailer. If I remember correctly, my worst tank of fuel economy was 6.7 mpg. We were heading south in NM and the winds were brutal, and the 28' behind me didn't help at all either.
https://www.tundras.com/threads/1500-miles-of-tt-towing-what-i-learned-about-the-tundra.5295/

-Speed. Obviously some people will tow 55 mph and others at 75 mph (or what the camper/tires are rated for). This is impossible to compare with different speeds.

-Tire tread, size, inflation, alignment, lifts/level...etc.

 

SAE J2807 standards. What is this and why? How does this effect my current Tundra tow rating?

A quick answer to these questions:

It doesn’t. The updated tow ratings with the J2807 standards have already been calculated for you if your Tundra is newer than 2010. Toyota was the first to adopt these high standards moving forward into 2011. These rating can be found in the owners manual and inside the drivers door sill.


https://www.natda.org/news/know-your-pickups-weight-carrying-limits/




TFL truck started this whole questions with towing standards (or the lack of). Funny how GM spearheaded the whole SAE J2807 standards, but was one of the last to adopt. Go figure. Watch how the Big 3 dance around the tow standard questions. Mike S just told it like it is for Toyota going forward and how safety is more important than sales/marketing.



Part #1



Part #2

 

Matching the trailer to your truck:



Pay attention with CDL and DOT law weight ratings.

 

1/2 Tons and 5th Wheel towing.



or 3/4 tons for that matter.

 

Before you tow, always check your equipment. Items like:

-Hitch setup
-Tire condition
-lights and brake function

Most people check weather/road conditions in the direction they are traveling. This can save you hours.

Today I was going to load up again to around maximum capacity of my trailer (14,000 lbs) and do this for the next couple days traveling between Denver and Colorado Springs at freeway speeds (55-75 mph). I was doing my pre-trip inspection and came across this:



Tread separation. This would not have lasted long under load and cruising down the freeway.

Well it looks like the time to swap new tires on the flatbed. I have over 30k miles on these tires and 5 years old. It’s time.

Some brand new Heartland ST235/80/16 are going on at Discount tire for 568.00.

 

Slow down towing in foul weather!!



Left turns can be very dangerous, even if you are not at fault.



Looks like they lost a tire and spun out of control. Hard to see, but it looks to spin around a few times.



Use caution passing large trucks.

 

Let's talk about payload ratings and why they matter. I have seen this more than I care to admit, and would like to shed some light on this topic.

Airbags, Load Distribution Hitches, Sumo Springs (or similar), aftermarket spring packs will not solve this little problem...Semi-Floating vs Full Floating rear axles.

Nevermind bending frames on overloading....

https://www.titanxdforum.com/threads/bent-frame.20217/

(note post #8)


This post is about semi-floating vs full floating rear axles. What is the differences? Why is the pros and cons of each? What can happen?

Here are the differences:



Let's start with the Semi-floating axle:

Pro's:

- Lighter overall weight.
- Cheaper to manufacture and keep costs down.
- Cheaper to service brakes/rotors

Con's:

- Lighter duty, lower capacity. Bent axles between the wheel hub and wheel bearing can happen and more common than most people know. Overloading, big tires, hard impact all can cause a bent or broken axle. Vibration issues should look into shocks/wheel balance first...then look into axle shafts if you push or go over limits.
-Weight is on bearing/axle shaft. Extra loading can cause failure.
- Wheel bearings need service more often especially with heavy use. Overloading can cause bearing failure with axle housing damage that is not repairable.
- Axle failure will most likely leave a person stranded. Even with newer Semi-floating axle backing plates, one should not drive far using the brake caliper to hold the wheel in place.
- Smaller brake assemblies.

Full Floating axle:

Pro's:

- Axle capacity is greatly increased due to design.
- Axle shaft breakage most likely will put you on the side of the road.
- Load is on bearings/wheel hub vs axle shaft/bearings.
- Larger brake assemblies.

Cons:

- Heavy. Reduced vehicle capacity.
- More expensive to service/replace parts.


Overloading. What can happen to my Tundra?

Never underestimate leverage: https://tfltruck.com/2020/03/frame-bender-what-does-it-take-to-bend-a-trucks-frame/

Good read here:
https://www.generalspringkc.com/blog/what-happens-if-you-overload-a-truck/

-Bent axle housings.
-Bent axle shafts.
-Failed axle bearings.
-Flattened rear leaf spring, u-bolt damage, centering pin failure...etc.
-Bent frame. I have personally never seen one on a Tundra due to towing. That doesn't mean it hasn't happened....I just haven't ran accross it yet on the Tundra platform.
-Early drivetrain wear/failure. We have all seen the very few that have made it to high mileage, no service, overloaded, no problems. These are unicorns and definitely the exception and not the rule.
-Hitch damage which could lead to frame damage. The hitches on the Tundra are very beefy. This doesn't mean it can't bend a frame.
-Early shock/bumpstop failure.


Forum opinions are like buttholes. Everyone has them and blows hot air out them. Read the owner's manual and follow it. Toyota and J2807 SAE Standards have already done the legwork for you.

Some examples of what not to do. Unfortunately, some of these videos are Tundra members and some states you can register a truck for whatever paid capacity you want up to non-CDL of 26000 lbs.

This one is just "wow" for me. I'm pretty sure those are three 7000 lb axles (total of 21K rating). This is way over my GMC 1 ton diesel rating. This is a member on Tundras.com.

Side note, when attaching the emergency break away lanyard, make sure you have enough length for sharp turns. Placing the lanyard in the back/front of the bed can cause issues when needing to make 90* turns. This happened to me once and it pretty much blew ass, on the side of a mountain pass in a tight ass turn with 16K lbs behind me. Yeah, even I make stupid mistakes and can admit it, but want to share the knowledge with you all. Coming out of this location was some of the tightest turns and I used every single inch of the narrow road. The weather was -7*F and starting to snow. Even more interesting.





This one is the bane of my existence besides the Space shuttle video. This is grossly overloading a truck. The main thing to point out is this was on a private ranch and not heading down an interstate. Nobody cares if a couple of cowpokes wad up a truck/trailer in the middle of nowhere. I do care if they come in contact with my vehicle due to being grossly overloaded. Toyota did some pretty good marketing here, but the average Joe views this video and thinks...."whatever."



Oh and there is this guy. He is just trying to do something on YT, and document his travels in a Tundra with a 5th wheel. When reviewing his experiences....what is he comparing the towing experience to?

 

Glad you’re doing the research first before spending all the money on lifts and tires.

 

Towing over capacity?

Read this:

https://www.tundras.com/threads/axle-bearing-destruction.83251/#post-2102672

 

These articles are pure gold. Forgot to list them here.

https://rvingwithmarkpolk.com/2015/02/13/tow-vehicle-rating-facts-myths/

https://www.rvuniversity.com/article.php/2007052910232241

https://www.rvuniversity.com/article.php/20091123093422466

https://rvingwithmarkpolk.com/2012/03/21/caution-why-truck-tow-rahttps://rvingwithmarkpolk.com/2012/12/25/truck-towing-standard-sae-j2807-update-2013/tings-dont-add-up/

https://rvingwithmarkpolk.com/2012/12/25/truck-towing-standard-sae-j2807-update-2013/

 

Information overload:

This is what you want to do and will cost you some money unless you know someone that has access to a scale. Fortunately for me, I have a certified scale at work. High Five myself. Another way is pull into a DOT checkpoint, park, and then go in and ask nicely if you can use the scale to get some weight rating numbers. Do this empty, empty with trailer, and trailer loaded. If you have any questions a DOT officer should know (but not always). Do not try to disconnect at a DOT inspection station unless they say it is ok to do so.

Before wasting a lot of time, energy, and money the vehicle owner should know some ballpark numbers. I will use my truck/trailer combo. Plug in your numbers as needed:

-Gross Combined Vehicle Weight Rating 25300 lbs
-Gross Vehicle Weight Rating 11500 lbs.
-Vehicle Capacity Rating (payload) 3808 lbs. This will be inside the drivers door jam stickers.
-Vehicle Hitch Rating and Load Distribution Hitch rating. 1200 lbs convention without LDH/1500 lbs with LDH. Owners manual/on hitch.
-Gross Trailer Weight Rating 16000 lbs. On trailer faceplate. My truck is rated to pull 17200 lbs if everything in the load calculations work out.
-Front/rear axle weight ratings. Rear 7050 lbs/front 5600 lbs. Owners Manual.
For ease of things, I know my truck rear axle weight is 3200 lbs and front axle is 4400 lbs (I think my front axle is right. I would have to check my notes). So does this mean I can put 3850 lbs in my bed and be good? No. This is when checking the information in the drivers door jam is useful. Mine is 3808 lbs. There is a little fudge factor of course (42 lbs), but I like to use the lower number even though the capacity and actual weight says otherwise.

Now, can my vehicle tow or load what I want to? If the answer is yes…continue.

Take your vehicle to the scale. Now drive the front axle on the scale, record that number. This is your empty front axle weight. Now pull onto the scale. Record that number. This is your empty vehicle weight. Now pull the vehicle front axle off the scale. This is your rear axle empty weight.

Now go get your trailer. For you camper guys, load the trailer up as if you were going camping. I know, PITA. Now go do it or no soup for you!

As you are pulling on scales, record front axle weight. Then pull on the scale record that weight. When pulling off the scale stop short to get the rear axle weight loaded.

Combined weight. Now I know what my truck and trailer weight together. This setup can legally tow 25300 lbs. I can put 12,870 lbs on my trailer/truck combo. 25300-12540=12870 lbs



Next you want to get just the trailer weight. Pull forward to when the jacks are out down, the weight of the trailer are still on the scale. Having hydraulic jacks is nice. Just wanna toss that in there.

My trailer empty weight is 4600 lbs. This particular trailer has a 16000 lb rating. Can I just put 15000 lbs on this trailer with this truck? No. Get into that later.



Without moving, hook the trailer back up. This is your empty hitch/pin weight.
4600-3560=1040lbs empty pin. This number is important on figuring out tongue weight for conventional towing or pin weight for 5th wheel/gooseneck hitches. 4600x.225%=1035 lbs. Close enough. As most 5th wheel/GN trailers are set up, 22.5% of the trailers weight is transferred to the truck. This is why buying GN trailer for a 1/2 ton is not a good idea. Conventional trailers are 9-15% tongue weight normally, but not always. Now I also just added 1040 lbs to the axles. A small portion goes to the front and the majority is on the rear axle.

For ease of this discussion, we can estimate 900 lbs went to the rear and 140 lbs went to the front. 4600+140=4740 lbs. 3200+900=4100 lbs. Good to go.



Now you know what your empty weights are, time to go load up and repeat the process. This is when you can make adjustments to the load (positioning) within reason. This is also the time to see how a load distribution hitch is working. If the hitch hasn’t distributed enough weight, pull off scale, make adjustments, weigh again.

So what do all these numbers mean? Let’s cover that.

Gross Combined Vehicle Weight Rating GCVWR. As stated earlier, my truck is rated for 25300 lbs truck and trailer combination. Can I go over this with my setup? Absolutely. 11500+16000=27500 lbs. if I was in commerce, I would get fined even if I was under 25300 lbs. The officer goes off what the truck/trailer is rated for. If I were ever deemed in commerce/commercial, an overweight ticket could be issued. I have been ticketed before. I think it was for every 1000 lbs= 20.00. The commercial truck I was driving before putting anything on it was overweight by 2500 lbs from the get go. If I loaded up a couple transformers and three electric line poles the fines can add up quickly.

Gross Vehicle Weight Rating. Mine is 11500 lbs. All this means is total loaded vehicle weight (trailer pin weight, all passengers, any vehicle mods, cargo, etc)

Tongue weight/Hitch weight rating. Some manufactures do not put a "rating" on the vehicle. You need to find out what class hitch you have. Typically there is a rating. Mine is 1500 lbs. Some are different rated if using a LDH.

Payload. Mine is 3808 lbs. This means I cannot exceed this due to tongue/pin weight and passengers. Let's say my family weighs in at 608 lbs with dog. That means I can load a pallet of concrete in the bed if it doesn't exceed 3200 lbs. Following this number also helps keep the axle/tire ratings under maximum. Remember earlier, my truck has a rear axle capacity of 7050 lbs. If I put 3808 lbs in the bed (including passengers). I already know my rear axle weight empty is 3200 lbs. So 3200+3808=7008 lbs. Now let's talk about tires for a second. Not all tires are created equal. A Load Range E tire has a pretty wide range depending on size and different air pressure ratings. We need to look at Load Index. For my truck, I require a Load Index of 124.



So my tire ratings are 3527 lbs each. 3527x4=14108 lbs. Tires exceed GVWR of 11500 lbs. I should be good to go and have lots of extra capacity right? Not so fast. 3527x2=7054. Remember that rear axle rating of 7050 lbs? If I am even a few pounds overloaded I can exceed the tires maximum weight rating. This is why when members say "the Tundra is more of a 3/4 ton. It can handle a lot more than advertised" makes me shake my head. You sure about that? Can the AAM 11.5" rear axle take more weight than that? Yes it can in different applications. My tires are the limiting factor in this equation.

https://www.discounttire.com/learn/load-range-load-index

Gross trailer weight rating. This is a two part. You have a GCWR as well. So mine is 25300 lbs. I can safely tow 5th/GN 17200 lbs. My trailer is rated at 16000 lbs. Trailer weight is 4600 lbs. My pin weight is 22.5% of trailer weight. So if I maxed out the trailer of 16000 lbs, my pin weight will be ~3600 lbs. So I can put myself in the cab and better take a crap before I leave. Be cutting it really close on that one. Well how can I have a 17200 lb rating for a trailer. Well not all trailers are loaded at 22.5% pin weight and sometimes people pull doubles. Not suggesting that is a good idea. Now remember my truck is also rated at 11500 lbs. So 11500+16000=27500. So if my truck/trailer is ever at maximum capacity, I could be overloaded by a lot.
My Tundra had a 16000 lb Combined rating and a 9000 lb tow rating. 7200 GVWR + 9000 lb trailer=16200 lbs (toyota reduced to 16000 lbs).

Hope this helps a bit. I have to take the kiddo's to school, so I will clean this up a little later.