Please Help This Noob on Towing

To all the Towing Gods out there, for some one who has never towed anything before with my 2021 Tundra SR5 (TSS), with towing package included - what advise and tips (other than read the manual) could you give me about towing a 29' (2018) travel trailer/RV (Model 2400BH) with a gross weight of 7495 lbs and a dry weight of 5595 lbs, and exterior height of 10 ft. Any tips and tricks would be greatly appreciated. TIA.

(Moderators - If this needs to go in a specific section, please feel free to move it or let me know. Thanks. )

 

Tundra is pulling champion.

@Piki

 

Dig through the towing threads here and glean lots of good info. Look up resources on the web to get more tips and tricks. If you’ve never towed anything before, a 6000# plus travel trailer is a big start. Minimum needs:
-Weight distribution hitch properly setup on your truck for your trailer.
-read owners manual about towing modes and transmission settings for towing, cliff’s notes, tow haul button, S4 transmission mode.
-trailer will not follow your trucks tire path and will not fit everywhere your truck fits. Be very aware of the additional size, weight and path the trailer is taking.
-have a tow-experienced friend take a few rides with you to mentor your towing experience. Towing mistakes are usually expensive mistakes.

 

^ good advice here. Also use the trans on downgrades to control speed (downshift) or you’ll cook the brakes in short order.

ETA be prepared for 9-10 mpg.

and there really is no such thing as a tow package on 2019-2021 models - they’re all equipped the same with regard to tow features.

 

There is some good info in the towing forum, look at the stickies

Tow haul, s4 or s5 depending on speed will keep convertor locked and trans running cooler
Use a weight distribution hitch

 

Install a trans cooler.

 

Thank you. It will have a weight Distributing Hitch and an Anti Sway Device per my friend.

 

Thank you.

 

Just bought one on Black Friday, but may not be here in time to install for the trip. But Here's to crossing my fingers.

 

Thank you. I will go back through the manual again.

 

See if you can grab a scan-gauge II so you can monitor temps if you’re concerned about overheating.

 

It’s been my experience that when towing, I plan on wider turns, I check my mirrors a lot, I pay great attention to how my trailers are loaded, I’m not a speed demon, I plan my stops since it takes a little longer to stop, I check my lights, tires, & brakes before I head out, & I rely on electronic trailer brakes. I also recall I was made to practice backing up a trailer in a huge empty pasture (granted, I was 13 years old & that was decades ago). Today, if help is available, we use 2-way radios to assist in the backing up (cell phone service is not always an option in my area). To back up a trailer, I put my hand on the bottom of the steering wheel & then go the direction I want my trailer to go.

 

Watch and plan where you drive, if the path becomes raised in places like driveways or entrances and exits you can get stuck with the tongue or ass of the trailer hung up on the surface due to ground height differences. If it gets in a bind, you may or may not be able to move in either direction without causing damage or some major headache. Seen this happen quite a few times. Kinda fun to watch, but would suck a fat one to participate in.

 

Oh, where to start... Scales, mirrors, e-range tores, bags, RAS, obdII monitor, RV friendly GPS, radio for a spotter (or a backup camera), SCALES

 

Towing- practice. Before adventuring out in the big world, go to an open lot and practice. Practice stopping and taking off. Practice turns, gradual and slow 90 degree turns. Practice parking. Practice backing up.
Get to know how much space you have back there. Get to know how long you are. Assume low overhangs and tight spots for getting gas, so think ahead. Always assume that guy is about to do something stupid, and you need to re-act without killing yourself. That should help calm the nerves a bit.

 

I did not see much references wrt hitch weight as a percentage of your tow load. It’s very important.

 

Tire pressure. Make sure the trailer and truck tires are set to max cold psi to achieve maximum load carrying ability and prevent heating up and blowing out your tires.

 

When backing up, if you want the back end of your trailer to go left/driver's side, move the BOTTOM of your steering wheel to the left/driver's side. Go slow, and get out and look. Practice all of this in an empty parking lot. When I first brought my trailer home, I had the most difficult time backing it into the driveway. The next day I took it to an empty high school parking lot and spent and hour or so there practicing. Came back home and whipped it right into place. Just have to be slow and deliberate.

 

Lots of great advice. I would add and/or reiterate the following for your truck in particular:

• Install trans cooler.
• With that trailer, you probably want LT tires at an appropriately high pressure.
• Practice turns and reversing in an empty lot. Aim to back your trailer between the lines from a variety of angles.
• Practice using trailer brake.
• Practice loading your trailer to ensure you don't have too much weight over the hitch or behind the trailer's axles.
• Get a friend with towing experience to ride along.
• Install WDH.
• Get an OBD reader to monitor temps and lock-up status. I use the Veepeak bluetooth reader with the Fusion app on my phone.
• Upgrade rear leafs or add RAS HD.

 

He has a TSS so probably already has LT tires stock. Thats a great thing

 

Make sure you have your brake controller set properly for your weight!

In a clear safe area, at about 40mph, fully hit the manual brake lever on your controller, and see how the trailer responds. If the wheels lock and tires smoke, you have it too high. If they don't lock, turn it up and try again until it does. Then turn it down a smidgen and you should be good.

You want the brakes on the trailer doing the stopping, not your truck's brakes.

I'll echo what someone else said about assuming the driver in front of you will do something stupid and plan accordingly. I had someone suddenly park on the road (come to sudden stop for no reason) with me behind him with a 6000lb truck and a 7000lb trailer. Fortunately I could swerve around him, as I did NOT have my brake controller set properly. (Even if I did, not sure I could have stopped in time.)

Also, you'll get used to trailer sway with the wind. It's a bit unnerving at first. Watch the big trucks - tractor trailers - to see how they manage. They sway all the time and USUALLY don't tip.

 

Some great advice here. The only thing I can add is to make sure the weight distribution hitch matches your trailer tongue weight. Some dealers like to sell oversized units thinking it's a fits-all but too heavy of a WDH can damage trailer frames. Lastly, don't trust the dealer to install it correctly. Proper WDH adjustment requires the truck and trailer to be loaded as it would be for a trip and even if the dealer does install it to their best ability it isn't going to be done correctly unless you're loaded.

 

Quite agree. I don't do anything of any import until I've consumed at least three cocktails.