Let’s talk towing….

I am super pumped up with my new 2023 Tundra 4x4 with a few mods. I have TRD lift and 35” tires. After towing a trailer today I’m a bit less enthusiastic. The truck did not tow well at all. It had plenty of power to pull the trailer, but my rear end was all squatted and feels like I’m on the bump stops. The trailer was driving me more so than me pulling the trailer. The trailer I was towing today was a very lightly loaded 16' dual axle cargo trailer that felt VERY tongue-heavy. What might be a solution? Air bag helpers? I see threads about Firestone bags, Air Lift bags, and other brands. I see notes of pros and cons of those different brands but they all seem to have the same function to supplement the existing suspension. How would these different bags work with my lift? Are there extended-length bags or are there spacers used to accommodate for the lift? I maybe tow a trailer 10 times a year so it's not often. Usually, when I do tow a trailer it is a 14' dual axle utility trailer, car hauler, or jet ski trailer. These are not heavy trailers and I'm not really interested in a WDH setup. I've towed these trailers with my prior 1/2 ton trucks (Ford and RAM) without issue. My prior vehicles didn't have a lift or big tires but I've got to think I can do better with my new Tundra. Thoughts or experiences appreciated.

 

Outside of the squatting issue you describe, proper setup of the trailer to vehicle alignment with dual axle trailers is imperative. There are many internet suggestions from experienced folks: but in your case I would recommend getting the trailer to set horizontal when attached to the truck by use of a fixed or adjustable drop hitch\ball unit. My SR5 has the basic air bags setup and it auto adjusts to the cargo\trailer load so truck\trailer alignment remains horizontal. I ended up buying 3 different fixed dropped ball hitches before I arrived at the desired result. If the tongue is pointing upward the trailer weight is not evenly applied to the axles nor to the hitch. The brakes will not be effective either. Ask me how I know.

 

Offroad oriented 1/2 ton suspension set ups tend to not do well when towing heavier loads.

 

I did not take a picture of my truck connected to the trailer. The trailer is in storage but I am going to pull that trailer again later this week. I will take a couple of pictures. I completely understand about the weight set up of the trailer. However, the trailer did not tow well even empty. (Or loaded, with maybe 1200lbs of weight that was place on top of the axles…side note, after I first pulled the trailer and wasn’t liking the feel I unloaded the trailer and loaded it in a different configuration to move the weight around differently and that didn’t have much effect either)

I was also considering the drop of the ball from the receiver and tried two different set ups for that. Neither had any noticeable affect. I tried a 5” drop and a 2” drop. Honestly, the right answer for a level pull is probably somewhere between the two of those but like I said, there was really no difference between the two. With the 2 inch drop, the trailer tongue was slightly elevated. With the 5 inch drop, the trailer tongue was slightly depressed. However, that is also hard to judge when the rear of the truck is squatted down, perhaps two or 3 inches.

This is a brand new trailer that I’ve never towed before. As another test I have a different trailer I’ve towed with my prior truck without issue. I want to also compare against that. I did also think that perhaps this new trailer has an odd balance point? I’m going to have a buddy with a different truck tow it as well and see what he thinks.

 

I have the trd lift and 35's. The trd lift is just spacers on the standard factory rear springs so mine towed badly also until switched out the rear springs for dobinsons. Big difference and rides better in general imo.

 

Not sure what to tell you then. If the trailer is over 4k pounds, WDH is likely the answer.

 

https://www.etrailer.com/faq-choose-weight-distribution-hitch-5-tips.aspx

I was surprised how poorly my past 2018 f150 towed vs my past 2012 sr5, ford had more payload too. I finally did check my tongue weight and I was over 800# on a 24ft toy hauler. Always had the wdh, but it had to be reset for the f150 vs the tundra plus I have a friction bar and that had to be even tighter for the f150.
*verify your actual tongue weight*

 

As others said it's likely your set up. I towed four horses in a double axle trailer and you could barely tell it was there (unless you looked at the fuel eco...). That being said I have bags and a hybrid.

 

I believe if you sort out the tongue, rear suspension etc. and consider WDH, you will be amazed at how this truck pulls a trailer.

I have, on 2 occasions, seen a PRO22+ model hauling a trailer and they both had severe sagging in the back end. That type of suspension needs some going through to effectively tow a trailer IMO.

 

The squat is going to be magnified with the 3" lift. The rear coils do move quite a bit and with a good load oon the hitch like ~750 lbs give or take, you will see the squatting. Have been playing around with the height of my ruck to see if I can get it level with the trailer. My trailer is a bit lighter and It adds about 630 lbs to the back of the truck. I have a WDH move some of this to the front axle. I expect to be close to level with my 1" rear spacers and the hitch and about 5 to 7 extra pounds of air in the rear tires. I have 34" Toyos Open Country AT3's. I have a 1.75" leveling kit in the front. I will also put my Timbren's back in for our upcoming camping trip.

Apart from the levelling, the truck does a great job towing my 4,200 lbs trailer. Cornering and stopping are very positive. I use tow mode and will also shift into 1st or 2nd when starting on an uphill. The truck's programming will pull the transmission into 3rd to start and that is a struggle if you are trying to get going on an incline.

 

A few photos connected on trailer. Trailer is empty.

 

That looks pretty good! Typical squat but not too bad.

 

The trailer tongue weight should be 10% of the load so if you are towing 5k then that’s 500lbs on the hitch. How much do you think the trailer weighs?

 

My towing experience with half a dozen different trailers has been good so far, but will be pushing more payload this winter so I got these springs. 1" lift and more capacity, progressive rate. running 2/1 cornfed spacers right now so these springs will be an easy swap. 34.5" tires. Once I finally get them in i'll post experience, may be worth a look for you. trailers being a couple different 16-20ft car haulers, dump trailer around 8000lbs loaded, 16 and 22 foot enclosed and a 20ft camper. all towed better than my 18 denali or 20 f150 lariat. https://dobinsonusa.com/products/dobinsons-rear-coils-springs-c59-837v-c59-837v/

 

I tow a 5000 LBS Surf boat and have towed my 14' Cargo fully loaded, I sit level and it tows and rides better than my 2012 with aero squat, however I DO have the factory bags ( advance pack ) on my Tundra. Its probably just the soft suspension they put in these trucks. Throw some after market bags in it,

 

I towed a u-:haul car trailer with a '20 Honda Accord on it, truck did great and I was surprised actually. Stock, long bed, non-hybrid. The weakest thing on these trucks is braking imo, but I'm coming from a Ram diesel dually with exhaust brakes. I had auto level airbags on it too, and wish this truck had them. It's a stretch to call a Toyota a truck, I used to joke it's a minivan with a bed. But it's all I need now.

 

Firestone air bags are the way to go.
Leave them aired-down so you can maintain the comfortable ride... then air them up when towing a heavy load.

I put a set on my 2020 and it made a world of difference. I towed my newly purchased 8000lb boat from Missouri to GA last year and it was a great experience. No sagging or trailering issues. Towed like a beast.

 

Lifted trucks are generally worse at towing than stock height trucks.

Do you want a lifted off road vehicle or a good tow rig? You can’t really do both.

 

You have a part# for those bags. I have a boat and have some sag since I have it set up just right at the 10-15% tongue weight. No slip at the ramp unlike some others that have load the bed full of people because they dont know how to balance the boat on the trailer the right way and have no tongue weight.

 

I got 99 problems but a hitch aint one

 

Payload? Never heard of her

 

Sorry that was a year ago and I cant recall where I bought them.