Gen ONE (1) trucks…real ability to tow a travel trailer, weight concerns

That looks miserable. My takeaway from this is that I never want to tow anywhere close to that amount with my truck. Especially where I live. He also keeps regearing to the wrong ratio. He said he's regeared twice but he's still at 4.56 with 35" tires. Shouldn't he be at 4.88 at least?

I think he's the same dude that put out the video showing how to incorrectly install SPC uppers.

 

I agree, 4.88's with 35's would be better. The poor truck is really struggling.

 

Towing 7,000lbs might be bearable if you live somewhere flat but I wouldn't want to do it through the mountains. That entire experience looked awful. I feel for that truck.

 

I am towing a 25W from northwoods Artic Fox with 2014 tundra. The trailer came with Goodyear tires 65psi max inflation....7 miles per gallon. Near the fifth year had a complete steel band blowout at 70mph. Changed the tire and moved on.....no damage. Bought all new tires from hankook rated at 80psi. Milage increased to 8 miles per gallon. Hankook made in korea......highly sought after by the commercial trucking industry. Goodyear tires ......made in china. You make the call. I have found that the traveling with the Hankooks the handling is much better.

 

Hankooks are good tires, I put some on my wife's car.

I don't know about the entire Goodyear line, but my understanding is that the Goodyear Endurance tires I put on my trailer are Made in USA, either in Fayetville, NC or Gadsden, AL.

 

Beautiful pic. Where was that taken?

 

The Goodyear weather ready tires I put on my Corolla were made in Chile. 2 blow outs from sidewall issues in the first 18 months. Never again! Pay close attention to where any tire is built.

 

When I did change the goodyear tires they said right on the sidewall......made in china. Never again!

 

Chile or China?

 

Yup, same guy. I do like his videos, but he's the definition of old school shade tree mechanic. Does it his way, maybe shouldn't be teaching others. His truck is cool. Agree with 4.88's, especially since he's towing that big trailer. Hell, on 35s with that use, maybe even 5.29s. I towed a 28' camper that weighed 6400# dry with my FGT. Would roll 55mph on the flats in 3rd with OD off and struggle up the hills just like that guy. Scariest part was the brakes. I kept mine adjusted and the camper brakes turned up, but you could just feel all that weight. 20ft. camper or smaller is the way for these to tow comfortable. Something in the 4000# or so dry weight, keep your total under 5500# or so.

 

Chile

 

Here are the DOT codes to identify if your Goodyear tires are made in America:

M6 – Lawton, Oklahoma
MB – Akron, Ohio
MC – Danville, Virginia
MD – Gadsden, Alabama
MJ – Topeka, Kansas
MK – Union City, Tennessee
MM, PJ – Fayetteville, North Carolina
MN – Freeport, Illinois
MP, PL – Tyler, Texas

https://allamerican.org/lists/tires/

 

Just finished the first of our three long trips for the year. 16 nights, 2018 miles, 10.02 MPG (pump calculated and used scangauge mileage corrected vs the truck's odometer). Best tank was 11.8 with ridiculous tailwind for most of the drive at 60-65mph. Worst was 8.3 with a headwind and really pushing the speed at 65 - 75 mph. (unnecessary, but a long drive day and ready to be to the destination).

Didn't have any horrible experiences, worst day was with some very strong crosswinds while driving along lake superior, 30 - 45 gusts. That made for some more exciting transitions from wooded to open terrain. Kept the speed down around 50 -55.

Brakes are adequate with properly adjusted trailer brakes, stability while towing is still comfortable - I didn't have any white knuckle moments, Power is lacking. I did however find the UP of Michigan surprisingly hilly. I'm interested to see how this combination does on our trip to Florida over thanksgiving on a route I've done several times with the previous trailer. I was in 2nd gear on several hills on this trip.

I don't believe weight is massively different than the previous trailer (I have not yet checked at a scale though I'm estimating around 800 lbs heavier). I believe I'm more affected by wind resistance. 4 inches taller, 8 inches wider than my previous trailer if I remember correctly - makes for a lot more frontal area.

Overall thoughts, This trailer is the upper limit of what I would tow with this truck. My previous trailer was certainly easier and more pleasant to tow. We will likely keep this trailer for 3-5 years, at which time I'll reassess a tow vehicle unless forced to do so sooner.

YMMV based on towing experience, and locale. Our Yellowstone trip in 2025 may cause me to reconsider, as elevation will likely make the power deficit and poor gearing of the 4-speed even more noticeable. Not everyone tows a lot of miles, and for the around the home area I think this truck is perfectly fine. However for longer trips where you're doing 400-600 miles in a day, it gets a bit tiring dealing with the power and gearing.

Of course I could just always tow with OD off and not worry about it which would be much easier, but I found I get 7.3 - 7.8 MPG doing that. I put a lot more effort in to get up around 10 MPG most of the time.

Here is the only picture of the trip with the trailer attached to the truck over the whole trip. Getting lazy about pictures.

 

T

Tell us about that hitch

 

What would you like to know about it?

 

Doesn’t look like the traditional trunion bar or hanging chain style weight distribution.

 

It's an Andersen WDH. You tighten the nuts on each side to set up how much weight to transfer. The forward force from the tensioning pushes the trailer coupler into the ball. The ball is on a taper which sits in the hitch with friction material in between. Due to the forward force, the ball and trailer coupler are connected (they do not pivot, and you do not grease the connection), the pivoting happens between the ball and the hitch taper for anti - sway.

I like it quite a bit. It's very easy for me to dial in how much weight to transfer with a simple measurement from the ground to the front wheel well. It makes some noise, but is way quieter than my BIL's equalizer.

The more you tighten the nuts, the more weight is transferred forward. I count the exposed threads behind the nut, and depending on how I'm loaded (water filled etc) I adjust it. I typically have 7 threads with no water, on this last trip with full water and a big load I had 10 threads exposed. I can usually set by sight now and no longer need to measure.

I've read a lot of people who don't like it, or can't get it to transfer weight, but I've towed 22000 + miles with mine and haven't had any issues. Biggest thing is understanding what it's doing, and reading instructions on setup.

 

What's your best guess at the current trailer weight? I'm shopping for trailers right now on CL. Thanks.

 

https://wfirm.com/complete-list-of-tire-dot-plant-codes/

My michelins were made in ardmore,OK.

everyone needs to take a good hard look at their rigs. Towing things is a responsibility, everything from bearings to zerks needs attention and after a fail is the wrong time to address it. Like i know what i need to replace, and where i need to modify to haul my grandmas 9k lb RV on a 2.5k trailer. I also know asking for OD is a bad plan, and which hills i'd need to slow for 2nd on. Way over the limit, but doable once. At least worth it once. Airbags & a lspv adjustment is gonna work wonders.

 

Well i towed a miarta to pittsburg with a dual axle. Its struggled on hills in western md/pa. Total weight including occupsnts/ tools 5130 ( swung through scale station) do you have a trustworthy friend with better tow rig that would occasionally switch trucks?

Id say it was more the occasional nervous moment on decents , other than that it handled it pretty much as expected. Having to lower R&P def hurts. Truck stayed cool and i was able to cruise in 3rd seeed to like to stay around 3500-3900. Below that it would race down to second on the big grades. But tow package kept everything cool with AC blasting. This is s RCLB V8 4x4 with tow package.

I would prefer a 2500 /250 for anything over 5500lbs but you have better trans and gears for pullin.

 

Likely heavier than I think. Based off the last trailer and knowing the 'factory weight' of this one I was estimating around 5800 loaded. As loaded on the last trip with full water on a couple of legs likely closer to 6200.

 

Thanks. I am looking to keep any trailer weight to less than 4K. Mostly flat towing.

 

I love my Anderson WDH. I believe it has the most anti-sway of any WDH. Plus it’s anti bounce. Going over pot holes and uneven roads it really keeps things settled. And for us keeping an eye on payload I believe it’s the lightest WDH. You really have to do your homework and take the time to set it up the first time to do it correctly. But after that it’s a breeze. I think it cannot transfer as much weight as a traditional WDH so not ideal for really heavy tongue weights, but we shouldn’t be doing that with our FGT’s anyway.

 

I admire you guys for towing heavier travel trailers with your Tundra's! We tried it through the Utah and Colorado mountains and our 4WD '05 Tundra double cab wasn't happy. So... we've kept our Tundra for utility, and moved to a Ram Eco Diesel to more comfortably handle the varying terrain, while returning respectable fuel economy.

 

I admire you guys who can buy a diesel. Even 20 year old....perhaps especially old......diesels are like solid gold around here in any condition they are worth a mint. Love to have one...but well out of reach for me.

 

We bought a 2015 EcoDiesel for under $20k. We get mid - upper 20's on the highway. Works well for towing through the mountains.

 

I tow a flat bed frequently with my 4.7 DC 1st gen (700 mile trips). Sometimes I have a small 2k lb tractor or similar piece of equipment. Always within my towing limit from the VIN spec (6800 for my 2006). Handles great without a WDH. Sometimes it is a load of wood which would put me closer to the limit as my flatbed is close to 2500 lb and it still performs excellent although I also limit my speed to 65mph just so I can brake with idiots cutting me off and brake-checking. Have tried to move my empty 10k 24' enclosed car hauler <15 miles within my neighborhood and did not enjoy it at all. Too big and heavy and I don't have tow mirrors. When it is empty behind my F-350 it sways a good bit when 18 wheelers pass.

So if I was looking at travel trailer I would want to do a lot of road testing before buying... would hate to buy and then realize I need a new truck... trying right now to find the right 2.5 or 3rd generation but not having a lot of luck. I guess that limits me to the size tractor I can buy (< 4k lbs).

 

I too have an Andersen WDH.

WAY lighter than most, the whole setup is under 60lbs. Very easy to hitch/unhitch

REALLY good friction sway control, I've been towing on some super windy days and totally forgot it was windy till we stopped to let the dogs out. The ball rotates with the TT within a cone shaped friction sleeve. (So don't grease your ball)

Doesn't transfer as much weight as some of the trunnion bar setups but for most trailers anyone should be towing with a 1/2 ton they're plenty.
It makes my TV/TT feel much more like one cohesive unit rather than two opposing objects hooked together and trying to bounce at different time and direction... dips, bridge joints, etc. calm down much quicker.