Towing with 35's

I have a 2006 Tundra Access cab 4x4 (towing cap 7000?), and I'm looking to tow a 23" Forest River Evo single axle travel trailer (dry weight 3,300lbs/ max capacity 4,800/ CCC- 1,500/ tongue weight 430lbs). It's mainly for one 2k mile round trip, but possibly that same trip other times. I realize the weight is fine for the Tundra, but I have a few things working against it.

1- 6" lift (6" front 3.5 rear blocks sitting level, but can adjust front to 4" setting and get 2" lower rear blocks to match)
2- 315/70/17 BFG KO2 tires (62lbs each vs 45 on stock 265's)
3- I don't think it's been regeared (stock is 3.91?) Costs about $1800 to re-gear
4- small portions of the trip at 5-8000 ft elevation

I've been racking my brain by reading various posts everywhere but figured I would check here to see what everyone thinks. I'm thinking of getting 285/70/17 highway style tires to help with rolling weight/MPG's and lowering the adjustable Bilstein 5100 shock to the 4" setting so it doesn't look so funny at 6" with 285's. Bummer is I JUST got the tires and replaced the front shocks and I'll basically have to pay another $400-ish to get work done to change to 4" front setting (plus a new set of tires). My concerns are MPG's and ability towing with 6" lift & 35's and stock gearing. I can't get any lower than 4/2" leveled kit, even with said work and I think stock 265's will look goofy with 4" front lift?

Has anyone towed with this similar setup (how did it do)?
How would you spend your money? Would you bother with the effort/cost of lowering 2" just to go from 315 to 285 tires? Would you just re-gear only?
Anything else that I'm missing? (I will be adding a brake controller and probably brakes)

Thanks everyone in advance

 

I say keep the 35’s. You probably won’t like the outcome of downsizing. Plus you said you just got new tires. I wouldn’t bother.
No experience with my tundra, but I used to tow with 35’s on my cummins and it’s fine.
30,000 pound trailer. Big tires for towing is ok!

 

Thanks Beefnbread. I would hope to keep like it is since it all works and I also love the way it looks! Not a big fan of the worse mpg's especially these days haha.

 

I actually did the same thing you want to do after my 35’s went bald. I put on 33’s for fuel efficiency. I towed everyday of the week driving 5 or more hours a day. TBH I never noticed too much of a difference with mpg. It was just a very slight difference. At that point of time I wish I stuck to 35s because I did not like the appearance of big truck small tires.

 

Sounds like you definitely have some towing experience! That's what I was worried about was doing all this and then getting like 1 mpg better.

 

I got that figure from online somewhere so my info could be off. I'll have to figure out if it really is stock gears still or not.

 

Is this a one time thing or are you buying the trailer for frequent trips?

 

Hey, I recently bought the trailer and it's currently out of state. I'll be "marrying" the two, then making this 2k round trip once or twice a year is all. My choice(s) now seems to be...
-leave lift/tires alone (and maybe even run 285 all seasons just while towing).
-drop from current 6/3.5" lift to 4/2.5" and keep a 285 KO2 all the time (I'd hope to find a trade since I just bought these tires)

 

And here's a pic for general reference.

 

Personally i would regear just for daily driving enjoyment. However for twice a year I wouldn’t change the setup of the truck.

 

Brakes are also something to consider. They'll work harder with 35's and even more so when towing.

 

Also, you could probably find a bone stock f150 to rent from enterprise twice a year and tow the trailer easy

 

My brakes are already weak feeling with the 35's. That's pretty much top of the list before I even hook anything to it.

I kind of like the idea of renting a truck to tow with. No changes to my truck and no wear and tear. I'll have to crunch some numbers.

 

I used to rent a f-450 dually from Enterprise here and there while my truck was in the shop. It’s only $80 a day. You’ll probably be saving money going that route.

 

Your trailer is light. A half ton truck will probably get better mpg towing your trailer than your truck gets empty

 

I bet you're right on the mpgs. I get like 12 with the 35's without towing anything

 

Need more pics of this rear suspension setup. Rear trailing arms? Coils? Picture seems different than the norm back there to me. Towing on heavy 35" tires with no regear will suck. It will suck more at altitude. BeefNBread's Cummins would be fine towing on 40's. It's a diesel with 700+ ftlbs of torque. It won't be the same for a gasser truck with 330 or so ftlbs of torque.

 

KNABORES- Hello, What should I be showing in the pics? The rear has a 3.5" block on leafs. Don't know if any extra leafs etc. It also has a traction bar that apparently helps with axle wrap? I'm not near the truck right now but have this pic showing the rear.

 

Also this pic showing that I should be seeing a rear say bar below the pumpkin ? (why do the pics get in between text haha)?

 

traction bars, got it. That’s a good addition for a truck with a block lift in the back. Was hoping it was a custom 4 link with coils under there……..

 

Is there any easy way to tell if the gears have been done (short of jacking and counting driveline revolutions)? It doesn't seem to drive too sluggishly, but I never had the truck before 35's and it does have intake, headers, and exhaust that I'm sure helps. It gets about 10-12mpg around town, seems to cruise pretty low in rpm's (?), and speedo is 5+ mph off. It can chirp the tires on accident (but that could just be from no weight in bed).

 

Appears to have the factory LSD sticker still on the pumpkin. Think you’ll have to count rotations to figure it out.

 

Theres online calulators that can get you ballpark numbers.

https://www.strangeengineering.net/gear-ratio-calculator/

i think with O/D off you can get lockup in 4th @1:1

 

You were quoted that for labor only? That's rape!

Rear gears for labor is $500 tops. Front is about the same. I paid $400 for the rear gear install on my truck.

 

It is a TRD, so I assumed from online that it should/would have LSD. I'll have to get a fresh local quote on the regear costs. The O/D comment bring up another issue in that when I hit the button, I don't get any indicator on the dash? I'll have to check again to make sure it's functioning just no light (seems to be common problem in the stalk).

 

I'd try towing it and see how it does and then you can decide. MPG will suck either way Maybe rent a trailer in your area so you can test before a 2,000 mile trip.

Personally, I wouldn't change a bunch of stuff on the truck you already like for something you'll do a few times a year.

 

Jesus H... found a shop down the road from me that'll do mine front & rear for $1k. Cheapest up from that was 1800

 

I like the idea of test towing a similar size before any changes or even renting like HB and Beef mentioned (problem with that is I'll need a vehicle for the month that I'm there). I like that gear calculator, I'll have to try it out and see what I get.

 

Just be true to your tire measurement. Put 34.6 if they’re 34.6, rounding up to 35 will throw it off.

 

I just called a place and they said $3500 for front and rear including gears!! Ouch