Tundra towing mods

What would be your recommendation for a 3/4 ton gasser? Leaning towards the Ford 7.3

 

ford 7.3 IMO seems to be the best engine out of the 3 domestic HD gas class. there is no perfect domestic brand , so pick your poison ...

Being a tech myself , id like to offer my take on the big 3 options

GM's 6.6 is just a bigger bore/stroke version of their 1/2 engine essentially , direct injection is a reliability concern with potential for carbon issue on the intake valves , I seen more than a few handfuls of injector problems with the 5.3 and 6.2 LT engines since its introduction in 2014 . gm cannot build a cooler line that doesnt leak for the life of them , the wax coating on the frames is a joke especially if you live in the rust belt . their 6 speed trans needs to be updated , lots of complaints about the shift mapping in previous years . also torque converters were a big issue a couple years back .

Rams 6.4 is plagued with the well known lifter/cam issue , plus I just dont like rams track record with long term quality and reliability . 8 Speed trans was a step in the right direction however. In the end I still see it as a Fiat inspired truck .

Fords 7.3 seems to be a classic old school big block v8 with variable cam timing . Making impressive power , I maintain a large fleet of ford HD trucks , the new 7.3 are holding up great so far , haven't had to send many for warranty repairs . the 10 speed trans is a bonus as well . The front steering and suspension components we are replacing constantly , some interior build quality concerns as well .


For how much I tow my travel trailer , ( 5 times a year or so ) My tundra does fantastic imo . Just need to have our expectations in line for a 1500 truck . The 4.30 axle ratio is great . One of my biggest concern was reliability , stressing about a potential break down is not what I want when I am in Holiday mode . I trust the tried tested and true Iforce 5.7 and Aisin 6 Speed trans combo 110% .

The domestics have not proven themselves long term IMO .

 

I thought the 6.6 was a bored out version of the iron block 6.0 GM had in their previous gen HDs.

 

Last year I towed my 18.5-ft 5,000 lbs. travel trailer with about 550 lbs of tongue weight, plus a couple hundred pounds in the bed of the truck. I was very surprised I was getting 3" of squat and a fair amount of bounce!

Over this winter I've purchased a Curt Trutrack weight distribution hitch and just order Roadmaster active suspension kit. Hoping this helps! I'll let you know later this summer after a couple vacation trips - stay tuned.

 

Nope , the new 6.6 is all aluminum block like the 1/2 tons 5.3 and 6.2. Gm only uses the old 6.0 in the G-van fleet chassis now as far as I know

 

They are a permanent spring helper using a torsioned coil spring to help maintain the arch of your rear leaf springs without making unloaded driving too stiff as opposed to adding an extra leaf which will be great when towing/hauling but makes the truck suspension very stiff and rougher ride with normal driving (not hauling or towing).

It is literally an add-on accessory that does not require you to unbolt your suspension system at all. There i some adjustment to suit your specific needs as well as a standard-duty and a heavy-duty version available to purchase. Check out the link below.

Just ordered them yesterday for my truck.

https://activesuspension.com/

 

Now I have truck envy.

 

I had one of the ill fated Lexus 3.0 v6 DI that required a full rebuild (under recall) due to buildup around 100k miles. They only used that engine for one model year it was so bad. Hopefully that’s not the one you have!

 

The 6.6 is an iron block version of the 6.2. Same bore, longer stroke and a lowered compression. No cylinder deactivation BS either. Definitely going to use fuel additive often to keep the DI clean.

 

I stand corrected ** yes iron block ! Not too sure a fuel additive will help the injectors last longer , ones I've seen fail it wasn't from clogging up with dirt . it was a physical failure of the injector itself .

 

Owning a domestic truck seems like a game of Russian roulette. I’m not an extended warranty kind of guy but I did it this time.

 

Fuel additives are useless because fuel spray never sees the intake valves , its directly injected into the cylinder . So your theory about fuel additives taking care of all DI issues is wrong . without a dual injection system intake runners and intake valves will carbon up over time . the only things you can do to slow this process is either delete the pcv system or install a pcv catch can .

 

You said "any DI issues" lol
Any , All.. that's where I was confused about what you meant .

 

Let me know what you think..... I just bought a Grand Design 2500RL. Probably pretty close to your 2800BH weight wise but close enough. I have towed it behind my 2020 2500 HD for about 60 miles now. I can't believe how easy the HD handles it. These trucks are perfect and made for the 6-10k travel trailer type. I never towed the 2500 RL with the Tundra since we did not have it, but man does it make towing easy. Had the wife, 2 kids, and a bed loaded with yeti cooler, bikes, luggage you name it.

My buddy has some acreage and we parked it on his land beside his camper for now.

 

Just got back from our first trip using the 2500. It was about 200 miles round trip but no mountain passes. Feels so solid, very happy with how it handles the trailer. Can’t wait until our next long trip for Spring break.

Unfortunately I did run into one problem. My Furrion camera isn’t compatible with the new GM power supply, found out right before leaving that I need an adapter. After coming back home today I tried backing in my driveway without the backup camera and I scraped the trailer on our brick street light post. Bent my ladder, broke a marker light and scraped the trailer a little. I guess it could have been worse, no real fiberglass damage.

 

That sucks. Are you going to go through insurance for the repairs?

 

I’m just going to replace the marker light and touch up the paint at the corner myself. Luckily the aluminum corner bead was only scraped a little. Will see how much a new ladder costs.

 

Man that sucks, sorry about your luck. Luckily, I bought my trailer from someone I know and they were towing it with a new Denali. They already had the adapter so mine works.

I did a little research and GM uses a different signal starting in 2019. Caught everyone off guard so to speak..... All the smart trailering, etc.... uses a pulse signal, and the Furrion camera does not pick it up from what I can tell. They make a little filter/amplifier that cleans up the signal so the camera will work. Call Furrion and they might send you one for free if you complain in a nice way a little...

 

I talked to Furrion customer support today. Apparently the adapter they currently make doesn’t work on the 2021’s, GM made changes this year. They currently have a version 3 in development, no timetable on when it will be produced. I guess it’s time to buy the wired GM camera.

 

Hot dang, did not know that. It is always something!!! Oh well, just enjoy your truck for now.

 

Still happy with your Curt WDH? Might be getting one with the trailer we're looking at buying.