What am I missing here?

The Ford Ranger has a payload of 1354lbs. My 2020 Tundra SX double cab has a payload of 1300lbs.

How does the payload number get determined? I use to have a 2010 Silverado which had one piston caliper brakes and small rotors. My new Tundra has 4 piston caliper with larger rotors and it has lower payload and tow numbers. When I pulled my 21' boat with the Silverado it had scary long stopping distances but my Tundra is much better.

 

How much did your previous vehicles weigh? I believe the tundra's curb weight us around 5800 pounds with a max gvwr of 7100

 

Curb weight of the Silverado was around 5400lbs.
SR5 4x4 has a curb weight is around 5470lbs.

 

Look guys, you are not going to transform a Tundra into something that it is not meant to be. Tundra payload ratings are somewhat poor. It is a fine balancing act between payload and towing capacity. I have come to the conclusion that my Tundra is ok for trips to Home Depot and towing a moderate utility trailer. If I was to get a camper it would need to be a relatively small one in order to stay within the Tundra's payload limitations. I love this truck and it does everything I need it to for my current lifestyle but I sometimes wish I would have kept my 2500 Duramax.

 

What's going on everybody, I just put down a deposit on a 7000 pound 5th wheel trailer knowing I would be well within my towing capacity, THEN I come here for advice ( I know Im a dumbass) and realize the payload won't handle it ,SH!T, how is everyone doing this? they must be way out of spec.

 

I never had any issue towing heavy loads with a first gen. Second gen shouldn't be too much difference, same 4.7. The boat seen is the heaviest, and did ok over 2 big bridges. There comes a point were it could be too much, for instance if your towing a excavator or a huge back hoe then Diesel power would be the way to go and now you have to buy American. Something with a Cummins Diesel is my choice.

 

What's the pin weight of the trailer? What is the total weight you will have in the truck? Total weight would be people, cargo, and any accessories you added? Did you add a lift and bigger tires? Figure out the total then check the decal on the door which will give you the payload.

 

I have the same as you 1320, I guess I screwed the pooch on this one. The good news, I get to go shopping again for a tow trailer instead of a 5th wheel.

 

I think your being a little conservative on what the Tundra can tow. Keeping in range of the payload number you could tow up to 7K trailer. Let's say the tongue weight of 800lbs. That leaves 520lbs of payload left. Two normal weight people at 350lbs leaves 170lbs left of payload. A 7K TT is actually a pretty large trailer and would be in the range of 25' to 29'.

This 25' Coachman can be easily towed by almost any Tundra.

 

Add air bags

 

There's more to it than that...

 

Yeah I realize that, but it was a brief suggestion that was much less expensive than a new truck. A good air bag kit and E rated tires on a Tundra goes a long way as far as payload capacity.

 

There are some forum members that tow 5th wheels. Do the math and it might be close that you may want to consider the 5th wheel. The 5th wheel is a more stable platform to tow and the overall length is shorter for the same length floor plan.

 

Maybe I'm wrong here, but airbags are just going to lift up the back end / or prevent squatting of the rear end.

If you're towing something that heavy that is causing you to think you need airbags, wouldn't a proper Weight Distribution Hitch be a better/safer thing to do?

 

If I was better with this forum I would link to a towing thread from a while ago. Guy was showing off how he could pull a 37 foot bumper pull that was 10k gvr. He had it all specked out to handle the hitch/tongue weight and GVR, etc.... I pull a 27ft bumper with a GVR of 7200 and I load my bed with generators, bikes, etc.... prior to that I owned a 9100lb fifth wheel. I have pulled these trailers literally thousands of miles. Most recently over i70 through the Eisenhower tunnel with no issues. These trucks can handle plenty.

 

Not missing anything, OP. Tundra payload numbers are a joke.

Now to everybody that just says "oh they can handle much more".....you guys are missing something.

 

Air bags help to keep your truck level when there is a load on the rear, but there are other factors to increasing your payload capacity, like E rated tires and larger brakes. A weight distribution hitch will definitely help but is not an end all/be all for the extra tongue weight of the camper the OP is purchasing.

 

I may be mistaken but I don't think you have to include driver weight when adding up numbers for payload.

 

Yes you do.

Your GVWR is what it is. You can't be over it. Whatever you throw in/on the truck is considered payload.

There seems to be mass confusion over this because of the SAE standard used for towing capacity. That one allows for two 150 lb occupants and some allowance for trailering gear. That is for towing. It doesn't mean squat for payload - there is not "hidden bonus" that bumps up your GVWR.

 

Airbags also just put more weight on your rear axle. They do level the truck but don’t really distribute the weight.

 

Yep. Adding airbags actually reduces the amount of payload you can carry.

 

https://youtu.be/XBZu39pQ8Gg

 

I only use airbags to help support the rear springs so as to not have permanent sag when not towing. Also makes the ride a lot smoother, nothing worse than hitting those bump stops.

 

My 6500 lb 5th wheel has a hitch weight of 1100. I'm gonna help myself out by ditching my rear hitch which I've heard is around 80 lbs, only filling my gas tank to approx 2/3 to gain back the 80 lbs lost due to the larger tank plus use an ultimate hitch that weighs in at 40 lb vs the usual 120 or more.
Figure by the time I'm on the road I'll be about 100 over which doesn't concern me one bit.

I'm a heck of lot more concerned about the lack of a trans cooler. I'm still trying to decide what to do with that issue.

 

So what happens if you use bags and a WDH?

 

Do nothing and don't worry about it. The 19 and 20 DO have a trans cooler. It's a oil to coolant heat exchanger which is actually more efficient. Do you think Toyota didn't test the result of the change? They aren't going to risk their reputation because of failed transmissions.

 

I don’t think a heat exchanger is more efficient than the actual atf flowing through a cooler. That part was called a warmer a few years ago. There is a thread on here discussing the reasons why it was removed, but no one outside Toyota knows for sure. Could be cause it didn’t need it, but it could also be some other reason we don’t know and Toyota is taking its chances with the probably less than 10% who actually tow.

 

Toyota doesn't take chances when it comes to reputation. An oil to coolant exchange is more efficient than an oil to air. You can make the heat exchanger smaller. An oil to coolant heat exchanger acts as a warmer when the trans temp is colder then the coolant. After the trans warms up and its temperature is above the coolant temp it is now a heat exchanger.