First Time Towing a larger camper

Good morning all,
First I want to say we are super excited for our new camper. (We pick it up today at 2pm)
But I have a few concerns that I did ask the dealer and they insured me everything will be OK.

I just want to run this by the experts to make sure we are OK.

We have a 2006 Tundra. Access Cab, SR5, 4X4, V8, 4.7 It came equipped with the tow package Class 4 hitch and rated at 6900lbs.

However, the owners manual says if we add a sway control device we should never exceed 12,500lbs.

We are having the sway control device and a weight distributing hitch added. But does that make sense?

The dry weight of the trailer comes in at 6354 which will only leave 546 for cargo and people if we go with the 6900lbs.

What do you all think? (Aside from getting a new truck) Do these weights make sense?

Thanks
John

You want to make sure that your tongue weight is within the limits of your vehicle. You also need to look at the Max Combined Gross Vehicle Weight that your vehicle can handle. The Max weight is the total weight of your tow vehicle and trailer. For example, if the max combined weight allowed is 14975 and your tow vehicle weighs 7590 (loaded with gas belongings passengers etc), then the weight of the loaded trailer should not exceed 7385.

Once you're sure the weight considerations are good, take it to an empty parking lot and get a feel for maneuvering it. Especially backing it up.


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Ford, Chevy or Dodge

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You are really pushing the limits of your tow vehicle, and with passengers and cargo will easily exceed your limits. Time to consider a new truck. Also consider that the dry weight does not take into account your battery of propane tanks.

I concur. You will require a new truck, sadly the Tundra is not heavy enough for what you have purchased.

There are multiple factors to determine safe towing. Check into purchasing this app, www.rvtowcheck.com. Salesmen will tell you what you want to hear to sell the RV. Once you've signed, it's your responsibility to be safe towing. They are not responsible for your choice.

This app was developed by a Heartland Owner, David Gray, with years of research and development. Well worth it to have a calculator that can determine with certainty what you can safely tow.



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Sorry it has taken me so long in responding.

First I would love a new(er) truck but I think I will have to wait.

We did our walk through and everything took about 6.5 hours. The dealer did add water, batteries and propane to show everything worked. I was assured they would empty the tanks before we left. Installed the WDH and sway bar even had the braking control added.

So here is what I learned. The tundra has no issues pulling the camper. We got up to 70, however we did slowdown to 50 when going up hills. We had to travel back 120 miles. The braking system worked great. Didn't feel the pushing or pulling. Stopped right along with the truck. The Tundra is a bit under powered in my opinion. At least this model year is. The only incident we had with the whole thing was pulling into the driveway. We tore out our cable line. It was sitting real low. Never really noticed till then. So now we have the electric company coming out to move the lines and the cable company will do the same.

Now the dealer did not empty the tanks and I forgot after about 5 hours. We had some issues that needed to be addressed before we could take it home.

Overall though the experience was good.

BUT lets say for instance I was wanting to buy a different truck. Which one would be best for the job. And what year.

Thanks
JOhn

Something in the 250/2500 series would be my choice. I pulled a light weight TT with an Avalanche (5.7L) and knew it was back there.

jsheeh9427 said:

We got up to 70, however we did slowdown to 50 when going up hills.

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Don't exceed 65 mph! That's all your trailer tires are rated to, assuming they are properly inflated.

Truck: I tow a slightly heavier TT with a 2013 F150 EcoBoost super crew with trailer tow package. It does the job quite happily. Next best thing to a diesel 3/4 ton and it's my daily driver. You'll get all sorts of opinions on tow vehicles. Just be sure to give yourself a lot of cushion on the tow rating.

Well, my wife and I discussed all our options and we opted for a new truck (to us at least) We traded the Tundra in for a 2004 Ford F-250 Super Duty Lariat, V-8 6.0. This is my first diesel and I have a ton of questions about diesels. But that will wait.

We have two trips planned. The first will be close to the home. We want to get a better feel for driving it with the Ford vs the Tundra. We choose a pull through site, however I have practiced backing up with the trailer and I will be purchasing a back-up camera. Not that I couldn't do it but my kids won't always be living with me and they are my spotters for now. They know all about spotting form when I was in the Navy. I think they do it better than most Sailors.

The second trip, if all goes well with the first, will be down to Louisiana to see family. Once again a pull through site.

So what should I be aware of when towing with a diesel? I would imagine it would be the same as with the tundra. Just the Ford is bigger than the tundra.

Thanks for all the suggestions. I will post pics on Thursday when we have the rig all connected up.

John

My advice is to always look up when maneuvering in close quarters. I am reminded of this every time I look at the overhang on my garage.
jim

Find somebody that knows that 6 liter diesel well and do everything you can to bulletproof it

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Congrats on your new truck. You'll love your F250, diesels are made to tow.

On the 6.0, it's definitely good to do some preventive things to it.

Your in AL so you can install an EGR delete kit and get rid of the cooler(mine blew)
Have your injectors checked (I had three bad ones when I bought mine)

Be careful with programmers as you can easily blow a head gasket on these and Ford dealers remove the cab to replace them. If that ever happens make sure to switch to head studs while they have it apart.

jsheeh9427 said:

..... however I have practiced backing up with the trailer and I will be purchasing a back-up camera.

Click to expand...

Wise choice....today's backup cameras are cheap and offer an incrediible field of view behind the RV

I think a lot of folks on here have purchased the Furrin Observation camera. The "observation" model allows you to monitor all the time vs. some cameras only allow it to turn on when you're in reverse.

This is the camera most of the folks here have purchased. Took me about 20 mins to install, by simply tapping into the rear tail light...can't any easier.

You can then see cars that are behind you and out of your view from trucks mirrors...makes passing and getting back into the right lane soooooooo easy.

Link to Amazon

Oregon_Camper said:

Wise choice....today's backup cameras are cheap and offer an incrediible field of view behind the RV

I think a lot of folks on here have purchased the Furrin Observation camera. The "observation" model allows you to monitor all the time vs. some cameras only allow it to turn on when you're in reverse.

This is the camera most of the folks here have purchased. Took me about 20 mins to install, by simply tapping into the rear tail light...can't any easier.

You can then see cars that are behind you and out of your view from trucks mirrors...makes passing and getting back into the right lane soooooooo easy.

Link to Amazon

Ditto. I have this unit with the high speed camera. Great for on the road as in passing and lane changes.

View attachment 54352

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this is the unit I have and wouldn't be without it. Great for lane changes.

4.7 is the smaller engine. I have an 08 Sequoia with a 5.7 and every factory tow option. It tows up to 10k. My 6,800lb trailer is no problem for it. I use an equalizer 4 point hitch.

Up 8% grades, down 8% grades, no problem. Don't let all of the diesel gods try to justify their 70k.

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jsheeh9427 said:

my wife and I discussed all our options and we opted for a new truck (to us at least) We traded the Tundra in for a 2004 Ford F-250 Super Duty Lariat, V-8 6.0.

We have two trips planned. The first will be close to the home. We want to get a better feel for driving it with the Ford vs the Tundra. We choose a pull through site, however I have practiced backing up with the trailer and I will be purchasing a back-up camera.

So what should I be aware of when towing with a diesel? I would imagine it would be the same as with the tundra. Just the Ford is bigger than the tundra.

Click to expand...

What trailer are you pulling?

Go to a scale and weigh everything so you know what your actual weights are. Don't drive 70 with a trailer and don't believe anything a salesman tells you. When you upgrade buy at least a 3/4 ton!


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