new with question (first of many to come!)

The only suggestion I have is to find a couple of trucks you like on the lot and look inside the drivers door. You should see a yellow label with various information including the capacity of the truck. Take your phone and snap a picture of this label, come back here and upload the picture for us to see (we can help if you don't know how). We can use that information to help you see why this particular vehicle may or may not be a good fit for towing the trailer you have your eye on.

hddecker wrote:


X2

Put the cart before the horse. Find the floor plan you like, then find the TV to haul the weight.

That's what I suggested but my husband's point was that we needed something to pull the TT home! Go figure :)

We're looking at the crewmax tonight. So is that a deal breaker then? (sorry that is a lazy question but I don't know the answer)

F150 is a few inches longer which is the difference between fitting and not fitting in our garage. Of course this is going by tape measurement and talking to a neighbor only. We havent' tried to pull either vehicle in to our garage so it is possible I'm wrong on both F150 and Tundra fitting!

The Tundra comes in 2 different 4-door cap configurations; The Double Cab and Crew Max. The Double Cab (smaller back seat) is available in 6.5 and 8ft bed sizes. The Crew Max (much bigger rear seat and much longer cab) comes only with a 5.5 ft. bed and I believe the Double Cab with the 6.5 is the same overall length as the Crew Max with the 5.5. The Double Cab with the 8 ft bed (don't see many of those) almost certainly won't fit in your garage. You did not say how the particular F150 you are looking at is configured. Most common Tundra you see on the road is the Double Cab with the 6.5 bed.

Most advertising tow info for trucks is based on the basic stripped down model. You need to get specific on the truck as everything added reduces load capacity. 4X4's typically have a lower rating than a 2 WD model, extra cabs less than a standard cab. Above all check the rear axle rating, tires are usually the weak link. Some models have passenger rated tires that severely limit the rear axle load rating. Each tire will have the max PSI and weight that the tire can safely handle. My old TT had GVWR of 8,000 lbs and a tongue weight of 1,200 lbs loaded dry.

I tow a 26' bunk house with a 2013 Tundra. It pulls it great! I think we're a little over 5000# with the loaded trailer, but I haven't had it weighed. Tundras seem to squat a little more than other trucks when initially loaded, but that's because the first stage of the leaf springs is pretty soft to offer a smoother empty ride. I've never pulled with a Ford, but I've several Chevys and the Tundra outpulls all of them.

APT wrote:
A couple points as you shop both RV and TV...

The 2009+ F-150 comes in the same cab/bed sizes as the 2007+ Tundra. I cannot see how the F150 of same cab/bed wont fit. Ford just offers more cab/bed options like crew cab 6.5' bed but you can still get 5.5' bed like Tundra Crewmax. If the difference is less than 5", you probably won't park any vehicle up against the wall such that it "fits" on a regular basis anyway. I have my reasons for favoring the F-150 over Tundra, but the Tundra is a good truck. 5.7L/4.30 gear only.

If you plan to tow anywhere near 9000 pounds loaded )or 7000+ pounds dry, you should be looking at 3/4+ ton trucks. As Ron said, payload as well as rear axle and receiver ratings are typically exceeded for the more capable half ton trucks at 8k+ travel trailer weight.

The TT market is very crowed in the $15-25k price and 5000-8000 pound dry range. And that's the sticky point for half ton RVing. If you prioritize the half ton pickup, then you are limited the TT market. That's acceptable for most people. However, I recommend researching the TTs you may want and make sure the TV you want is capable.

X2

Put the cart before the horse. Find the floor plan you like, then find the TV to haul the weight.

A couple points as you shop both RV and TV...

The 2009+ F-150 comes in the same cab/bed sizes as the 2007+ Tundra. I cannot see how the F150 of same cab/bed wont fit. Ford just offers more cab/bed options like crew cab 6.5' bed but you can still get 5.5' bed like Tundra Crewmax. If the difference is less than 5", you probably won't park any vehicle up against the wall such that it "fits" on a regular basis anyway. I have my reasons for favoring the F-150 over Tundra, but the Tundra is a good truck. 5.7L/4.30 gear only.

If you plan to tow anywhere near 9000 pounds loaded )or 7000+ pounds dry, you should be looking at 3/4+ ton trucks. As Ron said, payload as well as rear axle and receiver ratings are typically exceeded for the more capable half ton trucks at 8k+ travel trailer weight.

The TT market is very crowed in the $15-25k price and 5000-8000 pound dry range. And that's the sticky point for half ton RVing. If you prioritize the half ton pickup, then you are limited the TT market. That's acceptable for most people. However, I recommend researching the TTs you may want and make sure the TV you want is capable.

AZmom wrote:
First of all: HELLO! My small family (me, husband, 1 kid) are planning to purchase a 28-30 foot travel trailer. Exciting!

I'm hoping for some sage advice. We are looking at buying a 2012 Toyota Tundra sr5 5.7L V8 but upon double checking I found it is rated to tow 9000 pounds.

Other option is F150 which says it is rated to 11000 pounds. But it won't fit in our garage which is why I nixed it. (If you are shaking your head you are in agreement with my husband.)

I am personally not interested in the Chevy so I nixed that as well.

Does anybody tow a similar size vehicle with a Tundra? I think the weight of the trailers are 7000. I get that we'll be adding weight and that we should be considerably under max capacity. I've read the articles on how to calculate all the ratios and whatnot. Greek to me.

I could leave all this research up to my husband who is considerably more intelligent than I, but I'm a control freak (there, I said it).

I can't seem to wrap my mind around this behemoth of a truck not pulling a TT. Am I overlooking something or will I need to come to terms with a monster F150 not fitting in our garage?

I'm towing a 35 ft Windjammer trailer, about 8,000 lbs fully loaded with my 5.7 V8 Tundra and it does fine. When you look at trailers, ignore the "dry weight" and look at the Gross Weight. The dry weight is meaningless. The limiting factor on all the 1/2 ton trucks is the payload rating. The tongue weight and everything you put in the truck subtracts from your payload rating. You didn't say if you're looking at a Double Cab or Crew Max Tundra, but the Double Cab has more payload.

Awww, that's cute. You think an F150 is a monster ;)

Welcome to the forum. There are a lot of different variables that you need to consider for the tow vehicle. You could start looking athttp://www.trailerlife.com/trailer-towing-guides/
for better info.

When looking at trailers, don't go by dry weight. Put more importance on payload of the TV rather than towing capacity.