Towing with a tundra in the mountains

Well, you could use the Tundra to tow the trailer on the flats, to a Ford/GM/Dodge truck dealer at the bottom of the mountain, trade the truck in and tow the trailer up the mountain with any of the 3 brands of diesel pickups. :)

if you download Google Earth, you can enter your route (much like google maps) and then get the elevation/grade profile for the whole route. I'm planning a trip to Yellowstone and Colorado in a couple months, and found the elevation profile pretty useful. I have a much smaller TT and TV than you, and using Google Earth as another tool makes sense to me.

Good advice from many folks with Tundras here. You should be fine (though I also doubt your TT weight will be as low as 6400 lbs with that long a trailer. Our previous TT was 34' and we maxed it out to its GVWR of about 7600 lbs.) Tundras also have the engine braking feature, which helps with the downhills (I still use it in the semi-manual mode when towing, though, as the transmission doesn't "hunt" as much that way.) No problem whatsoever going uphill, just don't figure you're going to drive 70 mph up those long, high passes. Just take it easy.

I've towed my rig over most all the Colorado passes that have a road. Loaded weight of the trailer is 8,400#. I actually get a little better mpg in the mountains. Don't forget, even though you get poor mileage going up, you get way better mileage going down.:)
The real difference in mileage is that you are generally speed limited by the twisty mountainous roads.

I been pulling my wet 6800# Jayco 30' travel trailer up and down mountains with my 2012 5.7L V8 Toyota Tundra for years. I haven't had any problems and just keep my RPM's somewhere around 3000 to 4000 going up. My concern with my Tundra is never been my tow weight, which maxes out just under 10,000#. My concern has been my payload capacity, which gets eaten up by my family/tongue weight/kayaks thus can't use my bed for anything else. I love the Tundra, but wish it's payload capcity was closer to 2000#. My next truck will be a 3/4 ton or 1 ton so I can haul more gear and tow my trailer.

I get about 10 MPG while towing. Thats not too bad for a gas truck while towing in my opinion. Sure its not diesel mileage but i also didnt pay the diesel pricetag too, which I dread for future trucks. I love my tundra though.

Tundra here with 5.7 and tow package. My mythical TT weight is 5600 so of course a little less than the OP's. I towed from southern Oregon to central Washington last weekend.

No issues at all except the crummy freeway near Seattle. Kind of ironic how everyone says the Tundra gets such bad mileage when towing. Then when someone asks about getting better mileage with an RV, the answer is almost always "You can't expect good mpg when towing."

The mountains in CO are vastly different than anywhere in the east simply by way of the altitude. The Tundra will feel down on power compared to towing inclines at lower elevations, no way around that which is why forced induction out here helps a lot.

However, use the advice given by gearing down and additionally by being considerate using the right lane and turnouts and you should arrive safely. Do not be in a rush when descending.

Coffee Grinder wrote:
I would like some feedback on what to expect.

My Tundra pulls just fine in the mountains and the 4-wheel, disc brakes work to keep things under control. Our trucks reach max torque @ 3600 rpm but I try to keep the tach as near 2000 as I can for fuel considerations. This means you'll find me in the truck lane with the semis going up steep hills.

Teach

The 2016 Toyota tundra with a 5.7 has more horsepower than the old big blocks like the 454 and the 460 which were the standard for towing the biggest loads.Also,the payloads for the Tundra start at over 3/4 of a ton to over a ton,so yes,not a problem for that Tundra.

My F-150 also had a payload that exceeded 1500 lbs and had only 305 horses which still was more than the old big bores..I have owned and pulled with both the 454 and 460 and I have a 460 now,these newer smaller engines just have more horses and get up and go.I pulled my 30ft trailer with ease with the F-150.

You should not have any problems if set up right..

I had a 2007 5.7L Tundra and pulled a 27' TT. From my experience it pulled ok but I got 10mpg and because of the small fuel tank, I had to refuel every couple of hours! That was a pain. It also burned brakes frequently (and I always used the tranny downhill). Those brake pads were frequently warping.

I switched to a 3500 Duramax (and a 5th wheel) and couldn't be happier!

But, to answer your question, you probably won't have any major issues as your truck will pull it no problem. But you will not have that great of a ride, gas mileage or additional issues (brakes).

good luck