what I learned about my Tundra while towing this weekend..

[Txsurfer]

OK so I have been a little down on my wife's 2015 Tundra 4x4 and it's towing abilities ( somewhat biased as I have a diesel 3/4 as well) - well I tried something new this past weekend and it made a huge diff to me.. I used the S tranny mode and locked out 6th.. all the downshifting for overpasses was gone and was much more pleasant to drive. I was towing about 8K in the hills around Austin for about 500 miles RT. Pretty happy with the little truck now...

And before anybody asked why would I not just use the diesel in the first place - well we have a very old large dog that finds the crewmax way more comfortable for long trips..

[NinerBikes]

Get rid of the wife, or get a diesel, if you want to get some work done.

[Txsurfer]

Yup - i'd really like to get the Transfer Flow 46 gallon tank for mine it - but stopping every 2.5 - 3 hrs with teh current 26 gallon tank lets me get out and stretch my back so not all bad..

[mudfuel07]

Even on the hills around Tally, the truck doesn't struggle. Just likes to sing and drink gas a little more. With a WDH and dual sway bars(left over from a powerjoke), the Tundra pulls my trailer extremely well.

[bucky]

There are probably more Tundras in the FL park we're in than any other brand. They must be doing something right. But no hills anywhere close to speak of and mostly mid sized TTs.

[diftw]

We had a 2008 5.7l Tundra DC w/4.30 rear end. Agree with others who have posted-a great truck. When we decided we were going to purchase our larger 5th wheel, we traded it in on our current truck. Added E rated tires. Great towing vehicle.

[time2roll]

6th? I lock out 6th, 5th, 4th and run in 3rd. Run about 2700 rpm unless I need 2nd for climbing a hill then I am up around 3500.

You cannot drive a gasser like a diesel.

[otrfun]

Used to tow with a '12 5.7 Tundra we purchased new. A year ago we traded the Tundra for a new '16 Ram 3500 Cummins.

Yes, the Cummins tows circles around the 5.7 Tundra. But, gotta say we miss the Tundra's refined engine and tranny---they operated seamlessly together. Thumbs up for the brakes and handling (rack and pinion steering), too. As for the extraordinary power and payload some profess it to have, well, not sure we're quite on-board for all that . . . but, will admit it was a darn good 1/2-ton truck that treated us well during our 4 years and 50,000 miles of ownership!

[Ron3rd]

Loved my 2007 Tundra 5.7! Best truck I ever owned, plenty of power too. Only reason I sold it was I went to the bigger trailer and needed a 3/4 ton

[Groover]

xtech wrote:
Totally agree with above post. Pulled 10000 pound 5th wheel (scaled) for 2 years with a 2011 Tundra reg cab long box (1820 payload sticker) Was over GVWR by about 3-400 pounds. Traded for F-250 gas 6.2 due to payload. No difference in handling feel with 5th wheel between the two trucks. Like the ford trans better as can use M and it will not downshift out of the gear whereas tundra would. Tundra engine much more responsive and pulled hills better at lower rpm than the ford. Tundra got considerably better fuel mileage towing and non towing so I too wish Toyota would make a higher payload truck.

I have a slightly different wish, that Ford would put a more modern gas engine in the Superduty line. When the 6.2 was offered in the F150 it burned about 20% more fuel than the Ecoboost and had less torque. While the 6.2 seems to be a reliable engine that difference in economy is not acceptable.

[_DJ_1]

I'm calling BS!!! They're are no hills in Texas!!!! :B

[Txsurfer]

N-Trouble wrote:
Tundra's dont have a Tow/Haul mode like every other truck out there?

Yes it does but I don't believe it locks out 6th..could be wrong but I always use tow mode and manually locking out 6th resulted in much less shift activity.

[N-Trouble]

Tundra's dont have a Tow/Haul mode like every other truck out there?

[xtech]

Totally agree with above post. Pulled 10000 pound 5th wheel (scaled) for 2 years with a 2011 Tundra reg cab long box (1820 payload sticker) Was over GVWR by about 3-400 pounds. Traded for F-250 gas 6.2 due to payload. No difference in handling feel with 5th wheel between the two trucks. Like the ford trans better as can use M and it will not downshift out of the gear whereas tundra would. Tundra engine much more responsive and pulled hills better at lower rpm than the ford. Tundra got considerably better fuel mileage towing and non towing so I too wish Toyota would make a higher payload truck.

[spoon059]

I had a 2010 Tundra with factory E rated tires and it towed like a dream. Lots of HP and torque, came on quick and smooth. The transmission on the Tundra never hunted and shifted firmly. The E rated tires kept the truck feeling stable and smooth. We towed a 6500 lbs trailer for several years with the Tundra and it performed flawlessly. We tow in the Eastern US mountains several times a year, never once felt underpowered.

Fast forward to 2015, we bought our new trailer (31' long, 9500 GVWW, 7300 lbs curb weight). We did the math and thought I could keep the tongue weight down enough to stay within my payload rating of about 1500 lbs. First trip we kept it right at the payload but left a lot of "stuff" at home. 2nd trip the wife decided we needed to bring all that "stuff" with us again and we ended up being a couple hundred pounds OVER the Tundra's payload. Fuel mileage was also about 7.5 mpg in the mountains. Again... still PLENTY of power, I could accelerate up any grade and maintain speed up grade. 7.5 mpg and a pretty small gas tank weren't too fun. Being over the payload made me worry about longevity of the truck. We ended up selling it and getting a diesel for better mileage and substantially more payload.

That Tundra was a BEAST though. I wish Toyota would build an HD frame and allow some more payload. The powertrain was great, the quality of the truck was great and the price was better than Ford, GM or Ram at the time.