Would You Tow

[bsaws6]

I have a 2013 Tundra DC 4x4 5.7. I am looking at both the 2014 Jayco Jay Flight 28bhbe or the 2014 StarCraft Autumn Ridge 289bhs. Would my TV handle either of these or should I look smaller/lighter? I am new to forum so hope this is right section. Thanks

[samhain7]

I have a 2012 dodge ram 1500 with the tow package. 3.92 axl. 5.7 HEMI
I just bought a 2015 starcraft autumn ridge 289bhs. Everything I looked at said it was fine. But I am still interested in opinions here.

Also any comments on the trailer or starcraft are welcome!!

[bsaws6]

Thanks for your input everyone. Even wandering 1 especially. On a serious note this is what I was asking for. Didn't expect to get so many answers. Good forum. Thanks guys.

[jerry1946]

I tow a 33 ft. Rockwood ultralite, about 7500 lb with my 2010 Tundra Double cab. Have had no problems towing, no tail waging the dog issues
even when bing passed by 18 wheelers. The only thing you need to look closley at is the payload.

[modern_family]

It's Me wrote:
It looks like you are looking at a gross weight of roughly 9300lbs on the trailer. The issue is going to be payload. Get a good weight distribution hitch and possibly bags or helper springs.

I tow a 8500lb TT with my 2012 Tundra CrewMax. I am over payload by almost 300 lbs. and it pulls fine. But I load everything in the trailer and keep bed empty because of the tongue weight. I am within all axle ratings. You need to decide if you are comfortable over payload rating or not. It will definitely tow it though, should you, up to you.

Not good for this poster or the OP.. Any truck/car can "pull" something, but just wait until you are around the big trucks and SUVs passing you and the set up is "wagging" all over the place. The wind and bad roads making you unstable.

If you are over your limits, than it is not safe and you should look for another TV or lighter TT.

I was just at my limits with my EXPY and I "thought" it pulled fine. Then we finally bought a capable TV and now I know how un-safe the old set up was. Experience is the best teacher, I hope you dont learn the hard way IF you ARE over your truck limits.

[APT]

Payload would be my only concern. Confirm what is listed on driver's door tire and loading sticker covers 900 pounds of TW and your family. The Tundra is strong!

[wandering1]

So why don't you read the tow specs for your vehicle and see how much trailer you can tow? You are legally responsible for having an adequate TV.

[ib516]

The Jayco the OP mentions is:
- dry 6500#, GVWR 9250#, hitch weight 700#, 28'

The Star Craft is:
- dry 6400#, GVWR 8500#, hitch weight 745#, 28'

Either would be a great match for that truck IMO.

[scbwr]

Looking at the specs, you have to remember to add to the dry weight for any options added to the trailer. If you do that and add another 1,000 lbs. for gear, food, some water, etc., I think you will be around 8K for towing. The Tundra will handle it, but you will know it when towing on steeper grades or in the mountains.

My 5.7 Tundra handled our 2003 Sunline ok, and it weighed around 8 to 8.5K. I wouldn't have been too thrilled about crossing the Rocky Mountains with it! But if you take your time, use Haul Mode and keep an eye on temp gauges, you should be ok. I can tell you that when we downsized to the Minnie and reduced the weight to 6,500 lbs., you can really feel the difference in towing.

A good WD hitch will be a must! And, I would avoid too much weight in the bed, especially if towing in the mountains.

[2012Coleman]

It's good that you are considering your TV capibilities before purchasing a TT, but instead of asking "Can my TV handle it"?, ask instead how to figure it out for yourself, and then do so. Everyone on here is very helpful, but don't go on assumptions made with too little info. Looking up the numbers on a similiar TV to your 2013 Tundra, I see the following:

Towing Capacity: 9000 lbs. Payload Capacity: 1575 lbs. Gross Vehicle Weight: 7200 lbs.

You need to refer to your manual and the door sticker on yours as these can vary depending on equipment. Hopefully you also have the tow package. Remember, that payload is used up way before towing capacity is met. Payload includes the stuff you have in the TV - all the passangers, tank of gas, stuff in the bed, weight of the hitch receiver, and toung weight of the TT.

[jerem0621]

Soo... Your going to put 2700 lbs of stuff in this TT?

Some TT's Have so little CCC that there is no way to keep from overloading it. Then there are some TT's with so much CCC that I really scratch my head and wonder where it all would fit.

Check out the Jayco Swift model and compare. You lose a little weight.

I personally think you would be fine with the proper equipment etc.

Thanks and good luck

Jeremiah

[kknowlton]

We had a similar situation to It's Me with our last TT - slightly over on the truck's payload but within axle ratings (barely). The truck did ok with it, but I would not have wanted anything larger. Our TT's GVWR was 7600 lbs. Just traded it in for a smaller, lighter one and I think we - and the truck - will all be happier.

[It_s_Me]

It looks like you are looking at a gross weight of roughly 9300lbs on the trailer. The issue is going to be payload. Get a good weight distribution hitch and possibly bags or helper springs.

I tow a 8500lb TT with my 2012 Tundra CrewMax. I am over payload by almost 300 lbs. and it pulls fine. But I load everything in the trailer and keep bed empty because of the tongue weight. I am within all axle ratings. You need to decide if you are comfortable over payload rating or not. It will definitely tow it though, should you, up to you.

[hmknightnc]

45Ricochet wrote:

fla-gypsy wrote:
We will need more information. We need the payload rating of your truck and the UVW/GVWR of each TT along with the dry hitch weight of both.

I agree but my first guess is yes. At least your not asking about a 40' toy hauler :B

X2. Should be good but if can supply trucks payload rating and the TT GVWR we can give a much more direct answer

Welcome to the Forum!

[45Ricochet]

fla-gypsy wrote:
We will need more information. We need the payload rating of your truck and the UVW/GVWR of each TT along with the dry hitch weight of both.

I agree but my first guess is yes. At least your not asking about a 40' toy hauler :B