Home Forums Gear Hunting Trucks and Four-Wheel Drives Tundra?

Thinking about a Tundra 4x4.

Will it tow a 7,000 pound travel trailer up and down the steep grades of the Rockies with ease.

What about towing mirrors?

At the present time I tow with a 2003, 7.3 Super Duty.

Thanks

Don't think so...

I like Tundras, but I doubt you'd be happy with towing performance switching to a lighter truck and a smaller engine.

Have a 6k pound RV.
Had an '01 w/ 7.3.
Have a Tundra w/ 5.7.
Will it do it? Yeah.
With ease? Depends on your definition.
If your truck has a chip or programmer, you may like it a little better.
If not, you may like the Tundra better.
Having owned both, the Ford was loud, rattled my teeth and bruised my kidneys.
The Tundra is quiet, smooth and way more comfortable of a vehicle to drive. The 5.7 is a pretty strong motor.
But if you have to be first up the mountain, and are looking to upgrade, you may consider an '11+ Ford with the 6.7 and coil over suspension.
Did I mention the Tundra is quieter and smoother?

For what you want to do in a 1/2 ton, think I'd look at the F150 with 3.5 Ecoboost. Obviously it's not a fair comparison to one of the new SD diesels.

Thanks all for reminding me that the Tundra really is a 1/2 ton.

I've got a 2016 Tundra 4x4 and a 1999 dodge/cummins ram 2500. The tundra has 381 HP, the Dodge has 235 HP. The dodge will out tow it all day, every day, no question, it's not even close.

The Tundra is a strong truck but it IS a half ton, don't let anyone tell you otherwise. I'm not too enamored with Ford lately but if you have to use a half ton to tow in the mountains then the ecoboost is probably better due to the turbo, it won't lose as much power at altitude as the normally aspirated 5.7 in the Tundra.

Lots of hate here for the tundra...Yes it is a half ton, but it is one strong, reliably built half ton...I have a 2018 SR5 TRD DC 4X4 with 5.7 - tow rating 9800, 1600 payload. It has more than enough power for my tastes and I am coming from a 2016 ram 6.7....No it won't tow 7,8,9000 pounds like a deisel, but I tow a Jayco Octane 222 toyhauler that fully loaded with water, gas, gear, and razor is around 7700-8000 pounds and in the idaho mountains, my tundra tows this quite well and as fast as I want to go. I can take this load over a couple of our major mountain passes (banner summit, horseshoe bend hill, galena summit) at a constant 55-60 mph. My truck weighs 5700 pounds according to the door, so it does well in not letting the RV push it around either.

Just have to get use to towing in 3rd gear at a higher rpm when going over hills, but it does fine - tow haul mode really shines on these trucks. Now if I was towing more than i do - say 9-10+ thousand pounds, I would have a 3/4 ton truck.

Couple disclaimers - I tow my toyhauler - 6-8 times a year and not much towing in between so i don't have a need for a diesel and the tundra fills in nicely. Also, I did do a couple things to make the tundra a better tow vehichle - added rear bags with compressor so the back end is always level, added 33" BFG E range tires (factory michelins are too soft and spongy) and a 2" front level to keep the nose up.

All in all its a great truck that fits my needs to a tee. Comparing it to other 1/2 tons - when you do go to sell it or trade it in, it will have the highest resell as well.

Couple thoughts...

The Tundra compares very closely to a gas 3/4 ton. No it won't do what a diesel 3/4 ton will do. But the old school 5.7 V8 along with 4.30 gears does a pretty good job. It's not as fast when towing, but you'll get there.

And before you decide on the 3.5 turbo from Ford you better look hard. The engine will pull the weight, but Ford 1/2 tons set up to pull more than Tundra's are unicorns. They make a big deal about what their trucks CAN tow. They just don't make many that will do it. Ford, like Dodge and Chevy offer multiple engines, axle ratios, cab styles, trim levels, bed lengths and wheelbases. Most of them have gears in the 3.31 range and payloads so low that you overload the suspension long before you reach max towing weight. With Tundra you only get one wheelbase and 2 engines. And if you go with the 5.7 engine you get 4.30 gears, no other options. That combo will pull more than 90% of the 1/2 tons on the road made by Ford. Even with the 3.5 turbo engine.

And I have a Ford. I like it and It serves my needs. But there are lots of guys buying F-150's with the 3.5 turbo thinking they will tow 12000 lbs and are shocked to find that the one they bought will not pull much over 6000 lbs because the suspension wont' handle the tongue weight. Or because they bought one with 3.31 or 3.15 gears instead or 3.73's.

The Tundra is more than capable of towing a 7000 lb travel trailer. It may not pull it as well as the diesel will but it can comfortably pull it. I towed a 27’ Jayco all over Alaska with a Tundra and never missed a lick, including lots a mountain passes. Now you will go through a lot of fuel , that will be the biggest headache in the venture. I personally wouldn’t buy a new Tundra right now, I’d wait to see what the updated Tundra looks like with the 5.7 L motor and tranny being revamped, they are supposed to improve on both regarding fuel economy and a better performance next year.

My Crew max towing 8500 lb boat 1000 miles

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v...B-4ABD-B311-7333F0CB8553_zpstyns6wen.jpg

My DC Tundra towing 27’ TT loaded to the hilt.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v228/DallSheep4me/Toys/006-2.jpg

I think you're mistaking "hate" for facts.

Why would you say someone is hating the tundra because it won't pull as good as a 3/4 ton diesel? News flash...it won't! It's not a 3/4 ton and it's not a diesel. It's an outdated gas motor. My 2014 Ram has more HP than the Tundra. I love the tundra's. Until I had this Ram, my Tundra was my favorite truck I had.

Get any 1/2 ton with 4.30 gears and they'll be able to tow the same as the tundra. I don't want 4.30 gears so my truck can tow almost like a 3/4 when it's not a 3/4 ton. The Tundra is outdated with power plant, transmission and gear ratio. If you need to tow that weight, get a truck that will do it.

A good friend who I coach youth baseball with is a Sales Manager at our local Toyota dealership...2020 models are suppose to get a facelift, engine update, and new transmission...change is coming.

Cub, what year and model Jayco?
How do/did you like it?

What 10 horsepower more and it is still a very dated pushrod engine.? Outdated LMAO

It was a 2006, I liked it.

No 10hp isn't going to make or break it. But it isn't using 4.30 gears to get a tow rating for some that is probably shouldn't be towing. There are quite a few comparison's out there that show the Tundra coming in second to last, ahead of only the Titan. The big 3 win nearly every time.

The Tundra isn't a 3/4 ton, please stop perpetuating that information. It's no closer to a 3/4 ton than an F-150 or Silverado 1500 (or Ram 1500, etc)

The Tundra will tow what any other 1/2 ton out there should be towing....hell it towed the space shuttle.

All joking aside, I have a 2011 Tundra and a few friends have various other makes of 1/2 tons that we all bought around the same time. My Tundra is plain and simple holding up better than the competition and they have all finally started to admit it. Mine has not been in the shop for anything other than oil changes and tire replacement/rotations. Sadly the others can't say the same. Hopefully the newer/updated Tundra will have some updates to bring it closer to the competition.

No hate for the tundra out of me, I love my tundra. The OP asked a question and I was trying to give him a realistic answer with what to expect when comparing one to his current diesel. I have a tundra and a 3/4 ton diesel so I can offer perspective.

The tundra's a great half ton, the best one made in my opinion and that's why I bought mine. It's not hate to point out that it does half ton stuff well but if you're expecting it to do 3/4 or 1 ton stuff it might not do what you want. I'd pick Margot Robbie 99.99% of the time but the .01% of the time that I need a trailer load of overturned pork chops quickly eaten off the road I might pick Rosie O'donnell. That doesn't mean I'm dissing Margot.

I'm a huge Toyota fan, I just brought my latest toyota home an hour ago, a 2018 Camry. I traded in my 2014 camry for it, which has been flawless, because the old one had 87000 miles on it and it was either trade it now or keep it until the wheels fall off. If I'd kept it over 100,000 miles then the trade in value would be significantly lower. I went with the 2018 mainly because it gets 6 mpg better than the 2014, toyota has got new engine technology they're switching all their engines to which gets about 20% better fuel mileage mainly due to going to direct injection. It stands to reason that the tundra motor will be redesigned soon with significantly better fuel mileage. The press release I read said the new camry motor is the first of the "Dynamic Force" engines and their entire engine lineup is going to switch to the technology.