Question Tow vehicle advice

[ZeroFoxGiven77]

I recently purchased a new travel trailer to live in full time. I ended up purchasing a TT based on the tow capacity of my 2021 Crewmax Tundra. I did not realize I would possibly be overloaded. The dealer only recommended a stabilizer hitch since my Tundra came with a break controller(this is 100% on me for not doing the right research). The Tundra did amazing during my two hour drive home from the dealer. No sway while crossing a few longer bridges here in ENC. Also had no issues with braking. The gain was set at 3.0 for the whole trip. While spending time looking for first time RVer tips, I came across lots of threads about the current subject and determined I likely need to trade my truck now. So my question becomes, am I really unsafe when on the road with my current set up? If so, the question becomes, how much truck do I need? I will be pulling it to Florida next month, and then parking for a while. I have attached a screen shot of my TT's specs. Thank you for the help

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[Gronk]

From what I have looked at that trailer is too much for that truck. One site said a max tow rating of 8,000 pounds and one that said 8800 pounds. You are over that before you put anything in the trailer. Far as the dry weight argument, you will never tow it at that weight. That is the weight even before propane is added. Looking at the specs you posted gives you a trailer GVW of 10,985! even at 10% tongue weight that is 1098 pounds. What is the cargo carrying capacity of your truck? Take the number on the door sticker and subtract your weight and the weight of anyone else you plan on having in the truck, then subtract the weight of everything else you plan on taking with you. The number left is how much tongue weight you should look at. Most even say to stay at 80% of towing capacity for safety. Lastly, the dealer will almost always say "Sure this truck can handle that". Don't believe any of them.........

 

[ZeroFoxGiven77]

Thank you for the reply. I used an excel spreadsheet I found in a similar thread, and found while I am overloaded, it's not as bad as I had originally thought. With that said, I am currently cross shopping all the 2500's and the F250. The plan is to run each truck through the same excel calculator before buying one. I am leaning towards a Chevy/GMC Duramax, but for some reason the price of a Ram with the diesel won't let me rule it out. My only hang up is the V6 turbo. I worry about a turbo failing and being left on the side of the road. Is the duramax worth that much more money?

 

[Kevin D Pem]

Can you buy a diesel without a turbo? I'm looking at the dry hitch weight (1/2 ton just in hitch weight). 1/4 ton in people and luggage isn't much. Gross trailer weight puts you in a diesel. Brand is preference I prefer RAM.

 

[ZeroFoxGiven77]

Kevin,

Since I have always been a Toyota guy(Toyota dealer GSM and does not offer bigger than Tundra), I have never researched another brand. At the moment I do not think the Ram offers a diesel bigger than the turbo v6. On paper it will tow my TT, but how reliable is the turbo? If I decide to upgrade my TT in a few years to a 5th wheel, will the V6 turbo force me to purchase another truck? I enjoy selling cars, but I despise buying them. Since I am in the car business, I am trying to do most of my research before reaching out to the dealer. Not only do I not want to waste a salespersons time if I go with a different brand or dealer, I don't trust the dealer to properly train their staff in product knowledge. Especially with a vehicle model they likely only sell a few times a month.

As a Ram guy, do you know if I can get a V8 diesel in a 2500?

 

[Gronk]

Your chances of a turbo failing and leaving you on the side of the road are just about zero. Many, many vehicles are running turbos, including semi trucks. Far as a ram with a diesel, you are looking at an inline six cylinder engine. The inline six is the Cummins 6.7L. The biggest killer of turbos is lack of allowing it to cool before shut down.

 

[Kevin D Pem]

Kevin,

Since I have always been a Toyota guy(Toyota dealer GSM and does not offer bigger than Tundra), I have never researched another brand. At the moment I do not think the Ram offers a diesel bigger than the turbo v6. On paper it will tow my TT, but how reliable is the turbo? If I decide to upgrade my TT in a few years to a 5th wheel, will the V6 turbo force me to purchase another truck? I enjoy selling cars, but I despise buying them. Since I am in the car business, I am trying to do most of my research before reaching out to the dealer. Not only do I not want to waste a salespersons time if I go with a different brand or dealer, I don't trust the dealer to properly train their staff in product knowledge. Especially with a vehicle model they likely only sell a few times a month.

As a Ram guy, do you know if I can get a V8 diesel in a 2500?

@"EZ" is the official RAM guy. The Cummins 6 is inline 6. Without a turbo on a diesel you have a gutless wonder in any brand. Cummins has a very good history.

 

[ZeroFoxGiven77]

I am so glad I found this forum. I have asked this question on a few other sites and FB group chats. You guys are the first ones to give an honest opinion instead of ranting about how dumb it was to think a Tundra can handle it. I very likely would have ruled out the Ram before digging into to it just because of the v6 turbo vs the v8 turbo. All the usual research sites like Edmunds, Cars, and Consumer Reports all rave about the Duramax vs the Cummins.

 

[Gizmo]

Here is a realistic site that has been on the money for me.

www.towingplanner.com/

 

[bodine99]

Regular oil changes with the correct turbo oil. Turbos these day are reliable. Turbo killer is blipping the foot feed and shutting down the engine. Turbo is spinning with no oil pressure

 

[Germanrazor]

First, welcome from another NC member. I am central NC but I have family that lives in New Bern. Looking at those TT specs just on the surface is way too much for a Tundra. I am a Toyota fan let me say and wanted to desperately justify getting one specifically for our new TT. But at the end of the day, a F-250 Super Duty was the right fit. I did not get a diesel but the 7.3 liter Godzilla engine with 10 speed tranny. The spec’s allow me to easily tow my 26DBH. It also allows me to get a smaller 5th wheel down the road.

I still needed a weight hitch distribution setup as any truck would to be safe. But the tow and payload and payload is very critical for towing pull behinds. Most big trucks can and do have tow capacity, some however lack payload and that is the critical point to look at first.

Look to a HD or SD setup I say. Yes, just more money for sure! Nothing is cheap unfortunately anymore.

 

[ZeroFoxGiven77]

@Germanrazor What is the MPG's on that beast when you're towing the camper? I have had tunnel vision, only looking at the diesel's for the slight MPG improvement(8.7mpg's from the 2 hour haul in the Tundra) and life expectancy vs the gas trucks. I have learned based on the awesome excel sheet left in another thread that the Ram 2500 Cummins doesn't have the payload capacity needed for the current weights of the TT. I am only over by 100 pounds opposed to the Tundra at about 1000 over. Too bad Toyota didn't rate the Tundra for what it can actually handle. I feel like 1000-1500 pounds over in most of the weight categories can actually be handled. If I wasn't about to hook up and take it on a 30 day trip through the south east before moving to the Fort Myers area, then I would just keep the Tundra. I mean it pulled a spaceship down a perfectly flat runway in ideal conditions. Why cant it pull my TT? lol

 

["EZ"]

Kevin,

Since I have always been a Toyota guy(Toyota dealer GSM and does not offer bigger than Tundra), I have never researched another brand. At the moment I do not think the Ram offers a diesel bigger than the turbo v6. On paper it will tow my TT, but how reliable is the turbo? If I decide to upgrade my TT in a few years to a 5th wheel, will the V6 turbo force me to purchase another truck? I enjoy selling cars, but I despise buying them. Since I am in the car business, I am trying to do most of my research before reaching out to the dealer. Not only do I not want to waste a salespersons time if I go with a different brand or dealer, I don't trust the dealer to properly train their staff in product knowledge. Especially with a vehicle model they likely only sell a few times a month.

As a Ram guy, do you know if I can get a V8 diesel in a 2500?

The only V6 diesel in a Ram is the European engine they got from Fiat to use in the half ton pickup the Ram 1500. ANY half ton PU will only tow a small travel trailer so be careful there. If you want to tow a bigger trailer use a Ram 2500 or 3500 with the Cummins in-line 6 cyl. Turbocharged engine. It's the same engine that is used in the 4500/5500 commercial chassis as well. Depending on how the truck is spec'd, if you want a 3500 dually pickup you can get over 1000 lb/ft of torque!!! That's HUGE!!! It will tow anything!

I've been selling Commercial Trucks for 30 years. The last 8 years have been Ram trucks. I actually sell the Ram commercial chassis to the Ram BusinessLink Dealers all over the Southeast. I can't sell to the public. Let me know if you have any questions. I'll be glad to help.

 

["EZ"]

@Germanrazor What is the MPG's on that beast when you're towing the camper? I have had tunnel vision, only looking at the diesel's for the slight MPG improvement(8.7mpg's from the 2 hour haul in the Tundra) and life expectancy vs the gas trucks. I have learned based on the awesome excel sheet left in another thread that the Ram 2500 Cummins doesn't have the payload capacity needed for the current weights of the TT. I am only over by 100 pounds opposed to the Tundra at about 1000 over. Too bad Toyota didn't rate the Tundra for what it can actually handle. I feel like 1000-1500 pounds over in most of the weight categories can actually be handled. If I wasn't about to hook up and take it on a 30 day trip through the south east before moving to the Fort Myers area, then I would just keep the Tundra. I mean it pulled a spaceship down a perfectly flat runway in ideal conditions. Why cant it pull my TT? lol

Please don't believe ANY of that BS you see on TV. From ANY of the car/truck manufacturers. Most of it is hype that will get someone killed. Do you really think that Toyota would have enough brakes to STOP that space shuttle??? Of course not! So in the REAL WORLD that commercial was like a magic trick. They get to turn the cameras off before trying to bring that load to a stop. They also didn't have the cameras turned on while they were trying to get the load moving either!! It's all BS. You saw ONLY what they wanted you to see. Just like a magician.

 

[Germanrazor]

@Germanrazor What is the MPG's on that beast when you're towing the camper? I have had tunnel vision, only looking at the diesel's for the slight MPG improvement(8.7mpg's from the 2 hour haul in the Tundra) and life expectancy vs the gas trucks. I have learned based on the awesome excel sheet left in another thread that the Ram 2500 Cummins doesn't have the payload capacity needed for the current weights of the TT. I am only over by 100 pounds opposed to the Tundra at about 1000 over. Too bad Toyota didn't rate the Tundra for what it can actually handle. I feel like 1000-1500 pounds over in most of the weight categories can actually be handled. If I wasn't about to hook up and take it on a 30 day trip through the south east before moving to the Fort Myers area, then I would just keep the Tundra. I mean it pulled a spaceship down a perfectly flat runway in ideal conditions. Why cant it pull my TT? lol

Haven’t taken possession of the camper yet. Being stored until my shop gets built and then will bring home. Un-trailered of any kind the truck in open road Eco mode is getting just over 15. I suspect a trailer will cut that in half maybe or maybe not quite.

Wished I could give you a real life example but we just literally bought both in the last month.