So I want to do a little bit of a towing update. I've towed with this truck before, but seeing as it was just my little popup that weighs 2500lbs wet, it wasn't much of a strain on the truck, and therefore not a true test of the truck's capabilities. The truck just doesn't feel the pop-up on the back.
Anyway, this weekend I borrowed a 7'x12' dump trailer from a friend so that I could help out with cleaning up all the branches that fell in our neighbourhood during the storm couple of weeks ago. The trailer I borrowed is, well, one heckuva trailer. It's got a dry weight of 5000lbs, and can take an additional 5000lbs of load, for a total GVW of 10 000lbs. This is actually perfectly suited to my truck, because my truck has a tow rating of 9800lbs. It's got double doors that open to either side, and it's also a dump trailer, with a full electric over hydraulic lift system. And then to boot, it's got ramps hidden under the floor that you access by pulling out from the back. Everything about it is heavy and built to last. The tongue jack is of the size that you would see on a trailer pulled by a semi truck. The wheels and tires are easily as big as those found on my truck. Oh, and it has a roll tarp so you can easily (and legally) cover your load. If I were buying a trailer for a landscaping business, this is the trailer I would be looking at.
Anyway, I don't know if it was the truck, or the trailer, or a combination of both, but towing that trailer with the Tundra was an amazing experience. Granted, the branches I was pulling weren't very heavy, probably only 1000lbs or so at the heaviest load. But the last thing I did on Sunday was move a bunch of my MIL's stuff from our basement to her new apartment on the other side of the city. We filled the trailer with a bunch of her stuff, I'm guesstimating about 2000 - 2500lbs worth of stuff, for a total trailer weight of 7500lbs. So, up there. In addition to that, we loaded up the cab with 5 people, as my family was all excited to go see the MIL's new apartment. I could definitely feel the weight behind me, as acceleration was definitely blunted, and the big 5.7L V8 spent a lot of time up around 4000 rpm and higher just getting up to speed. That being said, the truck always pulled with authority, and it's actually nice hearing a hard-working V8. Toyota's 5.7L V8 sounds great at full song.
As far as handling, well, the truck's biggest disadvantage on a normal day is its biggest advantage when towing: It's weight. The Tundra has a curb weight of 5632lbs. This means that the truck will be less affected by a heavy trailer as other, well, lighter trucks (like those made out of aluminum). The truck stays planted, and you just don't feel the trailer behind you. I've driven tow vehicles where you can definitely feel the trailer behind. The trailer tugs and jerks, and anytime the trailer bounces, it affects the tow vehicle, you can feel the shudders from the trailer move through the tow vehicle. Not so with the Tundra pulling a 7500lb trailer. It was rock solid both at highway speeds, and through the city streets.
Seriously. I've driven other half ton trucks while towing, and I've also driven 3/4 ton work trucks while towing. The Tundra feels more comparable to a big gasser 3/4 ton truck. It's just got that heft that makes it a seriously good tow vehicle.
Oh, and I got 23-25L/100kms all weekend long towing that trailer. But I'm going to gloss over that. It's not important.
