Towing with a Tundra - FYI

Bird · Dec 22, 2005

( have you ever seen a farm pickup hauling two or maybe three fully loaded 4 wheel hay wagons? )

Have I seen it? I've done it. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif I hauled a lot of hay just a few years ago using a 1988 half ton standard cab 2WD, 350 engine, automatic transmission Chevy pickup pulling two of those wagons at a time, each with five 5' x 5' round bales of hay. Of course it was on farm to market roads with little or no traffic and never exceeded 25-30 mph; mostly about 20 mph.

Farmwithjunk · Dec 23, 2005

( As you guys continue to hash this over, have you ever seen a farm pickup hauling two or maybe three fully loaded 4 wheel hay wagons? The wagons have no brakes, BTW.

Or how about a tractor pulling 40 or 50k gallons of liquid manure down a state highway. Do you really think the tractor brakes will stop that thing in a hurry? )

40 or 50 THOUSAND gallons? MAYBE 2 or 3 THOUSAND, but why split hairs....?

Not to say that's 100% safe, but we're dealing wit speed under 20 MPH, and a tractor that probably outweighs 43 or 4 average pick-ups, with brakes that WILL stop that sort of load at those speeds.

And just because one person does something "unsafe", that doesn't open up the floodgates for everyone else to follow suit.

I'm not trying to make excuses for farmers pushing the limits of saftey, just that we're talking about two seperate issues here.

Propertymaint · Dec 23, 2005

There's some good info here for someone interested in purchasing a tow vehicle especially for daily use. In my opinion some (not all) dealers are misinforming there customers as to what their tow vehicle can handle. As mentioned in this thread GVW includes passengers, fuel, tools, etc, not just the load on the truck or whats being towed behind it.

daTeacha · Dec 23, 2005

"...40 or 50 THOUSAND gallons? MAYBE 2 or 3 THOUSAND, but why split hairs....?"

A thousand here, a thousand there, pretty soon we're talking real volume. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

I think pounds would have a tad bit more accurate. Having never driven/towed one, I can't speak from experience. I do know I see tanks the size of a fuel oil or milk hauler sitting on 4 wheels being towed by a good size tractor. 4 wheel wagons are a whole different world of towing than your basic trailer, having essentially no tongue weight.

I think the haulers in question are also pretty savvy about the details of hauling carefully, much as the farm rigs. Even with that, it's also worth noting that there are accidents in the best of situations, so every time we push the limits we are increasing the chances of something unpleasant happening.

bugstruck · Dec 23, 2005

Everybody's experience is different. Not towing much these days but towed once or twice weekly over about 9 years through the 90's and many summer weekends for 15 years in Maryland. Mostly legal, not always. Pulled my 7,000K landscape trailer across the scales at 11,000 and change on my worst digression. I suspected I might be a little over but had no idea by over 4K. The truck however was rated to tow that weight, barely. Just not the trailer or receiver. Worked fine. Never once stopped. Not in the personal trucks and not in the 2500 Fords with the Company logo. Now might be different as enforecement is more stringent.

Also towed a 5,500 lb boat for 3 years (boat poor) in the early 80's with a Dodge D-50 with at 2K tow rating and home-reinforced factory bumper. I can tell you that's pushing it a little hard. The 2.6 motor pulled almost as well as a small V8, and believe it or not that rig stopped about as well as it would with a F150 with both axles having brakes. Where the safety difference was, would be in inclement weather towing where the traction surface was poor or if you had to do a quick lane change. That's when you need a rated tow vehicle. At this stage of my life I can afford the right tow vehicle. If your not there yet, do what you can with what you have and take it easy. Understand the risks but don't agonize into parallysis. I sure would have missed a bunch of fun in my 20's had I not embraced some risks. You could get a big fine, and you could keel over tomorrow. Fortunatley, the fine is rather more likely. Free country, your decision. To quote a great old movie line "Frankly, my dear, I don't give a ****." /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

Bird · Dec 23, 2005

Talk of pulling that boat reminds me of when I bought my first brand new car; a 1962 Austin Healey Sprite, and I got a welder acquaintance to weld a trailer hitch to the frame so I could pull Dad's boat; a 16' Texas Maid Fiesta (deep, wide, aluminum runabout) with a 35 hp Evinrude. I don't know what it weighed, but I usually drew a crowd around the launching ramps to see if I was going to be able to pull that boat out of the water. And I never had a problem. I also rented a U-Haul trailer to move twice while I had that car. Back then U-Haul didn't care what you pulled a trailer with, so long as you paid the rental fee. /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

Andy_H · Dec 24, 2005

I used to tow trailers with a half ton. Some where around the 5k range. That seemed to be about as much as I would put behind any! half ton truck. I see manufactures tow rating #'s and kind of laugh, I think that those numbers are overrated, just look at the rear axle assembly, Single axle bearing, axle shaft rides right on the bearing and is held in the differential with a c-clip. 3/4 ton, Full float rear axle, two bearings in each floating hub that are twice the size, axle shaft is bolted to the hub with eight bolts. the ring gear size is 10.5". I'd let you tow your loaded trailer with my 2000, f250SD 7.3 diesel, manual trans, crewcab, short box, 4x4. Weight on the scale is 7300lbs. You might want to experience a different tow vehicle. there is no comparison between it and a half ton. I will never tow with a half ton again! And your minimum!! tongue weight should be 10%!!! total trailer weight. I think that you would have second thoughts about towing that trailer again.

Regal · Dec 24, 2005

I agree Andy. Last fall I was widening my daughter's driveway entrance and needed several loads of dirt. We have a 12' dump trailer (12000lb cap) The first three loads I used my Dakota (4X4) We were hauling from a dirt pile near a local rock quarry so just for kicks I pulled a load across their scales. It was on a Sunday so they were closed. I don't remember gross weight but it figured out to be just shy of 5 1/2 tons of dirt. Third load bent the receiver hitch and was quite loose in the road. Not a safe venture at all. The remaining loads were pulled by my nephew with his 1 ton Ford (4X4 V10) What a difference!!!!! As to previous posts referring to DOT and Judges. It seems that Safety does not appear to be high priority but $$$$$$ are.

zjohnson · Dec 25, 2005

I love my Tundra(2001 4wd sr5) as a car - Its powerful,rides like a dream,handles well, and has excellent trunk space /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif. I expect many trouble free miles out of it. But it isn't near the "truck" that my '91 4 cyl,4wd 5 speed (no fancy name) toyota truck is. The tundra is too softly suspended - 500 lbs of feed by the tailgate makes the suspension bottom out. My next farm truck will be a f250.