To upgrade or not to upgrade?

[RoyBell]

I know this post is a little old, but it came through on my email.

I had a 28QB with my '10 Tundra. Loved every aspect of the Tundra and 5.7 (other than MPGs), but a year of towing with it was exhausting. I ran a Blue Ox sway bar and it worked well but it still pushed the truck around. OAL camper length was 34'. I never weighed it, but assumed it to be about 8K lbs. However, I was always watching my weights and never ran with anything in the bed as a result. The next year I moved into a 2500 Ram Diesel (2016). Wow, what a difference. It really felt a lot safer towing and I never had to worry about payload. In Hindsight I wish I had gotten the 3500 since I never planned on getting a 5th wheel. My I added airbags and my 2500 pulls it better than I expected it to. It tows night and day better than my bumper pull even.

[Schiefswret]

Good evening. I have a Jayco 23 MRB travel trailer (one slide) and have been hauling it with my 2011 Tundra. Jayco weight is ~7400-7600# and pulls it with no problem. We have been looking at a Grand Design 315 RLTS that is 7-8' longer and weighs 8994#. Towing capacity for the Tundra is 9900-11000# but I do not want the tail waggin the dog especially if I am in the mountains.

Anybody have a Tundra with this model of travel trailer and have you got any recommendations? Of course what we are looking at is another trailer and possibly having to buy another truck. I have not seen where Toyota has come out with a 3/4 ton Tundra yet.

Would appreciate your thoughts.

My vote would be to keep your truck and purchase a Grand Design model that better fits your TV. Unless you have a very specific need a 30-31' TT, I would save the cost of buying a new TV and move that savings into a higher quality TT. We have the 2250RK and are very happy with it and tow with an F150 5.0L Coyote with appropriate tow pkg, WDH with integrated sway bars, etc and it works very well. Just MHO. Good Luck!

[brach311]

I agree that you'll have trouble pulling that trailer w/ that truck. I did much the same thing. Trailer is 5,700 #, truck pulls 7,000 #. That's great for level ground, but in the mountains out west, you'll be in trouble. I can pull it in the Eastern mountains, but not the western ones. All the talk about weight of this and that isn't relevant when you're on a long grade going up or down. I'm looking for an equation which will help all of us, but haven't found it. Just let me say that in the mountains you'll need a lot more hauling capacity than a few thousand pounds differential between the truck's capacity and the trailer's weight.

If anyone out there has some idea how to compute this, I'd be grateful if you'd share.

[Pat Clark]

We had a tundra that we sold and purchased a used 4x4, F350 diesel, crew cab, dully, long wheel base. Absolutely no comparison. Our TT is a 297 RSTS. We love our travel trailer. Tows very well and very comfortable interior. You really need a much bigger truck.

[Beam57]

Good evening. I have a Jayco 23 MRB travel trailer (one slide) and have been hauling it with my 2011 Tundra. Jayco weight is ~7400-7600# and pulls it with no problem. We have been looking at a Grand Design 315 RLTS that is 7-8' longer and weighs 8994#. Towing capacity for the Tundra is 9900-11000# but I do not want the tail waggin the dog especially if I am in the mountains.

Anybody have a Tundra with this model of travel trailer and have you got any recommendations? Of course what we are looking at is another trailer and possibly having to buy another truck. I have not seen where Toyota has come out with a 3/4 ton Tundra yet.

Would appreciate your thoughts.

I tow my Imagine 2950RL with my 2015 F-150 with the 3.5 Eco Boost, max tow package, 36 gal fuel tank, sway bars, etc. with near 12K tow capacity, which I believe is the highest of any 1/2 ton (even higher than the V8!). Yes, a 3/4 ton would be a better TV, but I find this 1/2 ton up to the task including thousands of miles out here in WA mountains. For me, the fact that 85% of my use of the truck is my daily driver, I much prefer the ride and practicality of a 1/2 ton and am comfortable towing my trailer the other 15%. A new F-150 is apparently due next year and I would imagine it will have even more towing capability.

[Schiefswret]

I agree with Beam57, I pull our GD 2250RK at 6k to 6500lbs with my 2018 5.0L, F-150 xlt , tow pkg (not max), 36 gal tank, WDH with tow bars, etc with no issues. If finances were no issue I’d get the new 7.3L Gas F250 but that is not necessary nor in the cards at the moment.

[nvhomeguy]

Hello,
I have a 313 RLTS, which was before the 315 model. They are almost identical other than a minor bathroom layout change, but the specs are very similar. I used to pull a 32' trailer with a Titan with similar specs to the Tundra, but I replaced that truck with a 2500 RAM with the Cummins. This truck is well within its towing capacities for this GD trailer and I love how well it tows it, and I would not pull it with a half ton gassser. I know the 2500 with a 7.3 gas engine would suffice too, but one big difference to me is on a diesel you get the engine brake which is a HUGE difference for towing a trailer any where near this size. I also frequently tow up and down mountain passes exceeding 8,000 feet and the gas engine( non turbo of course) was more greatly affected. We love our trailer and I'm sure you would love the 315. Good luck!

[CoyoteHauler]

Good evening. I have a Jayco 23 MRB travel trailer (one slide) and have been hauling it with my 2011 Tundra. Jayco weight is ~7400-7600# and pulls it with no problem. We have been looking at a Grand Design 315 RLTS that is 7-8' longer and weighs 8994#. Towing capacity for the Tundra is 9900-11000# but I do not want the tail waggin the dog especially if I am in the mountains.

Anybody have a Tundra with this model of travel trailer and have you got any recommendations? Of course what we are looking at is another trailer and possibly having to buy another truck. I have not seen where Toyota has come out with a 3/4 ton Tundra yet.

Would appreciate your thoughts.

Manrock54... By now you have most likely figured out you need to move up to a larger truck based on the responses. I just want to add a tip for checking tow ratings for all the manufactures. Good Sam puts out every year the tow ratings for all trucks and chassis variations. Per the 2019 Guide To Towing, the latest Tundra max is 10,100 lbs. You can get the guide via online or I get one in the mail sent to me with my subscription to Trailer Life. Good luck in your decision. Camp On!