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midwest
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Well, first of all, tell your husband, thank you, from the bottom of my heart for his service to our country.
Second, I have to agree with what Mitch said above, although he did not come right out and say it, so I will: that is an awful lot of trailer to be pulling with a Tundra. Toyota builds great trucks, but everything has it's limits, and it sounds like you're pushing the limits of that truck.
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anaro
Mebane, NC
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Joined: 01/16/2011
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So I am going to chime in and reiterate what others have been saying. It sounds like you are dealing with 2 problems. First, don't trust the dealer with your set up. It is not correct. You should not be that high in front and low in back. It needs to be readjusted. A quick trip to scales would show you this. Weigh the truck front and rear axles hitched and unhitched. Your front axle should be close to unhitched weight without going heavier. Your front should be returned as close as possible to the original height without going lower. The rear should only sag about an inch or so. Here is the link to the WDH set up procedure sticky and the WDH- how it works sticky. Read these to understand a little better. I can tell you that I too am a woman without much car knowledge and so some things are a little above me but I have learned much on these forums and recently on the diesel forums (whole new world for me). You will probably need some muscle to help you adjust the hitch but I would not pay a shop to do it. Our hitch was very poorly set up by the dealership and we are still having to deal with them drilling it into our TT frame a little too far forward.
Your second problem is too much trailer for the truck. I have been in your shoes w/ a poorly set up WDH and too much TT for my TV. We lasted one season before the upgrade. I wish you luck with this. Oh and thank your DH for his service and his (and your) sacrifices for me.
2009 Ford F250 Lariat Crew Cab 6.4L diesel 4WD
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4 nights camped in 2013!
21 nights camped in 2012!
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Gdetrailer
PA
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Joined: 01/05/2007
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Stardove writes "The techs at RV dealer said to get heavy duty shocks on the Tundra and that might help. My brother-in-law suggested super leaf springs and go with the air bags as last resort due to cost and potential damage to air bags causing leakage.
I still question whether the hitch is correct, but the three techs said it is.
So do we go with heavy duty shocks, the super springs or both?
Trailer's gross weight is 11,250 lbs
Hitch weight is 1400 lbs
Dry weight is 8770 lbs"
The real answer is none, no supersprings, no airbags, no nothing except for either trading in the trailer for a much lighter one or the truck for a much stouter 3/4 ton truck.
What you have is just to much weight for the soft suspension of your truck. Putting several thousand dollars into suspension upgrades is only a temporary fix, that poor truck is going to work very hard.
I realize there will be hundreds of posts with the opposite advice, but honestly I have towed in the past with too little of a tow vehicle. Once I bought a bigger TV, it was night and day difference, makes the trips much more enjoyable.
Too boot, having a stouter TV will actually make hooking up much easier since the WD bars will not need to be as tight.
Sad to see you were oversold.
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shakyjay
California
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I would tend to agree with what some others have said as far as that being a whole lot trailer for that truck.
As for Supersprings I can tell you I have some on one of my trucks and they work great. Fairly inexpensive and easy to install. I would not be surprised that if you decide to put them on your Tundra then you would pretty much eliminate the sag. If the hitch is not set up correctly though you will likely still have some problems. I you do put the Supersprings on then you will need to adjust the hitch anyway. You stated that the dealer never hooked the trailer up to the truck. If that is the case then it is very likely that the hitch is not set up properly. To set it up properly requires hooking the trailer to the truck.
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ifd22
Northern Kentucky
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As a Tundra owner, I'm happy with how it tows my 7000# gvwr Outback. That being said I wouldn't want to tow any more. I have plenty of power, but it is a half ton truck with a half ton suspension. I don't know who told you a Tundra would be a good match for that TT, but if it was the TT dealer I would push for a return/trade for a lighter trailer. I guarantee you are well over your payload and probably over your tow rating. Fully loaded for camping I am about 200 pounds under my Payload rating, and 4000#'s under my tow rating. You will run out of payload long before tow rating hence the feeling of your front tires coming off of the ground.
2002 Outback 28BHS
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Padlin
W. Ma.
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The only time I've felt my front tires being off the ground (I actually couldn't turn at speed) was when I've been badly overweight. I'd suggest you find out if you are too. Go to a CAT web site and find a local scale. As suggested above weight both with and without (cost for the 2nd weight is just $2 around here if done within 24 hours) the trailer. Compare this to what the trucks specs are and you'll have a definitive answer.
I found that Air-Lift's do indeed take out the rear end sag, of course if you're overweight they do nothing to remedy that more serious problem. I only had the Air-Lifts for 2-3 years but never had any leak problems. Depending on what you want to spend you can get them with self adjusting pumps, I just checked them before each trip.
Happy Motoring
Bob & Deb
W Ma.
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eye8Ubutler
Maritime Provinces
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Stardove....
Sadly you have done what many on here have done in the past....
To much TV for the TT.
I know the Tundra is a beauty to have, but it is going to have to go!
Adding ancillaries to it will be wasting time and MONEY.
The good news is Tundra's hold their 'used' value very well!
In your situation where by you have lovingly taken on the roll that a couple would share, you need a TV that is more then enough for your TT, so then after....you can look after your great man and not have to worry about the TV/TT combo' anymore!
I would suggest....and some on this forum would accuse me of overkill....a Ford 350, GM 3500 or Dodge 3500....for the stability...and with that will come the power and strength needed....and then you will never have to re-visit this issue ever again.
I am not suggesting a 'dually' as your TT does not need a 'dually' tow vehicle.
Other 'posters' to this thread will offer finely tuned input in terms of various other 1/2 tons and 3/4 tons that would suit, but that involves a 'college course' LOL! and there is nothing wrong with that.
I just suggest a 1 ton truck....keeping it simple and grab a TV that more the handles the TT and then it is end off, luv! LOL! (ex Brit').
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CampingN.C.
North Carolina
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Assuming you're not going out tomorrow to buy a new truck or trade the camper. The first thing is getting that hitch right. The first time I pulled our camper I had the same front tire floating feel even with a 3/4. I wasn't distrubiting enough weight to the front. It's all in the hitch. VERY small adjustments make HUGE differences in how everything is working.
Will you be pushing/over the limits of your truck? Yes
Are thousands of others do it also? Yes
However,towing like that is very stressful on the person behind the wheel and can take a lot out of you. Especially with little experience and in a case like yours, with little help.
You probably didn't make your investment to ADD stress to your lives!
1999 Suburban 454/ 4:10 (GAS HAWG)
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LarryJM
NoVa
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Joined: 11/09/2007
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I agree with what most others are saying ... you have too much TT for your TV. I would bet you are probably over the following ratings:
1. Receiver tongue wt. and tow capacity
2. Over your GVWR
3. Possibly over your RAWR
First thing before going camping is to get things weighed and to accurately determine your actual tongue wt.
In the mean time please look on the receiver on the truck and tell us wat the tag says about wts. Unless you have an aftermarket receiver I highly doubt the factory one is rated for 1400lbs. ... probably more like 800 to 1000 lbs. Look at the driver's side door and tell us what your payload number is. Finally give us the total wt. of the passengers and gear you have in the truck when towing. W/O knowing those facts we are really guessing here and how did you get that 1400lb tongue wt.?
Larry
2001 standard box 7.3L E-350 PSD Van with 4.10 rear and 2007 Holiday Rambler Aluma-Lite 8306S Been RV'ing since 1974.
ALL TRAILER MODS>>ETERNABOND INSTALL>>RAINKAP INSTALL
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JIMNLIN
out here
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Joined: 09/14/2003
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Well you have the combo and the Tundra may well have to much weight on the rear axle/tires from that big TT so lets look at upgrading the trucks rear suspension to better hadle the load.
I would look at going with a LT C or D load range tire which will eliminate carcass roll from OEM P tires. Your current wheels may need to be upgraded for a higher load rating. A compentent tire shop can help with your tire/wheel needs.
I would look into Supersprings or having a spring shop add a leaf to the main spring pack or air bags for more load carrying capacity. Bag tech has improved over the many leaks from years back.
HD shocks are a good upgrade for a load carrying vehicle if the OEMs are worn out. I doub't your '10 truck has worn out shocks.
The Tundra is typically a good stout std duty 1/2 ton truck but like all std duty 1/2 ton truck doesn't work well with 1400 lb loads with a 9k-11k trailer pushing the back of the truck around.
"good judgment comes from experience, and a lot of that comes from bad judgment" ............ Will Rogers
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