TexasSixSeven
Observer
And there is a huge difference in a trucks capability between towing and hauling.
I need to upgrade my truck to a 250/2500
- Thread starter TGlide
- Start date
Yes a truck camper vs a travel trailer. If I was hauling a lightweight truck Camper the tundra, if I was pulling a big travel trailer I'd buy the ram diesel. It's great that there is time before the camper arrives. Have fun shopping.
tacollie
Glamper
I what was going to agree with you but then I remembered I literally sold a Tundra and bought the F250 to carry out lightweight pop up?
The Tundra did okay with the camper. The F250 is actually better with the camper on the back. For keeping the camper on all the time the beefier truck is better.
The absolute maximum payload on a new Tundra is listed as 1,975 lbs on a 2WD SR. A 4WD 6.5' double-cab (not crew cab) has a max payload of 1,885 lbs. You put 2 adults and their daily stuff in the cab and you're looking at nearly 400 lbs right there, leaving 1400-1500 for the camper, food, fuel, water, clothes, etc. The Milner spec sheet shows a base weight of 1212 lbs. I don't care what you've seen it tow, that is NOT the new truck you go out and buy for the purpose of hauling a truck camper, and it's borderline irresponsible to even suggest that it is a proper candidate for that task. Even a lightweight truck camper often ends up weighing close to 2,000 lbs when loaded for a trip, and then there's passenger weight on top of that.
Once more, there's a huge difference in doing what is necessary to make a person's existing Tundra (or any other 1/2-ton) work with a truck camper vs going out and spending $50-60,000+ on a new 1/2-ton that's known to be barely sufficient in the most ideal of circumstances. There's no sense spending a lot of money on a new truck that is marginal in the best scenario. Weight adds up fast once you take delivery of the truck and camper.
Over The Silent Planet
Active member
This raises an interesting question. Not only are they not held liable at all, there is in fact a *complete* lack of regulation regarding private half-ton and midsize trucks to go with this expansive aftermarket of companies willing and able (without liability) to bolt lots of unnecessary stuff to these trucks. No laws, no regulating govt agency, no DOT sticker or scale ticket requirements for non-commercial rigs with a GCWR under 26,000 lb. If it’s so grossly negligent and dangerous to drive on a highway while over GVWR by 500-600lb, why is this the case?
I’m not advocating for towing over your limits or severely overloading your truck, but if you’re in a Tundra rated to tow 9500lb, and you’re pulling a 9k lb trailer, I don’t see the problem. If Toyota rated the truck to tow 9500lb, then they also rated it to stop 9500 lb. The only number you’re over is GVWR due to tongue weight. And probably only by 500-600 lb. That’s still within combined GAWRs. For me, I’d rather have the Tundra than an HD truck. Remember that the first two million-mile Tundras regularly exceeded GVWR by a lot with heavy loads in their beds. The first guy hauled 2700lb on a regular basis. 77k miles/yr, no issues. ?♂️
Maybe it’s just me, but I am FAR less worried about the guy pulling a 9k trailer in his Tundra with a tongue weight that puts him over GVWR—or a 1500 lb truck camper that puts him over GVWR—than I am the guy scrolling on his phone while driving. People doing the latter cause significantly more accidents.
Peneumbra2
Badger Wrangler
Peterbilt makes a nifty 367 series in 6x6 that lets you gross right around 70K pounds...
Grassland
Well-known member
I don't recall seeing anything about duty cycle in here.
Having ran a 1/2 ton in trade use, I can assure you things wear out and break down far sooner than in occasional use.
Is hauling 1800-2000# a half dozen times a year going to be a big risk for the typical half ton? (Think of home renovation, moving furniture or equipment etc) not really.
Is towing the 9500-10,000# camper twice or four times a year on the highway to a seasonal or a couple longer trips going to over tax the chassis or wear things out?
This is the kind of duty cycle the manufacturers have in mind for their one-upmanship numbers game in the half ton segment.
You start trying to haul weight or tow heavy on a regular or long term basis and you'll find out quickly where the weakest links are.
On my F150 had rotors replaced under warranty for warping at around 45-55k KM, and replaced them again at 90k KM. Replaced tires year 2 and 45k ish, shocks before 70k KM. I needed an add a leaf at 40k and 2 years of service and replaced the entire spring pack before 100k KM.
I'm probably cheaper than a 3/4 ton with all the repairs/upgrades I needed, but I don't recall what a similar trim F250 gasser was worth in 2014 so tough to say. I wouldn't have had as much down time, that's for sure.
Having ran a 1/2 ton in trade use, I can assure you things wear out and break down far sooner than in occasional use.
Is hauling 1800-2000# a half dozen times a year going to be a big risk for the typical half ton? (Think of home renovation, moving furniture or equipment etc) not really.
Is towing the 9500-10,000# camper twice or four times a year on the highway to a seasonal or a couple longer trips going to over tax the chassis or wear things out?
This is the kind of duty cycle the manufacturers have in mind for their one-upmanship numbers game in the half ton segment.
You start trying to haul weight or tow heavy on a regular or long term basis and you'll find out quickly where the weakest links are.
On my F150 had rotors replaced under warranty for warping at around 45-55k KM, and replaced them again at 90k KM. Replaced tires year 2 and 45k ish, shocks before 70k KM. I needed an add a leaf at 40k and 2 years of service and replaced the entire spring pack before 100k KM.
I'm probably cheaper than a 3/4 ton with all the repairs/upgrades I needed, but I don't recall what a similar trim F250 gasser was worth in 2014 so tough to say. I wouldn't have had as much down time, that's for sure.
Todd780
OverCamper
Try towing a 9,000 lbs trailer with any 1/2 ton. I'm guessing you'd see the issue. My truck is rated for 14,000 lbs. No way I'd ever go near that. Currently I'm towing about 5,000 lbs wet. Looking at trailers around the 6,000 - 6,500 lbs dry mark. Any more than that, and I'd look at 3/4 - 1 tons. Just cause you can, doesn't mean you should.
Also, a 9,000 lb travel trailer or other enclosed trailer with a large frontal area and side profile tows much differently than an equally weighted flatbed or dump trailer. With properly adjusted trailer brakes and a good brake controller, I'd have no issue occasionally towing a flatbed or dump trailer with any load that didn't exceed the ratings of my hitch, axle, tires, etc. Even a 14,000 lb bumper pull trailer requires only about 1,400-1,500 lbs of tongue weight, which is well within the payload ratings for most stock half-tons with enough left over for a driver and maybe passenger. I don't recall ever looking at a hitch on a half-ton that wasn't limited to 10,000 lbs gross/1000 lbs WD tongue weight (or a lower max in some cases), and I haven't seen a max-tow package truck in the wild to check out the hitch ratings label.
I'd be interested to see the capacities on the hitch label for your truck. I haven't seen a 2022 truck with the Max Tow on a dealer lot around here to look at it. I tried Googling it, but I didn't come up with the right search terms to find what I was looking for...
I'd be interested to see the capacities on the hitch label for your truck. I haven't seen a 2022 truck with the Max Tow on a dealer lot around here to look at it. I tried Googling it, but I didn't come up with the right search terms to find what I was looking for...
Todd780
OverCamper
Oh yes, for sure. I was referencing an RV since we were talking about campers.
I'll see if I can get a pic of any labels on my hitch. What is it that you are wanting to see?
Just the weight capacity label on a receiver - usually on the side or bottom of the cross tube that spans from one frame rail to the other. I often find them interesting because historically the capacity of the OE hitch didn't always meet or exceed the advertised towing capacity for the vehicle/engine/gear combination, making the hitch the limiting factor.
This is the label on my 2019 F150 5.0 with just the receiver hitch option (towing package 53B):
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Todd780
OverCamper
Without crawling underneath the truck on my back, this is the only sticker I see. My camera wouldn't pick up the QR code.
Doesn't provide much info, does it?
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That’s interesting. I’m 99.9% certain that’s the sticker - QR code and hitch part number like mine has, but zero info.
Todd780
OverCamper
Found this on another forum I'm on. Maybe I didn't look at the right spot. It's a Max Tow 14th Gen.
Towing Specs Consolidated Document - Bumper vs. Class IV vs. Tow vs. Max Tow - UPDATED DOC v4
As I am not a mechanical engineer nor a lawyer, so I have no idea if without the tow package does it lower your gcwr or create any additional legal liabilities if you tow north of 7000lbs w/o 53A or 53C and get into an accident. [/QUOTE] I think you're heading where I ended up. I have a 3.5L...
www.f150gen14.com
Over The Silent Planet
Active member
Yeah the truck would have to work for it. I wouldn’t expect it to pull like an I6 Cummins diesel. To be clear, if I towed over 7500 lb all the time, it wouldn’t be with a half ton. But for the occasional heavy load, I have no problem trusting my Tundra at its tow rating.