[bluwtr49]

First, I will be comparing our pevious TV, a 2005 Jeep GC HEMI pulliing our 6,000 lb Jayco 25Z.

We bought the Tundra Crew Max Limited TRD about 10 days ago in Idaho Falls, Id and since then we pulled out 6,000 lb Jay Feather 25Z up to Polson, Mt. This is a pretty easy drive once one clears the pass just inside the Idaho border. The amazing thing is that between Butte, MT and Missoula I got 14.1 mph with the cruise at 55. Now granted that it a little down hill all the way but still pretty impressive. Once we headed north from Missoula the hills were more significant but still it did OK.

One 6% grade has a 45 mph limit just at the base and then it picks up to 55. The tundra was not happy at all. I was in 3rd gear at ~50 mph and ~3200 rpm and completly bogged down....just could not get the rpm up to the power band. The Jeep pulled this hill at 55 without breaking a sweat and had the oomp to accelerate to 60 or 65.

Two days ago we went to Missoula and traded in out Jayco for a Cougar 268 RLS with a dry wt of ~6800 lbs. By the time we loaded all oour stuff and with the full freash water tank (~500 lbs) I figure we're at ~8300 lbs or so with ~ 1200 lbs of tonque wt. I also picked up a new Equal-i-zer 12,000 lb hitch.

First impression....man you can really feed the extra 2300 lbs but the Tundra handled it OK. On the way back to Polson I was concerned about the hill that caused me grief with the smaller TT so I started my run a bit earlier and got the 3rd gear rpm up to ~3700 at 55 before it got steep. This helped as I was able to hold 55 all the way to the top but it was a struggle. The rest of the trip was pretty easy and the Tundra is going to be a good TV but I'm really concerned about getting back into the mountains. First thing will be to shed about 300 lbs of water as see if that helps.

Overall first impressions:

Love the gas mileage. Much better then the Jeep pulling the same load.

Engine is really load at high rpm and high loads. Much worse then the Jeep.

Hate the Transmission. Gear ratios in 2nd and 3rd are not good for mountain towing and requires a lot of shifting. 2nd is too low and 3rd is too high. If I had my choice I would drop the Jeep tranny in the Tundra so as to take advantage of the HP and torque at a more useful rpm. At 55, the Jeep is at 4200....right in the HEMI torque band and would pull any hill with researve power to hit 65 if needed. Can your imagine what the Tundra would be like???? With all the HP and torque it would be fantastic if it were usable.

For some reason, when I manually shift to 3rd for hills the Cuise Control kicks out and will not re-engage. Major pain in the butt.

The payload capacity is only 1320 lbs acording to the door sticker. I thought it would be closer to 1500 lbs. This is a tough one when I have a high tongue wt and 100 lbs of hitch assy. Just have to live with it as there is no way to change the payload.

The Tundra is very comfortable and actually rides better with the heavier TT. A real plus since we tow over 6K miles per year. Much better loaded ride then the Jeep.

Really don't like the rear seat not folding up for addional cargo space. Granted the seat back fold forward but it's not very good storage compared to a full flush floor.

Don't get me wrong, I like the Tundra but they have aways to go to be really great. For this year, it was the best choice on the market because of the towing capacity and luxury ammenties in one package. If I were doing this next year I probably seriously consider the GMC and the 403 HP 6.2L, 6 speed, and with real 1/2 ton capacity.

I will keep playing with the gear selections, speeds and etc. After some miles and becoming more familiar with strengths and weakness I suspect some of the short commings will be less of a problem.