Joined
·
2,857 Posts
If you read the forums you know I've been planning a relocation from San Antonio to Kansas City for a few months now. For the move I purchased a brand new 22' Haulmark Transport, tandem axles, brakes the works...
I carefully figured up the weight of everything in my house that was making the move and decided it would all fit and come in under the max GVWR of 10,400 lbs for the Trailer and still under the max tow rating for the Tundra.
I assumed that the tongue weight would overload the back of the Tundra a bit and cause some sagging so I went ahead and installed the Firestone Air Bag kit in the rear (this was a good choice). I did this to handle the added load but also to level the truck out so it drove, handled and braked correctly since I couldn't run a WDH on my short tongue v-nose car hauler.
Last week I loaded up the new Haulmark tip to tail - top to bottom in what I considered to be a top notch "Pro" packing job. Once I got everything in and strapped down I dropped it on the back of the Tundra and as expected it sagged the rear end a good 3.5"... Not too big of deal because I'm running some CB +3 shackles. I aired up my E rated tires to 65psi in the rear and 60psi in the front and then put 65 psi in the Firestone bags and the truck leveled itself out perfect.
The next morning at 430am I loaded a few last minute things into the bed of the truck (caveat - I was pretty sure I had the bed overloaded GVW) but I had no choice but to roll on)... Then I took out of SA with plans of driving to Oklahoma City and stopping for the night.
Right off the bat I obviously noticed the trailer, come on its 22' long and heavy! BUT the tundra in Tow Haul mode easily got up to speed on the highways and maintained speed with ease.
I settled in at between 60 and 64mph, the Tundra seemed happy at that speed and I got the brakes on the trailer adjusted to around 60% of max for good equal braking.
Some other things I noticed was the truck rode very smooth, even with such a big load (at the time I still wasn't sure of the total weight of the trailer) and the tranny shifted smooth, and didn't hunt for gears or hop back and forth. These trucks truly tow VERY WELL! The only rough spots i noticed were hitting the seams between highways and bridges - some were pretty jolting bumps but otherwise good suspension movement and good ride.
One thing I was worried about was trailer sway since I couldn't run a WDH on this trailer. But I'm happy to report that with the trailer loaded properly, the air bags leveling the truck out and keeping the speeds reasonable I never once experience any trailer sway. I think the V-Nose does exactly as its designed and funnels air around the trailer for nice straight pulling down the road!
Finally when I got into FT worth I came across a CAT Certified Scale and I was pleased to weigh the entire rig only to find out that my figuring was pretty dead on accurate. The trailer itself weighed in at 8890lbs (I was figuring it would be near 9500lbs), the rear axle of the Tundra came in at 5520lbs (my best guess was 1200lbs tongue weight plus another 350lbs in stuff that was stored in the bed of the truck)( and the front axle weight was 2270. Total weight over the entire 4 axles was nearly 17,000lbs.
As I got into OKC around 3pm I decided to grab some food and relax a little. Afterwards I was reenergized and decided to drive to Wichita and stop for the day but the truck and trailer drove so well I just kept the pedal down when I hit the Kansas State line! The hills outside wichita (better known as the Flint Hills) were surely going to provide some challenges for this little half ton tundra - RIGHT? WRONG! Even the largest hill outside Wichita, known as Cattle hill was no match for the 5.7 pulling nearly 9000lbs! I downshifted and the tundra ran up into the 3800-4000 rpm range and chugged that trailer right up and across the flinties like it was no big deal!
From there on it was an easy 3.5 hr cruise into the kansas city area!
Later on I'll post my total fuel usage but I can tell you I averaged 8.235 mpg throughout the entire 820 mile trip!
If you have questions about the towing capabilities of these trucks or transmissions or the Air Bags, DON'T WORRY these trucks can handle it!
I couldn't be happier or more impressed and will continue to tow with this truck for many many years to come!
I carefully figured up the weight of everything in my house that was making the move and decided it would all fit and come in under the max GVWR of 10,400 lbs for the Trailer and still under the max tow rating for the Tundra.
I assumed that the tongue weight would overload the back of the Tundra a bit and cause some sagging so I went ahead and installed the Firestone Air Bag kit in the rear (this was a good choice). I did this to handle the added load but also to level the truck out so it drove, handled and braked correctly since I couldn't run a WDH on my short tongue v-nose car hauler.
Last week I loaded up the new Haulmark tip to tail - top to bottom in what I considered to be a top notch "Pro" packing job. Once I got everything in and strapped down I dropped it on the back of the Tundra and as expected it sagged the rear end a good 3.5"... Not too big of deal because I'm running some CB +3 shackles. I aired up my E rated tires to 65psi in the rear and 60psi in the front and then put 65 psi in the Firestone bags and the truck leveled itself out perfect.
The next morning at 430am I loaded a few last minute things into the bed of the truck (caveat - I was pretty sure I had the bed overloaded GVW) but I had no choice but to roll on)... Then I took out of SA with plans of driving to Oklahoma City and stopping for the night.
Right off the bat I obviously noticed the trailer, come on its 22' long and heavy! BUT the tundra in Tow Haul mode easily got up to speed on the highways and maintained speed with ease.
I settled in at between 60 and 64mph, the Tundra seemed happy at that speed and I got the brakes on the trailer adjusted to around 60% of max for good equal braking.
Some other things I noticed was the truck rode very smooth, even with such a big load (at the time I still wasn't sure of the total weight of the trailer) and the tranny shifted smooth, and didn't hunt for gears or hop back and forth. These trucks truly tow VERY WELL! The only rough spots i noticed were hitting the seams between highways and bridges - some were pretty jolting bumps but otherwise good suspension movement and good ride.
One thing I was worried about was trailer sway since I couldn't run a WDH on this trailer. But I'm happy to report that with the trailer loaded properly, the air bags leveling the truck out and keeping the speeds reasonable I never once experience any trailer sway. I think the V-Nose does exactly as its designed and funnels air around the trailer for nice straight pulling down the road!
Finally when I got into FT worth I came across a CAT Certified Scale and I was pleased to weigh the entire rig only to find out that my figuring was pretty dead on accurate. The trailer itself weighed in at 8890lbs (I was figuring it would be near 9500lbs), the rear axle of the Tundra came in at 5520lbs (my best guess was 1200lbs tongue weight plus another 350lbs in stuff that was stored in the bed of the truck)( and the front axle weight was 2270. Total weight over the entire 4 axles was nearly 17,000lbs.
As I got into OKC around 3pm I decided to grab some food and relax a little. Afterwards I was reenergized and decided to drive to Wichita and stop for the day but the truck and trailer drove so well I just kept the pedal down when I hit the Kansas State line! The hills outside wichita (better known as the Flint Hills) were surely going to provide some challenges for this little half ton tundra - RIGHT? WRONG! Even the largest hill outside Wichita, known as Cattle hill was no match for the 5.7 pulling nearly 9000lbs! I downshifted and the tundra ran up into the 3800-4000 rpm range and chugged that trailer right up and across the flinties like it was no big deal!
From there on it was an easy 3.5 hr cruise into the kansas city area!
Later on I'll post my total fuel usage but I can tell you I averaged 8.235 mpg throughout the entire 820 mile trip!
If you have questions about the towing capabilities of these trucks or transmissions or the Air Bags, DON'T WORRY these trucks can handle it!
I couldn't be happier or more impressed and will continue to tow with this truck for many many years to come!
