Towing without Air Bags

[dhay13]

Step-son was here tonight with his new 2020 Tundra. We checked payload and it was right around 1350lbs. It has 4.30 gears. Step-son said towing capacity is 9800lbs. He did put a 3" lift in front and 1.5" in the rear to level it but still has the stock tires. Oddly there was a small yellow sticker inside his drivers door that said 10lbs had to be deducted from tow ratings due to equipment. It must have been factory because it had his VIN on that sticker.

He towed his camper with it. Its a 26'er with a dry weight about 5700lbs. Said it towed it better than his 2019 1500 Ram with 3.21's did. But he said gas mileage sucks compared to his Ram. Oh, he also bought the tow mirrors for it from 1A Auto and they looked really good. They were Trail Ridge brand. Said they were about $350.

 

[crash68]

Said it towed it better than his 2019 1500 Ram with 3.21's did. But he said gas mileage sucks compared to his Ram.

To be expected when the Toy has 4.30 gearing unless he puts significantly larger tires on it.
TFL did a similar comparison between a F250 w/4.30 and a Ram 2500 with 3.73, they were touting how the Ford did better...well duh try equipping the trucks the same and comparing.

 

[mtofell]

10mpg? Really? Must be zero hills. How fast are you driving. I’m getting 7mpg. I tow 12k tow 60-70 depending on conditions.

I can see 10mpg with my 6.4 Hemi, 3.73 gears and 11K 5th wheel but that's really not the usual. It has to be flat and maybe with a tailwind. Out west with lots of hills 8.5-9.0 is much more common.

 

[Bldrinker]

I can see 10mpg with my 6.4 Hemi, 3.73 gears and 11K 5th wheel but that's really not the usual. It has to be flat and maybe with a tailwind. Out west with lots of hills 8.5-9.0 is much more common.

Jesus guess my truck is defective. 8mpg would be an achievement for me.

 

[Toddz]

Out west towing 7500 to 10,000 I average 8.5 hand calculated both with 3.73 and 4.10 gearing. The weight difference has less impact on my mileage than the wind.

 

[Ribtipram]

Jesus guess my truck is defective. 8mpg would be an achievement for me.

My truck has a max payload of 2940 i am at both max payload and tow weight. I wish i got 10mph. i get 7 to 8.5 on flat land and small hills. I wanted a diesel but that would of put my payload to small for this truck. No problems towing. Just the gas milage is like leaving a garden hose running.

 

[Tunaman]

Air bags do NOT transfer weight to the from end of your truck, they lift the rear and transfer weight back on the trailer. With the 2500 you shouldn't really need anything as long as the trailer is level, if not adjust it with hitch height. I'm towing 7000 lb travel trailer with 08 1500, 5.7. Put airbags on truck. It tows better with a load leveler hitch. Hooked up properly it distributes 30-40% of the tongue weight back on the front of the truck. OLD technology! I do not run any air in airbags, waste of money for me. Now if I loaded a lot of weight in bed of truck, no trailer the airbags would help.

 

[Tunaman]

My truck has a max payload of 2940 i am at both max payload and tow weight. I wish i got 10mph. i get 7 to 8.5 on flat land and small hills. I wanted a diesel but that would of put my payload to small for this truck. No problems towing. Just the gas milage is like leaving a garden hose running.

View attachment 226292

I don't care what you're towing that with, the fuel mileage will think you're wealthy!!

 

[JS4024]

You are fine. Airbags adjust ride height, you should not be putting any more weight on the tongue than any other load. Just balance the weight out on the trailer and have at it!

 

[Loudram]

Step-son was here tonight with his new 2020 Tundra. We checked payload and it was right around 1350lbs. It has 4.30 gears. Step-son said towing capacity is 9800lbs.

He towed his camper with it. Its a 26'er with a dry weight about 5700lbs. Said it towed it better than his 2019 1500 Ram with 3.21's did. But he said gas mileage sucks compared to his Ram.

Based on that I'll keep my Ram w/ 3.92. Better tow rating, better payload, better mpg, better ride, better looking..... Better Truck!

 

[Dalton]

My 2500 is equipped with the self leveling air suspension on the rear. I pull trailer and race car at about 8k lbs total. No issues what so ever. If I was approaching 10k I would look at a load leveling hitch setup

 

[silver billet]

He towed his camper with it. Its a 26'er with a dry weight about 5700lbs. Said it towed it better than his 2019 1500 Ram with 3.21's did. But he said gas mileage sucks compared to his Ram. Oh, he also bought the tow mirrors for it from 1A Auto and they looked really good. They were Trail Ridge brand. Said they were about $350.

We have a discussion on this topic in another forum. The Tundra does worse with the 6 speed and 4.30 gears, than the Ram 8 speed with the 3.21. You have to calculate gear ratios to see why. The Ram ends up with a lower first gear for better take off, a higher final gear for better MPG, and more gears all around for more options while towing. And the 3.92 crushes the Tundra for towing.

The Tundra does nothing better than the Ram at this point, except perhaps longevity. And that remains to be seen with these new 5th gens, with plenty of 4th gens running years without serious problems.

 

[silver billet]

Chart here showing the gear ratios of the two trucks with 3.21, 3.92 for Ram, and 4.10, 4.30 for Tundra. This forum doesn't seem to allow embedding images so you have to click the linky below to view it.

https://i.imgur.com/RvJHd6f.jpeg

 

[dhay13]

Not arguing that point with you guys just saying he felt his new Tundra towed it better. But he hated the Ram from day 1 since the salesman lied and steered him wrong and he fell for it. He wanted 3.92s but they didn't have any on the lot and the sales guy told him that with the 8 speed the 3.21's were the same. Funny thing is he traded his 2015 with 3.92s and it had the 8 speed...lol

 

[Loudram]

Not arguing that point with you guys just saying he felt his new Tundra towed it better. But he hated the Ram from day 1 since the salesman lied and steered him wrong and he fell for it. He wanted 3.92s but they didn't have any on the lot and the sales guy told him that with the 8 speed the 3.21's were the same. Funny thing is he traded his 2015 with 3.92s and it had the 8 speed...lol

My nephew was lied to by a salesman to. It was about the better mpg with his 2006 Ram. He told him 20 or 22 mpg with the Hemi. He never got it and was mad. He just traded his Ram for a Chevy HD.

 

[Val]

Should be fine. What is the weight of the trailer? Guessing pretty hefty if it is rated for 10,000lbs. Is that the GVWR? If the tractor weighs 6000 and the trailer weighs even 5000 then properly loaded you would have about 1300-1400lbs tongue weight. You should probably be running a Weight Distribution Hitch with that much weight. My son has about 1100lbs tongue weight with his 8000lb camper and with the WDH set properly it barely squats and rides great.

Can you tell me when you are towing your camper what is coolant temp. Trans. Temp oil temp,I'm asking because I'm concerned where temperatures should be when I tow, new to HEMI 6.4

 

[dhay13]

Can you tell me when you are towing your camper what is coolant temp. Trans. Temp oil temp,I'm asking because I'm concerned where temperatures should be when I tow, new to HEMI 6.4

I'm not sure. I did check when I towed our boat a long distance but did not check it in my son's truck. I'm sure others on here have that info