Can I tow this trailer?

I am a new member and hope to be able to contribute afterwards.  I am needing some advice from experts on towing maximums please.
I am not new to towing a Trailer camper, but my previous was a small 20 foot Jayco.  Not a big issue with that one. Well, my bride is set on getting a new Pioneer 32ft bunkhouse.  She is dead set on having the back bunk room for the boys.

I have a 2017 Tundra SR5 5.7 in double cab.  It is set up with trailer breaking system already. Towing max rating shows to be 9800 and tongue max of 980.  The camper dry weight is 7600 and tongue is 870.  The sucker is 37 feet long.  She is committed to this one but I am wanting to ease my fears of the towing, and parking this thing.

I've done a bit of research on payload etc.  It will be about 600 lbs of people in the truck and probably only 150 lbs of gear that we can likely store in the camper if that is recommended over the truck bed.  Wont likely try to tow it with a tank of water either.

The dealer is setting us up with a WD hitch and sway bar control.  He says plenty of truck power, but he is selling us a camper and making money.

Am I getting too close to maxing out my truck in towing this?  We are set to pick it up Saturday, but I want to make sure on this. 
Thanks in advance for any help and recommendations.

Welcome!!

Plenty of pulling power (maybe) but....  " but I am wanting to ease my fears of the towing,"  A very wise move but if it is a done deal, good luck!!)

The key number for that truck is on a sticker usually located on the drivers door post of the Tundra  where, along with the tire info is a statement of the CCC  or maximum load carrying capacity of YOUR truck as it left the factory. (The sticker may have yellow borders). Where did you find the ratings you quoted? Careful, the rating found in advertising, brochures etc are not usually for your particular truck but represent a bare bones model of that truck.  Load carrying or CCC should include at least 10-12% of the camper GVWR weight, (nobody pulls a 'dry weight' camper), the WD hitch, all passengers, pets, propane, water and gear. For most accuracy, weigh the camper loaded as you would use it for camping at a public scale (C.A.T scales for example). There are many threads here on how to calculate what your truck can do. (Searching for "Tundra" reveals a number of them), as well as some websites. (Google is your friend!!)

Assuming the 37 feet includes the hitch portion and that the Tundra has a relatively shorter wheel base compared to some other trucks... I have great difficulty with seeing you pulling a 37 foot version of that trailer with that truck, that is one huge sail you will have behind you and control of said trailer may not be fun. The tail wagging the dog, comes to mind.

(The Search function is on the Menu line above)

Thank you.  From the sticker on the door of the Tundra the ccc is 1435.  So, if weight of passengers is 600 and tongue weight is 870, it has already exceeded limits not including gear?  Am I reading that correctly?

Yes!! And the tongue weight you are using is being based on an EMPTY trailer, and is barely 11%. It will be quite a bit higher when the trailer is loaded.

x2 with Alpha. Without knowing all the details, but it does sound like you're over your max. Not sure where you pull or pull to, but be aware of the potential issues involved.

Thank you again Alfa.  I need to look at a lower tongue weight and shorter camper.  I knew there would be good help here.

Hey I see you are in Quebec.  We travel every other year from Virginia to Temiscaming for a fishing trip.  Love it up there and next year will be trip number 8.

So for looking at lower weight and length most that I see have a tongue weight of 600 still in the 25 to 30 foot range.  Does the WD hitch help disperse that?

Another model she likes has a tongue weight of 650.  600 lbs of people, 650 of tongue (more loaded) and wd hitch of around 80 is still getting to max out.  Does the WD hitch help lower the additional tongue weight?

Donny Smithern said:

So for looking at lower weight and length most that I see have a tongue weight of 600 still in the 25 to 30 foot range.  Does the WD hitch help disperse that?

Another model she likes has a tongue weight of 650.  600 lbs of people, 650 of tongue (more loaded) and wd hitch of around 80 is still getting to max out.  Does the WD hitch help lower the additional tongue weight?

Click to expand...

What it does is transfers some of the weight to the front tires of the tow vehicle.

Rene T said:

What it does is transfers some of the weight to the front tires of the tow vehicle.

Click to expand...

BUT does NOT reduce the tongue weight AT ALL. It only transfers (distributes) some of it to the front axle, from the rear axle. (See your axle weight limits (GAWR) on that same chart.) Heh, heh, there is no free lunch here......

You might consider shopping for a trailer using the TRAILER GVWR (sometimes labelled as gross weight in ads) by calculating backwards from your trucks CCC. You will never likely exceed that normally but you will have a safety factor built in . That, or a bigger truck!!

You lost me at 37 feet.  I don't care how much your payload is (and it's woefully short).  You need a lot more truck.

Even with the very optimistic numbers you proved your over.

Your trailer will probably be closer to 9,000 lbs loaded.  Your tongue weight easily 1,100.00 or more plus whatever you place in the truck.

Not to mention controlling a 37 foot trailer under anything but optimum conditions with a light truck.

IMO you need a 1 ton truck, or possibly a properly equipped (meaning no frills) 3/4 ton standard cab.

Don't skimp on safety or the pleasure of towing with a properly fitted truck.  Your willing to spend a small fortune on a trailer.
The TV can't be the weak point.  It's all you have.

Thank you again for the input.  Here is a question, maybe its stupid, but here goes:  Why tout such numbers as 9800 towing capacity of the Tundra when it really cant pull that much?  Wouldn't the tongue weight be way over even if it weren't a travel trailer?  Just a little put out by the hype on how much the Tundra 5.7 can tow when it really cant.

Donny Smithern said:

Thank you again for the input.  Here is a question, maybe its stupid, but here goes:  Why tout such numbers as 9800 towing capacity of the Tundra when it really cant pull that much?  Wouldn't the tongue weight be way over even if it weren't a travel trailer?  Just a little put out by the hype on how much the Tundra 5.7 can tow when it really cant.

Click to expand...

There is no such thing as a stupid question. The whole point of forums is to get questions answered. When a person walks onto an RV lot they do everything they can to sell you an RV including lying about the numbers to help sales. They don't care if you are unsafe, only that you spend money.

It can PULL that much, but that can be tested with a wagon type trailer, just to show that it will actually pull it.  A wagon type trailer has no tongue weight.  Getting a trailer rolling is not the important part.  Handling it in cross winds, up and down hills, around curves and in emergency situations is critical.

Donny Smithern said:

I need to look at a lower tongue weight and shorter camper.

Click to expand...

A bigger truck is an option too, ask the bride.  If she insists you buy that trailer, I guarantee you will buy a bigger truck, if you make it home alive.  Not joking, that is way too unsafe to even consider.  Be safe...

Donny Smithern said:

Why tout such numbers as 9800 towing capacity of the Tundra when it really cant pull that much?  Wouldn't the tongue weight be way over even if it weren't a travel trailer?  Just a little put out by the hype on how much the Tundra 5.7 can tow when it really cant.

Click to expand...

........Marketing.

Towing (pulling) is far different from hauling (carrying).  You need to do both.  The other specs are available, but since they vary greatly depending on options, and are somewhat unique to each truck (or class/sub-class) it difficult to make a blanket statement in a 15 second commercial or brochure. Not without making consumers question the authenticity.

gravesdiesel nailed it!  NO WHERE in the towing literature of any of the manufacturers of trucks do they say.....this truck can pull a travel trailer or a 5th wheel camping trailer that weights XXXX lbs.  They state, this truck is capable of pulling "a trailer" of xxxx lbs.......and no where do they say it's a camping type trailer.  The difference between towing a camper and towing a flatbed type trailer is night and day and that is how they get away with their statement of towing capability.

Welcome to the Forum!

You have already received very good answers to your tow weight question.  Advertising bragging rights.  It is much easier to haul 9800 lbs of bricks than 9800 lbs of camper.

As to what you CAN pull, let's start with your 1435 Payload.  Deduct 600# for passengers.  Deduct 80# for WD hitch.  Move the cargo to the camper.  This leaves 755# absolute max tongue wt.  Tongue wt MUST be at least 10% of the weight of the loaded for travel camper.  12% is better.  Less than 10% will produce lots of sway, and difficulty keeping it under control.

Now, with a max tongue wt of 755# and assuming 12.5% tongue wt, the most TT  GVWR you can handle is 6,000#.  Assuming a 10% tongue wt, the absolute max TT GVWR possible is 7550#.

Note I use the GVWR, not dry wt.  Salesmen love dry wt, but nobody goes camping with an empty trailer!  Loaded to camp, you ill be much closer to GVWR than dry wt.

The big reason to move cargo to the TT is that if is in the truck, 100% of the weight must be included in the Payload.  If it is in the TT, the TT carries 90% of the weight, and the truck only 10%.

You may find a camper DW likes with a GVWR less than 7,000#.  If not, budget a bigger truck into the price.

  Why tout such numbers as 9800 towing capacity of the Tundra when it really cant pull that much? 

Click to expand...

As others say its a trailer tow rating...not just a rv trailer. Lots of other 9800 lb  trailer types out here your Tundra could pull such as my 10k car hauler with a 7600 lb blue tractor/cab/fel/ 11' 4" tall on the trailer. This trailer grosses 9460 lb-  on its axles. I can load the tractor any where on the deck to get a desired hitch weight. 

Agree with others.... look for a smaller TT for the Tundra

Ok so If the wife is "committed" to this trailer. You need to be committed to a bigger truck and safety. 99.9% of sales people don't care about anything but selling you something and getting their commission. I've seen trucks on fire and wrecked etc, because they were trying to handle a mountain or high winds with an undersized truck. The guys are right, you might can pull it but handling and stopping it is key. If you were involved in an accident with someone else and the PD sized it up, which they probably will, you could be at fault, regardless of what the other guy did, or best case scenario you'll be charged also. We're just concerned about you and the rest of us out there, don't be "that guy".