I have a 2012 Toyota Tundra CrewMax short bed V8 with a large HP and tow package truck. I am looking at trailer options. 2 horse BP with LQ vs 2 horse GN with living quarters. I am not sure how my truck will pull a GN with a short bed (5.5 ft.) and only being a 1/2 ton truck not a 3/4 ton. I also have a concern the GN will impact the backup camera system and my tailgate? The camera system makes it easy to backup to a BP.
Has anyone pulled a GN with a Toyota Tundra CrewMax?
I have a 2010 Tundra V8 with tow package and I pull an EBY 2H gooseneck with a dressing room. It does a great job. I am considering putting airbags on the back suspension just to beef it up a bit. The EBY rep recommended not pulling anything larger than what I purchased. I don’t know about the short bed but I called Toyota for help when I bought my trailer and got no where. I have seen someone pull a larger trailer than mine but I wouldn’t do it.
Living quarters can be extremely heavy. Do take the time to check the weight on the trailer both dry and wet (with any water etc loaded).
Gooseneck vs Bumper Pull
[QUOTE=Herefordgirl;7874438]
I have a 2010 Tundra V8 with tow package and I pull an EBY 2H gooseneck with a dressing room. It does a great job. I am considering putting airbags on the back suspension just to beef it up a bit. The EBY rep recommended not pulling anything larger than what I purchased. I don’t know about the short bed but I called Toyota for help when I bought my trailer and got no where. I have seen someone pull a larger trailer than mine but I wouldn’t do it.[/QUOTE]
Thank you, this is very helpful. Do you know the weight of your trailer? The short bed is a concern. I will get the airbags as well.
Specs here:
With a 10k maximum trailer load with all things aligned perfectly, I’d say neither configuration is reasonable. This is basically a “half-ton” truck which IME is not compatible with more than a two-horse trailer with tack room. Longer-frame trailers (such as any LQ) are bigger.
Airbags never increase the load capacity of a truck. They might help with some aspects and make it more convenient, but they do not fix the problem of having an undersized platform.
When matching a truck to trailer, you have to consider a multitude of things. The first ones are: total trailer weight, and if that’s acceptable, weight on the rear axle of the truck. The first one is the same for bumper pull and gooseneck. The second one is one of the major differentiating factors between bumper pull and gooseneck, but in this example we never got past total trailer weight.
I know there are plenty of bad examples out that may appear to prove a thing “works” but I trust we agree on the foolishness in that logic.
David
[QUOTE=DHCarrotfeeder;7874690]
Specs here:
With a 10k maximum trailer load with all things aligned perfectly, I’d say neither configuration is reasonable. This is basically a “half-ton” truck which IME is not compatible with more than a two-horse trailer with tack room. Longer-frame trailers (such as any LQ) are bigger.
Airbags never increase the load capacity of a truck. They might help with some aspects and make it more convenient, but they do not fix the problem of having an undersized platform.
When matching a truck to trailer, you have to consider a multitude of things. The first ones are: total trailer weight, and if that’s acceptable, weight on the rear axle of the truck.
I know there are plenty of bad examples out that may appear to prove a thing “works” but I trust we agree on the foolishness in that logic.
David[/QUOTE]last time i checked airbags actually lowered the towing capacity.
[QUOTE=China Doll;7874694]
last time i checked airbags actually lowered the towing capacity.[/QUOTE]
While I’ve not checked that, it’s normal for an add-on feature to lower the towing capacity by exactly the weight of the add-on. That’s how crew cabs, 4x4, etc affect towing capacity.
I have a Toyota Tundra V8 truck and pull a Featherlite 2H GN with dressing room. The trailer max weight (with load) is ~ 7,000 lbs and within spec for the Tundra. The tongue weight of a GN is (as someone already said) significantly heavier than for a similar sized BP trailer and will be the limiting factor for you (i.e. staying with payload specs for the truck). When I haul I generally have just one horse in the trailer (if two it is for a short distance) and never load up the truck (ie don’t put a lot of gear inside the truck) and drive by myself. So I am able to keep the weight in the truck within the payload specs. The truck pulls the trailer very well – no problem with power. Fine acceleration up hills for example. But I think a relatively light weight 2 horse GN is at the limit of what a Tundra can handle (my trailer is all aluminum). I think a LQ trailer would be significantly over the weight limits for the truck.
I have a friend with the same truck who pulls a 2horse gooseneck Sundowner Valu light with a mini living quarters. Insulated, electric hook up, outlets, air conditioner. No shower or toilet, no stove. Ask yourself how often you plan on camping somewhere without showers or toilets before you spend the money on a living quarter trailer.
Pulls great, even up a steep hill in deep snow (NEVER AGAIN). Wouldn’t put an actual living quarter on it though.
It’s not a question of GN or bumper pull but of the weight your truck can handle. My money is on a GN for stability and ease of handling.
For the short bed, there are solutions, including a hitch extender that will back off the nose of the trailer. However, I still suspect the LQ in either form will be too much trailer for the truck.
Please make sure that you check that your hitch is rated for the weight as well. The factory hitch is not necessarily rated as is to the full towing capacity of your truck. You’d definitely want a weight-distributing hitch if you go with the bumper pull.
I pull a 2H GN weekend package trailer with a Dodge 2500HD Diesel and really wouldn’t want to use anything less, except a gas 2500. It has a short bed 6.6 and I have hit the back window. I couldn’t imagine using a smaller bed. I am thinking of getting the hitch extender so I can manuver more easily.
I don’t know the exact weight of my all aluminum trailer, but it has a 5’ short wall, propane fridge, hot water heater, cooktop, AC, cowboy shower, dinette, cabinets, etc and fully loaded, I’m guessing it’s probably around 10,000 - 11,500 lbs. water is heavy, and so is hay
My first truck was F150 short bed. My first trailer was a 2H no dressing room, but then I got a 2H GN DR and the trailer would sway. It was very tall at 7’9", but I needed sway bars as the truck lacked the necessary wheelbase.
The BP LQ trailers are very long and your truck lacks the necessary wheelbase as well as enough power.
It is NOT fun when you don’t have the right truck for the trailer. While I never had any accidents, I knew it wasn’t the right config and am much happier driving the rig I have now. Which I have since '06 and am heading out on the road tomorrow with horse in tow for Thanksgiving.
Safety is so important for you and the others on the road with you. Your truck does not have the capacity to pull a LQ trailer safely. It just doesn’t. It’s a hard truth, I know. Please reconsider.
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