What do you tow with your Toyota Tundra?

Oops My 2002 Coleman Niagara (non-HW) is 3500 LBS GWVR but the HW GWVR is 4600 lbs. Almost 1,000 lbs difference.

 

The mpg between the 5.7 and 4.7 is similar
the 4.7 does need a timing chain change in the engine which is very expensive item. the transmission is sealed.


this is the 4.7 i think

 

That's incorrect, a 2005 - 2007 Nigara HW has a GVWR of 3770, latter years it's 3970lbs.

 

OK, that video above, I'm calling B.S.! He stated that the water pump was only changed once in a million miles... Right!!! Also, he stated the timing chain (actually a belt on the 2007 4.7) was changed twice. Maintenance requires the belt to be replaced every 120,000 miles. And you usually change the water pump at that time since you are all the way into the engine at that point. And give me a break! The seats look that good at a million miles - right!

Don't get me wrong - I have a 2005 Tundra with 150k and I love it - except for the gas mileage, 15mpg if I'm lucky. I found that you need to do a jackrabbit start at the beginning of your drive to teach the computer how to shift. If I don't, cruising at 70mph the tach says 2400-2600 rpm. If I jackrabbit it, I will be under 2k rpm at 70mph and I will see a boost in my mpg of about 2. Also, my mileage is better under load (1 to 2k) then when empty.

 

That truck is a common show item that toyota puts it's in booth in sema shows.
The guy is Mike sweers

http://toyotanews.pressroom.toyota.com/article_display.cfm?article_id=2206

He is cheif design guy for tundra and Tacoma. That video is old . If you just his name and toyota there are alot if video if tundra ,Tacoma launch videos and interview.

The guy who drove even got a free truck.

https://www.digitaltrends.com/cars/toyota-million-mile-tundra-news-report-pics/

 

oops must have looked at Avalon GVWR!!!!

 

Gas mileage varies more with the weight of a vehicle than the size of an engine.

I live in Colorado and have a 14 Tundra with the 5.7 and tow a E3 typically with a quad or a few dirt bikes up front. Get the 5.7. The mileage hit doesn't come from engine size but from the weight of the truck, which is about the same between the 2 engine sizes and you'll want that extra power. The easiest way to think about it is you need a certain amount of energy to move a certain amount of weight up a hill, physics 101. The energy is gas and the weight is the same between the 2 trucks. The catch is you usually end up with worse gas mileage when you go to a smaller engine as you loose the luxury of running at peak torque and end up running higher RPMs. Going up I-70 over the divide I could probably get away with less power, but even the 5.7 struggles a bit climbing over some higher mountain passes like Cottonwood. For longer trips like Denver to Moab I leave the water tanks (weight I have to move up a hill) empty and fill up once I get there. I'll get about 9mpg climbing the hill but usually average out at 12-13mpg by the time I have rolled into town.

If you don't believe me, go for a hike, then go for the same hike with a 50lb bag of rice on your back. The engine (you) is the same, but second time around your legs will be burning (engine temp) and you will be hungrier when you get back (fuel burn).

 

You should be fine. I tow my 2716G with my 2000 4runner V6 and get an avarage of 19mpg. It doesnt like hills though. Any V8 should be fine.

 

I have a 2014 Tundra Crew Cab 4wd with the 5.7L engine. I visit a Tundra forum quite often. The guys that have the smaller engine on that forum report only a 1-2 mpg advantage. You can get 1-2 mpg better just by driving more conservatively (don't accelerate as fast, coast to a brake, etc). Most of the guys that have the smaller engine vow to get the bigger engine next time. Both will easily tow a pop up. I tow an HTT with a loaded weight of around 5000 lbs. The 5.7L is better when you get up to those weights. However, if you want to tow things in the 8-9000 lb area, then the Tundra starts to exceed its limits (mainly on the payload capacity). Overall, both are great tow vehicles unless you want to get really big trailers. If you never think you are going to tow anything more than a pop up, then you may not need the bigger engine.

 

I have a 2012 Tundra with the 4.6L engine. Tow rating per the manual says 7900lbs. We have a Coleman Bayport Popup camper that is max 2350lb gvwr. I can tell you that we have towed it without any problems whatsoever. We usually camp in Pennsylvania and go up and down steep inclines without a problem. It is truly the first truck I owned that I had to remind myself that the popup was behind me. I don't believe an extra 1500lbs will make a huge difference.