Toyota Tundra with a camper

[El Chupacabra]

Can you sell your current camper and get into something lighter?

I think long term ownership of a Tundra would have way way less hassles than a domestic.

I could, but would rather not start over with shopping for replacement camper *and* replacement truck. At some point, we might want a camper with an indoor bathroom and shower, which would probably mean a somewhat heavier camper, not lighter.

Have also considered whether to go to a small trailer, but the mobility of a truck camper on rougher roads (forest service type two track) is useful, and outweighs the benefit of being able to detach the trailer and leave it behind.

[Hopeless Sinner]

Anyone is this thread comparing a 2007+ Tundra to any Tacoma clearly has not owned a Tundra. My tundra is every bit as solid as the gas 3/4 chevy pickups I've owned.

El chup just get a tundra and have some heavy springs installed.

Thinking that a 1/2 T Tundra has the tires, wheels, and brakes etc, etc equivalent to a 3/4 T because it's "solid" is a bit of a head scratcher esp when you recommend heavier springs for the Tundra at the same time.

[bagtagley]

I'll have to research and see if that's available in the configuration I'd want/need: extended cab or larger, 4WD, 8' bed. Thanks.

Big asterisk as I’m going by memory, but I believe the previous gen with payload pckg only came in single and extended cab with the long bed or four door with the 6’ bed. I ran into a ton that were improperly listed as having the payload pckg. The easiest way to ID them is the package-specific 7 lug wheels.



The current gen increased payload across the board with the aluminum skin, so that really boosted the PP models, but IDing gets more complicated. There are limited models and options that can include the PP, so you can look for things that don’t belong like console shift, etc. That was the case a couple years ago but may have changed. The dealers generally have no idea and will just say “yes” so ask for a pic of the payload sticker to verify.

[Conundrum]

The easiest way to ID them is the package-specific 8 lug wheels.

Am I seeing things? Those look like seven lug wheels. Weird.

[easyrdr]

Seriously guys I'm driving an '18 Crew Cab, Tundra I swear. It has the super small bed maybe 5.5ft. Right now I got a load of firewood in the truck barley over the top of the bed. The entire ass end is sagging bad. I drove chevy trucks for 20 years and made the switch to the Tundra. I was sick of fixing the chevy and heard good things about toyota reliability. It has been reliable so no complaints there but this thing holds no comparison to the chevy in terms of using a truck for truck stuff. Most buyers probably don't go beyond the grocery store or ski resort parking lot with theirs and if that's all you do then this truck is great. Me, I split and haul wood, sand, dirt, pull trucks out of the ditch, tow multiple trailers, etc. I use my trucks for what a truck should be used for. I was planning on putting a plow on but decided not to after seeing how inadequate it has performed under load. Yes the truck could probably do everything well if you upgraded suspension, springs, tires, etc., I guess I'm just used to buying a chevy work truck off the lot and it is good to go for all I need. My plan is to make this thing work good enough until my kids are out of school then go back to a chevy.

[Conundrum]

Short bed for "truck stuff"? To each their own I guess. Edit, my reading comprehension is bad. Surprised it's sagging that much.

[dannynoonan]

Serious question - What exactly are the consequences for being over gvwr? Like, if you wreck it you will have legal and ins. issues? Or, can the staties pull you over n give you a ticket or otherwise harass you?

My experience n sense of those trucks is that one could handle it just fine, but there's no question you'd be over your sticker weight.

[AdironRider]

Seriously guys I'm driving an '18 Crew Cab, Tundra I swear. It has the super small bed maybe 5.5ft. Right now I got a load of firewood in the truck barley over the top of the bed. The entire ass end is sagging bad. I drove chevy trucks for 20 years and made the switch to the Tundra. I was sick of fixing the chevy and heard good things about toyota reliability. It has been reliable so no complaints there but this thing holds no comparison to the chevy in terms of using a truck for truck stuff. Most buyers probably don't go beyond the grocery store or ski resort parking lot with theirs and if that's all you do then this truck is great. Me, I split and haul wood, sand, dirt, pull trucks out of the ditch, tow multiple trailers, etc. I use my trucks for what a truck should be used for. I was planning on putting a plow on but decided not to after seeing how inadequate it has performed under load. Yes the truck could probably do everything well if you upgraded suspension, springs, tires, etc., I guess I'm just used to buying a chevy work truck off the lot and it is good to go for all I need. My plan is to make this thing work good enough until my kids are out of school then go back to a chevy.

Dude, a cord of firewood weighs over 3000 pounds. You are also griping about a 1/2 ton Tundra not being a great plow truck?

Asking a half ton to do full ton work is always going to leave you wanting more, regardless of brand.

[AdironRider]

Serious question - What exactly are the consequences for being over gvwr? Like, if you wreck it you will have legal and ins. issues? Or, can the staties pull you over n give you a ticket or otherwise harass you?

My experience n sense of those trucks is that one could handle it just fine, but there's no question you'd be over your sticker weight.

If you are a commercial operator they can pull you over and fine you, but that isn't the case here.

There are liability issues if say you plow through a stop sign in the snow and are over GVWR. Insurance will deny the claim if they figure it out since you were being a moron and you will be left responsible for all damages. That could bankrupt someone really quickly. Yeah they'd have to figure it out themselves, but insurance companies jobs are to minimize claims, not be like well, danny is a good guy so we'll cover a half mill in medical bills because we like the cut of his jib, even though he was running 50% overloaded.

[Conundrum]

Dude, a cord of firewood weighs over 3000 pounds. You are also griping about a 1/2 ton Tundra not being a great plow truck?

Asking a half ton to do full ton work is always going to leave you wanting more, regardless of brand.

Ha, this is why I edited. Wrote about the same thing as you. He's about 800-1,000 of wood if he's at the bed rails on a short bed. Should be able to haul that without too much sag. Putting a plow on one is another topic.

[stuckathuntermtn]

True, diesels are insane.

[bagtagley]

Am I seeing things? Those look like seven lug wheels. Weird.

Shit, you’re right! Yeah, 7 lug.

[mattig]

IME, tundra hauls weight just fine. I loaded that thing to the gills more times than I can count, including a yard of fairly wet gravel and an entire bed full of 2x4s with more 2x4s strapped to the diamondback cover. If it sagged, it wasn't much. I'm not saying the tundra is on par with the 'merica trucks in terms of being a quintessential truck, but it's pretty damn close if we're comparing half tons to half tons with 6.5ft beds.

Would I put more than a pop-up camper (or older, lighter hardside) in one? No. But they're not quite the "kid truck" that the internet frequently seems to suggest. Next to a one-ton diesel? Yeah, no comparison, but that's an entirely different vehicle.

[easyrdr]

Dude, a cord of firewood weighs over 3000 pounds. You are also griping about a 1/2 ton Tundra not being a great plow truck?

Asking a half ton to do full ton work is always going to leave you wanting more, regardless of brand.

My Tundra isn’t even close to carrying a cord of wood. I would say about half a face cord at best.

I put a standard ARE topper/shell on the bed, with just that on and no load you can see a visible sag.

As for plowing, there are many lightweight plows for half ton trucks. My driveway is 1/4 a mile long, pop the plow on, plow, take it off, 20 minutes of work, that’s it. Anything more than that then yes nothing less than 3/4 ton.

[XXX-er]

" I use my truck for what a truck is made to do "

If i go to the shopping center where safeway & the liqour store is located sure there are some big work/farm trucks but there is a whole shwack of crewcab 5 or 6ft box chev/ford/dodge/ toy PU's with nice trim packakges with a cap or tonneau bed cover so what does that mean ?

the burning question in my mind ... what kind of truck do i need to bring home an amusing sav blanc ?

[bodywhomper]

Ha, this is why I edited. Wrote about the same thing as you. He's about 800-1,000 of wood if he's at the bed rails on a short bed. Should be able to haul that without too much sag. Putting a plow on one is another topic.

Gonna depend on species and moisture content. I cut and haul madrone and black oak for burning at home. Looking online, green wood for those spp are up to 6500 and 5725 pounds per cord, respectively.

[Conundrum]

I put a standard ARE topper/shell on the bed, with just that on and no load you can see a visible sag.

I think something is weird with your pickup. I have a high top ARE on my '19 6.5 bed and lots of crap in the back and it still sits a touch higher in the rear with stock suspension.

Gonna depend on species and moisture content. I cut and haul madrone and black oak for burning at home. Looking online, green wood for those spp are up to 6500 and 5725 pounds per cord, respectively.

True, I was giving benefit of the doubt. We've always used about 2,500/cd growing up. We were not dealing with that dense stuff like you.

[AdironRider]

My Tundra isn’t even close to carrying a cord of wood. I would say about half a face cord at best.

I put a standard ARE topper/shell on the bed, with just that on and no load you can see a visible sag.

As for plowing, there are many lightweight plows for half ton trucks. My driveway is 1/4 a mile long, pop the plow on, plow, take it off, 20 minutes of work, that’s it. Anything more than that then yes nothing less than 3/4 ton.

I own a tundra also, and a cap alone does not make it sag, and I have the long bed. You sure something isn’t broken? Cap is like 220 pounds.

[snowaddict91]

Attachment 361233

Took this picture after I loaded 1000lbs of sand in the bed. Also took it to the dealer to get it checked out as I couldn't find anything visibly broken with the truck. They found nothing. Good looking truck when it's empty.

Maybe you damaged a spring when you loaded it upside down.

[easyrdr]

Took this picture with 1000lbs of sand in the bed. Couldn't find anything broken with the suspension. Took it to the dealer to have them look it over and came up empty handed.

[Conundrum]

Stock springs? That isn’t right.

[TAFKALVS]

I've never had my tundra sag that much including hauling a ~2000lb diesel drivetrain on a pallet, and towing some heavy car trailer loads. Is your wood made of lead?

[Conundrum]

For reference, my trailer with boats depending on the trip is about 2,500 lbs, 400-500 tongue weight, another 500ish in gear in the back of the truck, topper, stock suspension, minimal or no sag. If I were to go much heavier, I'd upgrade springs or add bags. But I probably never will. I don't really need a half ton or a truck for "truck stuff"-I used to be a rural hick doing hick stuff but I'm a refined city guy now (the kind people make fun of for having a half ton). I gave up justifying what I drive awhile ago.

Edit-To the OP, I think you could get by with a light slide in of some sorts like Norseman or jackattack. If I didn't have a van, I'd be looking at it with a few suspension upgrades. I can stop (the key piece) and go fine with a 2500 lb trailer. I don't see putting a 1200 lb camper in the back a problem if the pickup will hold it.

[TAFKALVS]

Thinking that a 1/2 T Tundra has the tires, wheels, and brakes etc, etc equivalent to a 3/4 T because it's "solid" is a bit of a head scratcher esp when you recommend heavier springs for the Tundra at the same time.

Have you worked on tundras at all? Have you looked at the size of the wheelbearings, axle shafts, ring gears, brakes, frame, etc?

Have you compared those parts with a dana 60 axle, the supposed gold standard for beef? Or a semi float 14bolt gm rear end? Or the wimpy front diff in a gm 3/4 ton?

Other than the rear springs being tuned for comfort they are beefier than any 1/2 ton trucks besides the most recent ford's, and on par with any 3/4 ton gas truck made up until about 5 years ago when HD trucks became a dick wagging contest on who could nearly match a semi-truck for tow ratings.

Is it a 1 ton? No. Would I be scared to tow at the max tow capacity? No, I've done it quite a bit and it's fine. Would I be scared of a heavier popup or lightweight hardshell (ala early northern lite or bigfoot?) No, the truck can and will handle it.

[The Reverend Floater]

I'm a bit of a plow truck veteran. I've used everything from a 3-wheel ATV to a half ton to a 1975 Bronco to a 1996 PowerStroke. In my opinion, there are no shortcuts. If you're putting a plow on a truck, a 3/4 or 1 ton is simply required. Even "light plows" will wreak havoc on an IFS 1/2 ton of any brand if used semi-regularly.

In regard to exceeding GVWR, the most obvious is your ability to stop. Most folks think of 3/4 tons as big motor, big suspension and big axles. Brakes are arguably the most noticeable attribute on those rigs when you're loaded down.