Looking for a little towing advice

Madow · 07-20-2016, 01:28 PM

I tow a 2016 Crossroads Sunset Trail Reserve 26RB, about 6400 dry weight. My tow vehicle is a 2016 Toyota Tundra Limited 4X4. The advice Im seeking is what do you all do in regards to tow vehicle tire inflation while towing? There seems to be no written rule about adding a few pounds of air to the tow vehicle and I would like to know what you all do. I am trying to make my towing experience and pleasant as possible and towing with 32 LB's in the tires just isn't cutting it.

fhenn · 07-20-2016, 01:35 PM

Check the tires, are they p"s or LT's

**Lloyd** · 07-20-2016, 01:35 PM

Mike, before answering that, I have to ask you, what ply tires are on your Toyota?

Madow · 07-20-2016, 02:26 PM

Lloyd,

I have Thread, 2 Ply Poly, 2 Ply Steel, 1 Ply Nylon. Sidewall, 2 Ply Poly

Madow · 07-20-2016, 02:35 PM

They are P

fhenn · 07-20-2016, 02:45 PM

I would up grade to LT tires a lot better tire for towing. In 2005 we got our first travel trailer and towed it with a Durango with P tires There was to much side flex on the P tires and was not fun towing the trailer went to LT ran with 65PSI and no more problems

Madow · 07-20-2016, 03:23 PM

Thanks, I'll do that when its time to buy new tires. Only have 10k on them now

harley · 07-20-2016, 03:29 PM

Too bad Toyota only puts p tires on their pickups...guess they like the car ride. Those tires will hold 44 lbs. inflate them to that. Look around to different tire places, I have traded in my tires with that mileage for LT's on different vehicles .
Then you can run 65 lbs and get rid of most sway.

Madow · 07-20-2016, 04:12 PM

Thank you very much. I'll do as you suggested and see if I can get a decent trade in value

Dayle1 · 07-20-2016, 04:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Madow

Thanks, I'll do that when its time to buy new tires. Only have 10k on them now

I agree with others, 'P' tires are not really suited to towing, too much side wall flex. Increasing air pressure will stiffen them but increase risk of a blowout. You want better towing and yet are willing to wait? Considering the cost of the truck/trailer, the risk to your family (and others) and the added stress while towing, why wait? Tires are the least expensive part of the equation. Sell the 'Ps' on Craigslist.

Like most trailers, mine came equipped with 'ST' tires. They had very few miles on them before I had them replaced with 'LTs'.

**Lloyd** · 07-20-2016, 06:35 PM

Mike, you got good advise from the other posters.
Get rid of the p tires ASAP!

BMVillines · 07-22-2016, 08:39 AM

Just out of curiosity, what issues are making your towing experience uncomfortable?

The sidewall of your tires will tell you the max PSI you can run. It could definitely be tires, but it could also be how you have your weight distribution hitch set up. What is your hitching sequence? That may be a more immediate problem to address until if/when you put new tires on. If you get tires and your hitch squared away and you are still uncomfortable, I would look at adding air bags. Adding bags to my set-up made a pretty big difference.

Poppabear · 07-22-2016, 01:15 PM

Changing out those P rated tires will definitely improve your towing experience. I went through the same thing with our Sequoia which is essentially the same exact thing as your Tundra, but with extra seats and a cab on the back. We traded in the P rated tires that were on it an went a little overkill to a 10 ply E rated tire (mostly because I could not find an 8 ply LT tire for a 20" rim) and it was night and day difference. I now run 65psi in the new tires when towing and drop them down to about 50psi empty. I was worried that the 10ply tires would make the ride too stiff when not towing but honestly you can barely notice the difference in ride quality over the P rated tires. Another thing that really helped was the 1000lbs airbags we put in the coil suspension. Super easy to install and I just drop them down to 6psi when empty and bring it up to about 33psi while towing and between those and the new tires the "squishy" feeling we had with the stock tires has vanished completely.

OhioMark · 07-22-2016, 03:36 PM

X3 on the tire upgrade

I towed to Yellowstone and back (Ohio) and couldn't figure out why we had so much "float and drift" when we hit heavy winds in Iowa. I have a great hitch (ProPride) so it wasn't trailer sway.

Thanks to the advice of Lloyd and Mark5w on the forum a couple years ago, I upgraded to 10 ply tires on my F150 and the drift is gone, even with my new heavier trailer.

Steve7 · 07-22-2016, 10:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Poppabear

Changing out those P rated tires will definitely improve your towing experience. I went through the same thing with our Sequoia which is essentially the same exact thing as your Tundra, but with extra seats and a cab on the back. We traded in the P rated tires that were on it an went a little overkill to a 10 ply E rated tire (mostly because I could not find an 8 ply LT tire for a 20" rim) and it was night and day difference. I now run 65psi in the new tires when towing and drop them down to about 50psi empty. I was worried that the 10ply tires would make the ride too stiff when not towing but honestly you can barely notice the difference in ride quality over the P rated tires. Another thing that really helped was the 1000lbs airbags we put in the coil suspension. Super easy to install and I just drop them down to 6psi when empty and bring it up to about 33psi while towing and between those and the new tires the "squishy" feeling we had with the stock tires has vanished completely.

X2. I did the same with 10 ply E rated tires and airbags on my 1/2 ton Ford F-150. I also have the same trailer as you. Made a world of difference. I just changed from my 150 to a 250, and just today installed airbags again.

Madow · 07-23-2016, 06:26 AM

I want to thank everyone for the advice. I did a little research on my tires which are P XL tire, max tire pressure 44Lbs. They do have the weight capacity for what Im towing and I do use a WD tow. I was concerned after reading all the posts so I spoke with a good friend who has been towing for years. He assured me that my setup was fine and I would experience some "float" but that was to be expected. He suggested that I run the tires, check for heat during each stop and ensure I did not over inflate.

So based upon the comments, my research, and my friends advice, I'll run the tires the remainder of this year and change them out before next camping season. I will change out both tow and trailer tires for higher rated, more ply tires and hope that the difference was worth the monies spent. In case some of you haven't priced 20 inch tires lately, they are about $225 apiece... four of those and four new higher rated ST tires for the camper is not small investment..But I do want to be safe and enjoy our camper.

Thanks again

johnboytoo · 07-24-2016, 07:43 AM

FYI,
lower psi usually is worse on tires than higher psi due to sidewall flex on every revolution... yes heat builds psi, but judiciously keeping the psi on your rear axle and rv will help...

in fact, do a google search for your mfg tires and size and you might see that they can be aired up beyond the rated cold psi - usually 10% - but that's only when they are at ambient temp, don't add after running for a bit

IIRC, on our 5er's tires goodyear said you can increase the speed rating by bumping the psi up a bit...

if you will look at MOST forums, when people change their ST tires out (which are speed rated at 65 mph and chinese made for the most part) they tend to swap to LT tires...
the only benefits to ST tires are :
1) cheaper
2) they are 'supposed' to handle the 'twisting' forces on a dual axle when doing hard turns...

but no one, that I've ever seen on the forums, has had an issue with LT tires due to twisting - after all you may 'twist' the twice a camping trip ?!?

good luck

n9740b · 07-30-2016, 02:11 PM

Also towing with a Sequoia that has factory air suspension that can be electronically stiffened.

I'm sure LT tires will help without a doubt, and when the time comes they would be a good investment. That being said, I put on new Michelin P rated LTX tires this spring, I run them at 42-44psi (max is 44), and I have to say they run fine. They are also 15lbs lighter each than an LT tire.

Just got back from Mammoth Ca, about 3.5 hours each way, high desert, 8000 ft passes, 4 lane to 2 lane, semis, 20+ mph winds, tstorms, within 50lbs of our max payload, and I have to say it towed great. I'm trying to justify a new F150, and I just can't do it, I'd love to complain about the towing experience but I can't. No sway, 60 mph up 5-7% grades all day, temps didn't budge at 90-100 degrees OAT. Would a dually tow it better? I'm sure it would....but south of that I can't imagine what could get that much better...other than not having to sharpen me pencil as often...but maybe it would be. My Ford dealer offered to let me do a test tow....I may take him up on that....and try out a F250 too.

My only guess would be that I am super anal about loading....I have to be with our low payload. We run at 11-12% tongue weight. My theory is that with a balanced load, not too much tongue weight percentage, regardless of total trailer weight, you don't get that weight shoving down on the back of the truck as bad since there is more weight at the back of the trailer countering the front weight.

200lbs additional tongue weight alone is one thing. 200 lbs additional tongue weight with an additional 175 lbs in the rear of the trailer to counteract the front is another....I think?

I envision watching towed rigs going across railroad tracks at speed...if the load was 50/50 on the trailer (not possible) how would the suspension react....then I imagine 75/25 with the additional weight on the hitch...and how would it react. I think the more balanced, the more the trailer moves up and down as a unit, where heavy weight on either end causes porpoising.

While tongue weight prevents sway, I think some might be over doing it, running north of 15%. But not having towed in their setup it is hard for me to say.

Robert McAuley · 05-30-2020, 04:31 PM

I'm a new member and have a 2014 Sunset Trail Reserve 26RB. i found this post trying to see what others use to tow it. i use a 2010 F150 Lariat with factory max tow package. seemed to tow fine, but weighted it and was surprised. trailer had 40 gal fresh water for boondocking an minimal supplies. the truck had myself, my wife, the dog and not much else. over GVWR and payload by 200 pounds. trailer tongue weight calculates at 15% (1200 pounds) ad trailer at 6800 pounds. i too am a bit anal about the limits, so was wondering if anyone else has pulled the 26RB with full water and what they used/experienced. i use the fastway E2 1000 pound hitch.

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