Ski RV's, who's sleeping in parking lots?

[mattig]

yes, diesel, and 6mpg is only when hauling a load, which really seemed to make the Tundra mileage unhappy when driving uphill at altitude. Same would be true of a Vortec 6.0 for instance. Neighbor has one of those and mileage seemed comparable to the Tundra.

The F-350 is by no means god's gift to MPG, as some people might claim (sure, you CAN get 21mpg on the freeway under the right conditions, but I could get 19mpg in my Tundra under the same conditions). Real world mileage for the 350 has been 18-19mpg freeway at 65mph-ish and 12-13mpg put-putting around town--basically the same as the Tundra there.

Running Tundra up to mountain unloaded (except for 3 people + skis/boots/etc), I'd get around 10mpg.
Same trip in the F-350 with another 3.5k lbs of camper = 13mpg

I sorta had to guess on what the Tundra would get with comparable weight + mountain so I could be off. Here's the math:

Hauling up mountain, Tundra, 7k lbs trailer, driving speed limit (which made for lots of near redline time) = 6 mpg (may have been lower, I think there is a limit to how low it will read, can't remember).
Hauling up coast range, Tundra, 3.5k trailer = 8mpg.
Extrapolating for altitude/weight, estimating 3.5k camper on Tundra would be 7mpg.
13mpg Ford - 7mpg Yota = 6mpg.
All of the above got around 20mpg coming back home (1hr down, 1hr flat).

For the record, Tundra had 33" KO2s, which are heavier and slightly bigger in diameter than stock, so maybe the 6mpg loaded gap is more like 5mpg? Incidentally, 33" tires were more accurate on the speedo according to radar signs. Also on this point, I think I would have spent much less time near redline with the stock 32" tires.

[Norseman]

Was your Tundra the 4.7? Milage sounds whack... I've never seen less than 10 mpg, which includes pushing air with the camper on the freeway at 75mph, up the pass, full of gear, on 33's, etc.

Not that it matters... everyone reading this thread knows they are not a heavy duty truck and shouldn't be carrying a hardside.

[mattig]

5.7l.

I've never seen less than 10mpg on the freeway either. Regardless of speed.

With respect to tundra's ability to haul, I think they're underrated compared to competition. I really wanted to keep mine and probably would have if it wasn't the stupid 5.5ft bed.

Would have gotten a smaller camper, obviously, but probably would have worked out just fine.

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[Yukonrider]

I've put about 40k miles on this setup through any terrain imaginable living in it over two ski seasons. Truck is an 08 5.7 Tundra.
Camper tag says 1755 dry, trailer is estimated at 5k.

My average fuel economy was 10.3, that's with highway speeds around 63. Long highway drives kill milage, in town driving makes it go up.

If I had to estimate I bet a diesel would have gotten about 13 going the speed limit with the same load. In my opinion they aren't worth the price of admission though.





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[shroom]

Unrelated to my quest but mega rad: https://seattle.craigslist.org/see/c...772198635.html

i’ve been eyeballing that beast, i almost posted in the van thread a week or so back.

[tmokes]

Homemade one I saw at the gas station.


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[pano-dude]

I've put about 40k miles on this setup through any terrain imaginable living in it over two ski seasons. Truck is an 08 5.7 Tundra.
Camper tag says 1755 dry, trailer is estimated at 5k.

My average fuel economy was 10.3, that's with highway speeds around 63. Long highway drives kill milage, in town driving makes it go up.

If I had to estimate I bet a diesel would have gotten about 13 going the speed limit with the same load. In my opinion they aren't worth the price of admission though.





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You're saying you get worse mileage on the hiway than town driving? This would be an anomaly.
I bet your truck works hard pulling that weight, downshift on every hill? A deisel will purr along and never shift with a load that size.
Your truck payload is probably maxed with a dry camper, put your gear in it fill up with fuel, 2 passengers and your over.



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[Yukonrider]

You're saying you get worse mileage on the hiway than town driving? This would be an anomaly.
I bet your truck works hard pulling that weight, downshift on every hill? A deisel will purr along and never shift with a load that size.
Your truck payload is probably maxed with a dry camper, put your gear in it fill up with fuel, 2 passengers and your over.



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When I say in town I should more say off interstate, that camper catches a bunch of wind, so Im not surprised it's better in town. The combo actually only does marginally (like a half MPG) worse than just the trailer! But I was able to go about 68 with just the trailer.

I've driven modern diesel trucks before, and yeah they just never downshift, it's incredible. But every diesel I've driven is also a maintenance nightmare, so it's a pick your poison situation, I picked driving slower, but dream of that big diesel motor every time a semi passes me...

Over payload, without question. I added E range tires, aftermarket sway bars, and RideRite airbags to help the truck out.

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[Norseman]

Over payload, without question. I added E range tires, aftermarket sway bars, and RideRite airbags to help the truck out.

Yup, that's the case with me, too. Load range E's, TRD sway, bags... and the truck does "fine".

But if Trooper McSnoop asks what your GVWR is, you're likely in for a ticket. He'll whip out his one-wheel scale and confirm being overweight.

For example...

My NL sticker claims factory 660kg dry, or 1450lbs. I've since removed the fridge, water heater, water tank, and some plumbing. I recently weighed the rig on the fancy shipping scale at my workplace, and it showed 7400lbs (3400 front wheels, 4000 rears) without jacks.

Truck weighs 5400 lbs unloaded, so even my little fiberglass NL8.5 is 2000 lbs. without water or gear.

Max GVWR for any Tundra configuration is 7200 lbs.

Drivetrain and brakes handle it easily, being built to haul 10k trailers, but there's still a legal risk.

[Foggy_Goggles]

being built to haul 10k trailers

I don't know anyone that has pulled 10K with a Trunda that would agree with that! I honestly have no idea what goes into GVWRs and other ratings. I've towed heavy and hauled heavy for most of my life for work and pleasure. The ratings on the new trucks are crazy.

If you haul or tow to max weight on any of the new trucks, they will fall apart and IMO is unsafe. My 2013 F250 is rated to haul almost 4K and tow over 12K. Fuck that!

Tow ratings are calculated with trailer brakes and 10% tongue weight. The trailer brakes do most of the work.

Anyways, I'm not trying to be safety bob. There are much more dangerous things on the road. I'm just suggesting that real world experience says, get the big truck, ignore that ratings.

[AdironRider]

I think the Tundras are the only rigs that actually rate on the J2807 scale, or at least they were. I have pretty good confidence in that Davis Dam test they do.

Also, what 10k trailer DOESN'T have trailer brakes?

[Norseman]

Yep, you're right re. trailer brakes going into the tow ratings.

And I agree about ratings being nutz.

I've driven a little with a 7.3 F250 and heavy gooseneck... definitely an educational experience.

Tundra with camper does ok with some beef springs and shit, but personally I'll never load a truck like this again. When the camper dies I'll go a different route. But for now it's what I got.

[Foggy_Goggles]

Yeah, I get it. And also don't get it. 1/2 ride quite a bit better unloaded but the 3/4 and 1 tons are so much more heavy duty for usually just about the same $ (gassers). I think the marketing is that you can have your deluxe grocery getter and haul your boat/rv with your 1/2 ton. I'm guessing the government is in on "consumer driven economy" and all.

I'm not being critical, sure adding the opinion who has lived in all. Broken leafsprings, smoked trannys, rolling intersections with the hazards on because you CFS, blowouts hauling heavy on I80 etc.

[Yukonrider]

I have towed 10k with my Tundra, it did fine. It isn't a diesel, its going to downshift. If we can get past that bit of debate, the truck is a champ. The tranny temp has never gone more than 15 degrees over normal op temp (except that time I did a 40 point turn in a snow filled snow park). It will go as fast as you want to fill the gas tank up.

I actually prefer my Tundra to my buddies Duramax 3500. The Chevy wanders all over the road, and rides like absolute butt. That motor in a Tundra and you would be in dream truck land....

[Foggy_Goggles]

I never knew about the SAE J2807. Interesting.

https://jalopnik.com/what-is-sae-j28...cks-1593305929

Yukon, was that in MI, once, perfectly loaded? That's not by point. Those in elevation, winter, shit roads, shit loading, long term use etc. and my opinion is that the Tundra doesn't pencil out. Fan boys gonna fan boy but it is just not the best option for heavy haul.

I just did a Seattle Craiglisting and it looks like an f250 is acutally less expensive that and f150. Again, I'm just giving some real world feeback from 8500' in the mountains. Agree to disagree but I've seen Tundras literally fall apart from heavy haul and towing below the ratings. 3/4 and 1 tons just don't do that.

[Norseman]

Dead horse territory...

I feel like I squeak by in justifying the 1/2 ton for camper duty, since it's on the truck for a fraction of the year and really only sees a few long weekends of use. If I had a more regular use for a heavy truck, I'd get a powerstroke Ford and be done.

Usually my truck has a shell on the bed and sees mixed mountain use. I look forward to living in drier climes one day, where a neat little pop-up/Flip-Pac/GoFast would be tits on the 1/2 ton.

Ok, let's move on.

[AdironRider]

I mean, don't get me wrong, you tow 10k all day every day yeah you want a 350. But for most applications, the Tundra at 10k pounds is perfectly fine. I do wish they bumped up the payload to 2k or so which would open up camper options.

Any gas motor at 8500 elevation is going to downshift. That does not mean it can't handle the weight. I think we are getting a bit spoiled in terms of capability and what trucks can handle and the "needed" capability has creeped up a bit more than it should.

[mattig]

My NL sticker claims factory 660kg dry, or 1450lbs. I've since removed the fridge, water heater, water tank, and some plumbing. I recently weighed the rig on the fancy shipping scale at my workplace, and it showed 7400lbs (3400 front wheels, 4000 rears) without jacks.

Truck weighs 5400 lbs unloaded, so even my little fiberglass NL8.5 is 2000 lbs. without water or gear.

Max GVWR for any Tundra configuration is 7200 lbs.

Drivetrain and brakes handle it easily, being built to haul 10k trailers, but there's still a legal risk.

Getting a GVWR reading of 7400 with a hard-sided camper is INSANE! I never felt like the Tundra even cared about 2-3k lbs in the bed, but those were always LOW center-of-gravity loads, and not driving up mountains.

I actually prefer my Tundra to my buddies Duramax 3500. The Chevy wanders all over the road, and rides like absolute butt. That motor in a Tundra and you would be in dream truck land....

Was that a 2017+?

I know my buddy with a 2015 F-350 is pissed at me for giving him a ride in my 2017 F-350 because he said he had to go buy a new truck now. I test drove the 2017 3500 as well. Generally impressed with the ride. The Tundra steering is the winner, but Ford's speed sensitive steering is quite nice as well. Absolutely no comparison between feature sets in the 2016 platinum tundra and 2017 Lariat F-350 when it comes to hauling loads (logical, of course). I just gotta figure out how to mount my tailgate camera on my camper so I can get my mind-boggling overhead 360° camera view back. That would make parking a 23 ft vehicle much quicker.

"tundra at 10k perfectly fine." I guess on flatter terrain, but not driving up to the mountain. Not for me anyway.

In the spirit of shifting back toward on-topic, I'll say that for 20-30 trips a year (as well as running around town occasionally without taking the camper off), the 1-ton is the right tool for the job when it comes to my 3k lb camper. Gas vs diesel debate is eternal. Great cases to be made for both.

Now... who's messed around with awning drop curtains? I'm thinking BBI chuck wagon potential with something like this: https://www.carefreeofcolorado.com/p...vacationr.html (hopefully they throw in the creepy old dude... Danger will robinson!)

[simple]

I have an ARB awning room. We are stoked on it.

[mattig]

I have an ARB awning room. We are stoked on it.

Thanks!

Do you feel like it could be jerry rigged for any old awning or is it fairly specific to ARB?

[simple]

Only compatible with ARB sorry

[Yukonrider]

Last post on this topic, but my point is more you don't NEED a 1 ton to move your camper up the mountain 3 times a year, modern half tons are incredibly capable, and much easier to live with 99% of the time.

Anyways.

Ditched the traveling life this year for a more sedentary approach, lets see some parking lot pics! I miss the lot lizard life already.

[Foggy_Goggles]

For what it is worth, my dream is an light weight hardside slid in for a half ton on similar. I wish you could just buy a basic insulated shell. There was a Canadian company that made one but I forget the name.

[mattig]

For what it is worth, my dream is an light weight hardside slid in for a half ton on similar. I wish you could just buy a basic insulated shell. There was a Canadian company that made one but I forget the name.

I looked into this. I'll have to find the name of the place when I get back to the computer. It wasn't really the price point I expected (12-13k I think). I'm sure there are other companies doing it though.

Like I said higher up in this thread, I took a hard look at Capri. Nice folks. They'll go pretty near full custom (i.e. bare bones) and I bet it wouldn't weigh much more than 1100lbs.

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[simple]

Ditched the traveling life this year for a more sedentary approach, lets see some parking lot pics! I miss the lot lizard life already.

Wish I had the shot but last weekend it was two HUGE hard sides on 1 ton crew cab pickups parked next to a huge Sportsmobile and a huge Tiger RV. All that was missing was an Earth Roamer. All with snowmobiles on small trailers. Too packed to take a photo.