Which model Sunline can I tow?

[WayneG]

My problem is finding a Sunline that I can tow safely with my 2001 Toyota Sequoia. The car is rated to tow 6200 Lbs. At this point thats about all I know. The engine is the 4.7 liter V8.
My wife and I would like to be able to sleep 4 people. That would be my wife me and MY college age daughter and sometimes one of her girl friends.
I really like something around 24 to 25 feet.
Wayne

[henryj]

Hi Wayne and Susan,
Welcome to the SOC. I commend you for going about this the right way by asking before you buy a trailer rather than looking for affirmation post purchase. One of the gotcha's of trailer towing, that even most RV dealers conveniently overlook, is that the tow rating is the weight of everything you load in the Sequoia plus the fully loaded trailer. When the factory calculates their tow rating--6200 lb. in your case--they use an absolutely base truck with no options, a full tank of fuel, and a driver and that's it. So you do start with a 6200 lb. rating, but by the time you add your family and all your stuff, the actual trailer weight drops to 5000 lb. or less and that's with no reserve for passing or hill climbing.

The latest and greatest Sequoia has a payload of just over 1200 lb.--it's unlikely that your 2001 is more. In that 1200 lb. you have to include 4 people, whatever you load in the back PLUS the tongue weight of the trailer.

When everything is fully loaded and hitched up, the weight of the Sequoia should be within its GVWR, GAWR and GCWR. These are the numbers we need to suggest an optimal trailer weight. Dig out your owner's manual and read the section on trailer towing and give us whatever numbers you find there and on the ID plate on the driver's door.

Henry

[Steve Collins]

Another consideration is the amount of weight that the Sequoia's rear and front axles can handle. That is going to translate directly into how much tongue weight the tow vehicle can manage. And all that will partly determine how much trailer and "stuff" your car can tow.

Some of the trailers that are light enough to be towed by the Sequoia may have tongue weights that exceed what can be safely borne by the axles.

Our experience with SUV's has shown that they are not always able to properly tow what one might think they should. JohnB will have more for you, but it would be good if you dig out your owners manual and make note of all the information on the door sticker regarding weight, axles, tires, gearing, etc., etc. Without those numbers readily available, it will be difficult, if not impossible, to give you honest and real answers.

[larry stone]

Your truck might have the power to tow 6200 pounds but it will not be safe.

The short wheelbase and narrow track is the killer. AKA the tail wagging the dog.

I would think that 4000 pounds of trailer would be the max.

Why not think about getting a real truck? The cost to fix the broken SUV will be the same as buying a real truck.

For instance in my area there is a 1991 Dodge eight lug pickup for sale with 155K miles, auto od, all options, and a 5.9l cummings turbo for $3900.

With a truck like this you can pull a 30' fiver.

[WayneG]

Thanks for he information. I guess I have some homework and possibly some thinking of a trade.
Wayne

[Steve Collins]

Some other things to consider when looking at all of this.

First, "stuff" that we all carry. The weight adds up quicker than most think. Clothing, bedding, food, pots and pans, dishes, flat ware, spices and condiments, that extra tent for the grandkids, chairs, the EZup shelter, the screen house, a gas grille or charcoal grille (plus fuel!), patio lights, rake, shovel, axes, brooms, baby shop vac, etc., etc., etc.

Second, tank contents. As much as we might promise ourselves that we'll always tow with empty tanks, you have to plan for the opposite. I can guarantee that sooner or later we all have to travel with one or more of the tanks filled to capacity. My 2453 has a 25 gallon fresh water tank, a 25 gallon black water tank, and a 25 gallon gray water tank. Oh yeah, can't forget the 6 gallon hot water heater which is never empty. Water weighs 8.35 pounds per gallon. That is 81 gallons equalling 676 pounds of weight that has to be added to the dry weight of the trailer when figuring pulling capacity. Newer trailers generally have larger holding tanks.

Dry weight of trailers does not include the battery - 35 pounds or so? Some us have double batteries or more. Same for propane tanks. Empty they are about 17# each and full they're 20# or so. Oops, some of us carry 30's. Batteries and propane in particular directly add to tongue weight. Spare tire is maybe another 40# or so.

My 2453 has a factory rated tongue weight of 535# which is determined with nothing in any tanks and no battery or propane tanks. JohnB weighed the tongue for us a couple of years ago, and guess what? 820#! (Fresh water tank is well forward of the tandems and was full at the time plus I have a pair of 30#'s on the A-frame.) Tongue weight really matters when looking at SUV's as tow vehicles because their axles are generally not rated to carry lots of extra weight beyond the vehicle, some luggage, and 4 adults.

Things I carry in the truck that others might carry in or on the trailer: Canoe, generator, bicycles, lots of cribbing, spare (full) propane tanks, at least 10 gallons of gasoline for the genny and the boat, indoor-outdoor rugs for the campsite, all of my tools, 35 gallon waste water tote, portable dock for the boat, and more, lots more.

OK, so stuff matters big time and has to be included in weight calculations. I had an RV salesman try to tell me that no one carries 1,100# of stuff, and he was foolish enough to do it in front of other prospective customers at an RV show. You can guess how that turned out.

People and pets in the tow vehicle count, too.

There is a general consensus among experienced RV trailerists that there ought to be a safety margin between what the TV is rated to tow and what the fully loaded trailer weighs. You can calculate this on the fly in your head by simply comparing the maximum towing capacity of the tow vehicle to the GVWR of the trailer. It is not a perfect formula, but it is easy to remember and provides a decent starting place to figure if a particular combination of TV and TT might work, especially if you are standing in the middle of a showroom floor with a salesperson hovering over you.

My previous TV was a Dodge Ram 1500 rated to tow 7,800#. The 2453 is GVWR'd at 5,500#. Right around a 40% safety margin (if I did the math right.) Folks will differ on what is a proper safety margin, but generally 20-25% is considered absolute minimum.

I hope some of this helps explain what goes into sorting out the various tow vehicles.

[Tweety]

With all that said, there is still the question of how far you want to tow this trailer and in what type of terrain. If you live in the flat lands, and aren't planning to travel long distances you might be fine. We had a 23' bunk model back in the 90's and towed happily with our Buick Estate Wagon. But we didn't go very far - max 2 hours, and didn't load it down with tanks full of water and alot of other stuff. How about a nice 1950 and a tent for the teens ?

[larry stone]

A single axle would be a better choice for the suv.

T-1450's and up are 7 foot wide.

Back in the day I had a T-1350 (6'3" wide) pulled by a compact mitsu 2.6l auto OD trans long wheelbase pickup with a custom made 1 3/4" reciever hitch and equilizer bars, that with two big people in the cab and a 530 pound motorcycle in the bed that could pull 10% grades all day long.

[JohnB]

Hi Wayne

Folks have given some really good things to think about. And by now you may be in info overload and still do not know what to do. I’ll type some to hopefully tie some of the pieces together and well, hopefully not overload you even worse….. If we confuse you in all this, please ask for clarification. Sunline Owners Club is the place where you can ask and get a fellow camper like quality answer. The issue with a key board is you cannot always get the verbal tone of the sincerity of the answers to come thru some times. Wish we where close to a campground as this is something great to talk about around the campfire where it can be explained and pointed to on your truck. So for now the cyber campfire will have to make do.

Now onto your Sunline quest. Let’s take a look at your TV. Having been a SUV tower myself since 1997 and in SUV’s since 1989 I know many of the goods and not so goods of them. I will make a statement that does fit all SUV’s. A SUV can make a good TV but only within the ability of the truck. This is where SUV’s some times gets a bad rap. They do not fit as many applications as say a pick up truck.

Now why? Lets take a Chevy Tahoe, (I had 2 of then A 97 and a 2002) This is a full size ½ ton SUV, shorter wheelbase then the Suburban, had a 5.3 V8, 4 speed transmission with Tow Haul and a 3.73 rear axle. These trucks towed many a cargo trailer, canoe trailer, boats, open equipment trailers, and did a good job. Those types of trailer fit when you look up the owners manual and see ratings for them. And I towed a TT for a while too until I learned I was overloading the rear axle due to the camper I had. I could pull it, just not hold it up. I also had a 1989 S15 Jimmy. The 4.3 V6 and a good little all around truck, my son still has it. Did not tow much with it other then a little 2,000# utility trailer. I also have a TrailBlazer SUV but really do not tow with it a lot, never had the need to. I later had a K2500 Suburban which is a 3/4 ton SUV and it is much more truck like then a 1/2 ton SUV and with that SUV I towed lots of miles pulling Sunlines around with until the day I had a TT to big for it. Again all within their means.

The TV owners manuals do not talk about Travel Trailers (TT), they only talk about raw weight and towing a TT adds a whole new set of conditions that greatly affect any vehicle regardless of type. TT’s are often referred to as “towing a brick”… I know it sounds funny but it for sure fits the analogy. The “brick” part deals with surface area exposed that the TV is pulling. Many TT’s are 8 feet wide, some are 7 feet or in-between. Then some go 8 to 11 feet tall. That big wall surface (aka brick) creates one heck of a wind drag when you start going much above 45 mph. And that wind resistance eats up power to pull it thru the air. I have not yet found 1 vehicle owners manual that tells how much pulling power is lost for this brick surface area. Ford and a few other brands at least declare that over 60 sq feet of surface area that towing performance will be greatly affected. They just left out how much… 60 sq feet can be a camper 7 foot side by 8.5 feet tall. Any one who has towed a medium to large TT knows the brick effect and it is reflected in the gas/fuel gage dropping like a rock and hard pulling….when towing to camp.

TT’s are not the only “bricks” out there. Actually the open utility trailers with the mesh rear ramp gates on them that once folded up creates a large wind resistance. Even with the trailer empty, that rear gate pulls really hard and the “brick” has a lot of holes in it…. Again this is not in relation to weight, just surface area to wind.

The other attribute TT’s have is the weight and balance of the trailer is different then cargo, utility trailer etc. . On a cargo trailer, a utility trailer you can most times move cargo around inside to create a different balance of tongue weight to total gross vehicle weight or GVW. They are also not high profile wide trailers. This can helps some times to not overload the back of the truck even if the raw weight fits. On a TT that is literally a mobile moving cottage going down the road you can’t totally rearrange the inside of the camper. Yes you can move gear from spot to spot, and that is important, but the way the unit is built is what it is. Point is, TT’s present heavier tongue weights as a rule and the TV has to be able to handle that tongue weight safely. On smaller TV’s often times you do not run out of pulling power, you can run out of holding up the tongue weight.

Sunline and other many other TT manufactures that take great pride in creating stable towing campers know that tongue weight balance in relation to GVW is imperative to being right to not create a towing disaster. The bottom end of the guide line is that 10% of the total GVW must be on the trailer tongue for a general trailer. This fits, utility, cargo, open equipment trailer and I’m sure others I did not mention. Trailers like a goose neck horse trailer or a boat that has wheels in the back are different. For towing stability to not sway, that 10% is the bottom and even then it can get in trouble on a TT if one day on a light TT you had 2 empty propane tanks and but a bunch of gear in the back of the camper. That could tip the odds of 10% to 8% and you never realized it as leaving home you where OK and coming home you are not.

Using 12 to 13% as the minimum tongue weight adds more safety for going camping. When you start getting about 15% then that area you have to watch out as the TV needs to really be able to handle it. 16% and higher makes a good towing trailer but the TV needs to be equipped to handle it. This tongue weight percent to GVW is something that has to exist correctly before towing a TT. So what ever size TT one gets it needs to be balanced to have a “loaded” (all camping stuff in the TT) tongue weight in the 12 to 13% range or higher to be a stable towing trailer. This is regardless of TT length. If the trailer will not tow stable it does not matter what kind of truck you have. This tongue weight percent in relation to “loaded camper” GVW needs to be in the 12 to 13% minimum range as a guide to follow. This all deals with a TT that will tow stable and not sway just going down the highway. And sway is something that is very unforgiving and must be corrected, and can be on a TT that is built correct to start with. Point: The size of the TT a TV can tow depends on how big a TT tongue weight the TV can hold up. This is independent of length and GVW of the TT. The tongue weight has to be correct for stable towing. Have to get all things to be in line.

There is another concern for stable towing that deals with the ratio of wheel base of the truck, rear overhang of the truck (the distance from the center of the rear axle to the tow ball) and the length of the camper. None of the TV manuals talk about wheel base to trailer length. Again a TT is not mentioned much if any in the owners manuals. A 20 foot open equipment trailer is a lot different then a 20 foot TT. We can get to this wheelbase question once we get past the weights. There are ways to overcome short wheel base vehicles to trailer length but they need a special hitch to do this. And any of those special hitches add even more weight to the truck. In some cases the special hitch will overload the rear axle or GVWR of the truck in addition to the tongue weight.

The SUV has one attribute to it that hurts for towing a TT. It is the way the vehicle is made and why they are so popular. From behind the drivers seat to the back of the truck is the issue. A SUV has back seats, some times 3rd row seats. It has heavy glass and a truck body to hold up that glass behind the rear seat. Those creature comforts add weight to the truck. Let’s look at a Pick Up (PU) truck. Behind the front seat is an open air truck bed. The bed weighs very little compared to the creature comforts of a SUV. Now in that same light, a PU with a crew cab eats up truck too so we need to keep this in perspective. Every time I have run the calculations of a ½ ton SUV to a ½ ton PU truck, using the same engine, same transmission, same rear axle, the PU can always pull more camper and hold up more tongue weight. Why? Well the PU just plain weighs less to start with. It is sprung different in the back as it is intended to haul weight in the truck bed. This is not to say that SUV’s are bad TV’s nor that PU’s will solve all problem either, point is each TV should only be used within the ability of the truck. They are all good TV’s up to a point. Don’t worry folks can get a PU truck in trouble with too much camper just like an SUV can. Same things apply, just different way you got there.

So now you know a little bit about what the TV owners manuals may have not told you or did not express like I or we here on SOC have.

We can help show you how to figure this out and what size TT or other camper fits with your present TV. And at the end of this, if the camper of your dreams is bigger then the TV, well an upgrade in TV may be in your future. But at least you learned from the process on how to size up any TV to a camper.

But we need more info from you to give you more definitive answers. So here is the list. Please try and fill in what you can. Toyota makes this hard for people who do not own one. I know I tried several times to find this info on the internet from Toyota and it is not available without a VIN number. So here goes.

Open your drivers side door. There is a ratings sticker there. It looks something like this.


We need the:

1. GVWR (Gross Vehicle Weight Rating)
2. The GAWR-Front (Gross Axle Weight Rating – front or rear).
3. GAWR-Rear.

Then on your truck we need to know the

4. The year
5. Model
6. Engine size
7. 2 wheel drive or 4 wheel drive
8. Does it have the towing package
9. Truck rear axle ratio
9A. Any extra options groups you have in the truck above the standard if you know them.

10. Next you have to look up in the towing section of your owners manual for what they call the GCWR. (Gross Combined Weight Rating) This is the max recommended total weight the engine, transmission and rear axle can pull.

11. We need to know the total weight of the people inside the truck including any pets.

12. We need to know the total weight of the absolute “must have” extra things inside the truck when you go camping. These are things that cannot go in the camper and must be in the truck. It might be 150# of stuff that are essential to a pleasant experience of going camping.

13. Here is one request you may not know right now, but is the absolute best way to figure this out and you are then armed with real world numbers. Need an actual scaled front and rear axle weight of the truck with all people and pets ideally (can add them later if we have to) inside, full tank of gas and the “must” have extra stuff. This cost about $8 bucks at any truck stop that have scales. Pilot, Flying J, Travel America, Love’s etc. This is also at recyclers, local dumps/transfer stations etc. Armed with a true front and rear axle weight and the ratings of your truck I can nail this to the wall on where you will stand as far as having a TT affect the weight and pull ratings of your truck.

14. While your digging, here is one more rating. It is the receiver (some times called hitch) that is on the back of your truck. It may have a sticker like this.


We (you) need to know if the receiver you have is capable of accepting a weight distributing hitch. The weight distributing number rating we need to know. If there is no sticker on the receiver, crawl around and look under it, then it may be in the owners manual. I know Toyota some times on the smaller trucks did not put a WD receiver on or they are only rated to 700# ish range as that can be the highest the rear axle can hold anyway. We have to keep this in mind and if everything else works right may need to upgrade this area of the truck. And hopefully you do not run into this, but Toyota did not put a sticker on nor mention it in the owners manual. This means we have to dig deeper and maybe even the dealer to find out the rating. You have to have the right hitch equipment regardless if you can pull it.

15. If by chance there is any mention to a curb weight of your truck in the manual and by really strange chance the split of the curb weight to the front and rear axle. Odds are this is not in your manual but if it is, then please provide. I can hunt for it on the web once I know what you have. If you can provide no. 13, then skip this all together.

Like I said, a few yeas ago Toyota changed their web site and I can’t get in to down load an owners manual to look this stuff up for you. So you have to do it and get back to us.

Hope all this helps. Glad to take this to the next step once we can figure out what it is you have in your truck. I know this seems like a lot of stuff to do. It may take you 30 minutes to an hour to round it up. If you want to know how to do this and why and make sure you are at or under your truck ratings, this is the way to figure it out. And one word of friendly caution, do not trust a RV dealer who looks up in a towing guide your truck and never asks you any of these questions and says, sure you can tow it. That is another post in itself… The words “Tow Rating” has bitten many a TT owner to later realize they have problem with too much camper for the truck they way they go camping.

John

[WayneG]

I am amazed at the help here. I will try to get the data and John if it will help you 'll get the Vin number to you for this Toyota.
I feel like I just got a engineering class assignment.
I really am appreciative of all the help and I realize that this is the way to keep my fami;ly safe while towing.

Thanks
Wayne

[JohnB]

Hi Wayne

An engineering problem, LOL

This is not that bad the 2nd time through. The 1st time it seems like a lot but after one does it once and understands why, then this goes quick. If I knew more about your truck I could of estimated pretty close out of the gate. GM's, Ford's and even Dodges I can do fairly quick. Can find an owners manual on line and there are Source books that show the curb axle weights and towing guides for receiver ratings for at least the GM's and Fords. There may be on the Dodges, just seems I have not had to drill that deep yet on them due to folks not asking. Little by little I am building the "where to find" on Toyota as camper folks ask about those vehicles.

When you get your info together this should go fairly quick. The curb axle weights are generally the hardest to find unless some one comes with scaled truck weights this goes really quick and accurate.

We will wait for your info and then go from there. There is a Sunline or other camper for you out there that will fit your truck. Choices may have to be made but you at least know why you are choosing.

John

[WayneG]

OK
Here is what I have so far.
GVWR 6600
GAWR
frt 3160
rr 3900
Sway control if towing over 2000
Combination of both suv and trailer 11800
Tongue load / total trailer weight X 100 = 9 to 11%
2 wd = 620
4 wd = 650 Mine is a 4wd
Thats all I have now but I'm still working on the rest.
Thanks to everyone for the help, maybe I will end up as an official Sunline owner yet.
Wayne

[WayneG]

Someone asked what type of trips I planned. My wife and I like to travel and explore. A few years ago My wife, daughter,and one friend took a cross contry trip from Va. to San Diego Ca. by way of Interstate 40. We also go to Orlando Fla. to see the mouse. Thats for my college age daughter.
We pulled a Colman Bayside Popup for these trips.

Wayne

[OhhWell]

I'm sure John will get you some solid numbers soon. I imagine that toungue weight limitation may hurt a little and make you really analyze how you load whatever trailer you get.

I wanted to chime in with a slightly less technical part and that is what year range you are open to.

Believe it or not, the older trailers are generaly lighter. I don't really know why except maybe that TVs had less standard power back then or something....

For instance, if you are looking at 2004 models, to get a trailer that has 3 seperate berthing areas (Which I imagine would be important with 2 teenage girls so that they can have seperate beds) you are looking at 4500 lbs and up.

Now in the '94 model year, you can get a t-2370 at 3800 lbs that has 3 seperate "Beds" or, if Bunk beds are ok, even the Saturn t-2250 at 3465 lbs

OR, if you don't mind sleeping on the converted dinette when the girls are with, there is the T2052 at 3210 lbs.

I would start looking at floor plans in the documents section of this site and see what the lightest trailer you would be happy with weighs and then see what John comes up with. There are some pricey but reportedly effective hitches that can help alot with the wheelbase problem on the sequoia.

I would imagine that if you were to keep it around 3500lbs, that should be safe weight wise any day of the week. The drivetrain on that Toyota is excellent.

I also want to stess what has been said many times about the amount of weight we load in these things. I found that out first hand. The difference between when I towed our 28' home empty after buying it and when we went camping this first time loaded down with the family's stuff was insane. I found myself at the limit for our TV and it had some consequences.

[WayneG]

Would a trailer with a gavr of 5500 fit in my weight rating safely?
Wayne

[OhhWell]

Wayne,

Did you mean GAWR? If so, that is just the weight the axle(s) are rated to carry. What you should try to get is the dry weight of the trailer.

If you can find the trailer on the NADA website

Prices & Used Values for RVs, Travel Trailers & more - NADAguides

And follow to where it appraises the value it will also list the dry weight on alot of them.

If you keep your gear light and it is just the two of you, it's possible that a trailer with a dry weight of even as high as 4500lbs could be no problem. Remember that you don't want to go too long either unless you get a hensly hitch.

[JohnB]

Hi Wayne

Where you able to turn up any more info?

I filled in what you gave us in blue.

1. GVWR: 6, 600#
2. The GAWR-Front: frt 3160
3. GAWR-Rear. rr 3900

Then on your truck we need to know the

4. The year: 2001
5. Model: Sequoia
6. Engine size: 4.7 liter V8
7. 2 wheel drive or 4 wheel drive: 4 wheel drive
8. Does it have the towing package
9. Truck rear axle ratio
9A. Any extra options groups you have in the truck above the standard if you know them.

10. GCWR. (Gross Combined Weight Rating) 11,800#

11. We need to know the total weight of the people inside the truck including any pets.

12. We need to know the total weight of the absolute “must have” extra things inside the truck when you go camping. These are things that cannot go in the camper and must be in the truck. It might be 150# of stuff that are essential to a pleasant experience of going camping.

13. Here is one request you may not know right now, but is the absolute best way to figure this out and you are then armed with real world numbers. Need an actual scaled front and rear axle weight of the truck with all people and pets inside, full tank of gas and the “must” have extra stuff.

14. While your digging, here is one more rating. It is the receiver (some times called hitch) that is on the back of your truck.

15. If by chance there is any mention to a curb weight of your truck in the manual and by really strange chance the split of the curb weight to the front and rear axle.



I found this here, can you tell me if this is your options package? While I do not like taking off these types of sites as the info can be very wrong here is a stab at it.



2001 Toyota Sequoia SR5 4dr SUV 4.7L V8 4-speed Automatic Features and Specs


It lists:

• Wheel base: 118.1 in.

• Maximum towing capacity: 6500 lbs.
• Maximum payload: 1430 lbs.
• Gross weight: 6500 lbs.
• Curb weight: 5070 lbs.

If you found the GCWR in your manual to be 11,800# that semi lines up with these numbers. Stock curb weight of 5,070# + a tow rating of 6,500# = 11,500 which is under the GCWR you told us.



The problem with curb weights is they can often times be without all the options and they can add up to 300 to 400# more. There is no mention if that 5,070# curb weight is 4 x 4 or 2 wheel drive and any other options.


By this site it seems to point to you have the "Limited" version due to you telling us the GVWR was 6,600.



Toyota Sequoia Compare - Engines and Performance - MSN Autos


If that is the case then these are the numbers.


Standard Towing (lb.)
6200
Standard Payload (lb.)
1305 Max Payload (lb.)
1305 Standard GVWR (lb.)
6600 Max GVWR (lb.)
6600

If I use those numbers, GVWR of 6600 - 1305 payload = 5,295 curb weight

5,295# + 6,200# towing = 11,495 as a GCW which still does not match your 11,800# in owners manual for GVWR.

We start this process trying to have a good idea on what the truck weighs empty, add all passenger weight, add all must have items in the truck and that gives us a real GVW.

I'm going to "guess" so you can see this until you can give some more info.

5,295 curb weight + 350# of passengers + 100# of must have gear = 5,745# truck and no TT.

Taking the 11,800# GCWR - 5,745# = 6,055# of pull rating left with 0% reserve for wind drag and hills. If we use a somewhat bare minimum of 10 or 15% reserve for TT frontal area drag and little hills, 11,800# - 15% is 1,770# reduction in pulling or resetting the max pulling number to 11,800 - 1,770# = 10,030# as a max pull weight. I will not recommend when towing a TT to use all the 100% pull capacity a truck has on paper as those ratings never take into account the wind drag a TT can give. If you never drive about 45mph then going closer to 100% is not so much and issue.

With that, 10,030 - 5,745# GVW truck = 4,285# of TT for pulling the "loaded" camper.

A 4,285# loaded TT should have a 13% loaded tongue for stable towing or 557# tongue weight.

I do not know the axle weights of your truck so I cannot tell of the rear axle can take on 600# of WD hitch and TT tongue weight. That is if you have a weight distributing receiver to start with.

Not knowing much more you are looking for a "loaded" camper in the 4,000# range and a tongue weight not much more then 500 to 600# and that has to be verified your receiver can take it and your rear axle. This also assumes I have the truck weights right.

As you can see a whole lot of assuming going on with out a real scaled rear axle and front axle weight and knowing your receiver.

The Bayside PU you have, that is a nice unit. We had a 2004 Mesa. I "think" they are a 3,600# GVWR PU which loaded may weigh in at ~ 3,400#. That is lower profile camper but those higher PU's catch wind too but not like a TT.

Sunline use to make many single axle TT's that fit in your weight range. When you get into the double axle units really need to watch the weights. There may be a few.

Also to note I used the wording "loaded" TT. It is not hard in a small unit like that to gain 600 to 700# of camping gear. So be looking at dry weights 600 to 700# less then the "loaded" weight.

I hope this helps. If you can get some axle weights with people and must haves items inside we can get a lot closer. That and what your receiver can handle.

Hope this helps and good luck.

John

[WayneG]

John
I really am appreciative of the help that you have given. I am going to have the Sequoia weighed this eek end.
I noticed a T2363 in the for sale column. Is this something I could handle?

Wayne

[OhhWell]

At 3750lbs dry and a hitch weight of 550lbs dry, it should be fine. You will just have to watch that hitch weight (Going off the data on your hitch listing a TW max of 640lbs). Luckly the storage under the bed is in the rear and can offset that as you add propane and a battery.

Bear in mind though that the 2363 only has two berthing areas.

[JohnB]

Originally Posted by WayneG

John
I really am appreciative of the help that you have given. I am going to have the Sequoia weighed this eek end.
I noticed a T2363 in the for sale column. Is this something I could handle?

Wayne

Hi Wayne

Yes, get your truck weights. Full fuel tank, absolute must have things in the truck and no extras. Need a front axle and rear axle weight. This then tells you for sure what you have.

Have to find the receiver rating some how. This is complex sometimes on Toyota's and need to know if it is rated for a weight distribution and at what rating.

The camper, I'm assuming this is the 1995 T2363 you where looking at. That is a popular camper here on the forum and a nice camper. The catalog lists a dry weight of 3,755# and a dry tongue weight of 550#. Which is 14.6% dry tongue. I actually did a tongue weight on 2, T2363's in the last 2 years at M & G's I was at. I did not add them to my tongue weight list and now I can't find them. They may read this post and chime in. I "thought" they where in the 700# ish loaded area.

I did however at Buttonwood a few years ago weight 2 more T2363's. They came in at 650# and 645# the way those folks camped.

With that size camper it is not hard to add about 600 to 800# of gear as it is a very nice layout. The camper is a 5,500# GVWR camper so it has room to add "stuff"

If you added 600# it could weigh in around 4,355# and at 800 it would be 4,555#. With out knowing the weights of your truck yet, it can put you at your trucks limit, just under or maybe a little over. I'm most concerned first on the rear axle rating in the truck on how it can handle the loaded tongue weight. When you come from the scales we can then see for sure.

This I do know, for sure that camper with your truck will need a good WD hitch with a built in anti sway control. For that low slung camper I would recommend the Equal-I-zer brand by Progress Mfg. as long as you are not forced to go to a 1,000# unit which could be a receiver problem for you. The frame is lower to the ground and you will have more ground clearance with the Equal-I-zer. The reese with the DC however does give you an 800# WD bar option and the Reese does work on this camper just ground clearance is close. And for sure get the trunnion bar setup. It adjusts out better.

I will say this, the last 2 folks I helped set up their hitch on this T2363 camper had 1/2 ton pickup trucks, extended cab at least. A friction bar and their truck did not cut it on the interstate. Going to the Dual Cam as they had a Reese helped greatly once hitch was optimized in setup. However both where also dealing with tire flex which is a big part of controlling a camper. They both have new tires over the winter and may just have started towing this season. They may pop in here to tell of their new towing experiences. Back country roads and interstates have different conditions to deal with.

Since your this close on weights, I'll hold off on declaring is this is a good fit our not until you can get your scaled weights and then we can see how this comes out.

Hope this helps

John