Breaking in truck before towing?

**Tweety** · 05-19-2007, 07:00 PM

Is it necessary to break in a new truck before using it to tow? Truck isa Toyota Tundra, gas, rated to tow 10,000 lbs. Trailer is 3,000 lbs. If so, how many miles should we drive it before towing?

MikeM · 05-19-2007, 07:54 PM

Well the standard answer is to follow the instructions in the owners manual. Typically they say keep your speed down for the first 500 to 1k miles

Some people will say go for it as the truck will hardly know the trailer is there.

I am old school and would at least wait until after the first scheduled oil change or at least 3k miles.

Partially depends on if you are planning to keep the truck only for a few years or for a long time.

mike

**JohnB** · 05-19-2007, 09:42 PM

Pam

I'm old school too I guess. Most owners manuals say 500 miles and then even to stay under a certian speed.

The new trucks are built a lot better than the older ones of yesteryear, but still, a brand new truck, I would wait and follow the manual.

And if something does happen, they may not honor the warranty if you do not follow the manual.

Hope this helps

John

donreitz · 05-20-2007, 01:09 PM

Follow the ower's manual. The manufacturer knows the vehicle better than anyone. Given that trucks nowdays represent a huge investment, why not do everything possible to keep it running reliably over the long haul?
Don

**Tweety** · 05-20-2007, 01:52 PM

Thanks for the replies. I guess I didn't really want to hear what I already knew, which is that we should break it in. We don't have an owner's manual yet, and I SURE wasn't going to ask the salesman. We've been trying to aquire this truck since April 14, and it has taken them longer than they promised to find one equiped the way we want it. Now it's supposed to be here between May 25 and June 5. We'll be keeping this truck basically forever, so I'm thinking we'll break it in properly.

**JohnB** · 05-20-2007, 08:37 PM

Pam

Maybe this will help on the manual part at least.

There are a number of places on the web where you can actually download a free copy of an owners manual. If you had a GM, Ford, Saab, BMW, Mazda I could link you to the place that I get them from, but I looked and they did not have Toyota.

I searched the web quick and only camp up with this.

http://www.tundrasolutions.com/forum...n&page=2&pp=30

It an online paid service where they have down loads on most anything you want to know about Tundra or any other Toyota.

There where also lot’s of online place to buy a copy but was trying to search the free one and came up dry.

Toyota them selves may even have a free down load owner’s manul service. On my GM I can go thru Chevy.com and get a free manual when I have my VIN number.

Hope this helps and good luck with your new TV.

John.

**Sunline Fan** · 05-20-2007, 10:16 PM

Hi Pam,

I just want to add in my vote to break it in. When my mom got her Excursion, we actually took her old Mountaineer to the dealer for service, saw the Ex, she said it was two big, my dad and I out voted her, and we left a few hours later with the Ex. (Who would have ever thought we'd be a 2 Ex family now!) Well, that just happened to be Labor Day weekend 2005 (on Friday), and we certainly weren't going to miss two beautiful boating days on Saturday and Sunday. BTW, we were vacationing "up north" as we do every weekend in the summer. Well, my parents decided to take a drive (I don't know where because I didn't go) and logged about 250 miles on. That next day, I pulled the boat to the launch (from TBRV, about 12 miles) and went really easy on it the whole way. Thank goodness there haven't been any problems since, but I would recommend breaking it in a full 500 miles before towing, or go real easy on it.

Do you still have your Trailblazer? If you do, use that until the Tundra is WELL broken in.

Jon

donreitz · 05-21-2007, 05:16 AM

I don't know what Toyota recommends, but it's probably not much different than what Chevy suggests: Keep it under 55 for the first 500 miles and vary the speed. You wouldn't go wrong doing this in any case.
Don

AprilWhine · 05-21-2007, 05:12 PM

Congrats on your new tow vehicle! I really like the Toyota line.

We broke in our new FJ Cruiser for a bit over 1,000 miles before using it to tow. Why not do some shopping in NY to run up the miles?

ChiliPepperD · 06-27-2007, 06:40 AM

Besides the normal 500-1000 mile break-in for new trucks, my Dodge RAM suggests keeping speeds under 50 mph (and varied) for the First 500 Towing Miles. The reason for this it to properly heat treat the rear-end gearing. Too fast=too hot and could lead to premature failure down the road. This was in spite of the fact that my RAM came with Synthetic differential lube from the factory.
Our first towing trip was 300 miles each way to the Jersey Shore. We thought we'd never get there! Amazing how different it feels going 50 mph instead of 60 mph.

bugbite · 06-30-2007, 11:38 PM

We figure more even babying the truck. Thinking more like 2K mi personally.

But each has their own opinions. Just giving our thinking... OTD school here.