I've been towing my race cars with my 2005 GX470 for over three years and probably 20,000 miles. The combined weight of car and trailer has always been about ~4700lbs until this year. I got a slightly large car in the trailer that sits a little further forward and weighs 400lbs more then the previous two.
In addition to the new car, my wife also took the wheel for the first time this year. Now when we are heading to events, it's no longer just me in an empty truck, It's me, the wife and two kids (12 and 7) plus more luggage and a big cooler.
I weighed the trailer tongue with a proper tongue scale at between 450-550lbs...the scale seems a bit sticky and would read 450lbs initially...but if I pushed down manually it would only come back up to 550lbs.
Regardless, decent tongue balance and the trucks still tows everything really great. I then pulled on two different highway weigh scales to weight all the axles. Both came out to:
Truck Front: 1180kg = 2464lbs
Truck Rear: 1610kg = 3652lbs
Trailer Both: 2100kg = 4620lbs
The GX470 has the following ratings on the door:
Front Axle: 1290
Rear Axle: 1520
GVWR: 2810
So, as you can see when fully loaded I am now within 50lbs of the truck's GVWR and 200lbs overloaded on the rear axle. Next season I need to be able to carry an extra set of tires as well so I'm at a crossroads. I think I've already decided to go the route of getting a dedicated tow vehicle but I'm wondering, what do you guys think the weak link is for the rear axle?
I took a look at a 2003 Tundra which is the same front end and same rear axle and it's rated at the following:
Front Axle: 1433kg
Rear Axle: 1795kg
GVWR: 2812kg
I find the difference baffling especially for the front. Seems more like the rating laws/criteria changed between 2003 and 2005
Is the rear axle difference really the leafs vs the air bags?
In addition to the new car, my wife also took the wheel for the first time this year. Now when we are heading to events, it's no longer just me in an empty truck, It's me, the wife and two kids (12 and 7) plus more luggage and a big cooler.
I weighed the trailer tongue with a proper tongue scale at between 450-550lbs...the scale seems a bit sticky and would read 450lbs initially...but if I pushed down manually it would only come back up to 550lbs.
Regardless, decent tongue balance and the trucks still tows everything really great. I then pulled on two different highway weigh scales to weight all the axles. Both came out to:
Truck Front: 1180kg = 2464lbs
Truck Rear: 1610kg = 3652lbs
Trailer Both: 2100kg = 4620lbs
The GX470 has the following ratings on the door:
Front Axle: 1290
Rear Axle: 1520
GVWR: 2810
So, as you can see when fully loaded I am now within 50lbs of the truck's GVWR and 200lbs overloaded on the rear axle. Next season I need to be able to carry an extra set of tires as well so I'm at a crossroads. I think I've already decided to go the route of getting a dedicated tow vehicle but I'm wondering, what do you guys think the weak link is for the rear axle?
I took a look at a 2003 Tundra which is the same front end and same rear axle and it's rated at the following:
Front Axle: 1433kg
Rear Axle: 1795kg
GVWR: 2812kg
I find the difference baffling especially for the front. Seems more like the rating laws/criteria changed between 2003 and 2005
Is the rear axle difference really the leafs vs the air bags?
