My Toyota Sequoia TRD Pro Struggles to Tow My 6,000 lb Camper, And Now I’m Wondering If I Should’ve Bought a Truck Instead

I know what you mean. I dumped mine and got a Grand Cherokee diesel which pulls my 7,000 lb trailer with ease.👍

The big mistake was buying a Travel Trailer that long to begin with. Buy a nice tent and rent hotels and cabins when available. The cost/benefit never pays out for travel trailers. Maybe a small airstream with enough room for sleeping would be good, but with the money you spend on suv/truck and trailer, not to mention fuel, waiting times, and costs for campgrounds, you can buy a nice time-share and a hell of a nice tent. If you use the trailer for work and/or to live in for a while when you divorce over the issues like I did, then maybe it’s a good deal.

No shit

I can tow a 30ft RV trailer with my 1999 Ford Ranger no problem. It's a 4.0L V6, 4X4, rebuilt the Lifted suspension, beefier brakes, electric brakes and tranny cooler to match the load. It will haul a Pallet of Floor tile too. no problem. Also have a 14 ft RV trailer with flip out beds. I can go camping in way off road. Bought it to tow/launch a Bass Boat, but I gave my boat to Number 3 grandson.

'Towing Capacity' is only 1 part of the equation. You also have to consider your vehicles 'Payload' and 'Hitch Weight' ratings, as well as the actual hitch weight of the loaded trailer.

With towing, it's not just a one and done number game.

And personally, I believe the weight distribution system was designed by an engineer who bought a trailer too heavy for his vehicle and said... hang on a minute, I can fix this!

Set weight distribution hitch properly. Better yet invest in a weigh safe or a pro pride P3 hitch. They will be great for that set-up. Don't just buy the cheapest hitch lol they are not all the same.

I hope in the future we do our homework. Articles like this are misleading and sound like this vehicle is incapable of meeting the mark. The Tundra and Sequoia are the same platform. The GVWR of the Sequoia is reduced because the vehicle is heavier than the Tundra. Diesel trucks often have a lesser GVWR than the gas counter parts because the gas motor weights less. People should take there new trailer to a weight station had have the axles weighed. I think most will conclude that the manufacturers of these trailers are underestimating their weight. Now add water to that at 8.33lbs per gallon, that all ads up.

I've always shown horses across the country and I've learned what works and what feels like your on the edge of losing control. My current work horse for towing is a Chevy Silverado 3500 Dually. Everything works in harmony to keep you on the straight and narrow safely even in severe wind events, strong enough to tear the A/C unit off the top of the trailer. I did drive a friend's Ford Explorer to haul, using her smaller 2-horse trailer and that was scary to drive, not only aerodynamically but that vehicle didn't have the brakes to handle the extra weight. Everything was geared towards comfort and it was all too 'squishy' to feel secure. I advise anyone who hauls anything not to take a particular vehicles tow rating as true, because in the real world it's not always correct

I have no experience with the new Sequoia but I can tell u the 2nd gen ( which I own)does a very good Job. I own a 2021kodiak ultra light approximately 5800 pounds. I have found it very capable at towing . Of course it's no 2500 pickup but it gets the job done. Airbags are a must on the limited and sr5 , I believe the platinum has them factory. Of course a good wd hitch, is a must as well. And it must be dialed in correctly to your vehicle. Packing the camper with weight put in the right place also helps. I always inflate my rear tires about 3-4 pound extra to compensate for the tounge weight. Ivw been towing all my life and I tell everyone keep it below 65 and always always always use your tow/ haul switch. One more thing when buying a camper always go for double axels this makes a world of difference in the handling of your camper , 4 wheels on the ground are always better than two!!!! And invest in a good brake control such as a prodigy, you can never be too careful so use all the tools ya can!!!

I've never had a properly loaded trailer sway. Be it a 61" Scag behind a Corolla or a thirty-something foot trailer with a Trackhoe and Bobcat behind a 99 f-350 or a big ass boat behind a 67 Valiant. All were 3x the tow ratings. I bet a million bucks the idiots have everything stored in the back of the camper.

When ever I read TRD on the truck I think turd😁

When ever I read TRD on the truck I think turd😁

It’s a tundra, it has a longer wheel base than a ram and less than an inch diff than F150. Buying a diff truck wouldn’t change the fact that your sequoia is already a truck. It comes down to the size of that camper, without a 2500HD or f250 ect your not getting any help switching to another truck. 65 mph is probably to fast for that anyways so unless you have a 2500 get a 22-25 ft camper.

I towed with a 2021 Nissan Armada. I have a 2022 Coachman Apex NANO at 25f 4,800lbs. The armada had plenty of power to tow but wheelbase made things stressful. No way I'd do 65mph most of the time as it just didn't feel safe in windy or with semis. Fast forward to now and I have a 2024 Chevrolet 2500HD Diesel. I don't even notice I am towing now and I will never go back. I would never recommend towing with an SUV and if you do go at most half the max weight and never longer than vehicle towing.

I have a '24 TRD Pro Tundra that pulls our 20' 7500 lb. toy hauler. I couldn't tow it without airbags. I went with the Air Lift LoadLifter 5000 set-up. Attach the trailer, and then air up the bags until the frame of the truck is on the same plane as the frame of the trailer.

The inexpensive route is to inflate/deflate the bags using a bicycle pump. It only takes a few strokes of the pump to reach the desired PSI since the volume of the airbags is relatively low. I went with a version that has a built-in compressor and a remote control. I can stand to the side and use the remote to inflate the bags until everything is level. That's a more complicated installation and cranks up the price.

But I wouldn't/couldn't tow without the combination of the weight distributing hitch and airbags. When it's set up properly, I sometimes forget I have the trailer behind me.

This article is whacked.
The issue is not truck vs SUV,
it's a question of engine size.

The problem is car companies are making smaller engines and expecting them to do the same work cause it has this turbo fad technology.

And Toyota is foolish to be using this new technology, instead keeping what is tried & true.

A truck can do the gooseneck
towing, which some feel is easier,
but the SUV can still pull.

SUVs have internal storage so
your cargo is protected from the
elements like rain. Many serious
contractors will tell you an SUV or
van is a better way to go.

Trucks have external storage,
which occasionally is a better idea.
external storage which occasionally
is more useful.

You don't pay for the convenience
of either though. You pay for the
material the car maker is giving you.
And the Sequoia has more material
put into it.

There are more Tundras on the road
than Sequoias, but not cause they are
better/stronger vehicles. Look at any
car brand and the same grade SUV always costs more, so less people buy them.

Nor is the Sequoia meant to be a family vehicle, though it's good for that too as some people need the room and the engine capability.

My parents had a 91 Chev G20 conversion van that did a decent job of towing an even older 27 foot travel trailer. Then they invested in a 24 foot trailer that was much lighter. That poor van couldn't get to highway speed with that new trailer attached because it was taller than the old trailer (and the van). I felt so bad that the same day I found them a 97 F350 dually diesel about twenty minutes away. New it had like 200 horsepower and 300 lb/ft, and even as old as it is, it doesn't break a sweat with their new trailer. Purpose built rigs are often superior to better specced multipurpose vehicles.

I have a 34' travel trailer that weighs close to 10,000 lbs. I tow it with a Chevy 2500 HD Diesel.
Now something like that is required for the weight, but you really need the brakes and transmission upgrades that come along with it. The sway associated with the 34' is common, and I use an anti-sway bar on the hitch that helps significantly.
My regret is not going with the 3500 Dually. That much weight wants to constantly pull the truck and trailer straight, leaving a lot of wear on the single rear wheel configuration that can only be helped with adding more wheels/contact surfaces. I compromised because I didn't want to drive a dually to work and other life needs every day.
These are the things you learn with towing experience. There are some solutions for some issues, but there is always the right vehicle for the job. One size does not fit all in this case.
Most will buy the trailer based on the truck specs, but it really should possibly be the other way around... And single purpose is ideal, but rarely fits anyone's lifestyle or budget.

I read this with interest since I am looking for a new tow vehicle. I purchased a 2018 Tacoma based on Tow specs of over 6000 lbs. 6 cylinder and enough HP. However when I tow my 3200 lb pontoon boat I really know it is back there. Even after rasiing the tow hitch to level the trailer. I do not feel sway or being unsafe. After further investigation the thing I did not take into account was Torque. Lessons learned

Trouble was in the name, TRD, turd! Just a joke.

Weight distribution hitches actually make sway worse, what you need is anti sway bars and not all systems are the same. If you went to Harbor freight and bought a cheap one your experience is going to be completely different if you buy a weigh safe true tow setup. Then comes the biggest thing people completely ignore. Properly setting up your brake controller. You need to dial it in by driving while towing at a low speed and applying the brakes, you need to keep upping the gain until the trailer wheels lock up, this is usually done at 10mph if I remember right. Sway doesn't happen when you're accelerating or pulling uphill, just reading this article it's a 90% likelihood that the truck and trailer are not set up correctly. And that not even getting into tire pressure, and what your right actually weighs on a cat scale, just because it says 6000lbs doesn't mean you don't have thousands of pounds more in it and then is the tongue weight correct for it's actual weight? I honestly can't believe someone wrote an entire article complaining without discussing the actual setup and verification of the setup. Towing is not just hooking up a trailer and drive.

Capacity is only part of the equation. Trailer length and wheelbase are the other half. I had a 2008 sequoia which was rated for over 9000 lbs, but it has a short wheel base and even with sway control a 27 ft long trailer was pushing the limits. It's an expensive fix (although cheaper than a new truck) but look at a propride hitch. They are expensive and have a learning curve for hooking and unhooking but they eliminate sway. I can drive 70-75 with 0 sway.