What's Needed to Tow a 5th Wheel Trailer with a 2015 Toyota Tundra  

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First determine how much weignt you can tow with your 2015 Toyota Tundra. This depends on how it's equipped. I looked up an online copy of your owner's manual and it looks like the highest rated 2015 Tundra can tow up to 10,500 pounds. To find what your truck can tow use your Certification Label to find the truck's Model Code. Then reference that code in your owner's manual. The number under the column labeled TWR (Trailer Weight Rating) is how much weight your truck can tow. The loaded fifth wheel trailer needs to weigh less than that at all times.

Once you know how heavy a trailer you can pull you need to choose a fifth wheel trailer hitch and an install kit that fits your truck. I recommend using a custom install kit that's designed specificaly for your Tundra. It makes installation a lot easier and faster. The install kits consist of brackts that bolt to your truck's frame under the bed. The brackets are then bolted to base rails that install in the truck bed. So, once installed, you will have two rails running across your truck's bed to install the hitch. You will need to drill some holes in the truck's bed to tow a fifth wheel trailer. For a good custom install kit that fits your Tundra I recommend the Reese # RP50084-58.

Now you need to choose a hitch. There's two styles of fifth wheel hitches to be aware of; fixed and sliding. A fixed hitch fits into the rails you've installed in your truck and gives you a location to connect the trailer to your truck. A sliding hitch does the same, however it has the ability to be slid backwards, towards the tailgate, in order to move the connection point of truck and trailer further away from the truck's cab. This is important in trucks with beds that are shorter than 8 feet because when you make turns while towing a fifth wheel the edges of the trailer can make contact with the cab. So moving the connection point back to make turns can keep the trailer from hitting your truck causing damage. If you have an 8 foot bed truck then a fixed hitch is fine. If your bed is the 6-1/2 foot model then you may need a sliding hitch.

If you have the 5-1/2 foot bed model even a sliding hitch isn't going to provide enough clearance to make a turn. In this case you want to use a fixed hitch with a rotating pin box on the trailer. The pin box is the part of the trailer that connects to the hitch on the truck. There are a number of rotating pin boxes on the market and some trailers come with them already installed. If you need to change the pin box on a trailer to be one that rotates we carry some called Sidewinders. I've linked our selection for you.

Once you determine whether you need a fixed or sliding hitch I recommend using a Reese dual-jaw. A dual-jaw increases the contact between the hitch and the king pin (the part of the pin box that actually inserts into the hitch) which prevents rattle between the two. For a fixed hitch use part # RP30047 or if you need a sliding hitch use part # RP30051.

expert reply by: Charles S

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