For Super Bowl XLVII, Toyota pulled out the big stops, and wowed millions of viewers with an advertisement showing the Toyota Tundra towing the nearly 300,000-pound Space Shuttle Endeavour.
The idea was, if it could haul a space shuttle, imagine what it can do for your trailer.
Immediately, however, anyone who knows the Tundra, or any full-size pickup, knows that 300,000 pounds is at least ten times more than a truck should be able to tow... and they would be right! The unmodified Tundra featured in the ad has a maximum tow rating of approximately 10,000 pounds.
So the whole thing was just a stunt, right?
Wrong! In fact, the Tundra was serving a serious function, and Toyota just happened to take advantage of the moment to shoot a commercial (hey, who wouldn't?). The shuttle was being decommissioned after 20 years running missions into Earth's orbit, and was heading from the Los Angeles International Airport to the California Space Center, where it remains on display to this day.
The bulk of the journey was taken on self-propelled rigs, because yes, the shuttle is far too heavy for a truck to tow any significant distance. The trouble was, the self-propelled system exceeded the weight limits on the Manchester Boulevard overpass. So, the half-ton Tundra was brought in for powerful pulling, but at a lighter weight.
It was a short journey -- short enough not to burn out the Tundra's engines -- but a significant achievement. Toyota earned the privilege of being part of the Endeavour's story for its years of support of the California Science Center, and promotion of STEM fields.
Has your Toyota truck been pushed to its limits with a big towing job recently? Schedule a service appointment at Lithia Toyota of Missoula to get it checked out, and ready for the next job.
