drsteve wrote:
The limiting factor for towing with most light trucks is not the weight of the trailer, but the cargo capacity of the truck. The trailer you are looking at will have a tongue weight of 500-600 pounds. This is the weight placed on the hitch by the trailer, and carried by the truck. To that, add the weight of you, your husband and kids, and any other cargo in the truck, like campfire wood, bikes, etc. Then look for the sticker inside the driver's door jamb, which will tell you the cargo capacity of your specific truck. You are likely to find that this trailer is too much of a load for the Dakota to carry.
X2. Payload of the tow vechile will most likely be exceeded before reaching tow capacity. Overloading the TV puts the occupants in danger. The sticker provides all this info. If the current tires don't meet or exceed OEM specs, then that needs to be factored in as well. Weight to consider also includes a full tank of gas and the hitch receiver - this gets subtracted from payload too.
