Looking for first trailer, math help please
I have been towing a decent amount through the years... enclosed trailers, boats, wave runners, etc. None however have been heavy enough that I have had to do much (if any) math on the trailers. My wi...
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On a different note, a friend told me to focus on the truck's rear GAWR number. He said that the rear GAWR is what I need to stay under, so if I have 1,800# from (#2 and #3 tongue weight above), I should be able to still load another 2,000# of cargo in the bed and in the truck with no damage to the truck (3,800# rear GARW - 1,800#).
I don't agree with the above part. Assume you have approximately 1600lbs of payload (your door sticker will say actual without any mods). A 9k loaded tt, which is pretty heavy for a 30'er, will have a tongue close to 1100lbs. That leaves you 500lbs for everything else added to the truck, ALL passenger weights, hitch, gear in bed etc.
If you decide to ignore the payload rating and go by axle and tire ratings you will need to figure actual weights per axle. Don't forget that a large part of the 3800lbs axle rating is already used up by the trucks weight as it sits empty. For example your 5400lbs truck weight is split between the 2 axles. Lets say 3400lbs front and 2000 on the rear empty. That would leave you 1800lbs on the rear for tongue and hitch weight, stuff in the bed, and a percentage of passenger weight to reach max.
As you can see, using the 2 different methods can leave large differences in numbers. If you are ignoring one to make it work barely within the other though it usually means you have too much tt or too little truck.
