Actual Hitch Weight vs Dry Hitch Weight

mfifield01 wrote:
I'm currently looking at a lighter TT. I'm concerned with hitch weight right now on my Ram 1500. My towing capacity is fine (10,050lbs). I'm looking at TTs with a dry hitch weight between 515-600lbs. What's a good total hitch weight estimate? I assume 100lbs would be added with a WDH. Thanks.

I see you also stated you have 1100lb payload. You essentially have the same payload as my RAM 1500 has - it's not much, especially if you want to stay below GVWR on the TV. We had some size restrictions unrelated to the payload limitations as we wanted to make sure we could store it back behind the house.

So here are some real-world numbers. There's just 2 of us when pulling the trailer, we pack fairly light (not much in the truck) and carry minimum amount of fresh water (~10gal). My latest scale ticket loaded for a weekend shows 6660lb for the TV with full fuel/passengers/cargo (GVWR is 6800) and 3680lb for the TT (GTWR is 3750) with 450lb tongue weight and 60lb for weight distribution/sway control hitch (I use an Andersen hitch). I also have a Bak-Flip bed cover that reduces payload by about 50lb and the larger 32-gal fuel tank which reduces payload by about 36lb as well.

As you can see there is a little bit of room to add some extra cargo to the truck or increase the tongue weight a bit, but not much if like me you don't want to exceed any of the limits. Given the 1100lb payload I set an upper limit on my loaded tongue weight of about 500lb which meant I needed a trailer with about a 4000lb GTWR - maybe 4250lb if I was careful. Most of what I found in that weight range were single axle and 20' or shorter, though the Sonic SN170VBH was a dual-axle. In the end I went with the Jayco Jay Flight SLX 195RB Baja - found out I needed the extra height that the flip axle provided in order to back up the inclined driveway and around back.

It works for us very well and I'm comfortable that it's a little below the GVWR of the TV. I did invest in a Sherline Tongue scale so that I can easily keep track of my actual tongue weights and make sure I'm staying within the limits I've set for them as we are traveling.

That Sonic trailer is high on my list of candidates if/when we downsize in the future. I like the appointments on the inside, and the one piece fiberglass front/roof/back. It should be a good match for your tow vehicle should you go that way.

Here are some pictures of one I took at the RV show last year.
Barney

Don't remember which model it was but this one had no slide and a rear bath. I like the floor plan of the one you mentioned very much.


Good counter space and nice backsplash.


The bed folds down on top of the couch (Murphy bed?)






Fairly roomy corner shower.

CampingN.C. wrote:
Jayco's website has mine at around 960lbs tongue weight. Actual is a little over 1400lbs with very little stored up front. So in my case it was a 500lb difference!

x2

Keystone lists mine at 845lbs dry and I come in around 1,350lbs all said and done.

I found one good option. The Sonic SN220VBH. Dry hitch weight is 390 lbs.

Jayco's website has mine at around 960lbs tongue weight. Actual is a little over 1400lbs with very little stored up front. So in my case it was a 500lb difference!

Regardless of what the loaded trailer weight is the tongue weight should be around 12.5% of the loaded ready to travel weight. Dry shipping weight on TT hitches is for shipping purposes only so the hauler will know how much weight is going on their truck!

mfifield01 wrote:

If I don't put anything in the bed of my truck, I'd be 50 lbs over.

In 6 RVing seasons I have never seen a pickup pull into a campground with an empty bed. When I towed with a pickup, mine was always full of something. That's what it's for!

Basically I need a dry hitch weight of 400 lbs or less. Not much in that category.

mfifield01 wrote:
Snip...

If I don't put anything in the bed of my truck, I'd be 50 lbs over. Only thing left out is the weight that would go back to the trailer. I've seen 10-30% is taken off the tongue by a WDH.

See the first sentence and the last two sentences in my post above. In my opinion, if you are that close so that you have to use the weight transferred via the WD hitch to the trailer to make it fit, then the trailer is too heavy for your truck. I would look for trailers that fit your truck without figuring the amount removed by the WD hitch.
Barney

I've been looking at the Passport Ultra Lites and a few others. Hitch weights are from 515-575 lbs. I'm worried about how close I'll be to payload. Here are some estimates based on what I'm reading.

Tongue Weight: 800
WDH: 100
People: 250 (I removed 150 lbs, since Ram includes some of the driver weight)

If I don't put anything in the bed of my truck, I'd be 50 lbs over. Only thing left out is the weight that would go back to the trailer. I've seen 10-30% is taken off the tongue by a WDH.