Cargo trailers to tow behind an RV
I'm wondering about factors that one might consider in the purchase of an enclosed cargo trailer to haul all that bulky, dirty sports equipment and nice stuff that we can't fit in the RV. (I think Re...
Forum Discussion
JRscooby wrote:ncrowley wrote:
You have a hitch rated for 5000 pounds but I have not seen a Sprinter that should be pulling 5000 pounds. To calculate how much you can pull:
GCWR - GVWR = how much you should pull
You will probably be close to your GVWR with the Sprinters.
Not exactly. To stay in the numbers GCWR- actual GVW is the max trailer weight. If you are loaded close to GVWR, what you tow is limited by TW.
I never have liked the GCWR - GVWR = max trailer weight. Because if you are AT max gvw, you have zero, zilch trailer capacity, unless your trailer can be towed with no hitch/pin weight.
The better ratio or formula is (GVW - tare gvw) / hw % or remaining payload divide by HW% you will be using etc.
If you have 1000 lbs of payload, 10% HW, you can tow 10k lbs of trailer. 1000 lbs of HW, 9000 lbs on the trailer axle(s)
LEO's or CVEO's dont give a frig about manufactures trailer tow ratings, or gcwr's. Nor do they in reality care about the manufactures gvwr either. Its all about if you have enough paid for gvw/tax paid for the weight you are going down the road at. Along with not over the amount per axle per the Federal Bridge laws.
Reality from driving one of these over 200K miles, a 5000 lbs trailer will tow just fine behind this rig, "ASSUMING" it has 500-750 lbs of payload for the hitch weight. More than one of us in the past has rolled down the road with a 200/400 turbo diesel at 15000 lbs gcwr.
Marty
