Confused at Camping World

John & Angela wrote:

I can't imagine anyone using GVWR to calculate anything let alone the tounge weight of a trailer. GVW maybe but not GVWR. Maybe there was a miscomunication. Rule of thumb, just like with when buying a truck, the bigger the GVWR the better. It is a rating not a weight. The trick is to find a trailer with a realistically loaded weight (GVW) that your tow vehicle will handle. Start with dry weights, talk to experienced RVers that know how much they pack and try and estimate realistic tounge weights and GVW's. Looking for trailers with low GVWR's is going to take you out of a lot of high quality trailers. For example, two 25 foot trailers side by side, each weighing 6500 pounds, one has a GVWR of 7700 pounds and the other has a GVWR of 10,000 pounds. Remember, both weigh the same. Which one do you choose. Which one do you think has bigger brakes, axles, frames etc. Your call.

Good luck in your search and welcome to the forum.

x2, why is this so difficult for people here to understand??? :s
bumpy

Keep in mind that a weight distribution hitch will change things as well. Also, tongue weights vary and don't follow anyones 10%-15% rule. Everyone can be different so look closely at the specs from the manufacture when considering a particular model

Sounds to me like an honest salesman, as long as the TT's he showed you had that GVWR, not UVW.

And go to Camping World of Statesville and see Jimmy Ireland. Send me a message if you decide to and I will email him and tell him to look for you. I will also email the sales manager and have him look out for you.

NCMODELA wrote:
I went in today to camping world in colfax, NC and was completely confused when I left. I have a Yukon XL 1500, 8400lb max tow. The person told me I could tow anything 8400lbs-1600lbs = 6800lbs(approx 20%). They showed me trailers from 5200lbs to 6400lbs. We almost left with one.

I was on this site under the travel trailer section asking what I could tow with this vehicle and they said I need to weigh the vehicle with everything in it, and the difference from the GVWR is what my max tounge weight can be. The person at camper world never said any of this. On top of this, them forum people were estimating the tounge weight at 12% of the GVWR of the trailer (this was 7700, tounge weight at 12% is 924, reported tounge weight from dealer is 675). Going this route the 6400 lb trailer they were showing me was too much weight for me.

I am completely confused. Why are people using two different formulas to calculate what i can tow?

Can anybody clarify this to me?

Thanks
Bill

First of all, you will find that a lot of people on here are very technical. You are also asking for the opinions of a lot of people. If you ask 100, you will get at least 75 different answers. The other 25 don't know or care and will just agree with someone who likes numbers.

Reading your statement, I think you are giving numbers for dry weight and wet weights. It looked like you were talking about dry weights when you said he said you could pull the amount minus the 20%. But when you were talking about tongue weight, you mentioned a number of 7700, which you didn't mention before. I'm assuming that is the GWR (wet weight), which is 924. I think that lower number (600 and something) is 12% of the dry weight. You need to look at the heavier weights and not the dry weights. And 20% is a good number to come off your max allowed towable. That should give you some wiggle room on the weights.

Just remember, because your truck say you can pull x amount of weight, doesn't mean you have to.

I understand that the TT will not be running at the dry weight. They were using the GVWR in the calculation which i understand. I thought I could hear from a camping world person to see what they say about the discrepancy. I would also like to hear from some who tow with a 1500 yukon xl or suburban to see what they have to say. I am just trying to do my research on what I can tow. I don't want to buy something I can't stop or control. Like I told the salesman, I would much rather go lighter and less room and be okay then get more room but running at max. Right now we found a 5680lb dry weight 26' bunkhouse. This is also posted under the travel trailer section. Thank you for all your help.
bill

Just because TT has a basic weight doesn't mean that is how you will be traveling. How much luggage will you have? How much water will you carry? I would use 15% tongue weight. Dealers really don't much care once you drive off the lot. On this forum you have RVers that have towed 5ver, TTs, & driven MHs & TCs. They are giving you honest opinions from experience not profits in their pockets from whatever you buy. Just remember buying a wrong RV can be expensive. I can remember several years ago a dealer refused to sell me a TT because I had a 1/2 ton truck. Things have changed but you still need to be careful of weights. JMHO.

NCMODELA wrote:
I went in today to camping world in colfax, NC and was completely confused when I left. I have a Yukon XL 1500, 8400lb max tow. The person told me I could tow anything 8400lbs-1600lbs = 6800lbs(approx 20%). They showed me trailers from 5200lbs to 6400lbs. We almost left with one.

I was on this site under the travel trailer section asking what I could tow with this vehicle and they said I need to weigh the vehicle with everything in it, and the difference from the GVWR is what my max tounge weight can be. The person at camper world never said any of this. On top of this, them forum people were estimating the tounge weight at 12% of the GVWR of the trailer (this was 7700, tounge weight at 12% is 924, reported tounge weight from dealer is 675). Going this route the 6400 lb trailer they were showing me was too much weight for me.

I am completely confused. Why are people using two different formulas to calculate what i can tow?

Can anybody clarify this to me?

Thanks
Bill

I can't imagine anyone using GVWR to calculate anything let alone the tounge weight of a trailer. GVW maybe but not GVWR. Maybe there was a miscomunication. Rule of thumb, just like with when buying a truck, the bigger the GVWR the better. It is a rating not a weight. The trick is to find a trailer with a realistically loaded weight (GVW) that your tow vehicle will handle. Start with dry weights, talk to experienced RVers that know how much they pack and try and estimate realistic tounge weights and GVW's. Looking for trailers with low GVWR's is going to take you out of a lot of high quality trailers. For example, two 25 foot trailers side by side, each weighing 6500 pounds, one has a GVWR of 7700 pounds and the other has a GVWR of 10,000 pounds. Remember, both weigh the same. Which one do you choose. Which one do you think has bigger brakes, axles, frames etc. Your call.

Good luck in your search and welcome to the forum.

NCMODELA wrote:
If this is how I should be calculating it, then how can camping world be selling me what they are?

Lets see, do you know how to tell when a salesman is lying?

His lips are moving.....

Far too many salesman will say anything to make a sale, if they can sell you a bigger trailer, they make more $$

If this is how I should be calculating it, then how can camping world be selling me what they are?