"Dry Weight" Questions

for trailers built in the last 10 years, the yellow sticker on the trailer lists the weight as it LEFT the factory, so ALL factory installed accy are included.

what is NOT included is anything added by the dealer.

and in MOST cases the dry weight does NOT include batteries since they are usually dealer installed. it does include the weigh of full propane tanks.

Now hitch weight is again hitch weight as it left the factory it does NOT include a few items that translate almost directly to added hitch weight
1) battery(s) figure 70 lbs each
2) propane, figure 20 or 30 lbs each accordingly.

and all the stuff YOU add to the trailer that adds tongue weight.

For an example, my outback has a claimed and actually dry tongue weight it the mid 700's, I don't recall directly, but my measurements pretty much matched the factory claim.

ACTUAL tongue weight with propane and my 4 GC batteries full fresh water and trailer loaded as we travel....... 1450 lbs!!!!

If your TV is rated to tow the TT's maximum recommended weight plus 20 per cent, you will be fine.

ktmrfs wrote:
for trailers built in the last 10 years, the yellow sticker on the trailer lists the weight as it LEFT the factory, so ALL factory installed accy are included.

what is NOT included is anything added by the dealer.

and in MOST cases the dry weight does NOT include batteries since they are usually dealer installed. it does include the weigh of full propane tanks.

Not necessarily ... with my own 2014 Freedom Express the weight of propane gas that would eventually be added to the tanks by the dealer is not included in the trailer's listed UVW, on current models it is.

Listed/published 'tongue/pin weight' is 'DRY' weight based on the 'Listed/published' DRY trailer weight.
(500# dry tongue for 5000# trailer equals a DRY 10% tongue weight etc)
Dry tongue/pin weight is for a basically empty trailer.....(lot of mfg. fine print will state 'Numbers are an Average' for such & such model


Look at data plate on trailer for the GVWR.
Use the dry tongue/pin weight percentage to figure WET tongue/pin weight based on GVWR

Can your TV handle that WET tongue/pin weight?
If so........good to go
IF 'marginal' might be OK if you do NOT load trailer up

Wish I could help you but my recent experience is that the published weight, the delivered weight and the yellow sticker (which is off by 1000#) have no basis in reality.
I would simply go by the GVWR of the new trailer and make sure your rig is rated for that number.

I think a lot of dealers list or emphasize the dry weight in order to fool the customer into thinking their tow vehicle is capable of towing that trailer. As others have said, go with the GVWR.

Mortimer Brewster wrote:
I think a lot of dealers list or emphasize the dry weight in order to fool the customer into thinking their tow vehicle is capable of towing that trailer. As others have said, go with the GVWR.

x2

All dry weights are a joke and the joke is on you if you believe them. Only a salesman trying to get you into too much trailer will ever quote them. Go with the GVWR and you will probably be safely under that number.

:C

Desert Captain wrote:

Mortimer Brewster wrote:
I think a lot of dealers list or emphasize the dry weight in order to fool the customer into thinking their tow vehicle is capable of towing that trailer. As others have said, go with the GVWR.

x2

All dry weights are a joke and the joke is on you if you believe them. Only a salesman trying to get you into too much trailer will ever quote them. Go with the GVWR and you will probably be safely under that number.

:C

X3. "Dry" weights are absolutely useless. Use the GVWR (gross vehicle weight rating) off the trailer's sticker. Use 12% (15% if you really want to be conservative) of the trailer's GVWR to estimate a loaded tongue weight. Don't forget to add 75 lbs. or so for a good weight distributing hitch, too. The most common mistake made is exceeding the payload capacity for the tow vehicle - not the maximum towing capacity.

Rob

It really doesn't matter what the dry weight is...what matters is what does it weigh when loaded with all your stuff...load it up and go to a weigh scale and see what it really is....mountain driving can ruin a good tow trying to go up a grade and back down again. I added 3,000 lbs to my dry weight when loaded

Old-Biscuit wrote:
Listed/published 'tongue/pin weight' is 'DRY' weight based on the 'Listed/published' DRY trailer weight.
(500# dry tongue for 5000# trailer equals a DRY 10% tongue weight etc)
Dry tongue/pin weight is for a basically empty trailer.....(lot of mfg. fine print will state 'Numbers are an Average' for such & such model


Look at data plate on trailer for the GVWR.
Use the dry tongue/pin weight percentage to figure WET tongue/pin weight based on GVWR

Can your TV handle that WET tongue/pin weight?
If so........good to go
IF 'marginal' might be OK if you do NOT load trailer up

Unsurprisingly, I agree with Old-Biscuit. You can often determine what a wet weight for a trailer will be by taking the dry weights and calculating the percentage.

I built a simple calculator to help with that:
http://towingplanner.com/Estimators/TonguePinWeightFromDry

Unlike others, I don't always say to use the GVWR. It's often quoted on forums (and who knows if it's true that the *average* RV gains 1,500 lbs. of cargo). (Of course, now people will post they only carry 400 lbs. or 4,000 lbs. but hey, what can you do?) Going by GVWR is definitely the most conservative.