max capacity tow buffer
10+ years ago when my family first started towing the rule of thumb was leave 15% off of your vehicles maximum tow capacity as a safety buffer to prevent overloading and overtaxing your tow vehicle. ...
Forum Discussion
To the OP. One thing to consider is how much frontal area the towed trailer has. Many vehicles tow ratings are derived from hauling a flat bed trailer loaded with bricks or cinder blocks on it. The load is not tall, often below the top of the trucks tail gate. No frontal area to speak of, and no long tall slabs (walls) to catch side winds. A 10 to 15 percent buffer is a good idea for those wanting a comfortable, non white knuckle trip. Sooner or later, someone will come on here and say they haul a 36' TT weighing 16k pounds with an 1,800 lb. tongue weight behind a 1/2 ton truck with five people in it and a bunch of stuff in the bed, and they don't even know it is back there unless they look in the rear view mirrors. Oh and they are getting 19+ mpg while towing it, too. :)
