New 30ft Trailer Towing Experience

bluepost wrote:

fla-gypsy wrote:
You played fast and loose with the payload calculations. You are over although not by much. You didn't include the weight of the hitch itself (100 lbs) or anything else you may have added to the vehicle and we all add stuff. Your kids are going to grow as well and the estimate of 60 lbs each seemed to be of the top of your head rather than any real information as well as the weight for yourself and your wife. Does the 1265 payload include a full fuel load? probably not. What is the rear axle rating? Your set up seems to be working for you and it's your vehicle and safety at stake. It kind of seems your trying to justify a marginal set up.

Nothing fast and loose about it. Apparently you didn't listen to the video where I said I have weighed the setup.....TWICE at the truck scales, along with tongue weight measurements throughout. I actually carry the scales in the trailer. Anyone that knows me know I don't do anything fast and loose with numbers.

Out of the dealer AT A SCALE I had exactly a 800 lb TW. That included the fixed parts of the hitch on the hitch, the hitch head itself is 58 or 68 lbs (again, weighed it myself). That 800 lbs was with 200 lbs of stuff loaded in the front area of the trailer. That's when the trailer was 5900lbs with generator, tools, air tank, cooler, etc. The truck had 410? lbs left before max weight at that 800 lbs TW, and the fixed hitch on the truck. Not enough for all four of us. Whatever the math was my circled notes show I needed the tongue weight to be 760 or less for everyone to be in the truck.

I'm looking at my notes now showing in my driveway the next day, that shows 729 lbs on the hitch, WITH THE HITCH HEAD ATTACHED, LOADED FOR CAMPING WITH 2/3 Fresh water and 5 gallons in the black, measured in my driveway with the scales I bought. Again, the fresh water adds to my tongue weight, about 21 lbs at half water and 43 lbs at 2/3rds according to my notes.

My last weight was the trailer with the black tank 1/3-1/2 full and not fresh water....on our way back after camping. That one had the tongue weight at 680, trailer at 6280 (with black water) and two kids in the truck, fixed hitch and bars on the truck. My circled numbers there are 11% tongue weight (towed fine, but I weighed at this configuration on purpose to see what the worst case would be, and if I needed to leave fresh in to haul out after dry camping), 6280 trailer (including 20ish gallons black) and 155 of payload left if the wife were in (which she wasn't).

If you don't know that payload includes a full tank of fuel, you should be criticizing towing setups. Common knowledge.

My kids are 48 lbs and 51 pounds naked...I know that because my younger daughter weighs 3 lbs more than her sister who is two years older. That 99 lbs. Their clothes aren't 5 lbs each, but anyway 60 lbs covers their clothes, ipads, etc. I know they will grow, but we have a couple years. That being said we don't all travel together all the time anyway. Kids ride with friends, wife meets us after work etc. But for now, that is their real weights.

I am 186 lbs naked...weigh myself every mornings....196 with my boots and clothes on. My wife is 123 lbs, partially clothed...again weighs herself every morning.

Rear axle weight empty is 2900 lbs, 4280 max (for comparison a standard axle on an F150 is 3800, upgradable to 4500 or 4800). That's 1380 allowable, that is more than the total payload allowed in the entire truck, that's why it's not in my calculations. No way 800 lbs of hitch weight and 100 lbs of kids is going to bust that, but to be fair I don't have the actual rear axle weight loaded, but plan on doing it next trip to the scales after I replace the 30lb tanks with 20lbs.

So after sharpening my pencil I show 1223 or 1233 depending where the weight bars are for the tongue weight weighing, total weight out of 1265 max including everything with us leaving to go camp. 11.8% tongue weight, 6150 total trailer weight.

Now my 2014 spec sheet from Toyota still shows a 16,000 GCWR, left over from when the Toyota was certified to a max of 10,000 lbs (9200 for 4X4 Platinum) before J2807 certification.