New to the forum. SUV towing questions

handye9 wrote:


Forget about the 8950 max tow weight, it's not a realistic number. You will exceed payload and GVWR on tow vehicle, before you get close to 8950 trailer weight. Also, towing a travel trailer is a different animal, compared to a car hauler. It has much more wind resistance on all sides.

Add the weight of your family, plus the weight of any cargo you may put in / or on the tow vehicle, plus 100 lbs for a WD hitch, plus the 5500 lbs curb weight. Subtract that total weight, from your GVWR, as printed on drivers door post sticker. The result will be your payload available for trailer tongue weight.

Divide available payload by .12, and that will tell you max loaded trailer weight. That is the point where you will be maxed out on GVWR and payload. If you want a comfort zone, subtract 150 - 200 lbs from the available payload, prior to calculating max trailer weight.

Example:

Lets say your GVWR is 7200 lbs.
Your curb weight plus cargo, plus family, plus WD hitch, add up to 6400 lbs.
Available payload would be 800 lbs.

800 lbs divided by .12 = loaded trailer weight should not exceed 6666 lbs. This is the point where GVWR and payload are maxed out.

For comfort zone - subtract 200 from that 800 available payload.
600 lbs divided by .12 = 5000 lbs loaded trailer weight.
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E9 = CSM?

Thank you very much for the input. I really want to be conservative here. I know people tow big stuff like this all day, but I really want to leave a lot in reserve.

OK let's use real numbers and see how it all works.

GVWR = 7100
Curb = 5500
Family, cargo and hitch = 800
Payload = 7100 - 6300 = 800 lbs.

So here is where it gets interesting. If the trailer weights 4500 or so, we are likely going to jam another 1000 lbs in it of gear, food, water and toys. The lightest we could possibly be is 5,500.

Given that, it seems smart to consider the slightly smaller 235BH model, which goes at 3800lbs. But can be loaded to 7500lbs.

What say you all?