Second Opinion, and a few questions
Hi! I posted a similar question on another forum (popupportal.com), and it was suggested that I pose the questions on here as well. I'm relatively new to trailer camping (I've rented a travel traile...
Forum Discussion
Hunterred wrote:
Based on 720 lbs of payload available, I would say you need to be in the 5500-6000 lb loaded trailer weight. I based that on a 12-13% hitch weight. Our family of 3 carries between 600 and 800 pounds of stuff, plus water. If you use the 800 lbs (based on a family of 5 loaded lighter) and put in enough water for a few bathroom breaks, I would say you will be around 1000 lbs of cargo. So, empty you should be looking in that 4500-5000 range.
The WDH will move some off of the rear axel to the trailer, but based on the weight and length, I would say to use that as a cancelling factor. Just don't count the weight of the hitch as payload.
Someone out there must have a decent trailer with bunks under 5000 lbs unloaded.
Good luck in your search, have fun with it.
I haven't found any that meet my (admittedly very specific and limiting) set of criteria, and I've spent a LOT of time looking. This trailer is 5160 unloaded, so not far from your estimates.
I don't have the numbers down to the specific inch, but it appears that my situation isn't that far off from the example that Ron Gratz used in his WDH thread, so I'm thinking that a WDH with 1000lb spring bars could conceivably transfer 200-300 lb of load from the TV to the trailer axles, which would allow me to load to an 800lb tongue weight (12.5%), and still give me a bit of breathing space on payload (assume only 600lb is carried by the TV).
But I'm not confident enough to buy one sight-unseen, so I'll be making the 500 mile trek to test how it tows sometime in the next month or so, I think.
