Second Opinion, and a few questions

Hunterred wrote:
I would say at 5160 you will be close, if that is the one that meets your families wish list then I say get it if it is indeed that close. It may mean you don't buy as big of a bbq, use plastic plates and cups, and meal plan prior to your trip so you don't have extra food packing up and down the highway. We pack pretty heavy, with extra chairs, bedding, towels, and movies and games. If you pack per trip instead of for the season you can make that work.
The reason I say set up to be under without the WDH is that if for whatever reason you can't use it, you are still not overloaded and that "grace" that it offers is good piece of mind. Ultimately do what you want we are going to try and point you in the right direction to give you answers so you can make an educated decision based on facts rather than buying the one you want and regretting it.

Safe travels to check it out

I appreciate it! I understand that I'm very (some would argue uncomfortably) close to my limits. A big chunk of the reason that I posted on here was because I knew that I'm close, and to get some additional opinions to see if I was being just too unrealistic. We tend to pack light, so I'm not as worried about the amount of extra "gear"--we were camping in tents exclusively just 18 month ago, so we're still used to "roughing it". I like the concept of the WDH being a secondary fallback, and not depending on it.

I actually did find a couple of trailer designs last night that are less total weight (though the tongue weight appears to be about the same due to where the axles are placed). Unfortunately, my wife isn't crazy about them, because we would lose the slide, and thus have much less room to move around in--and with 5 people, we're going to be on top of each other. We'll have to think about it some more.

Again, I appreciate all of the help that you all have provided!