Steve,
the amount of weight you can safely tow will be the lesser of the following:
- the gross combination weight rating of the MH minus the actual weight of the MH as it is loaded and configured for travel
- the weight rating of your hitch
- the weight rating of your tow bar
real world example: our MH has a GCWR of 30,000-lbs; the hitch is rated at 5,000-lbs; the towbar is rated for 10,000-lbs; the weight of the MH as loaded for travel is 24,380 (neither axle exceeds its respective weight rating).
applying the three tests we find:
- the GCWR minus the actual weight of the MH = 5,620-lbs
- the weight rating of the hitch = 5,000-lbs
- the weight rating of the tow bar = 10,000-lbs
so the maximum amount of weight i can safely tow is 5,000-lbs. personally, i limit the weight we tow to no more than 90% of max or 4500-lbs. our jeep liberty weghs in at ~4300.
but you also should get,at a minimum, individual axle weights after loading up your MH. it IS possible to be overweight on one axle, usually the rear, and underweight on the other axle to a similar degree. if you weigh the MH with both axles on the scale simultaneously you may never be made aware of the overweight axle. i have first-hand experience with that.
hope this helps.
