tow question

plasticmaster wrote:
Thanks for the replies so far. I'll try to fill in the missing info.

The sticker inside my truck door says "Combined weight of occupants and cargo should never exceed 1638#". My truck is a 2014 Silverado 1500 Crew Cab, 2WD, standard bed, with 5.3L V8 and 3.42 gear ratio. The truck owners manual states a 9700# tow capacity for this setup. The truck is equipped with tow package and factory brake controller. The underside of the receiver tube on the truck states a 1200# max tongue weight.

The specs for the possible new camper says UVW 6935#, GVWR 9500#, and dry hitch weight 855#.

My current camper sticker says UVW 5326# and GVWR 7500#. It doesn't give the dry hitch weight, but 12% of the UVW would be 640#.

Typical trips are me, my wife, and 2 kids with bicycles, firewood, cooler, etc. in bed of truck. Tanks in the camper are always empty. Please let me know if I've left anything out.

That's pretty typical, and a typical load like that will be pushing your truck past its rated payload capacity when all is said and done. That 855lb tongue weight will burgeon to 1000lbs+ when the battery and propane bottles are installed, and you put your stuff in the trailer.

Read what I said before. It is not enjoyable to drive long distances with your truck anywhere near the limits. I don't think you will be happy once the newness wears off, and I'm sure the last thing you want to do is go shopping for a new truck that will have a higher payment and get worse gas mileage.

Believe me, I've seen it too many times. People get these big trailers with shiny new F150/1500 type pickups and a year later they're sporting an F250/2500 type truck. Nobody was killed. Nothing bad happened. They just didn't like driving it, and the choice was between letting it rot in the driveway, or getting a new truck.

If you're okay with the possibility of having to trade trucks a few months down the road, go ahead and get this new trailer.

Towing my 6700# loaded toy hauler (7760# GVWR, 5025# UVW) with 780# tongue weight put my truck GVW at 180# under the 7100# GVWR, but only 50# under the rear axle 3850# GAWR. The truck has a 1607# payload, very similar to the OP. I have had one short episode of porpoising on the interstate. I bought some Torklift Quick Disconnect Stabiloads and will install them soon. I have moved some weight out of the truck and into the camper since the trip when I weighed it. I will not try to tow anything heavier than this camper. The Ecoboost has no trouble pulling it, but the truck chassis is LOADED.

I advise the OP to get to the scales with what you have now before deciding to upsize the camper. You didn't list any numbers in the post to indicate what your actual scale weights are. It takes three passes across the scales and about $14 to find out what you have.

You have a great truck!

Plenty of motor and rear axle ratio.

The only two issues that I can see right now is the payload may become an issue and the receiver may run out of capacity depending on how high that tongue weight actually gets.

Many folks in your position will opt for a 3/4 ton truck just to give themselves some excess capacity.

The other option is to go the other way and buy a lighter camper. There are several models that offer more space without adding a lot of weight. A few that come to mind are the Apex by Coachman and the Tracer Air.

Thanks and good luck!

Jeremiah

I have the same truck but 2011. My trailers loaded weight is right around 6800 lbs. I would not want to tow anything heavier.

But, lets do the math. Your cargo capacity is 1638 lbs.

You are still using unloaded weights... Both for your current trailer, and the new one. You won't tow it empty. Lets assume, for sake of argument, you will have 1000 lbs of "stuff"... That's not unresonable. Puts your new loaded weight at 7935... lets call it 7900 for math purposes.

12% of 7900 is 948... Lets call it 950
Add 100 lbs for the WD hitch.

1638 cargo cap minus 1050 equals 588 lbs for you, wife, two kids, bikes, firewood, cooler etc. I think you will find out that you will exceed cargo capacity of the truck.

This all assumes you will only add 1000lbs of "stuff", in the trailer and that you will be right at 12% tongue weight. Likely you will be somewhere north of 12% so you lose more capacity.

Only you can make the best decision for you and your families safety. I won't pretend to make that decision for you. But, I will tell you, that, again, I would not like to tow anything heavier than I am right now, with my rig. My truck is the same as yours, and my trailer is lighter than your potential new rig. My loaded weight is less than your new trailer unloaded weight. I am actually contemplating a 3/4 ton just for more comfort and performance in towing.

Mike

Thanks for the replies so far. I'll try to fill in the missing info.

The sticker inside my truck door says "Combined weight of occupants and cargo should never exceed 1638#". My truck is a 2014 Silverado 1500 Crew Cab, 2WD, standard bed, with 5.3L V8 and 3.42 gear ratio. The truck owners manual states a 9700# tow capacity for this setup. The truck is equipped with tow package and factory brake controller. The underside of the receiver tube on the truck states a 1200# max tongue weight.

The specs for the possible new camper says UVW 6935#, GVWR 9500#, and dry hitch weight 855#.

My current camper sticker says UVW 5326# and GVWR 7500#. It doesn't give the dry hitch weight, but 12% of the UVW would be 640#.

Typical trips are me, my wife, and 2 kids with bicycles, firewood, cooler, etc. in bed of truck. Tanks in the camper are always empty. Please let me know if I've left anything out.

Its impossible to say Yes or No without knowing what your TV is.

If you could give us a bit more info on the truck that would be helpful.

Those saying 'No' are assuming you have a 'half ton' truck. Until you give us some more info, there is no accurate answer.

Thanks!

Jeremiah

mkirsch wrote:
You will probably not be happy with the additional weight.

It's not all about tow capacity, or safety. First and foremost it's about your comfort. That goes against what most people will tell you. They will try to brow beat you and tell you that you will be murdering busloads of orphans and nuns by going one pound over the ratings, but the reality is you will HATE driving the rig long before you become a public menace.

Starting with a 5500lb trailer you are probably running around 6500lbs fully loaded. That's a respectable load for an F150/1500 type pickup truck. Your proposed new trailer will exceed 9000lbs loaded, because you will NOT be putting the "exact same" stuff in it. It has bigger water tanks. It has more storage space. You will be putting more in it.

Ignoring all other factors, towing anywhere near the maximum rating with an F150/1500 style pickup truck is simply not enjoyable. It's not something you want to do over long distances on a regular basis.

Well said and I agree

Larry

Not enough information and see the OP using UVW...AKA Dry weights, which
are sales tool level of information.

Comments in red embedded below and decide if you believe in the OEM
ratings system or not.

If not, then this discussion academic and just go with whatever...but
know that the OEM(s) are now off the warranty (if any left) hook and
liability hook (no end date)

If yes, then learn how the ratings system(s) work. Note that 'R' in
all of the acronyms...means 'rating' and there are conditions for
each and all ratings.

The generic ratings formula is:

GCWR => TV + Trailer + hitch + everything loaded on/in the setup

Then the 'can do it' vs 'should' or 'rated' to do it...which is VERY
subjective...I'll not drive lots and lots of setups out there and many,
many think I'm overly conservative...but that is my value system and
why my advice is always to the OEM's ratings system for those asking
to make up their own minds.

plasticmaster wrote:
Mt truck has a tow capacity of 9700#.

Out of context...the 9,700 MTWR (max tow weight rating).

In context would be using the actual weight of the TV, as MTWR's are
generally derived from 'curb' weight TV's...AKA stripper model TVs
in reference to the TV's OEM ratings

If your TV is loaded up with options, cargo, people, pets...etc...there
is no payload rating left for the WD Hitch, tongue, etc...so the
MTWR is ZERO

My current travel trailer has UVW of 5500#. When loaded with all our stuff my truck pulls it very well.

For the lowest class TV...the next higher class, or the next higher
class?

Meaning your TV has loads of margin in it's ratings vs actual

Im thinking of upgrading to a TT with UVW of 6900#. Obviously, I would load the same "stuff" in it. How well would my truck pull it? The new camper has a GVWR of 9500#, so the numbers look like it's within capacity.

Goes back to not enough info and the above comments in red...is the
current TV at the hairy edge of it's ratings...over it's ratings...or
with plenty of ratings left?

Am I right?

Tow capacity is second in importance and consideration.
Start with PAYLOAD of your truck and use that to determine what will work.

Start subtracting..gear, passengers, loaded tongue weight, weight of the hitch, etc (everything else that counts against your trucks payload rating)

yep, not enough info.
truck info needed:
make, year, engine size, cab size, bed size, rear end ratio, factory tow package or not, payload capacity from driver's door sticker.

as was said, you'll probably run out of payload before towing capacity.