Towing Capacity
So I was hoping to get some opinions from some folks who have real life experience with towing travel trailers. I am a newbie and have been doing lots of research about towing capacity so when I purc...
Forum Discussion
adamrwinters wrote:
Great info guys, much appreciated! So let me assume I know the actual weights of both TT and TV. Like to hear opinions on both setups, again, let's just assume the numbers are actual.
Set up 1:
Loaded TT 6750# with TW 740#
Loaded TV 6400# plus the TW 740#
So 13890 GCVWR limit is 14000#
7140# GVWR limit is 7200#
Set up 2:
Loaded TT 5800# with TW 650#
Loaded TV 6400# plus the TW 650#
So 12850# GCVWR limit 14000#
7050# GVWR limit it 7200#
Obviously set up 2 is better, however love to hear people weigh in. How much difference would be noticeable while towing? Even though setup 1 is below limits, is it safe? Thanks again!
Ultimately, the person responsible for weights / ratings / safety is the person in the drivers seat. Is it safe? -- That's your call. All we can do is help you with calculations.
Both of your sets of numbers are within ratings.
With the first set, in order to be sure you are within ratings, you would need a scale to weigh everything and everybody, as it / they get loaded. You would also need a tongue weight scale, to weigh the trailer tongue and move things around to ensure that you don't get up to the average 12% tongue weight.
What about holding tanks? --- Did you consider their weight? -- From time to time, you could run into a situation where you have no choice but to tow with something in your holding tanks. That could be just fresh water, or, it could be a full load in grey, black, and fresh tanks. Depending on where they are located in relation to the axles, holding tanks can have a huge impact on trailer weights.
On my trailer, a full tank load, adds 900 lbs to the trailer gross weight, and approximately 100 of those pounds, go to the tongue weight. Due to location, my fresh tank alone, will add or subtract almost 200 lbs of tongue weight. That's a lot of fluctuation for somebody who may be on the edge.
Second set of numbers --- You might stay within ratings even with full tanks.
Is going a little over payload / GVWR going to make everything fall apart? ---Doubtfull, but, it will accelerate wear and tear. Many of us can tell you from experience, towing at, or over weight ratings makes the rig a little more difficult to control. Is that dangerous? -- Here again, that's up to the driver.
