Trailer tongue weight concerns!!!!!
Hello All! My name is Ernie, and I'm fairly new to the travel trailer world. I have a 2013 Chevrolet 2WD 1500 extended Cab pickup with the 5.3L engine, equipped with the heavy duty cooling package...
Forum Discussion
835 lbs is 14.5% of 5,755 lbs, on the heavy side but within the normal 10-15% range you want it to be. Once you load up the trailer, perhaps you will be up to 7,000 lbs total and if the % tongue weight stays the same, your tongue weight will be 1,015 lbs.
Look at the yellow sticker near the drivers door and see how much payload you have. Your vehicle needs enough payload to handle this tongue weight plus any cargo you put in the truck as well as passengers, the W/D hitch, bed cover if you have one, etc. A W/D hitch is a necessity for this, the Reese dual cam is a good system and when used properly it will distribute some of that weight back to the trailer axles (in addition to the front axle of the truck) so that will reduce the load on the vehicle as well. I would think that your truck would have 1,500 lbs or more of payload so this is not necessarily too much for your truck. The most accurate way to get your payload is to take it to the scales with yourself and other passengers if possible in the truck and see how much payload you have left and how much extra axle capacity you have left. GVWR minus the weight of the truck is your extra payload for gear, tongue weight, etc. Getting an accurate weight is especially important if you've added any accessories such as a bed liner, bed cover, bed cap etc. which the yellow sticker won't have accounted for since it only knows the payload at the time it was built. You will also find out at the scales (if you get individual axle weights) how much rear axle capacity you have. The biggest potential issue you will have is going over your GVWR or rear axle weight rating.
Seems fairly doable, especially if there is just two of you. I don't see bunks in that trailer model so if you don't have extra kids or other passengers then you won't have extra people and all their stuff adding to the vehicle weight or their gear in the trailer which will only help. Good luck.
Look at the yellow sticker near the drivers door and see how much payload you have. Your vehicle needs enough payload to handle this tongue weight plus any cargo you put in the truck as well as passengers, the W/D hitch, bed cover if you have one, etc. A W/D hitch is a necessity for this, the Reese dual cam is a good system and when used properly it will distribute some of that weight back to the trailer axles (in addition to the front axle of the truck) so that will reduce the load on the vehicle as well. I would think that your truck would have 1,500 lbs or more of payload so this is not necessarily too much for your truck. The most accurate way to get your payload is to take it to the scales with yourself and other passengers if possible in the truck and see how much payload you have left and how much extra axle capacity you have left. GVWR minus the weight of the truck is your extra payload for gear, tongue weight, etc. Getting an accurate weight is especially important if you've added any accessories such as a bed liner, bed cover, bed cap etc. which the yellow sticker won't have accounted for since it only knows the payload at the time it was built. You will also find out at the scales (if you get individual axle weights) how much rear axle capacity you have. The biggest potential issue you will have is going over your GVWR or rear axle weight rating.
Seems fairly doable, especially if there is just two of you. I don't see bunks in that trailer model so if you don't have extra kids or other passengers then you won't have extra people and all their stuff adding to the vehicle weight or their gear in the trailer which will only help. Good luck.
