Weight of hitch for calculating tongue weight

dodge guy wrote:
Add approx. 1200-1500lbs to the dry weight, this will be the ready to travel weight. then figure on 12.5% for tongue weight.

So 5300lbs dry will be approx. 6600lbs ready to travel. and the loaded tongue weight should be 825lbs (12.5% of the 6600lbs). well within the ability of an Expedition.

What is the CCC (Cargo Carrying Capacity) of the TT in question. some have as high as 4000+lbs! (mine has a 4100lb CCC) I`m 2k lbs less than the GVWR. so using the GVWR in some instances is also useless. now most smaller trailers have a very low CCC, as low as 500lbs, so in that case using the GVWR is a must. it all depends on what you load into it also. If you have the available CCC use the dry weight plus 1500lbs. if you have a low CCC go by the GVWR.

You do bring up a good point in some of these trailers that have those HUGE CCC numbers .... HOWEVER ... my take is that it is probably IMPOSSIBLE to EVER load that much wt. because of simple size constraints and those HUGE CCCs are the result of very robust frames and running gears/tires. However if one were to take even those trailers and load every nook and cranny with personal gear, fill up their black and grey tanks and have like 1/2 tank of fresh water that 4K+ CCC might quickly evaporate. Yes, I know one can say ... "BUT I ALWAYS DUMP" before leaving, etc., but there have been more than just a handful of posts where things like dump stations closed, etc. that have forced folks to carry more excess liquids than normal. In fact several years ago a gent over on the R-Vision site posted about this exact situation happening and unfortunately it resulted in an unstable tow combination that cause a wreck and total loss withing like 10 miles of leaving the CG. He had several years experience and like 5 to 10K prior towing miles with that combo w/o a single issue.

Larry