Clarification on tow capacity

The Titan is a typical "1/2 ton" truck, so it's not going to have a lot of payload, but enough to tow a #6500 fully loaded TT.. And yes, most TT that have a slide and bunks with a queen bed and a full bath is going to weigh that much, but will probably be even heavier...

I've got a little 22' TT, no slide, no bunks, but a queen bed and full bath and it weighs #5000. There is only 2 of us, so it's fine, but no way if you want to sleep 3.. ;)

But there is no solid answer to your question, since there are so many choices out there...

Basically, decide what you want in terms of a trailer.. If bigger is what you want, you'll need a bigger truck.. If you don't want to drive a bigger truck all the time, you have to reduce your trailer size some..

Easy, huh?? ;)

Mitch

clubhouse wrote:

Shorteelaw wrote:


...but I guess we could buy a different one down the road when we really need it.

This is the beginning of an expensive mistake. I did it, and so has many others. If you by the lighter trailer now to fit a tow vehicle, in 2 years when you decide you need the bigger trailer you will be right back where you are now looking at both a new TV and TT.

On our first TT we compromised to a no slide bunk house that paired well with my 1500 Silverado. With in a year I talked myself into a 2500 Silverado, then I had the TV I should have had originally so I proceeded to justify a TT upgrade to what we originally wanted.

It'd be more like 5 years down the line or more that I meant. Not a couple years. We can't afford to spend $30,000+ on a TV plus $20,000+ on the TT.

I totally understand what you mean though.

Shorteelaw wrote:


...but I guess we could buy a different one down the road when we really need it.

This is the beginning of an expensive mistake. I did it, and so has many others. If you by the lighter trailer now to fit a tow vehicle, in 2 years when you decide you need the bigger trailer you will be right back where you are now looking at both a new TV and TT.

On our first TT we compromised to a no slide bunk house that paired well with my 1500 Silverado. With in a year I talked myself into a 2500 Silverado, then I had the TV I should have had originally so I proceeded to justify a TT upgrade to what we originally wanted.

MitchF150 wrote:
What is the tow vehicle you have or are considering? What's it's drive train and GVW specs?

What kind of trailer are you wanting to get?

Mitch

That's my issue... We are buying both in the near future so I'm trying to find a good combo. We really like Nissan Titan's but I'm having a hard time figuring out if we can "afford" (weight wise) a TT with a slider. We ideally would have bunk beds for when our kids get older but I guess we could buy a different one down the road when we really need it. Do all of the ones with a slider weigh 5,500-6,500+ pounds? We need the wide space to put pack n plays for our kids to sleep.

Sorry for all the questions... I'm just so confused and all of you are amazing help.

Start with payload.

Find vehicle with sufficient payload to cover
- Driver and passengers
- Cargo carried in vehicle
- WD hitch
- TT loaded tongue wright

IIRC from your other thread you are looking at a 6800 lbs published dry weight TT. That will easily become 8000 lbs once options are considered plus the gear you load. An 8000 TT will easily have a 1000+ lb tongue weight. Tongue weight should be 13-15% of loaded TT weight.

I estimate you will need a tow vehicle that has enough cargo carrying capacity to haul...

- passenger ~300lbs
- cargo ~200lbs (firewood, kid car seats, pets, etc)
- WD Hitch ~70lbs
- Tongue Weight ~1050llbs

Total required tow vehicle cargo capacity ~1620. If my weights are close (obviously I don't know you families weight) you might find a 150/1500 series to meet thus but I think a 250/2500 would be money better spent.

Do this same exercise I did but use actual weights and see where it leaves you.

This is only hard when you are trying to use the weights to justify an under equipped TV. If you do the math with real values and accept the out come it is very easy. Where the problem starts is when you come up with a result you font like and start to justify another vehicle for one reason or another.

What is the tow vehicle you have or are considering? What's it's drive train and GVW specs?

What kind of trailer are you wanting to get?

Mitch

We, can help. Tell us about your truck and the trailer you are looking at. Also you can find the payload info on the yellow sticker in your driver side door jamb.

Oh dear lord... Lol. How do I figure all of the numbers out to make sure our TT can safely be towed by our TV?

If your TV is a PU also keep in mind the limitation is payload, you'll run out of that before you ever reach the so called tow capacity.

And it's not necessarily a TT that it's referring to either... Could be a boat trailer or a flat bed or a ??? Lots of difference between a #9000 TT and a #9000 boat when it's hitched up to your vehicle...

You have to also consider what you are loading in the vehicle too, as anything over the driver is basically considered 'payload' and counts against that 'tow rating'. Add the spouse, kids, dog, stuff, you usually have to subtract that from the 'tow rating'..

Good luck!

Mitch