GVWR vs. dry weight

sunofabeach wrote:
my trailers brochure weight is 6400 lbs and loaded and ready to camping for my family of 4, it weighs in at a whopping 7400 lbs. that includes propane, battery, food, toys, everything that we need for a typical camping trip.

And water?

my trailers brochure weight is 6400 lbs and loaded and ready to camping for my family of 4, it weighs in at a whopping 7400 lbs. that includes propane, battery, food, toys, everything that we need for a typical camping trip.

Sounds like you have figured out what will work for you the best.

Sorry, that post above was supposed to quote colliehauler. Don't have this tech stuff down yet. Still trying to figure out how to post a picture on my profile page (not that anyone cares).

I was referring to TT layout more then if you like RV'ing although it does give you a foray into the rv lifestyle. RV layouts are different and some work better then others. It's better to get it right the first time then an expensive mistake.

Relax RV'ing is a blast, don't get stressed.

All we've done is poke around inside a few thousand (seems like) trailers so far, and I like some lay-outs better than others. That being said, I might be the tallest one in my family but I'm sure not the boss. That would be our daughter. She is set on a bunk model (no face palming) and I kind of agree with her reasoning. We get the walk-around queen and she wants a little corner of the trailer for herself. She's an artist and a genius (an actual genius) and likes to go off by herself to draw or read or play her flute or whatever thing she does when she does her own thing. So that kind of cuts down on possible floor plans - really, in our weight class there are two. One with just a dinette, and the other with a dinette and sofa side-by-side (Mrs. Killer calls that one the bus station). Side note: we all are in agreement on our hatred for a dinette and consider THAT to be much more of a waste of space than any bunks would be. Anyways I'm going to go see a Minnie 2455BH today along with a Sunset Trail SS239BH. The Little Missus likes that Minnie but I think it's a shade on the heavy side. Also find myself becoming attracted to the Fun Finder F23BH. Might just be the name - Fun Finder: sounds like it will find the fun for me - but the dry weight is under 5000. Dinette though.

One of my surprises came when I added a nice fiberglass bed cap. That darn thing weighted just short of 250 lbs.

Also never noticed a mpg change with or without water. I always carry 1/3 to 1/2 tank for travel breaks, lunch stops or sometime at an overnight camp spot where it was not worth hooking up to the CG water.

My trailer weighed 5970 dry, with a 600 pound hitch weight.

Factory specs said :

700# hitch weight
5600 pounds dry.

When I added propane, battery, 4 chairs, drone and drone case, 2 cans of beans, some marshmallows, batteries ( about 10 of them , aa's ), a drill, tarp, some small plastic toys for the kids to play with outside, HITCH on the truck, truck itself, me, my wife, my two kids, and our very small dog, sons 12V power wheels truck thing in the bed, pillows ( memory foam ), two changes of cloths are always in the RV, backpack with computer equipment, soap ( two hand soaps ), one bag of cups, one bag of knives, spoons, and forks, two pots, one pan, sewer hose, water hose, blankets ( for four beds ), sleeping bag ( son likes the bag ), deodorant, shampoo for me, and for my wife ( that's two ), kids shampoo ( that's one ), 2 bars of soap, four tooth brushes, two things of toothpaste, 4 small buckets of cotton candy ( super light :p ), dog leash, 2 cans of greenbeans, 2 cans of wolf brand chili , 3 1 gallon bottles of water, 10 plastic bags ( for trash ), one thing of zip ties, 2 screwdrivers, additional 32INCH tv in the master bedroom, and three iPhone chargers, and 2 iPad block chargers, 4 knives, 6 towels, 2 hand towels, 4 rolls of toilet paper, 2 rolls of paper towel, an extension for my power cord ( to use a 30 AMP ), as well as a propane line for my outdoor kitchen, and a very very small portable BBQ pit, as well as one thing of coals, 1 flashlight, hitch cover from truck when i'm towing... my weights changed, but... not nearly as much as everyone keeps saying.

Truck has a GVWR of 13900
Trailer with everything in it ( no water ), came to 6476 ( had it weighed ), truck ( with the power wheels thing ) weighed in ( with all of us in it ) at a whopping 6578 pounds, GVWR is 6900 pounds, RAWR is 3900 pounds, HITCH weight, ( moved some stuff around ) came out to about 760~ pounds, which put me at GVWR of 7300~ pounds, which is over my allowed amount by about 400~ pounds. ( this included the hitch ).

After adding my WD bars, it didn't " give me back " any payload, but it did shift some weight, my tongue weight wen't down to 610~ pounds ( don't have the paper in front of me ).

Which put me at 7100~ pounds or so, which is still over by about 200 pounds. ( this includes the power wheels toy ), after that weight, we removed the power wheels, and i'm thinking i'm over my GVWR by about 100~ ish, i can likely get that even lower when I remove all the food and what not from the truck itself. That particular day I had some extra stuff in the truck itself, such as a 32" TV, his power wheels toy, and about 80 pounds of wood in the bed with the power wheels. I'm thinking i'm JUST at, or right over my GVWR if i remove all that.

The trailer + truck came to a combined weight of ....... 6476 + 7100 ( using the 7100 with the wood and TV in the truck ), my combined weight at that point was 13500~, which is JUST under my combined weight rating, I don't know exactly how much was on my RAWR number, but i think i'm under that too.

So, yes, the stuff adds up quickly, but often not at quickly as some might think. With that said, I'm RIGHT at, or JUST over my max payload, and the ride for a BRAND new tower is spot on. I get no sway, and very little " white knuckle ", i've got about 400 miles behind my belt, so i'm by no way an expert, not even a little. That said, I'd do the math as much as possible to ensure you feel okay dong that, I don't like driving on two lane roads, and I still slow down considerably in corners, but i'm new, and i'm cautions and I try to be pretty proactive about what I have. Unfortunately, I already have my truck, and I already have my trailer. Do i want to be over my gross... no... will i live with it, yes.

I hope the newer trucks have better hitches.
My 2000 F350 DRW diesel hitch was only rated at 500/5000 and WD 1000/10000
Pin hole was worn out from all the towing miles, bought a Curt with 1000/10000 and WD 1200/12000

KillerIsMe wrote:
that dog never leaves my side and she's truly my companion. My wife is right about a lot of things. Besides, I got a big red f150 out of the deal.

Okay - women stop reading (you've been warned)

What's the true definition of loyalty? Lock your dog and your wife in the trunk of your car for 2 hours. When you open it up, which one is happy to see you? ;)

I know, I know... I'm just kidding.... I'd never lock my dog in the trunk ;);)

Check the hitch on your F-150. My 2007 had a 950lb weigh rating with WDH and 500 without. I hope they upgraded to heavier class hitches on newer models but not sure. If it is 1,000 lbs, that would be a 6500-7,000 TT based on standard tongue weight plus a WDH. I think you'll be happier in general if you try to keep the TT loaded to 7,000 or less.