Help with TV concerns - new to towing trailer
Hello All, I'm new to towing a trailer and this is my first post. We have a 1999 GMC Sierra 5.3l with tow capacity given at 8200lbs. I checked as many blogs as I could, asked GMC dealership and towi...
Forum Discussion
Keep in mind, some of the numbers used by truck manufacturers and RV sales people, can be quite unrealistic.
Dry weight -- There are trailer sales people, who will tell you, as long as the dry weight is within your tow rating, you'll be fine. What they don't tell you is, that dry weight number is what the trailer weighed when it left the factory, the trailer gained weight at the dealership, and it will gain more weight when you load it. Before you buy the trailer, it no longer weighs 5300 lbs. When you are loaded for camping, the trailer will weigh approximately 1200 lbs more than it did at the dealership.
Tow Capacity --- Is the weight the truck manufacturer says it can pull behind it. Keyword is "behind". Your truck probably can pull an 8200 lb sled, because a sled doesn't add weight to the truck. With a travel trailer, 10 - 15% of it's loaded weight, is being carried by the truck.
Payload --- This is the difference between GVWR and what the truck actually weighed, when it left the factory. Any accessories / options added, by a dealer or consumer, deduct from the payload, pound for pound. ie; add a 200 lb bed cap, your payload is now 200 lbs less. Even a set of floor mats, will reduce your payload by what ever their weight happens to be.
Available payload -- This is the difference between your GVWR and what your truck actually weighs, now. This is the weight room you have for passengers, truck cargo, weight distribution hitch, and trailer tongue weight.
It is quite common to run out of payload and exceed GVWR, before you get close to your tow capacity. You'll see a lot of posts where, folks recommend loaded trailer weights should not exceed 75 - 80 percent of your tow capacity. That is mainly due to tongue weight.
Your 8200 tow capacity, at 80 percent would be 6560 loaded trailer. At 6560 loaded weight, your tongue weight would be about 790, plus the weight of the distribution hitch. You would need close to 900 lbs available payload for this.
Dry weight -- There are trailer sales people, who will tell you, as long as the dry weight is within your tow rating, you'll be fine. What they don't tell you is, that dry weight number is what the trailer weighed when it left the factory, the trailer gained weight at the dealership, and it will gain more weight when you load it. Before you buy the trailer, it no longer weighs 5300 lbs. When you are loaded for camping, the trailer will weigh approximately 1200 lbs more than it did at the dealership.
Tow Capacity --- Is the weight the truck manufacturer says it can pull behind it. Keyword is "behind". Your truck probably can pull an 8200 lb sled, because a sled doesn't add weight to the truck. With a travel trailer, 10 - 15% of it's loaded weight, is being carried by the truck.
Payload --- This is the difference between GVWR and what the truck actually weighed, when it left the factory. Any accessories / options added, by a dealer or consumer, deduct from the payload, pound for pound. ie; add a 200 lb bed cap, your payload is now 200 lbs less. Even a set of floor mats, will reduce your payload by what ever their weight happens to be.
Available payload -- This is the difference between your GVWR and what your truck actually weighs, now. This is the weight room you have for passengers, truck cargo, weight distribution hitch, and trailer tongue weight.
It is quite common to run out of payload and exceed GVWR, before you get close to your tow capacity. You'll see a lot of posts where, folks recommend loaded trailer weights should not exceed 75 - 80 percent of your tow capacity. That is mainly due to tongue weight.
Your 8200 tow capacity, at 80 percent would be 6560 loaded trailer. At 6560 loaded weight, your tongue weight would be about 790, plus the weight of the distribution hitch. You would need close to 900 lbs available payload for this.
