OK so I just posted another topic about my payload but after the help of others, I figured out that with everyone in the vehicle (including another child down the road) and our gas tank full we are left with roughly 900 pounds of payload in our truck to tow. How do I figure out what weight of a trailer would be acceptable (and of course, safe)?

You would need to ALSO find what the manufacturers tow rating is for your vehicle. SOME have this information in the owners manual and very few have it on the door post because it's not required by DOT. If you can't locate it or don't have an owners manual check with the local dealer for the make and model of your tow vehicle. This will help GUIDE you to an acceptable figure but remember the tow RATING is only a suggestion except when talking about warranty issues. It is not a requirment for safety by anyone. You've already talked about the MAIN concern for safety and that's the total payload your tow vehicle is being asked to handle and how it fits with the GVWR from the door post.Good luck / Skip

900/0.15=6,000 lbs max. That's for a fully loaded trailer. I'd suggest 4,000 lbs empty weight is in the ballpark.That, of course, says nothing about the TVs official tow rating. Use the lesser amount.

skipnchar wrote:You would need to ALSO find what the manufacturers tow rating is for your vehicle. SOME have this information in the owners manual and very few have it on the door post because it's not required by DOT. If you can't locate it or don't have an owners manual check with the local dealer for the make and model of your tow vehicle. This will help GUIDE you to an acceptable figure but remember the tow RATING is only a suggestion except when talking about warranty issues. It is not a requirment for safety by anyone. You've already talked about the MAIN concern for safety and that's the total payload your tow vehicle is being asked to handle and how it fits with the GVWR from the door post.Good luck / SkipWe will max our payload waaaaay before our tow rating which is over 9,000 pounds.

naturist wrote:900/0.15=6,000 lbs max. That's for a fully loaded trailer. I'd suggest 4,000 lbs empty weight is in the ballpark.I thought the general rule of thumb was adding 1,000 pounds to the dry weight... why would it be 2,000? With it full of water and all our stuff we would never hit 2,000 pounds. Just curious so I can understand.

How heavy of a trailer can I get? | Good Sam Community

73 Replies

handye9
Explorer II
Apr 16, 2014
Shorteelaw wrote:
MitchF150 wrote:
I respect all the research you are doing and trying to make an informed decision on buying an expensive RV and not biting off more than you can chew, but WOW....

In all the time I've been RVing... And this goes back to the early 70's when I was a kid and Mom and Dad got tired of taking us kids camping in tents, have we or I ever worried about the difference in the TW going out and coming back from a camping trip...

I base my weights on it's max ratings and if it's less, it's just a bonus.. :)

Sure, I might have been overweight in the past... The world did not end and I didn't kill anyone.. ;)

I know it's a different world than it was 45 years ago, but physics have always been the same since ancient times.. :)

Anyway, I think you are WAY over thinking this deal and just need to find something with around a GVWR of around #6000, load it up and ENJOY and HAVE FUN and not fret the little stuff..

Sure, you don't want to get a #10,000 TT with a Nissan Titan and a big and growing family.... We didn't do that 45 years ago...

It mostly comes down to common sense and knowing your own limits and comfort level.. That's what keeps you within your limits of everything in life, right??

Good luck!

Mitch

My profession is accounting... Analyzing numbers is what I do.

I think MitchF150 made some good points here. If you purchase a TT that doesn't have you on the edge with your weight ratings, there is no need for constant analyzing or weighing everything. You need to have room for some unexpected weight, especially with young children. There will be times when one of them wants to bring along their bike, favorite toys, or a playmate.

As you are TT shopping, take note of the floor plans, you will see most manufacturers have taken loading into consideration. Units with front or rear kitchens, will have holding tanks or other heavy items located to counterbalance the kitchen weight. All others, have the kitchen / living area located above or slightly forward of the axles.

Normal loading of dishes, pots and pans, groceries, bedding, and water, will end up where the manufacturers intended the loading weight. Your tongue weight will go up, but, the percentage should remain in the 10 - 15 percent range. It's the additional loading of coolers full of ice, BBQ grill, tables / chairs, bikes, etc, where you may need to plan your weight location. ie: don't put them all behind the axles
69_Avion
Explorer
Apr 16, 2014
Shorteelaw wrote:
Ron Gratz wrote:
Shorteelaw wrote:
So say our trailer is 6,000 pounds when we leave and we verify the hitch weight is 900 pounds.... How much would I want it to be on the way back?
First -- we need to know the following:
1) Do you plan to have a full fresh water tank when you leave? If so, does this mean there is no place to fill the fresh water tank at your camping destination?
2) Do you plan to return home without emptying your gray and black water tanks?
3) Why do you want a TW% of 15% when you leave home?
4) How many pounds of food and beverage do you plan to carry with you when you leave home?

If the weight of the trailer remains close to 6000#, the TW should be kept above 600#.
And the TW should never be greater than 940#

With a trailer weight of 6000#, there is no reason to have a TW of 900# (15%) when you leave home, unless you're sure that the TW is going to decrease by 200-300# for the trip home.

If the fresh water tank is full when you leave AND empty when you return, AND if the gray and black tanks are full when you return, AND if the fresh tank is ahead of the axles AND the waste tanks are behind the axles, then the TW might decrease by 200-300# for trip home if you are not able to move any load from the rear of the trailer toward the front.

If the fresh water tank is full when you leave AND empty when you return, AND if the gray and black tanks are full when you return, AND if the fresh tank is behind the axles AND the waste tanks are in front of the axles, then the TW might increase by 200-300# for trip home if you are not able to move any load from the front of the trailer toward the rear.
In this case, the TW should be limited to 600-700# when you leave home so it does not increase to more than 940# when you return.

The location of fresh and waste tanks varies with manufacturer and model.
Ideally, the fresh tank would be between the axles, with one waste tank ahead of the axles and one waste tank behind the axles.
Then, if the fresh tank goes from full to empty and the waste tanks go from empty to full, there is very little change in TW.

We really can't say what will happen to TW unless we know the tank sizes and locations, whether tanks will be full or empty when travelling, and where the consumables such as food and drinks will be stored.

Ron

Thank you for your posts! You're right- everyone has been hammering this 15% into my head that I'm stuck on making my TW precisely 15%. I just want to make sure that I'm not way over 15% but not under 10%. So I guess I could load it up, take it to the scale, pick a number between say 13-15% and call it good. Right?

To answer your questions - the only way we will have much fresh water in our tanks is if the CG we go to does not have water and in which case another vehicle we would be traveling with (my mom or in laws) would be hauling all of our food to cut down on weight. We won't be keeping food in our TT while we are not camping so it won't be a hassle to just pack it into someone else's vehicle until we get there. Do most CG's have a place to drain our tanks? Obviously RV'ing is new to us.

Which by the way- you're one of few who has always been nice and not snotty when I ask questions (albeit some ignorant ones I'm sure, but that's how we are learning!) and so I wanted to say thank you!

You have the concept down well enough to make an informed decision. As long as you are over 10% and not too much over 15% you will be fine. The reason that the 10% figure is so important is that if your TW is too low the towing characteristics can become very dangerous. Going over the 15% TW really doesn't hurt anything except that it may overload the TV and the tongue of the trailer may not handle the excessive weight. Over 15% TW won't cause an accident from terrible handling and uncontrollable sway. Most trailers are designed to have the proper weight distribution. The problem usually occurs when folks load most of the extra weight in the back and add a rear carrier on the back of the trailer for extra hauling capacity without thinking of the reduced tongue weight.
The smart thing is that you ask questions before you have an issue whereas many folks think they know what they are doing and get into real trouble.
Have fun camping, it really isn't that difficult.
Gaffer222
Explorer
Apr 16, 2014
If I was a newby looking to buy a TT and I read this thread, I would get a tent. Just go camping and have a beer.

Way to many "weight police" opinions confusing the OP. Agree it's important to have safe setup but..........
AH64ID
Explorer
Apr 16, 2014
Huntindog wrote:
ah64id wrote:
Look at where the water tank is, if it's fwd of the axles tongue weight will decrease on the trip home.
Not in all cases. It depends on where the waste water tanks are. Along with a lot of other things.

True, guess all the campers I deal with have waste tanks aft, so that's what comes to mine.
Atlee
Explorer II
Apr 16, 2014
Shorteelaw wrote:

Our payload will probably be more than 940 since we will be taking off our bed cover but 940 is still the number we will need to work with, right? I will definitely take a look at those trailers again. Thanks for the suggestion :)

Why would you be taking off the bed cover? That is one item I'd never take off of mine. I like the fact anything in the bed will stay dry, and those items are less likely to grow legs under a bed cover.

You will probably not be taking a generator, but due to the way I use my trailer, I need generators. They are secure under my hard bed cover when we're on the road.
2112
Explorer II
Apr 16, 2014
Huntindog wrote:
ah64id wrote:
Look at where the water tank is, if it's fwd of the axles tongue weight will decrease on the trip home.
Not in all cases. It depends on where the waste water tanks are. Along with a lot of other things.
I'll throw in my $0.02 on this part of the equation. Here is something I didn't consider when buying my current FW, tank location.

We don't dry camp. Most of the CG we frequent have water and elect but no FHU. My fresh tank, which is always almost empty, is over the axles while my waste tanks are up front. Furthermore, the dump stations are sometimes a mile or so away from the camp site.

I tow in with all tanks empty and tow out with gray and black tanks full. This puts me WWAAAAYYY over RAWR. That is the longest mile of the whole trip, between the camp site and dump station.
Huntindog
Explorer
Apr 16, 2014
ah64id wrote:
Look at where the water tank is, if it's fwd of the axles tongue weight will decrease on the trip home.
Not in all cases. It depends on where the waste water tanks are. Along with a lot of other things.
MitchF150
Explorer III
Apr 16, 2014
My profession is accounting... Analyzing numbers is what I do.

I'm the system admin for a cpa firm, so I know the type! You've gotta love numbers to get to that degree and if that's what floats your boat, more power to ya! :)

This was my 16th year with the firm, so my 16th tax season and I'm ready for a break! :)

All my best and I hope you find the perfect rig!

'snotty' Mitch ;)
Shorteelaw
Explorer
Apr 16, 2014
Ron Gratz wrote:
Shorteelaw wrote:
So say our trailer is 6,000 pounds when we leave and we verify the hitch weight is 900 pounds.... How much would I want it to be on the way back?
First -- we need to know the following:
1) Do you plan to have a full fresh water tank when you leave? If so, does this mean there is no place to fill the fresh water tank at your camping destination?
2) Do you plan to return home without emptying your gray and black water tanks?
3) Why do you want a TW% of 15% when you leave home?
4) How many pounds of food and beverage do you plan to carry with you when you leave home?

If the weight of the trailer remains close to 6000#, the TW should be kept above 600#.
And the TW should never be greater than 940#

With a trailer weight of 6000#, there is no reason to have a TW of 900# (15%) when you leave home, unless you're sure that the TW is going to decrease by 200-300# for the trip home.

If the fresh water tank is full when you leave AND empty when you return, AND if the gray and black tanks are full when you return, AND if the fresh tank is ahead of the axles AND the waste tanks are behind the axles, then the TW might decrease by 200-300# for trip home if you are not able to move any load from the rear of the trailer toward the front.

If the fresh water tank is full when you leave AND empty when you return, AND if the gray and black tanks are full when you return, AND if the fresh tank is behind the axles AND the waste tanks are in front of the axles, then the TW might increase by 200-300# for trip home if you are not able to move any load from the front of the trailer toward the rear.
In this case, the TW should be limited to 600-700# when you leave home so it does not increase to more than 940# when you return.

The location of fresh and waste tanks varies with manufacturer and model.
Ideally, the fresh tank would be between the axles, with one waste tank ahead of the axles and one waste tank behind the axles.
Then, if the fresh tank goes from full to empty and the waste tanks go from empty to full, there is very little change in TW.

We really can't say what will happen to TW unless we know the tank sizes and locations, whether tanks will be full or empty when travelling, and where the consumables such as food and drinks will be stored.

Ron

Thank you for your posts! You're right- everyone has been hammering this 15% into my head that I'm stuck on making my TW precisely 15%. I just want to make sure that I'm not way over 15% but not under 10%. So I guess I could load it up, take it to the scale, pick a number between say 13-15% and call it good. Right?

To answer your questions - the only way we will have much fresh water in our tanks is if the CG we go to does not have water and in which case another vehicle we would be traveling with (my mom or in laws) would be hauling all of our food to cut down on weight. We won't be keeping food in our TT while we are not camping so it won't be a hassle to just pack it into someone else's vehicle until we get there. Do most CG's have a place to drain our tanks? Obviously RV'ing is new to us.

Which by the way- you're one of few who has always been nice and not snotty when I ask questions (albeit some ignorant ones I'm sure, but that's how we are learning!) and so I wanted to say thank you!
Ron_Gratz
Explorer
Apr 16, 2014
ah64id wrote:
Based on my experience with TT's you won't have an issue with tongue weight on the return trip. Check the fill TW, make sure it's not too much and enjoy.

IMHO if you have a close scale then a TW scale is a waste of money, figure out where you are at and retest when you make major loading changes.
To determine TW from scale weights, you must:
1) weigh the TV with the TT unhooked, and
2) weigh the TV with the TT attached and with the WD not activated.

It is much easier to measure the TW at home with a Sherline scale.
And, if the TW is going to vary as much as some are speculating,
the TW should be measured before leaving and before returning.

Just a reminder, if you have 900 of payload remaining you only have about 800 after a WDH. Really you should be looking for a trailer with a TW of 750 max, or max GVW of 5000-5500, the empty weight of 4000 still is looking pretty solid.---
IF the 900# of payload stated in the first post did not account for the weight of a WDH, then the trailer-induced vertical load should be limited to about 800# (assuming 100# for the WDH).
If they are using a WDH to restore the TV's front axle to its unhitched load --
the resulting vertical load applied to the TV will be about 80% of the TT's tongue weight.
If the TV's available payload is 800#, the maximum allowable tongue weight, based on TV's GVWR, will be approximately 800/0.8 = 1000#.

However, as we now know, the receiver's TW limit is 940#.
With a typical TW% of 13%, the corresponding maximum allowable TT weight would be about 940/0.13 = 7230#.
And assuming they can keep the loaded weight to 1000# above the dry weight, the dry weight could be about 6200#.

If you prefer to use an atypical TW% of 15%, the corresponding TT weight would be about 6270%.
Corresponding dry weight would be about 5200#.

Ron

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How heavy of a trailer can I get?

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