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

naturist
Nomad II
Apr 14, 2014
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
Explorer
Apr 14, 2014
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
Old-Biscuit
Explorer III
Apr 14, 2014
Information deleted........

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How heavy of a trailer can I get?

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