Is this truck and trailer combo safe??

Lula85 wrote:
His truck is rated to tow 6,200 pounds, and the payload is 1,688 pounds.

The trailer we really want is the Lance 1685.
Dry weight is 3710. GVWR is 5500. Dry hitch weight is 435.

Do we have enough wiggle room to be safe? Or, should we find something that is much lower than the 6200 his truck is rated at?

Welcome to Open Roads Forum.

Most people don't load a TT to its GVWR, so let's assume the Lance 1685 would be loaded to 5000#.

With a 5000# TT, you would have 6200-5000 = 1200# available for weight of occupants, cargo, weight distribution hitch, and any optional or aftermarket items added to the tow vehicle.
Assuming 100# for a WDH and 300# for optional and aftermarket items would leave a maximum of 900# for occupants and cargo without exceeding the TV's "tow rating".

Then you must also consider how much the TV can carry (versus how much it can pull).
If the "payload" value of 1688# is from the TV's "Tire and Loading Information" sticker, the total weight of occupants, cargo, WDH, and vertical load imposed by the TT should not exceed 1688#.

If the TT is loaded to 5000# and the tongue weight percentage is a typical 13%, the TW would be 650#.
Using a WDH could allow a load equal to 20% of TW to be transferred to the TT's axles, leaving a load of about 520# to be carried by the TV.
The total of imposed vertical load plus WDH weight would be 520+100 = 620#.
Given the above assumptions and based on the payload criterion, the total weight of occupants cargo should not exceed 1688-620 = 1068#.

For this example, it appears that the TV's "tow" rating is the limiting factor.
And, it appears the weight of occupants and cargo would need to be limited to about 900#.

For a more accurate estimate of how much load the TV could pull or carry, you could load the TV as it would be loaded for camping and get it weighed.
Then, with that number, we could do some additional calculations.

Ron