Maximum towing
Hello. It's been awhile since I've been here and I had forgotten how much fun this forum can be. Awhile back we decided to buy another travel trailer and we picked out one that weighed #5700 with a to...
Forum Discussion
mr61impala wrote:
Thanks for all the great information! Just went to two trailer websites. The original trailer we bought the truck to pull was listed as #5700 last year, but is now listed as #6000 UVW; the #7000 GVRW, and #730 hitch weight are unchanged. The other trailer is still listed at #6100 with a GVWR of #7700, and a hitch weight of #715. The main difference I see is it has larger tires/wheels, 15" vs 14", and the trailer with larger tires is 3" taller. One can carry #1000 of gear, the other #1600. I like the reserve capacity even though we would never use it. Wouldn't these be very similar in the real world, assuming the same amount of gear loaded into each? Apples and oranges I know.
Did you take the trailers down to the CAT scales and determine the loaded and hitch weight? You keep quoting broucher weights and those are almost always based on an empty trailer (except GVWR) and more often than not, the trailers are actually heavier.
Once you load it up and get to the desirable 12-15%, you will likely be higher. So a 7000lb trailer with a 14% hitch weight is 980lb on the hitch. If you want to be conservative, load the trailer to be a little heavy on the hitch for better pulling. There's a reason 5th wheels tow so great...they are typically at 20-25% on the hitch (not typically practical for a travel trailer).
The tire size has no real impact on weight distribution.
