Desert Captain wrote:
Walaby wrote:
Desert Captain. If you read my response completely, you would see that I did not say use dry weight. No one buys a trailer, then weighs it, and says,dang, Im overweight.. or cool.. Im good. But, using dry weight, and adding 1000lbs to that weight, and taking 13 percent as an estimate to see if the truck/trailer combo is even doable works. Or, you can also take the GVW of the trailer, and then, take 13 percent or 15 percent of that, and determine tongue weight.
Having said that, with a payload of 1650, with 2 adults, 3 kids, 2 dogs, you aren't going to have much payload left for much of a trailer. I seriously doubt the trailers you're looking at will work.
Mike
What you said is:
"Secondly, while dry weight is not indicative of real world application, if used properly, you can use it to help."
That statement is false and will only get the OP into trouble. There is no standard in the industry for computation of "Dry" weights. Some manufacturers include options {awnings, levelers, batteries, LP thanks etc.}, and some do not. When you see a dry weight listed you never know what it really means. This is why dry weights are beyond useless.
Your suggestion to just add 1,000# is purely arbitrary and like a dry weight is worthless. What folks actually load varies widely but 1,500# would not be an unusual load with many going far higher. A quick review of the trailers he is considering show very little OCCC and that is another problem just waiting to bite him in the rear as that is a dead give away that the trailer is very "lightly" constructed. My 22' Fleetwood Pioneer Spirit {a middle of the market model}, had well over 2,000# of OCCC. The Op is going for 30+ footers with a family and only has a little over 1,200# to work with. :h
I agree that you want 13% of the actual, loaded, trailers weight on the tongue. Until you load a trailer as it will ultimately be used and go to a scale you will have no clue what that weight is. This is why dry weights are not only useless but often dangerous as well when people use them having made false assumptions about the load they are actually dealing with.
What the OP refuses to acknowledge is that the weights he was quoted are "Dry weights" and his truck will never be able to tow 7,180# and stay within its limits. This is a classic example of just how dangerous/useless dry weights can be.
As noted before.... opinions and YMMV.
:C
I totally agree not to buy based on dry weight. But, if a trucks cargo capacity is exceeded by a trailers stated dry weight, it's a great bet that it won't get better loaded. I probably did over simplify in my response, and the only way to know for sure is to weigh the trailer, loaded for travel.
But, if one uses dry weight as a GAUGE to determine if even by dry weight, he's outside the numbers, then it is useful. But, certainly not the best by any means. As we all know, and others have posted, there are lots of variables in the calculation of dry weight.
I've got less than 1000 lbs added to my trailer, and others have more no doubt.
If one looks at dry weight and it's already pushing the limit or beyond, no need to look further. That's what I mean by using it as a gauge.
Mike
