Hi all, I am new to this forum and new to travel trailer camping. We have "the bug" and are looking at small Jayco or Rockwood. We haven't bought the trailer, nor do we yet have a tow vehicle. However, we were intending to get an SUV even before the TT bug hit, so we've been shopping. I expect to buy either a Toyota 4Runner 4WD or a Nissan Pathfinder 4WD, each supposedly rated to tow 5,000 pounds. I don't want to drive anything larger than one of these, so if one of these won't handle the trailer we want, then I'll get a smaller TT than we were hoping for.Our favored TTs are (using each one's own terminology):Jayco Jay Flight 19RD: Unloaded Vehicle Weight 3715 Dry Hitch Weight 435 Gross Vehicle Weight Rating 6000 Cargo Carrying Capacity 2285Rockwood 2104S: Base/Dry Unit Weight 3865 Base Dry Hitch Weight 468 Base Dry Axle Weight 3397 Cargo Capacity 943=====The Tow Vehicle Specs (though I don't think these account for features we would add):Toyota 4Runner: GVWR 6300 Curb Weight 4675 Towing Capacity 4700 (sometimes shown as 5000)Nissan Pathfinder: GVWR 5986 Curb Weight 4168 Towing Capacity 5000 Max tongue wt (Dead wt hitch) 500 Max tougue wt (Wt distrib hitch) 750Dodge Durango Limited 6cyl AWD: GVWR 6500 Curb Weight 4838 Payload Capacity 1330 Towing Capacity 6200Dodge Durango Limited 8cyl AWD: GVWR 7100 Curb Weight 5133 Payload Capacity 1340 Towing Capacity 7400Will any choice of SUV work for pulling these, or is one better than the others? Or do I simply need to settle for a smaller TT?Thanks for your assistance and patience ... I've seen other posts of similar nature, but this is all quite overwhelming to me and I really want to make the best decision I can.Craig

Good move, asking questions before you buy something. I’m not that familiar with either the Nissan or the Toyota and will let people who are answer that, but I will say this. Dry weights typically wind up understated. Tow ratings are a relatively useless number. The payload of your TV is what you need to know, you’ll run out of that well before you get near the tow rating. Your available payload is your TV GVWR less its weight as equipped and EVERYTHING you put in it plus the wd hitch. Your real tongue weight will be about 13% of the loaded weight of the TT. So a 6000# TT could have a tw approaching 800#. Also if you tow near your max and spend much time in the mountains you likely won’t enjoy the experience, so you need some slack. I think 6000# loaded would be a handful for either vehicle, but as said, I defer to those who know the vehicle specs better than I.Last thought, do not believe anything a salesman tells you about what you can pull. His job is to sell TT's, not look out for your interests.

rfryer wrote:Good move, asking questions before you buy something. I’m not that familiar with either the Nissan or the Toyota and will let people who are answer that, but I will say this. Dry weights typically wind up understated. Tow ratings are a relatively useless number. The payload of your TV is what you need to know, you’ll run out of that well before you get near the tow rating. Your available payload is your TV GVWR less its weight as equipped and EVERYTHING you put in it plus the wd hitch. Your real tongue weight will be about 13% of the loaded weight of the TT. So a 6000# TT could have a tw approaching 800#. Also if you tow near your max and spend much time in the mountains you likely won’t enjoy the experience, so you need some slack. I think 6000# loaded would be a handful for either vehicle, but as said, I defer to those who know the vehicle specs better than I.Last thought, do not believe anything a salesman tells you about what you can pull. His job is to sell TT's, not look out for your interests.After reading the OP I was going to write a reply and then realized this pretty much sums it up. Great info here. To the OP - Basically, don't listen to salesmen or commercials about a vehicle being able to tow 10,000#. It's totally overstated and under ideal conditions. As in, an empty vehicle with only a driver and a tank of fuel. Congrats on getting into RVing. Without a doubt it's the best bang for the buck you will find in getting out to enjoy your area and well beyond. There is a wealth of information on this board so poke around, absorb and ask questions.

Not commenting on the tow vehicle but, if your numbers are correct, I would rule out the Rockwood due to the very limited cargo capacity.Best of luck with your decision.

I tow my camper with a Nissan Frontier, that is rated to tow 6000 pounds. My camper weighs 4000 pounds ready to camp. Factory listed dry weight was 3070 pounds.This is a good match. My feelings are that a trailer heavier than this would be, shall we say less than optimum. Based on this, I think you're looking at too heavy trailers for the tow vehicles you are considering, especially if you are "a bit timid to tow".

"Base dry weight" can be very misleading. Add a few options, and the weight will climb 500# easily. Now also remember that no one tows an empty RV around, it will forever have your stuff in it, so add another 500# minimum. So, what I'm saying is you can conservatively add 1000# to the extra light advertised weights and still likely be low for "real world" weight when loaded for a trip. Another thing to keep in mind is the car manufacturers play the same numbers game. The "max tow rating" often assumes only one 150# driver, and no other passengers or cargo, which take away from that rating. Example - tow rating of 5000#, but add mom and the kids plus some cargo in the vehicle and you now have a 4500# tow rating.Both of those RVs you are looking at are likely too big/heavy for those 5000# tow rating vehicles.

New to TT, Bit timid to tow ...? | Good Sam Community

47 Replies

gmw_photos
Explorer
Jun 29, 2014
ib516 wrote:
"Base dry weight" can be very misleading. Add a few options, and the weight will climb 500# easily. Now also remember that no one tows an empty RV around, it will forever have your stuff in it, so add another 500# minimum. So, what I'm saying is you can conservatively add 1000# to the extra light advertised weights and still likely be low for "real world" weight when loaded for a trip.

Another thing to keep in mind is the car manufacturers play the same numbers game. The "max tow rating" often assumes only one 150# driver, and no other passengers or cargo, which take away from that rating. Example - tow rating of 5000#, but add mom and the kids plus some cargo in the vehicle and you now have a 4500# tow rating.

Both of those RVs you are looking at are likely too big/heavy for those 5000# tow rating vehicles.

ib516 makes good points and his numbers are basically what I encountered with my camper.
To expand a little further on his thoughts, the car/truck manufacturers often state the max tow ratings based on the lighter tongue weights of boats. Maybe as little as 8%. A travel trailer might typically be 12% to 14%, so we can see this heavier tongue weight eats into payload and axle ratings.
jbardram
Explorer
Jun 29, 2014
Looks like you'd be closed to the max tow limit, which can be uncomfortable. If you're set on one of those two vehicles you may have to consider a lighter trailer.

Another option -- Jeep Grand Cherokee and Dodge Durango are similarly sized to the 4runner and Pathfinder but can be rated for up to 7500lbs.

Heres a comparison test including those three vehicles from C&D http://www.caranddriver.com/comparisons/jeep-grand-cherokee-vs-kia-borrego-nissan-pathfinder-toyota-4runner-comparison-tests-kia-borrego-limited-4wd-v8-page-2
ib516
Explorer II
Jun 29, 2014
"Base dry weight" can be very misleading. Add a few options, and the weight will climb 500# easily. Now also remember that no one tows an empty RV around, it will forever have your stuff in it, so add another 500# minimum. So, what I'm saying is you can conservatively add 1000# to the extra light advertised weights and still likely be low for "real world" weight when loaded for a trip.

Another thing to keep in mind is the car manufacturers play the same numbers game. The "max tow rating" often assumes only one 150# driver, and no other passengers or cargo, which take away from that rating. Example - tow rating of 5000#, but add mom and the kids plus some cargo in the vehicle and you now have a 4500# tow rating.

Both of those RVs you are looking at are likely too big/heavy for those 5000# tow rating vehicles.
gmw_photos
Explorer
Jun 29, 2014
I tow my camper with a Nissan Frontier, that is rated to tow 6000 pounds. My camper weighs 4000 pounds ready to camp. Factory listed dry weight was 3070 pounds.
This is a good match. My feelings are that a trailer heavier than this would be, shall we say less than optimum. Based on this, I think you're looking at too heavy trailers for the tow vehicles you are considering, especially if you are "a bit timid to tow".
Nutinelse2do
Explorer
Jun 29, 2014
Not commenting on the tow vehicle but, if your numbers are correct, I would rule out the Rockwood due to the very limited cargo capacity.
Best of luck with your decision.
mtofell1
Explorer
Jun 29, 2014
rfryer wrote:
Good move, asking questions before you buy something. I’m not that familiar with either the Nissan or the Toyota and will let people who are answer that, but I will say this. Dry weights typically wind up understated. Tow ratings are a relatively useless number. The payload of your TV is what you need to know, you’ll run out of that well before you get near the tow rating. Your available payload is your TV GVWR less its weight as equipped and EVERYTHING you put in it plus the wd hitch. Your real tongue weight will be about 13% of the loaded weight of the TT. So a 6000# TT could have a tw approaching 800#. Also if you tow near your max and spend much time in the mountains you likely won’t enjoy the experience, so you need some slack. I think 6000# loaded would be a handful for either vehicle, but as said, I defer to those who know the vehicle specs better than I.Last thought, do not believe anything a salesman tells you about what you can pull. His job is to sell TT's, not look out for your interests.

After reading the OP I was going to write a reply and then realized this pretty much sums it up. Great info here.

To the OP - Basically, don't listen to salesmen or commercials about a vehicle being able to tow 10,000#. It's totally overstated and under ideal conditions. As in, an empty vehicle with only a driver and a tank of fuel. Congrats on getting into RVing. Without a doubt it's the best bang for the buck you will find in getting out to enjoy your area and well beyond. There is a wealth of information on this board so poke around, absorb and ask questions.
rfryer
Explorer
Jun 29, 2014
Good move, asking questions before you buy something. I’m not that familiar with either the Nissan or the Toyota and will let people who are answer that, but I will say this. Dry weights typically wind up understated. Tow ratings are a relatively useless number. The payload of your TV is what you need to know, you’ll run out of that well before you get near the tow rating. Your available payload is your TV GVWR less its weight as equipped and EVERYTHING you put in it plus the wd hitch. Your real tongue weight will be about 13% of the loaded weight of the TT. So a 6000# TT could have a tw approaching 800#. Also if you tow near your max and spend much time in the mountains you likely won’t enjoy the experience, so you need some slack. I think 6000# loaded would be a handful for either vehicle, but as said, I defer to those who know the vehicle specs better than I.Last thought, do not believe anything a salesman tells you about what you can pull. His job is to sell TT's, not look out for your interests.

Forum Discussion

New to TT, Bit timid to tow ...?

47 Replies

About Travel Trailer Group

Related Content

Not for the timid

Dog friendly scissor step mod

R V Driving School

Arizona 88 - Apache Junction to Globe

Re: Views on when to/not to allow a dog to be social