newbie and confused

rubsal70 wrote:
Merry Christmas,
I am new to this forum and looking to Buy a TT and I have done some research. I have a Chevy Silverado 1500 4.8 with 3.23. Max trailer weight is 4700 and gcwr is 10000. Well if I change my gears to 3.73 that would raise my Max trailer weight 6700 and 12000 gcwr. Well that's my truck.

The TT that I am looking at is a jayco Jay swift 264bh. The yellow stickers on the TT range from 4500-4600lbs. My question is, is this safe? With the gear change or not?

First, your owner's manual will contain a statement such as:

Trailer weight rating (TWR) is calculated assuming the tow vehicle has only the driver but all required trailering equipment.
Weight of additional optional equipment, passengers and cargo in the tow vehicle must be subtracted from the trailer weight rating.

For example, if the weight of optional equipment, passengers, and cargo (including about 100# for a weight distribution hitch) is 700#,
the maximum loaded trailer weights would be 4000# with the 3.23 ratio and 6000# with the 3.73 ratio.

Second, if you add 1000# of cargo (including liquids) to a trailer, the loaded trailer weight will be approximately equal to the sticker UVW plus 1000#.
With the 3.23 ratio, you would be limited to a sticker UVW of about 4000-1000 = 3000#.
With the 3.73 ratio, you would be limited to a sticker UVW of about 6000-1000 = 5000#.

Given the above assumptions, if you want to tow a trailer having a UVW of 4500-4600#, the TV will need the 3.73 gears.
If the loaded trailer weight is, say, 5500#, the tongue weight should be around 700#.
With a payload capacity of 1650#, you would have about 1650-700 = 950# of capacity available for optional equipment, passengers, and cargo.
And, you might need to use a weigh distribution hitch depending on what your owners manual or receiver rating says.

Ron