newbie help plannig the trip

dammitynow wrote:
thanks for the tow advise I looked the rateing is 1440# max cargo so if I understand correctly that is all the people ,gear trailer tounge weight
we thought about a popup and camper shell on the truck be we are moving toward the wet and I don't want to dry out canvas
is there a larger style teardrop with a camper shell we could get away with
my wife and I are both ex military we don't need much a warm dry place to sleep a hot meal every now and then and a memorable adventure

Your understanding of what eats up payload and towing capacity, is correct. Everything and everybody, in or on the vehicle, that wasn't there at the factory, is eating up payload and tow capacity.

You shouldn't need to scale back to canvas or teardrops, as long as you are aware of your payload limitations and select a travel trailer that fits within your ratings.

Some averages that may help with your planning:

Average trailer tongue weight is 12 - 13 percent of loaded trailer weight.

Average load of dishes, pots and pans, camping gear, tools, BBQ, bedding, groceries, and water, etc, weighs 800 to 1000 lbs.

Weight distributing hitch will weigh about 100 lbs. This and tongue weight will eat up tongue weight.

A fiberglass bed cap weighs about 175 lbs.

Using average numbers, a 6000 lb loaded trailer, would need approximately 850 lbs of available payload.

With 14XX lbs of payload, that would leave 550 to 600 lbs available for a bed cap (if you wanted one), people, and cargo in the truck.

If you look for travel trailers with unloaded weights, at or below 5000 lbs, you should be OK. Very likely you'd find some in 20 - 24' length.