Pulling with 1/2 ton

Desert Captain wrote:


I would bet that the tow capacity you have forgotten is far higher than any number you can actually tow without compromising max payload.

This isn't the universal truism that it once was, at least by the numbers. There are many F150 configurations with payloads well above 2,000 pounds. A 2,200 pound payload, with just a couple and some gear, would still leave room for 1,500+ pounds of tongue weight (the RAWR is a secondary question that's harder to estimate in generic terms). That's a lot of trailer.

am1958 wrote:

Desert Captain wrote:
So what is "odd"? :h

We both had rigs that towed well at or near our payload limits. What was your alleged towing capacity? I'm guessing Ford told you it was 9K# or more but we both know better.

:C

What is odd is that you say 6500lb "is all it could handle" which, to me, implies that anything more and the rig becomes unwieldy or unable to pull efficiently yet I'm pulling 1000lb more than that and find it all very manageable. Not saying you are wrong or anything just observing that our separate experiences are so disparate.

I can't even remember what the tow rating is but I know it was way more than I'd ever want or need.

What I said was my F150 was at its payload limits with a 5,600# TT. With about 750# of tongue weight and the hitch more than half of the payload (1,426#) was gone before I
loaded anything. Add the 225# for the Leer shell and I was almost out of payload.

I would bet that the tow capacity you have forgotten is far higher than any number you can actually tow without compromising max payload.

Thank you to those who pointed out that using the GVWR to buy a trailer isn't always necessary. You just have to know how to figure out all your weights. In my case my trailer has a dry weight of 6628lbs. We might have 500lbs to 600lbs of stuff bringing my total weight into the 7200 to 7300 pound range. Yet my CCC is 3012lbs. As stated earlier and often on this board, you'll run out of payload before hitting your max tow. That's the number to watch.

time2roll wrote:
That is the method to my madness using GVWR instead of dry weight.

As already found by another poster, there are trailers out there that are fairly light weight, yet have a huge payload capacity. If a trailer suits your needs without going near that max, why rule it out?

We gotta be real too. I would have to exceed the tow vehicle payload by a fair amount to tow a 10000 lb travel trailer. 7500 - 8000 is a reasonable maximum weight range for the average half ton.

Argh! You edited while I was responding!! ;)

TurnThePage wrote:

time2roll wrote:

TurnThePage wrote:
In reference specifically to half ton towing, why do people say, "use the max trailer weight?"

Some trailers have 3000 lbs of cargo capacity (Who's going to use all that?!). Some have under a 1000.

Even with excessive amounts of tools, backup parts, winter supplies, summer supplies, extra battery, solar panels, various added accessories, food, 50 gallons of water, grill, camp stove, camp table, camp chairs, cast iron pots and pans, and assorted other sundries, I can't seem to get over about 1500 lbs of stuff in my trailer.

What is your trailer dry weight, actual weight and GVWR?
What is your towing capacity?

I'll have to be approximate.
Dry weight: 4800 lbs
Actual weight: 6100 last time weighed, as high as 6500 lbs
Trlr GVWR: 6000 lbs
Ram half ton towing capacity: 10,600 lbs

So you are fine and it does show how easy it is to go over the trailer GVWR.

Even if you used GVWR and went with a 10,600 GVWR trailer with 3,000 carry capacity but used only 1,500 would put you at 9,100 real towing weight and is probably a bit much. This tells me you will not be stuck with an undersize trailer for using the GVWR.

That is the method to my madness using GVWR instead of dry weight.

And of course the alternative is to consider a 9,600 dry weight trailer when you think you will only carry 1,000 pounds of junk. Then you find out the delivered weight is over 10,000 and your junk is 2,000..... and then you looking for a diesel dually.

time2roll wrote:

TurnThePage wrote:
In reference specifically to half ton towing, why do people say, "use the max trailer weight?"

Some trailers have 3000 lbs of cargo capacity (Who's going to use all that?!). Some have under a 1000.

Even with excessive amounts of tools, backup parts, winter supplies, summer supplies, extra battery, solar panels, various added accessories, food, 50 gallons of water, grill, camp stove, camp table, camp chairs, cast iron pots and pans, and assorted other sundries, I can't seem to get over about 1500 lbs of stuff in my trailer.

What is your trailer dry weight, actual weight and GVWR?
What is your towing capacity?

I'll have to be approximate.
Dry weight: 4800 lbs
Actual weight: 6100 last time weighed, as high as 6500 lbs
Trlr GVWR: 6000 lbs
Ram half ton towing capacity: 10,600 lbs

gmckenzie wrote:

TurnThePage wrote:
In reference specifically to half ton towing, why do people say, "use the max trailer weight?"

Some trailers have 3000 lbs of cargo capacity (Who's going to use all that?!). Some have under a 1000.

Even with excessive amounts of tools, backup parts, winter supplies, summer supplies, extra battery, solar panels, various added accessories, food, 50 gallons of water, grill, camp stove, camp table, camp chairs, cast iron pots and pans, and assorted other sundries, I can't seem to get over about 1500 lbs of stuff in my trailer.

I don't think you will find a trailer that can be towed by a 1/2 ton with 3K carrying capacity. 1500 seems more the norm (and I've been looking at this lately).

And I just found one, so ppbbbtttt!!!! to me.

TurnThePage wrote:
In reference specifically to half ton towing, why do people say, "use the max trailer weight?"

Some trailers have 3000 lbs of cargo capacity (Who's going to use all that?!). Some have under a 1000.

I've made this argument a number of times. The best example I can find in the few minutes I have to look right now is from the Keystone Passport line. The 239MLWE is a 25'5" trailer with a dry weight of 4,402 and a carrying capacity of 998. The 2210RBWE is a 26'3" trailer with a 4,796 and a carrying capacity of 2,704. The two trailers are very similar off the lot (save a couple inches and 394 pounds), but the first has a GVWR of 5,400 while the latter has a GVWR of 7,500.

In either case, most people are going to load them the same. Thus, for example, let's say they load 1,500 pounds of propane, liquids, extras, gear and food. The person that buys the 239MLWE would have a trailer that weighs 5,902 pounds and is 502 pound OVERloaded. The person who bought the 2210RBWE, on the other hand, would have a trailer that weighs 6,296 and is still more than 1,200 pounds UNDERloaded.

In this instance, if the person was comfortable with up to 6,500 pounds loaded, they would have bought the 239MLWE based on the 'buy based on GVWR' advice but, in fact, would have had a much safer set-up with the 2210RBWE.

TurnThePage wrote:
In reference specifically to half ton towing, why do people say, "use the max trailer weight?"

Some trailers have 3000 lbs of cargo capacity (Who's going to use all that?!). Some have under a 1000.

Even with excessive amounts of tools, backup parts, winter supplies, summer supplies, extra battery, solar panels, various added accessories, food, 50 gallons of water, grill, camp stove, camp table, camp chairs, cast iron pots and pans, and assorted other sundries, I can't seem to get over about 1500 lbs of stuff in my trailer.

What is your trailer dry weight, actual weight and GVWR?
What is your towing capacity?

mnaquaman wrote:

I run a 1/2 ton Chevy Silverado, 3:42 gears, 5.3L, and all of the towing options pulling a Jayco 23BHM that has a max weight of 6250lbs.
I try not to exceed 75% of the vehicle tow capacity.

Why 3:42 gears - there are in the middle, not stump pullers and not mileage gears! I can pull the mountains - I might not be able to blast up them at 65MPH but I can get up them!

Just on the 3.42.

My 1500 with the max trailering has a 6 sp and 3.73 gears. Newer versions have a 10 spd and 3.42 gears. The newer truck have an overall higher numerical final drive in 1st gear due to a better 1st on the 10 spd vs the older 6 spd.

I think it changed in 2017 (mine is 2015).