At the risk of subjecting myself to the weight police, I am going to share my setup with you that I think might provide you some useful information.
I have a 2008 Ford Expedition EL pulling a Jayco White Hawk 31DSLB. I just purchased this trailer this year so I have only had it out once, but I have pulled it over the scale several times to see where I stand with weight, and I have learned several things:
- First off, do not believe the "dry weight" specs published for the trailer, even if it is "dry". On Jayco's website, the published dry weight of the 31DSLB is 6,125 lbs. The sticker on my trailer pulling off the dealer lot said my trailer weighed 6,600lbs. So figure on 400-500lbs more "dry" weight than what is published.
- Secondly, I think you are underestimating the amount of weight you are going to add to the trailer. That little stuff adds up way more than you think. My experience.......my trailer coming of the dealer lot was 6,600 lbs. Before my first trip, we put food and drinks in (only for a weekend so not that much), packed the (4) kid's bikes, sleeping stuff, kid's toys, some tools, barbecue, lawn chairs, leveling blocks, pots and pans, and a few little odd things. I made sure I had everything I needed but at the same time I did NOT put in a bunch of extra stuff. I filled with freshwater and headed to the scale and was SHOCKED to see that my trailer weight heading to the campsite was about 8,600 lbs.......so I have some work to do. Without freshwater and getting rid of a few things I probably don't need, I think I can get this down to 7,700 - 7,800 lbs, but there is NO WAY I will be able to travel loaded at lighter than this.
- I had a Jay Flight prior to owning the Whitehawk. The storage options in the White Hawk are less than the Jay Flight, especially if you get the outside kitchen (which I have). The front pass-through storage in the White Hawk is HUGE and is really the only convenient place to store most things you will bring camping. Unfortunately, this means lots of tongue weight. On my 8,600lb weigh-in, I calculated my tongue weight to be almost 1,300lbs, and that was being conscious of trying to minimize it as much as possible. Obviously, I have some more work to do as this number is not acceptable.
On my way home from camping with water empty, I weighed in at about 8,100 lbs with the trailer. My Expy was within the GVWR but still over the rear axle GAWR by about 130 lbs. Tongue weight also was over my RV receiver limit (920 lbs) by a couple hundred pounds.
I did purchase a Propride 3P hitch to help with my tow. I will say this - the trailer tows just fine. Even at 8,600 lbs, I had no issues. No sway at all and the truck handles the weight okay. I won't win any races but at no time did I feel uncomfortable or overloaded.
I will re-distribute weight inside my trailer to get closer to specs. What it probably means is that I will have to take some some from the front storage and put it in the rear of the trailer for when I travel and then move it once we get to the campsite. I might end up a little under the recommended 13-15% tongue weight. The drawback of this is potential trailer sway, but I think the Propride can handle this for me.
It is going to be a pain but the bottom line for me is that this is the trailer that best met my needs, so I will make it work. I might not get completely within in all my weight specs, but I will get close. Unfortunately, when you are family of 6, your options are pretty limited for a tow vehicle that can fit everybody and still tow a good size trailer.
Hope this helps.
