re-entering camping - what would you buy?
My wife and I and two young boys, with dogs, are looking to get back into camping. We had a Coleman Sante Fe pop-up trailer for years, sold it two years ago, and now are keen to get back into it. My...
Forum Discussion
Instead of telling you what you can tow, I'm gonna show you how to correctly figure this out. This way a salesman won't sell you something you really can't tow.
You need to know more about your trucks capabilities than just my truck can tow x lbs. (I learned this the hard way). Most TV are limited by their payload. To find out your TVs true towing capacities then you need to go weigh it. Load the tv up with all occupants, pets, and cargo that will be in it when towing plus a full tank of fuel and then go weigh it at a local scale (www.catscale.com ). Weigh each axle on a separate scale pad so it will give you a breakdown of front and rear axle weights individually and a total weight. Take the total weight and subtract it from your Trucks gvwr to get your available payload. Take the scaled Truck weight and subtract it from your Truck gcwr to get your adjusted towng capacity.
Next understand you will never tow an unloaded or dry trailer. Those numbers are somewhat irrelevant. You can either add the amount of weight of cargo you will tow to the dry weight (this is heavier than you think as most add 1000-2000 lb of gear) or simply use the tt gvwr to do your calculations. Being that this is your first tt, using the tt gvwr is the safer route for you. Next understand that the tt loaded tongue weight needs to be subtracted from your available payload. The loaded tongue weight is typically 13-15% of the loaded tt weight. For your purposes go wiith 13-15% of the tt gvwr. Remember you will need a good wdh, preferrably one with integrated sway control like the equal-i-zer or reese dual cam.
Once you have done all that then it is time to look at floorplans. Think about your usage, you will want larger sized fresh, grey and black tanks for boondocking.
(You might also want to think about a generator or solar battery charhing system for boondocking). In the tt think about where people will sleep, whee you will put things (ie moms clothes in thus closet, dishes in that cabinet, kids toys in that drawer etc), act out daily usage in the tt with doors closed (ie kids playing with toy trucks, mom cooking, dad walking to bathroom, and don't forget to account for tripping over dogs). Hope this helps you find the right solution for you. Happy hunting.
You need to know more about your trucks capabilities than just my truck can tow x lbs. (I learned this the hard way). Most TV are limited by their payload. To find out your TVs true towing capacities then you need to go weigh it. Load the tv up with all occupants, pets, and cargo that will be in it when towing plus a full tank of fuel and then go weigh it at a local scale (www.catscale.com ). Weigh each axle on a separate scale pad so it will give you a breakdown of front and rear axle weights individually and a total weight. Take the total weight and subtract it from your Trucks gvwr to get your available payload. Take the scaled Truck weight and subtract it from your Truck gcwr to get your adjusted towng capacity.
Next understand you will never tow an unloaded or dry trailer. Those numbers are somewhat irrelevant. You can either add the amount of weight of cargo you will tow to the dry weight (this is heavier than you think as most add 1000-2000 lb of gear) or simply use the tt gvwr to do your calculations. Being that this is your first tt, using the tt gvwr is the safer route for you. Next understand that the tt loaded tongue weight needs to be subtracted from your available payload. The loaded tongue weight is typically 13-15% of the loaded tt weight. For your purposes go wiith 13-15% of the tt gvwr. Remember you will need a good wdh, preferrably one with integrated sway control like the equal-i-zer or reese dual cam.
Once you have done all that then it is time to look at floorplans. Think about your usage, you will want larger sized fresh, grey and black tanks for boondocking.
(You might also want to think about a generator or solar battery charhing system for boondocking). In the tt think about where people will sleep, whee you will put things (ie moms clothes in thus closet, dishes in that cabinet, kids toys in that drawer etc), act out daily usage in the tt with doors closed (ie kids playing with toy trucks, mom cooking, dad walking to bathroom, and don't forget to account for tripping over dogs). Hope this helps you find the right solution for you. Happy hunting.
