so how heavy of a trailer can i really tow? back to the door jam. gcvwr= gross combined vehicle weight rating-gvwr= trailer weight you can tow. example- gcvwr8500lbs-gvwr5000=3500lbs. now we already have 1000lbs of payload so we have to include that too. so 3500lbs-1000lbs= trailer can weigh 2500lbs in my example. rv specs will list dry weight and loaded weight or gvwr. do not use the dry weight. you will not be towing a dry camper. use the loaded weight. or approximate your weight- though that is hard to do. is there more to it. of course. you found your weights in your door jam and on your rv specs. should you tow to the exact amts that you can ?? no. why?? couple reasons. 1- you estimated how much weight you have in your vehicle. (the 280lbs). you didn't weigh the stuff right? you could be off a little. 2- the rv specs could be off a little too. you only know for sure if you go to a weight station. most people don't. 3- your vehicle can tow those amts- it's not a lie. but is this a one time tow to help a friend move? no. you are talking about travelling with an rv and putting some miles on. it's hard on the suspension, brakes, engine and transmission. take it to the max and you will be climbing a hill going 30 miles an hr with the rpm's screaming and the transmission fluid boiling. your vehicle will not like you and will treat you poorly in return. leave some room so you aren't maxing your tow vehicle out. some people would say go with 80% of what the sticker says you can tow. our example said we could tow 3500lbs. maybe shave 700 off and say we could tow 2800lbs. that might be a little better. minus our payload we r looking for a trailer weighing 1800lbs loaded. is there still more ? yes? am i helping or making things worse? i hope helping.
