Newbie towing recommendation

jerem0621 wrote:
Welcome Laziebun,

You did a good job giving us a lot of info to start with. Your Truck is a very capable Half ton truck. Are the trailer weights you posted the brochure weights? If so, I would make some assumptions until you actually weigh the truck and trailer.

1) I would figure 1,200-1500 lbs added to the above trailer weight as you "ready to camp" weight. Also, don't believe yourself when you say you will camp light. Over time your trailer will get heavier. You will eventually buy trailer only items (pots, pans, etc) along with many other things.

2) your tongue weight right now is less than 10% which is not good for pulling a TT. You need 10-13% tongue weight. So, 13% of 7,500 lbs is going to be about 975 lbs.

3) figure your trucks available payload. There should be a yellow sticker in your drivers door jamb that should say something along the lines of " the combined weight of passengers and cargo should never exceed xxxx lbs. you need to make sure you have enough payload to cover your family's weight, the tongue weight, and the weight distribution hitch head....along with anything else in the truck. (This is how people end up with 3/4 or 1ton trucks and realize that the tow rating is essentially useless for a TT and a 1/2 ton combo. You run out of payload way before you run out of tow rating...generally speaking)

4) make sure your weight distribution hitch bars are rated for at least 1,000 lbs...1,200 would be better. If they are 800 lbs bars, I don't think they are big enough for your application. Make sure the weight distribution hitch is set up and spot on. This is not hard to do yourself...take your time and do this yourself.

5) depending on what kind of WD hitch you have you may have sway control built in. If you have a standard WD hitch which requires separate sway bars be sure you use two of them. This is my preferred hitch as I like being able to remove the sway control on gravel roads or in icy/slick conditions while retaining my WD abilities.

6) air your tires up to the Max PSI on the sidewall of the tires for towing purposes. This is subjective but my experience this is helpful in firming up the ride on a half ton while towing a large TT

7) your mpg will be 7-10 while towing. Probably average around 8 mpg. You will feel the trailer back there. You will get use to it.

8) if you don't have OEM towing mirrors then ensure you get a good set of towing mirrors. I like the JR products Grand Aero's or the CIPA Slip on mirrors for your specific truck.

9) buy a power tongue jack if your trailer didn't come with one. Many choices here, Barker and Atwood seem to be the best... all are helpful...for me it turned hitching up into a breeze.

Thanks!

Jeremiah

Payload- you're right there is a sticker on my door and it's 123- lbs. just the tongue weight alone will have me pretty much reaching the payload capacity. Unfortunately this TT is a no go. Last thing I want to do is put the family at risk.

Thanks everyone for your input.