Realistic 1/2 ton towing
We are looking at getting a travel trailer. As we have looked though different trailers the desires change and where I first set a limit to a 20-24 ft travel trailer has now expanded to 30 ft and much...
Forum Discussion
bnk190 - On paper the RV options you listed should be fine as long as you stay within the limits of your truck based on weighed weights. As for the unladen weights on these trailers - they may not be that accurate and even if they are the balance may not be where you need them to be.
With a 1/2 ton truck you need to concern yourself with payload on the truck first and foremost (and also the receiver capacity - conventional hitch and WDH) and don't be surprised if the stated unladen tongue weight is different from the unladen weighed tongue weight.
I like to suggest this to people - work out how much you are likely to put in the truck (full gas, 2 people, dog and stuff that must go in the truck bed) then hit the scale. You would then know how much tongue load you can handle. Assuming 12% of the trailer weight on the tongue you can work backwards and get the approximate fully loaded (including some travel water) weight for the trailer. So for instance if you have 850# payload remaining then dividing that by 0.12 would give you a rough ballpark of the loaded trailer you can pull (in this example 7100#). Of course the lever arm at the hitch makes the 850# a little optimistic unless you are basing that on a more sophisticated calculation involving the weight longitudinal center of gravity etc. However the effect of the WDH will throw some of that hitch weight forwards and backwards so that, before you but you would likely be a little more pessimistic than after you but, balance the loading and then hit the scales.
Hope that makes sense for you. That was the approach I did and I just bought the RV in my signature - GVWR is 7550# - plenty for 2 adults and even a dog or three. After having bought the trailer and then put it on the scales I found that the trailer was 6800# (partially loaded with some water and nothing much in the truck bed) with just over 800# on the tongue. But my truck axles are handily under their limits as is the load as seen at the hitch, rated at 1100# with a WDH.
With a 1/2 ton truck you need to concern yourself with payload on the truck first and foremost (and also the receiver capacity - conventional hitch and WDH) and don't be surprised if the stated unladen tongue weight is different from the unladen weighed tongue weight.
I like to suggest this to people - work out how much you are likely to put in the truck (full gas, 2 people, dog and stuff that must go in the truck bed) then hit the scale. You would then know how much tongue load you can handle. Assuming 12% of the trailer weight on the tongue you can work backwards and get the approximate fully loaded (including some travel water) weight for the trailer. So for instance if you have 850# payload remaining then dividing that by 0.12 would give you a rough ballpark of the loaded trailer you can pull (in this example 7100#). Of course the lever arm at the hitch makes the 850# a little optimistic unless you are basing that on a more sophisticated calculation involving the weight longitudinal center of gravity etc. However the effect of the WDH will throw some of that hitch weight forwards and backwards so that, before you but you would likely be a little more pessimistic than after you but, balance the loading and then hit the scales.
Hope that makes sense for you. That was the approach I did and I just bought the RV in my signature - GVWR is 7550# - plenty for 2 adults and even a dog or three. After having bought the trailer and then put it on the scales I found that the trailer was 6800# (partially loaded with some water and nothing much in the truck bed) with just over 800# on the tongue. But my truck axles are handily under their limits as is the load as seen at the hitch, rated at 1100# with a WDH.
