Hi everyone,
I'm a new member to the forum, as I'm researching this very topic, but in the boat of already having made a trailer decision ...and trying to optimize how I configure my setup when towing (primarily to work around the limited payload of my 2013 Sequoia).
Hopefully this will help with the question posed initially, but would also appreciate anyone else's perspective.
I also have a family of 6 and we therefore also required an SUV, and choose the Sequoia a little over a year ago because we need the third row of seats, and towing capability (we had an '86 Chevy Empress motorhome previously and have recently purchased a 29ft travel trailer to replace it).
With my 2013 Sequoia (5.7L V8) I'm towing a 29ft travel trailer, which has to be one of the very lightest around of that size (only 5015 lbs dry). In order to get the quad-bunk layout we wanted, it put us into the category of larger trailers.
Once fully loaded, I've estimated the total trailer weight to be just over 6000 lbs, which puts us about 15% under the 7,100 lbs TWR our Sequoia is rated for.
In terms of GCWR, the Sequoia is rated for 13,500 lbs and I'm about 500 lbs over (+5%).
What I've been most concerned about, which I didn't really understand the full implications of until after purchasing the trailer is the low payload of the Sequoia (1275 lbs for mine).
I'm well within an acceptable tongue weight range for my WDH and vehicle, but it doesn't take much weight from occupants/cargo to exceed the 1275, and I estimate myself to be sitting at 1500 lbs when towing ...and my 4 kids are only 7 (twins), 9 and 11 ...and growing like weeds! So that number is only going to increase.
I've been able to configure the WDH quite well in order to level the vehicle and ensure axle weight is distributed well, and I think I've done everything I can to minimize payload (i.e. we do a lot of dry camping, so I have two 100lb each 6V batteries that I inconveniently store towards the back of the trailer during towing, to reduce tongue weight by 150-ish lbs (leaving a single 12V installed up front during towing).
Point of clarification:
I'm assuming that fuel is excluded from the payload, right? As I haven't added that weight (about 166 lbs for a full tank) to my payload calculation. I also haven't excluded driver weight from my calculation. There seems to be some debate online about it. If 150 lbs in driver weight is able to be excluded from the payload, that would benefit my calculation by allowing me to shave 150lbs off of it.
I've towed with this setup quite a few times this summer already and the following are my observations:
- The Sequoia has absolutely no shortage of power to pull our trailer (including some trips through the mountains, although no major mountain passes yet)
- I'm getting good gas mileage, as I've often been able to maintain highway speed (100 km/hr on average) at only 2000 RPM (in tow haul mode the Sequoia does a good job of only gearing down when absolutely necessary)
- I've had minimal sway and feel confident with the vehicles ability to handle such a large trailer.
I've done a ton of research over the past few weeks and in scouring the forums, people seem to have widely varying opinions on this topic. Some guidance is to never exceed TWR or GVWR, and others seem to say those numbers are conservative and that there's some leeway. And clearly, many people are towing in ways that exceed ratings. Not saying that is advisable or safe, just stating that is seems to happen a lot and people seem unconcerned, which helps to muddy the waters around this topic.
In a nutshell, it seems a little unusual to me (kind of ridiculous) that a Sequoia rated to tow 7,100 lbs cannot realistically do that in a practical real world scenario (at least a family travel situation, whereas there's more than one person in the vehicle). As in our case, we're only towing about 6,000 lbs and exceeding payload by 225 lbs (or 15%).
For this reason, I'm hoping some of the commentary on this topic is true, and that the payload rating is a tad conservative.
Thanks for any help or feedback anyone can provide! Seem to be a ton of super knowledgeable people in this forum.
In case helpful for reference (or for others to calculate their towing configuration), here is a Google Doc I created to track and calculate things:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1rHxq78p_UVEDwkawNqDGBW2EimWtkydSvjT5pgRFn6U/edit?usp=sharing
Thanks,
Jason
