Travel Trailer Question
I am considering buying my first camper and here is what my issues is. The camper that my wife and I like is the Coachman Catalina 293QBCK. I drive a 2015 GMC Yukon Denali XL which states it will...
Forum Discussion
I have an F-150 that Ford says will tow 11,800#. Ford has, shall we say, exaggerated that number. Your trailer is heavier than I would consider towing with my truck. There is no way I would even try to haul that trailer with that truck.
This will tell you how much trailer you can tow.
1. add the weights of the driver and all passengers who will ride in the vehicle while towing.
2. if you have a tonneau cover or topper, add its weight.
3. add weight of WD hitch (100# is a good estimate).
4. add estimated weight of everything you will haul in the tow vehicle including, but not limited to, grill, generator, tables, chairs, firewood, etc.
5. now, subtract whatever total you get from the Payload Rating on the label inside the driver's door frame. That is the vehicle's payload left for tongue weight.
6. since a trailer should have 12% to 15% of its weight as tongue weight, divide the number from step 5 by 13%. Whatever number that is is the approximate max for your trailer.
For MY truck those numbers are
1. 400#
2. 200#
3. 100#
4a. 150# (portable boat we carry)
4b. 150# (misc stuff for camping)
5. subtract that 1000# from the 1895# of our Payload Rating giving 895#
6. 895#/13%=6884# (I said Ford exaggerated the tow rating.) I may, MAY, consider towing a trailer with a GVWR of 7500#, but nothing heavier than that.
The trailer we bought has a GVWR of 6000#. That gives us about a 13% cushion. (Purely for comparison, since this number is completely meaningless, the dry weight of my trailer is listed as 4806#.)
This will tell you how much trailer you can tow.
1. add the weights of the driver and all passengers who will ride in the vehicle while towing.
2. if you have a tonneau cover or topper, add its weight.
3. add weight of WD hitch (100# is a good estimate).
4. add estimated weight of everything you will haul in the tow vehicle including, but not limited to, grill, generator, tables, chairs, firewood, etc.
5. now, subtract whatever total you get from the Payload Rating on the label inside the driver's door frame. That is the vehicle's payload left for tongue weight.
6. since a trailer should have 12% to 15% of its weight as tongue weight, divide the number from step 5 by 13%. Whatever number that is is the approximate max for your trailer.
For MY truck those numbers are
1. 400#
2. 200#
3. 100#
4a. 150# (portable boat we carry)
4b. 150# (misc stuff for camping)
5. subtract that 1000# from the 1895# of our Payload Rating giving 895#
6. 895#/13%=6884# (I said Ford exaggerated the tow rating.) I may, MAY, consider towing a trailer with a GVWR of 7500#, but nothing heavier than that.
The trailer we bought has a GVWR of 6000#. That gives us about a 13% cushion. (Purely for comparison, since this number is completely meaningless, the dry weight of my trailer is listed as 4806#.)
