What is the "real" GVWR?
So, after months of looking for a TT for my 2013 Tacoma to safely tow< I'm still confused about the GVWR. On some models the dry weight is say 3155 lbs with the gvwr at 5890lbs. So, I can put 2735lbs ...
Forum Discussion
As said, dry weight numbers are fictional. Manufacturers love to use them for marketing purposes to outdo the competition and lure you into buying something that you may not if you knew what the actual weight would be like. The actual weight always goes up. By the time you've ordered options, the dealer adds items (propane tanks, ex.), you installed fixed items (2nd TV, ex.), done some modifications and have it all loaded up for camping, the weight goes up a lot. Typically in the 1,000 - 1,500 lb range, or even more for larger units. The added weight comes right off the advertised cargo carrying capacity and in the end, you could have very little left over. In some cases, you can even end up being overloaded.
The advertised 2735 lbs is bs. The actual won't even be close to that. Even if you could, do NOT try and load 2,735 lbs into your TT. We camped next to someone last summer who had a TT of the same make and model and similar length as ours except theirs was a toyhauler version with cargo door ahead of the axles. Identical frame & suspension. He just got the TT and was using it to take a 800-900 lb Harley camping with him. I know he was WAY over his GVWR. He probably had in the order of 2400 lbs of overall "cargo" added to his dry weight and about 700 lbs over his GVWR. Not good....
Dry tongue weight can go up a lot too, so watch your payload rating on the TV.
Without being able to take a TT for a test tow off a dealer's lot and going to a scale, you are best to use the GVWR to be safe. And for tongue weight, take 15% of the GVWR. If you don't, you can end up with too much trailer for your TV. Never shop on the basis of dry weights alone, don't believe what a dealer tells you and don't believe the "1/2 ton towable" designations.
You never want to exceed your TT GVWR all loaded up because for one thing, the axles and tires have ratings. And if you exceed the GVWR, you could possibly damage the frame. One of the best things you can do is to take your TT to a scale and get the total weight (GVW) and TV weight and then calculate the actual tongue weight.
Forget about the towing capacity of your truck. Focus on the payload capacity because you'll run out of that well before you reach the towing capacity. Do you now what the receiver rating is because you also need to look at that.
Case study: After going to a CAT scale, our 29' TT with a factory listed dry weight of 5237 lbs ended up at 6800 lbs all loaded up for camping, and with just ordinary camping gear and supplies. The GVWR is 7,000 lbs so we have just 200 lbs of CCC left. Advertised CCC was 1563 lbs. It seems like all the factory options we ordered added a lot of weight. If we travelled with just one full holding tank, we'd be overloaded. The tongue weight ended up being almost double the factory listed 518 lbs. We bought a new WDH setup based on the dry tongue weight and ended up having to buy heavier rated bars because the 800 lb ones did not work. If we have heavy stuff to take on a trip, we have to put it in the back of the truck, but at least our 3/4 ton has the payload cap. for it.
The advertised 2735 lbs is bs. The actual won't even be close to that. Even if you could, do NOT try and load 2,735 lbs into your TT. We camped next to someone last summer who had a TT of the same make and model and similar length as ours except theirs was a toyhauler version with cargo door ahead of the axles. Identical frame & suspension. He just got the TT and was using it to take a 800-900 lb Harley camping with him. I know he was WAY over his GVWR. He probably had in the order of 2400 lbs of overall "cargo" added to his dry weight and about 700 lbs over his GVWR. Not good....
Dry tongue weight can go up a lot too, so watch your payload rating on the TV.
Without being able to take a TT for a test tow off a dealer's lot and going to a scale, you are best to use the GVWR to be safe. And for tongue weight, take 15% of the GVWR. If you don't, you can end up with too much trailer for your TV. Never shop on the basis of dry weights alone, don't believe what a dealer tells you and don't believe the "1/2 ton towable" designations.
You never want to exceed your TT GVWR all loaded up because for one thing, the axles and tires have ratings. And if you exceed the GVWR, you could possibly damage the frame. One of the best things you can do is to take your TT to a scale and get the total weight (GVW) and TV weight and then calculate the actual tongue weight.
Forget about the towing capacity of your truck. Focus on the payload capacity because you'll run out of that well before you reach the towing capacity. Do you now what the receiver rating is because you also need to look at that.
Case study: After going to a CAT scale, our 29' TT with a factory listed dry weight of 5237 lbs ended up at 6800 lbs all loaded up for camping, and with just ordinary camping gear and supplies. The GVWR is 7,000 lbs so we have just 200 lbs of CCC left. Advertised CCC was 1563 lbs. It seems like all the factory options we ordered added a lot of weight. If we travelled with just one full holding tank, we'd be overloaded. The tongue weight ended up being almost double the factory listed 518 lbs. We bought a new WDH setup based on the dry tongue weight and ended up having to buy heavier rated bars because the 800 lb ones did not work. If we have heavy stuff to take on a trip, we have to put it in the back of the truck, but at least our 3/4 ton has the payload cap. for it.
