Will it sway?
On a one time basis, I will be towing a 32' travel trailer. The trailer is totally empty and dry and weighs about 4,500 lbs. There will be about 200 lbs of cargo put inside near the front, so toungue ...
Forum Discussion
I know this post is kind of old, but I thought I'd post an update. First of all, I did the trip with only minor problems along the way.
I know there was concern about my driving experience with such a large trailer. I found out that the trailer was actually 34' instead of the 32' that I was told before pickup. I used to drive a tractor trailer (40' & 53' reefers), so I'm kind of OK in the area of pulling trailers. I've also flat towed, dollied, and trailered cars from coast to coast with my pickup through all sorts of weather and terrain.
Semi-trailers are a much different kind of animal than a full trailer and handle much differently. That was my motivation for getting input from a community of experienced TT drivers.
The trailer's (an older unit with no slides) weights were obtained from the data sticker when I posted. When I started the trip, I weighed the rig and the trailer was actually lighter than the sticker because all three holding tanks, both propane bottles, two large cabinets, and a near residential sized refrigerator had all been removed. Even throwing my luggage and tools in the trailer, it still weighed less than its advertised dry weight.
I only had three problems along the way. The first was that I used the wrong ball mount (a 4" drop model) that caused the tongue jack to strike a few times in the first 20 miles. I pulled out a 2" rise ball mount from my tow box and that fixed that. The second was excessive tongue weight that was making the truck porpoise on bumps. I moved my luggage and tools to the back and that solved that. The third problem was an ice storm in Maryland that forced me to spend a night in a Lowe's parking lot with no propane. Brrr.
Overall, the trip went well. I tested the rig up to 75mph and not a bit of sway was noted. I traveled at 50-60 mph depending on conditions and averaged about 9.7 mpg with my half ton Hemi. On the scale, the trailer weighed 3401 at the axles and had a 779 tongue weight (before I moved the luggage and tools) for a gross of 4180 lbs loaded.
RK
I know there was concern about my driving experience with such a large trailer. I found out that the trailer was actually 34' instead of the 32' that I was told before pickup. I used to drive a tractor trailer (40' & 53' reefers), so I'm kind of OK in the area of pulling trailers. I've also flat towed, dollied, and trailered cars from coast to coast with my pickup through all sorts of weather and terrain.
Semi-trailers are a much different kind of animal than a full trailer and handle much differently. That was my motivation for getting input from a community of experienced TT drivers.
The trailer's (an older unit with no slides) weights were obtained from the data sticker when I posted. When I started the trip, I weighed the rig and the trailer was actually lighter than the sticker because all three holding tanks, both propane bottles, two large cabinets, and a near residential sized refrigerator had all been removed. Even throwing my luggage and tools in the trailer, it still weighed less than its advertised dry weight.
I only had three problems along the way. The first was that I used the wrong ball mount (a 4" drop model) that caused the tongue jack to strike a few times in the first 20 miles. I pulled out a 2" rise ball mount from my tow box and that fixed that. The second was excessive tongue weight that was making the truck porpoise on bumps. I moved my luggage and tools to the back and that solved that. The third problem was an ice storm in Maryland that forced me to spend a night in a Lowe's parking lot with no propane. Brrr.
Overall, the trip went well. I tested the rig up to 75mph and not a bit of sway was noted. I traveled at 50-60 mph depending on conditions and averaged about 9.7 mpg with my half ton Hemi. On the scale, the trailer weighed 3401 at the axles and had a 779 tongue weight (before I moved the luggage and tools) for a gross of 4180 lbs loaded.
RK
