Yet another tow/weight question...
First time poster. I anticipate become a full-fledged member of this site/community as I get started. Like many, I am confused about my truck's towing capacity. I've read every word of this thread ...
Forum Discussion
valhalla360 wrote:
Yes, lots of newbies say that...very rare for them to come back and say they got it right. You would be amazed how much stuff winds up stuffed in various places and you don't realize it because it went in one piece at a time.
Also keep in mind, if you travel with water in the tank, that counts against the payload. 50 gallons can be 400lbs...most people don't travel full but even 20gal so you can use the toilet at rest stops adds 160lbs.
Very true that people frequently underestimate the total amount of weight that goes in a trailer (especially when going off the brochure weight). Our trailer had a brochure weight of 6,700, a yellow sticker dry weight of 7,100, and is 8,000 loaded (without fluids).
That said, the impact of water and fluids can actually vary greatly from trailer to trailer. A 50 gallon fresh tank, filled, will add that 400 pounds to the trailer weight, but the effect on tongue weight depends on where the tank is located. Our tank is behind the rear axle, which means a loaded tank actually reduces my tongue weight. A tank over the axle will probably run closer to that 10-15% ratio. A tank in front of the axles will increase the percentage that rests on the tongue. From experimentation, I know that I can readily adjust the weight of my tongue by over 100 pounds depending on how I load gear and fluid in the trailer.
