Towing weight limit

Sam Spade wrote:

majordad wrote:

I am trying to find a toyhauler and they all come in at 6-7000 pounds with matching tongue weights.

That would be an enclosed trailer ?

Unless you need something HUGE, I don't think an aluminum one would be anywhere near that heavy.

Of course, part of that might be the load; what are you needing to carry ??

We still have 11 kids/disabled adults at home and I am trying to come up with a solution to avoid having to setup/tear down tents when we go camping,. We carry the additional stuff for all of us and sleeping for 6-8. I am seriously thinking about a cargo trailer conversion to a bunkhouse. This would give us the extra bed space and cargo space and allow me to stay under the 5000 pound limit.

Thank you all for your input, I have found a toyhauler that could meet our needs and is under 4000 pounds. Will update .
Thanks

hohenwald48 wrote:

So, a properly connected toad (trailer) will have no impact on the stopping ability of the towing vehicle.

It should not.

There are several test reports that show that un-braked trailers add many feet to the stopping distance any towing vehicle.
But I've not seem any data that shows trailers with brakes do or don't effect the braking distance.

We tow our jeep a lot both with braking , and with out. I see no difference, but it only weighs 4300.

rk911 wrote:

hohenwald48 wrote:

rk911 wrote:

Ductape wrote:
Get a 10k hitch installed.

there may be more to it than just changing the hitch. for one the brakes on your MH are engineered for the GVWR of the MH, not the MH plus the toad. if you decide to do this please consult with a professional who can properly advise you.

Don't toads and trailers have their own brake systems and as a result do not use any of the towing vehicle brake capacity?

sure they do. but unless there is an intentional hookup between the MH and toad the towed vehicle's brakes are not used. we've been towing our jeeps since 2003. in order to be able to activate the jeep's brakes while towing we needed to install an auxillisry brake system in the jeeps. in short when i step on the brakes in the MH i get a progressive and proportional braking of the jeep. without that aux. system the towed vehicle is just dead weight.

So, a properly connected toad (trailer) will have no impact on the stopping ability of the towing vehicle. I thought you were saying that towing capacity was limited because ". . . for one the brakes on your MH are engineered for the GVWR of the MH, not the MH plus the toad." If the toad (trailer) has it's own brakes then the towing vehicles brakes don't need to be engineered for the GVWR of the MH plus the toad. Correct?

hohenwald48 wrote:

rk911 wrote:

Ductape wrote:
Get a 10k hitch installed.

there may be more to it than just changing the hitch. for one the brakes on your MH are engineered for the GVWR of the MH, not the MH plus the toad. if you decide to do this please consult with a professional who can properly advise you.

Don't toads and trailers have their own brake systems and as a result do not use any of the towing vehicle brake capacity?

sure they do. but unless there is an intentional hookup between the MH and toad the towed vehicle's brakes are not used. we've been towing our jeeps since 2003. in order to be able to activate the jeep's brakes while towing we needed to install an auxillisry brake system in the jeeps. in short when i step on the brakes in the MH i get a progressive and proportional braking of the jeep. without that aux. system the towed vehicle is just dead weight.

Blackdiamond wrote:
I had a 2007 39' Discovery, hitch was 10,000 lbs....I am sure the frame is the same, just update the hitch and you should be good.

This is a valid point. Just because the motorhome has a 5k hitch does not mean it can ONLY have a 5k hitch. Manufacturers don't always install the beefiest hitch possible.

rk911 wrote:

Ductape wrote:
Get a 10k hitch installed.

there may be more to it than just changing the hitch. for one the brakes on your MH are engineered for the GVWR of the MH, not the MH plus the toad. if you decide to do this please consult with a professional who can properly advise you.

Don't toads and trailers have their own brake systems and as a result do not use any of the towing vehicle brake capacity?

Way2roll I don't believe I advised anyone to do anything--I only mentioned what I have done and continue to do and what I routinely see at the racetracks I visit almost weekly. And as I said in the first post "just my thoughts".

I had a 2007 39' Discovery, hitch was 10,000 lbs....I am sure the frame is the same, just update the hitch and you should be good.

rk911 wrote:

for the OP...

in general, the maximum amount of weight you can safely tow will be the lesser of the following:

- the GCWR (gross combination weight rating) of the MH minus the actual weight of the MH (defined as the sum of the actual weights on each axle) as it is loaded for travel (includes fuel, fresh water, food, clothing, people, pets, supplies, etc).

- the weight rating of your tow bar

- the weight rating of your hitch

This is assuming one is towing four down or with a dolly, where there is negligible tongue weight to worry about.

For towing a trailer, it all applies, but with some additional possible constraints added for the trailer tongue weight:

- The tongue weight must be less than the tongue weight rating of the hitch, which on some motorhomes is less than one might expect given the hitch's overall rating.

- The rear axle weight rating (rear GAWR) of the tow vehicle must not be exceeded, which means the rear GAWR minus the actual rear axle weight unloaded must be greater than the tongue weight multiplied by (roughly) the ratio of the tow vehicle length to the rear overhang. (Basically, the tow vehicle is figured as a lever, with the pivot at the front axle and the applied force at the trailer hitch.) It may be easier just to get an axle weight with the trailer attached and loaded. With a weight distributing hitch, things get even trickier, but weight distributing hitches aren't especially useful for most motorhomes.

The tongue weight is of course dependent on how the trailer is loaded, so it's possible to control these to some extent; however, too little tongue weight leads to instability in the trailer's handling.