Am I on the right track???

[BeerBrewer]

I've read that to safe that the tongue weight of TT should be somewhere between 9% and 15% on the total loaded trailer weight. Say for a 6000 lb trailer, its 9% tongue wt is 540 lbs and for 15% the tongue wt jumps to 900 lbs. Isn't that a lot leeway? I assume that its best to stay somewhere in the middle say 12%...correct or doesn't it matter that much?

Sadly, my truck only allows for 700 lbs of tongue wt, which isn't a lot. Lets say that I use the Andersen Weight Distribution Hitch which weighs 50 lbs, so that only leaves 650 lbs for the actual trailer tongue weight. Now if I take 650 and divide it buy 0.12 that should equal my maximum trailer weight, which is 5,417 lbs. Now I understand that this number is solely based upon tongue wt and other factors apply to my max trailer weight. For instance my manual says that my truck can tow 7000 lbs (with a driver, a full tank of fuel and NOTHING else in the truck). Since 5,417 is less than 7000, it seems that tongue wt a more limiting factor.

Now assuming that that the average couple packs between a 500 and 1000 pounds of stuff into their trailers that I should be looking for a trailer who's dry weight is no more than 4400 lbs.

Lastly, assuming what I've read is correct and tongue weight should be between 9% and 15% afters its loaded, why do trailer manufacturers put the dry tongue wt in the brochure? Isn't it sort of meaning less? Also when shopping for a trailer I guess its good to know the max that a trailer can carry, but the more important number is the weight number shown on the door frame.

So am I on the right track?

[Grit_dog]

Bottom line, you've been asking about the suitability of your old tundra for months now.
You're prepared to get a bigger truck if wanted/needed. Pretend the internet doesn't exist, because you're getting bogged down by the minutia.
Go buy the trailer you want, hook it up, tow it home. If you don't like how it pulls or then feel a newer or more capable truck is the answer, then you were already 90% aware of that, go upgrade trucks.
The world isn't going to stop spinning if your 500lbs over your payload rating or have to hit 2nd gear at 38mph to pull a particular hill. But it will demonstrate the preference or necessity for a bigger truck if the performance of your current truck is unacceptable.

A similar size trailer in length and frontal area will not pull a lot different whether it's 5klb or 6 klb.

[Lwiddis]

My DW’s 2018 Equinox has 1095. Your truck is....ah....light duty.

[Lwiddis]

1309 isn’t much.

[time2roll]

If that trailer works with 0% to 5% safety margin I would tow it.

If you like it ask the owner if you can drag it across a scale with the promise that if it makes weight you buy it.

[BeerBrewer]

Wow that is a interesting but VERY depressing tool. I played around with it a bit and I put the numbers in for my truck and let it run using different safety margins

For 20% safety margin and 15% Trailer tongue weight percentage override it said:

Maximum Trailer Weight was 4,667 lb (This is the maximum trailer weight based on the most restrictive tow vehicle ratings provided (tongue weight rating at 15% of trailer weight))

Maximum Trailer Weight with Margin was 3,733 lb (This is the maximum trailer weight based on the most restrictive tow vehicle ratings provided, reduced by a safety margin of 20%)

For 15% safety margin and 12% Trailer tongue weight percentage override it said:

Maximum Trailer Weight was 5,833 lb (This is the maximum trailer weight based on the most restrictive tow vehicle ratings provided (tongue weight rating at 15% of trailer weight))

Maximum Trailer Weight with Margin was 4,958 lb (This is the maximum trailer weight based on the most restrictive tow vehicle ratings provided, reduced by a safety margin of 20%)


So if I use the recommended 20% safety margin it says that I can only tow a 3,733 lb trailer based upon my limited tongue wt capacity. 😞


I had been looking at a used 2017 Rockwood 2109S trailer that I saw on line. The photo of the door sticker says the trailer weighs (empty) 3924 lbs, can carry no more than 1273 lbs of cargo and is 21 ft long. I guess that makes the trailers GTW equal 5197. The brochure says the dry tongue wt is 415 lb, not that means much. So If I follow these guidelines, even this trailer is beyond my truck. This is very depressing. Am I reading this correctly?

[Optimistic_Para]

You might take a few minutes to look at this YouTube video:

Travel Trailers and Half Ton Trucks

He goes into why weight alone is not the only factor you need to consider. A flat trailer with a load of bricks is going to tow completely differently than a hollow box trailer with high walls, even if they weigh exactly the same.

[nickthehunter]

You have all the info you need. Now go Here to get unbiased info on how it all fits together. You may need a new hitch to handle more tongue weight but you have the payload to handle the trailer as long as you don’t go hog wild and load a ton of stuff in the truck.

[BeerBrewer]

I totally understand that you shouldn't exceed the trailer GVWR and I won't.

I read on this forum and others that a typical couple (not a family of four) packs between 500 and 1000 lbs of "stuff" in there TTs, including propane and batteries, etc. Which means, after their TT was loaded and ready to go that it weighed 500 to 1000 lbs over the weight of the trailer empty. Now assuming that the local dealer didn't add a lot of stuff into trailer, shouldn't actual weight rating be close to the weight rating stamped on the door? Now just because one trailer can handle more cargo doesn't mean that we'll pack that much.

Below are the numbers from the sticker on the Door and manual for my 2006 Tundra. As you can see these aren't very big numbers

GVWR 6300 lbs
GAWR: FRT 3500 lbs
GAWR: RR 3650 lbs
Total Combined weight of occupants and cargo never to exceed 1309 lbs
Towing Capacity: 7000 lbs
Max towing weight (including truck, occupants, fuel, cargo and trailer): 12,600 lbs
Maxium Tongue weight: 700 lbs
Truck Weight (As weighed with me and full fuel tank): 5000 lbs

I have the last model year of the first generation Tundra. Its a great truck but it's basically nothing more than a stretched out Tacoma with a small V8. I'm told that a lot of the parts are interchangeable. I knew it wasn't a robust full size pickup truck when I bought it and I even thought it was ugly as sin and still do. I mainly bought it because of Toyota's reliability reputation and because it was the largest truck that I could find that could fit inside my garage and still fit a 4x8 sheet of plywood or drywall between the wheel wells.

My wife and I have never RV'd before. So neither of us know how much we'd pack or how it affects the towing, but we are learning. We both love the out doors. As for a pop-up, I'd be okay with it, but not the wife. I'm an avid hiker/backpacker, but my wife grew up camping in her parents old pop-up and doesn't want to go that route. We were hoping that we'd be able to find a used starter Travel Trailer and tow it with our Tundra, but that doesn't seem very likely. I have located a couple possibilities, but they were sold before we got there. I'm also considering buying a another truck.

Lastly, I have to apologize for asking so many stupid questions. I'm fairly sure that we're going to love RVing as long as we do it safely. Unfortunately, my wife knows someone from her office that got into a serious solo traffic accident while towing a TT that ended very tragically. So I'm just making sure that I learn as much as I can.


Thanks

Bob

[Ralph_Cramden]

BeerBrewer wrote:


So am I on the right track?

No, sounds like you're buying into the RV Forum Weight Police Hoopla Hoodoo and overthinking things. Listen to about 90% the foolishness that goes on at these boards, and the next thing you'll be doing is running off to a Scale every time the wife packs an additional pair of shoes or roll of TP.

All one needs to half assed worry about is hitch weight to payload, and GVW to towing capacity, and those can be taken with a grain of salt to some extent depending on the amount of common sense being used. Percentage of hitch to overall is what it is, as long as the rig tows fine. Drop it on the ball and give it a try. Are you going to load the rig the same every time you head out?

[bikendan]

nickthehunter wrote:
What does the tire loading sticker on the door of your tundra say? That will tell you what the weight of passengers and cargo (tongue weight) can be.

actually, the payload sticker usually says "Occupants and cargo should not exceed xxxxlbs".
driver is considered an occupant and the WDH weight and tongue weight are considered part of cargo.

[time2roll]

BeerBrewer wrote:
I'm not sure why the GVWR is so important, other that knowing how much you can pack into the trailer.

You can use dry weight and guess what ever you want. Often this translates into being over the max weight, just a matter of how much. Or use the GVWR and have a reasonable cushion to be under the rating. Either way ACTUAL weight is what matters. You can tow over the rating too and that is your choice. Unfortunately no dealer will let you test drive a trailer to the scale after you load it up. Likewise there is no return policy if you discover you are over weight after the first few trips.

How about list all the ratings and GVWRs and get some real calculations going?

[nickthehunter]

What does the tire loading sticker on the door of your tundra say? That will tell you what the weight of passengers and cargo (tongue weight) can be.

[jfkmk]

BeerBrewer, are you sure about the hitch capacity? You should have two weight ratings on the hitch. One for weight carrying, and one for with a weight distributing hitch. Even my old mid-sized SUV had a higher capacity than 700# when using a wdh, so I would be surprised if the Tundra had such a low capacity.

[valhalla360]

I've never heard 9% suggested as acceptable. Usually it's 12-15%...some say as low as 10%.

Your 12% assumption is probably Ok. Assuming 6000lb is the Max weight (not empty), you have about 720lb hitch weight.

Don't forget to add the weight of the hitch, bed cover and anything else in the truck.