Is this a match

[Skillett]

as for a hitch weight.

Have a 2005 Chev ext cab with towing package
GVWR 6,200#
GAWR FRONT 3600
GAWR REAR 3686
Tire P245
Hitch weight max 600#
Tow rating 6,000#

and looking at a

Jayco Jayfether SLX, 2015 Model 22FQSH, Gross weight 5,500#.

Is this the trailer range I need to be shopping in?

Thank you.

[Skillett]

Black and Yellow tire rating shows 1339#.

[pira114]

If he loads the trailer with 1365 lbs of stuff, he's STILL 500 lbs under his vehicle's max.

He's fine. I think some here misunderstood the post.

I'd replace the tires maybe. But if money is an issue they'll be ok on dry pavement. I'd wait till they were worn down about 50%. Then replace and maybe keep the spare.

[pitch]

Your first mistake was coming here looking for advice. Some of these guys need a Kenworth to pull a utility trailer.
You are right up there to your numbers but you will be fine.
Do not let folks on the internet spend money for you!

[jodpel]

My first camper was close to the limit of my full sized Chevy with a V6 twenty years ago. I was really excited to get home and show that thing to the kids dreaming of all the fun we were going to have in it. That was a harrowing 60 mile drive from the dealership to my house. I could barely keep it at 45 or 50 MPH on the hills and people were blowing by me angrily every chance they got because I was impeding traffic. I sold that truck within a month and bought a used 3/4 ton Ford truck.

The towing experience was a night and day difference. I learned to never get that close to max ever again. Personally I need to have a lot more power so I can speed up or climb hills at the appropriate speed for the flow of traffic and the speed limits. I'm sure a lot of folks pull just fine like that but I can't stand it. It scares me when I'm flogging my truck for all she's got and barely getting up the hill with traffic piling up behind me. It's just not my bag.

My opinion is to get a lighter trailer or make a mental note to be on the lookout for a better towing vehicle in the near future. That's just too close to max to make it any fun to use unless you are camping close to home or some place with a whole lot of flat ground between the house and the campground.

Edit: Please note that I'm talking about pickups that are limited by engine power. When you start talking diesel trucks pulling FWs, they start bumping chassis limits but still have plenty of power. That's a totally different thing.

[allen8106]

Bumpyroad wrote:
NO, gross weight is too close to maximum after you add your stuff it will exceed it.
bumpy

No it says "Gross weight 5500" which means that's the max. so with a 6000 tow rating he's fine.

[Skillett]

I appreciate your comments.

Will look for axle and other info.

Best regards

[ol__grouch]

Skillett wrote:
TTGWR 5335 lbs
Tongue wt 0.12 %12
640.2


TT unloaded wt 4135
Misc wt items 1200
5335

Hitch rating says max 600# and 6000# max tow without a weight distribution system. Plan on WDS anyway.

I set this up on a spreadsheet for ease.

Some have posted that I should not use the trailer empty to begin from. But I have to start somewhere. So I worked with gross trailer backwards and used 12% for tongue wt.

Will weigh my truck with full gas tank and give curb weight. The owner's manual says I can pull 7800#,but now I don't want to. That's more than truck gross weight.

Thanks for all the responses, each post makes me think and look at different approaches.

Keep in mind, proper stowing of gear will help out. You won't be piling all your stuff in the front. (I hope.) The trailer axles and brakes will supplement the truck. I personally would want a heavier truck for windy days. Years ago, I towed cars on flatbed trailers with an S-10 pickup with a 2.8 V-6 and 5 speed manual transmission. It looked like a small dog chased by a Great Dane. Letting the trailer brakes do the work made all the difference. Now, had I tried to go through the mountains, I may have had trouble.

On the other hand, I drove a truck for a living years ago. Some of the stuff I drove in the early 70's would be laughed off the road today. The engine only turns the gears. Your gearing is what is important. I don't see your rear end axle ratio listed. If you have 3.73 or better gears, you can probably tow the rig. If you have shorter gears, like 3.21 or even in the 2.49 range, you are going to have undue strain and really regret trying to pull that much weight.

Your axle ratio will probably be in one of several places. Inside the drivers door jamb or on the specification sheet under the hood or in the glove box. This will show all the options your truck has, including axle ratio.

[pitch]

Two mantras are constantly being repeated here.
Buy enough truck for your next, (larger) trailer
and you will always pack more than you need.
Neither are true.
When our kids left home we downsized from 29 ft to a 23 ft HTT.
When I saw the pile of stuff we were taking from one into the other I wash shocked, surely the people claiming 1000 to 1500 lbs of stuff were correct.
Not So! our entire kitchen pots pans tableware and appliances,came in at just under one hundred pounds, our bedding came in at under 50 lbs. tools about 30.Rv stuff chocks blocks hoses power cords are by far the heaviest category at just over one hundred pounds.
We were right around 6 to 700 pounds of cargo all said. We do not need everything in the world but we certainly are not minimalists either.

[Bumpyroad]

LarryJM wrote:

AJR wrote:
What am I missing?

His truck spec is Tow rating 6,000#

The trailer he likes has a Gross weight 5,500#
The dry weight is 4135#

Even with a full fresh water tank he has around 1000# carrying capacity. That is allot of stuff. All the stuff I took out of my class A & put into my class C did not weigh 500#. In fact most of that “stuff” was in my Arctic Fox 22H many years ago.

I would say your #500 is ATYPICAL with something on the order of 1000 to 1500 more the norm. I'm not saying something of the order of #500 is unheard of, but over time people tend to use whatever storage space there is in TTs and that is generally well in excess of 1000lbs especially in families of more than just two.

Larry

I didn't see dry weight listed anywhere??? and I "assume" that dry weight listed is sort of bare bones without add ons.
bumpy

[LarryJM]

AJR wrote:
What am I missing?

His truck spec is Tow rating 6,000#

The trailer he likes has a Gross weight 5,500#
The dry weight is 4135#

Even with a full fresh water tank he has around 1000# carrying capacity. That is allot of stuff. All the stuff I took out of my class A & put into my class C did not weigh 500#. In fact most of that “stuff” was in my Arctic Fox 22H many years ago.

I would say your #500 is ATYPICAL with something on the order of 1000 to 1500 more the norm. I'm not saying something of the order of #500 is unheard of, but over time people tend to use whatever storage space there is in TTs and that is generally well in excess of 1000lbs especially in families of more than just two.

Larry

[Skillett]

P's will be replaced with LT agree.

Thanks for that info.

Allworth wrote:
You should be OK, but I would suggest that you get rid of the passenger car tires on the truck and fit it up with LT (Light Truck) radials of the same or the next wider size. The stiffer sidewalls will greatly improve handling when towing.

[Skillett]

TTGWR 5335 lbs
Tongue wt 0.12 %12
640.2


TT unloaded wt 4135
Misc wt items 1200
5335

Hitch rating says max 600# and 6000# max tow without a weight distribution system. Plan on WDS anyway.

I set this up on a spreadsheet for ease.

Some have posted that I should not use the trailer empty to begin from. But I have to start somewhere. So I worked with gross trailer backwards and used 12% for tongue wt.

Will weigh my truck with full gas tank and give curb weight. The owner's manual says I can pull 7800#,but now I don't want to. That's more than truck gross weight.

Thanks for all the responses, each post makes me think and look at different approaches.

[coolmom42]

Allworth wrote:
You should be OK, but I would suggest that you get rid of the passenger car tires on the truck and fit it up with LT (Light Truck) radials of the same or the next wider size. The stiffer sidewalls will greatly improve handling when towing.

I agree.

[AJR]

What am I missing?

His truck spec is Tow rating 6,000#

The trailer he likes has a Gross weight 5,500#
The dry weight is 4135#

Even with a full fresh water tank he has around 1000# carrying capacity. That is allot of stuff. All the stuff I took out of my class A & put into my class C did not weigh 500#. In fact most of that “stuff” was in my Arctic Fox 22H many years ago.