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lbsmyr's avatar
lbsmyr
Explorer
Jun 19, 2013

Tow vehicle

Hello all, We have been lurkers for some time and finally pulled the trigger so to speak. Very Excited to say the least. Hope to meet aloyt of people and see the country. I do have a question already, My partner and I have purchased a 2007 Forester Redline Toyhauler 230FSE (27'3"). Interesting, the trailer hitch frame says;
13000 Gross weight
1950 tounge weight
25000 mmobile home weight

the white sticker on the unit itself says;
GVWR 9995
GAWR 5080
No cargo over 3680

The internet specs say;
GVWR 9995
Gross Dry Weight 5550
CCC 4445
hitch dry weight 765

Which should I follow....?

I asked the shop tech what this meant and he was uncertain.
I am buying a truck to pull it, and my most timely question is will a 3/4 ton Dodge pull this or should I be looking at a one ton.

Any help would be greatly appreciated
Thank You
  • Bumpyroad's avatar
    Bumpyroad
    Explorer
    Jun 19, 2013
    skipnchar wrote:
    You follow ALL of them. They tell you what the maximum is and your actual weight ratings are the lowest of those numbers. NONE of them should be exceeded. The last category is pretty much a spec sheet which is useless in all cases, for the trailer itself. Nobody drags around a completely empty trailer so empty tongue weight, and dry weights (means nothing in the trailer at all) are meaningless figures to use for comparison in case you want to make bad decisions :)
    Good luck / Skip


    I would say that an actual dry weight of 4,000 lbs. or an actual dry weight of 5,000 lbs. would be a valuable and meaningful number to know. add your 1,000-1,500 lbs. of stuff on it to get loaded weight.
    bumpy
  • skipnchar's avatar
    skipnchar
    Explorer
    Jun 19, 2013
    You follow ALL of them. They tell you what the maximum is and your actual weight ratings are the lowest of those numbers. NONE of them should be exceeded. The last category is pretty much a spec sheet which is useless in all cases, for the trailer itself. Nobody drags around a completely empty trailer so empty tongue weight, and dry weights (means nothing in the trailer at all) are meaningless figures to use for comparison in case you want to make bad decisions :)
    Good luck / Skip
  • fla-gypsy's avatar
    fla-gypsy
    Explorer
    Jun 19, 2013
    Since it is a TH you would best be served to purchase a truck that can handle the entire GVWR of the trailer easily as you may well fill it up to it's CCC capacity at some point. A properly equipped 3/4 ton late model/new truck would do just fine.
  • donn0128's avatar
    donn0128
    Explorer II
    Jun 19, 2013
    The white sticker you referr to is I assume in the trailer. If that is true, then thats the one you go by. It is the trailers GVWR minus its scaled weight as it left the factory. But you still have to add battery, propane, water etc to that number and subtract again from the GVWR. A 10,000 pound trailer any of the current crop of 3/4 ton trucks will pull fine. Better yet would be a 1ton SRW. You will gain some cargo capacity in the truck. The prices are very comparable. And best of all if you decide to upgrade trailers in a couple of years you will already have enough truck for about another 2-3 thousand pounds of trailer.
  • Bumpyroad's avatar
    Bumpyroad
    Explorer
    Jun 19, 2013
    I would guess that :
    the white sticker on the unit itself says;
    GVWR 9995
    GAWR 5080
    No cargo over 3680

    The internet specs say;
    GVWR 9995
    Gross Dry Weight 5550
    CCC 4445
    hitch dry weight 765
    these are close to what is right???

    assuming that the actual dry weight is somewhere around 6000 lbs. with 1000 lbs. of stuff you need to have a TV rated for over 7000 lbs.
    bumpy

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