Weight and Truck

[cs2kplus]

Have a 1989 Fleetwood Taurus travel trailer. Weight is 6500. Need to get a truck. Can someone tell me what the minimum I should be looking for. I read all about tongue weight, etc. I have in my driveway. Just bought. Was delivered. I have no way of bring to get weighed. Thanks!:S

[cs2kplus]

Nice sum up wintersun. That was quite refreshing to here. It's kinda where I am with this all. I am still looking. I keep seeing 1500's and f150 that look pretty damn beefy. Will I be climbing rocky areas. It's possible. But I am doubting it. But I am a fan of overkill too. What actual formula should I follow? If my RV is 6500 and a truck is say close to that...we are at a GCVWR of 13,000. So what does that mean now?

[wintersun]

The GCWR is the important number as it is the total load that the engine, drivetrain, suspension, frame, brakes, and other components can safely handle. Too high a tow load and the engine and transmission will suffer and have a shorter useful life.

When GM in 2011 and Ram in 2013 greatly increased the tow rating for their heavy duty trucks (2500 and 3500 models) they beefed up the frames, the suspension, and the brakes, as well as increasing the horsepower from the engines. There is always a weakest link and the GCWR calculation incorporates at all the potential points of wear and failure for the vehicle.

Tow ratings though are fictitious in many respects. A vehicle rated for 10,000 lbs. may come with a hitch rated for 7500 lbs., or gearing that is too high, or brakes that are not capable of stopping the vehicle without the use of the trailer's brakes as well, or the ATF may operate at too high a temperature with extended towing up steep grades or at high elevations or with high ambient air temperatures.

Big difference as well in regularly towing a load over the Rockies in the summertime and pulling the same load across hill country or flat lands for a couple weeks out of the year. The 3/4 ton is a better choice for the first set of conditions and a 1/2 ton may be adequate for the second set.

[cs2kplus]

@ol'grouch...so if my camper is 6500lbs and truck is what 6500-? Then I need a gcvwr of like 13,000?

[ol__grouch]

cs2kplus wrote:
@apt....GVWR= 6500. I am confused now about what dry means.

This is my label plate:

GVWR means Gross Vehicle Weight Rating. What you are looking for is GCVWR. This is Gross Combined Vehicle Weight Rating. GVWR is the maximum the manufacturer says you can run the equipment at. There's usually a little wiggle room there but it means fully fueled, loaded and all the passebgers.

GCVWR is the tow vehicle and the tow altogether.

[wintersun]

The dry weight is the weight that in theory the trailer weighed when it left the factory. Adding items like a battery or water to the fresh water tank or food or clothes and other travel gear will increase that weight. Safest is to add 1000 lbs. to the dry weight to determine the requirements for a tow vehicle.

What is almost always overlooked is the difference in towing capacity that results from the rear end gears for the vehicle. GM rates its 3.73 equipped vehicles 25% higher than those with 3.41 gears and it rates those with 4.10 gears 25% higher than those with 3.73 gears for its gas engine powered vehicles.

For towing I would get a vehicle with 4.10 gears if possible and no higher than 3.73 gears. This puts less stress on the engine and the transmission and works better for towing. It can also help fuel economy overall with the engine spending more time in its peak power band while towing.

All the manufacturers have downloadable PDF towing guides and these are revised each year. They provide towing capacity, loads where a weight distributing hitch is recommended or required, and other useful information and all it takes is a couple minutes of your time to download.

Tow package options are one of the only good deals you can get with the purchase of a vehicle. Usually the radiator, alternator, and transmission cooler are upgraded and the factory installs a hitch and trailer wiring. It is a bargain compared to getting this done later.

7500 lbs. is on the border between a 1/2 ton and 3/4 ton pickup. The newer trucks often have stronger frames and better brakes and are more adept than ones made 10 years ago at towing. The 3/4 ton trucks will have a harder ride and weigh a lot more than the 1/2 ton pickups and provide worse fuel economy. For a 10,000 lb. load it is an obvious decision to go with the 3/4 ton truck but not for a trailer load under 8,000 lbs.

If I wanted an economical rig I would plan on buying a 1/2 ton pickup and get one rated for 7500 lbs. or more towing capacity and then buy a trailer with a dry weight of less than 5,000 lbs. and able to carry up to 1000 lbs. of gear and provisions and fresh water, etc.

[cs2kplus]

@apt...in case label did not show...
Labelplate

[cs2kplus]

@apt....GVWR= 6500. I am confused now about what dry means.

This is my label plate:

[APT]

6500 pounds gets complicated. If it was 9k dry, easy you need 3/4+ ton. If it was 3000 pounds then nearly any half ton. 6500 pounds dry is not the same as GVWR and 5k dry. If you are looking at a dedicated tow vehicle, used from 10+ years ago, Ford V10 or GM big block will yank that around with pleasure.

[cs2kplus]

@Dodge.. Yep Thanks. Looks like that's what I will get. I have to wait to get the truck so I can have that all factored in. Your the first to OK a 90's model. I did have my eye on that 90 f-250.
http://jerseyshore.craigslist.org/cto/4590316794.html
The price just went down. Gotta wonder why.
Yes - the break controller is another thing. Is that not the standard round slotted (6-ish connections?) plug? Or is it more than just a plug?

[dodge_guy]

Here is a link to a WD hitch WD hitch You will want one of these. As far as what kind of 3/4 ton.....any of the big 3 from the 90`s will be good. brand is a personal preference. the F250`s and GM`s are good buys if in good shape. Dodges are also a good bet, but sold less so they will be harder to find, but are still a good buy.

BTW, you will also need a brake controller to control the brakes on the trailer. Prodigy is the #1 recommended brake controller.

[cs2kplus]

@Dodgeguy. RV comes with 2 equalizer bars. I assume they were used with a standard hitch. Is the weight distribution hitch something that is plugged into the standard hitch?

[cs2kplus]

@Dodge Guy....need I ask what brand 2500 you'd buy?

Thanks for the welcome. I am loving this forum. Really great answers. I suspected I was borderline. But check out my last post about payload. This one is making me wonder about getting something like an F-150 XLT for example. Some of the hitches I've seen were only up to III. I am pretty sure I require a IV? Oh...my uncle mentioned the Weight distributing hitch. Oyyyy....something else to look up. Thanks so much for the feedback. Good stuff.

[dodge_guy]

First, welcome!
OK, your 6500lb dry weight camper will be at least 7500lbs loaded. that is border line 1/2 ton. I would look at a 2500 also. lots out there in your price range. diesel is not necessary but nice to have, a bigger gas V-8 or V-10 is necessary. just look for a well cared for truck. you don`t want a piece of junk. yes most any truck will have a class 4 hitch which is a 2" opening. you will also want to use a Weight Distributing hitch with any truck you get.

Tow rating is just that, how much the truck can tow.
GVWR, the most the truck can weigh with all people, cargo and trailer tongue weight with hitch attached.
GAWR, the most each axle can weigh, this number usually adds up to more than the GVWR. these are the numbers you don`t want to exceed!
CCC, the weight a vehicle can carry. this will be the difference between curb weight (weight the truck or trailer weighs when sitting in your driveway) and the GVWR. for instance, my trailer has a 7100lb dry weight and an 11,200lb GVWR for a CCC of 4100lbs.

You will learn a lot here, both good and bad LOL! so keep on reading and you will slowly learn some great things.

[cs2kplus]

@pitch...

Yes...I am doing a lot of reading on all this. I am getting closer to understanding. You took me somewhat over the top with the comment "Every truck no matter the nominal rating,Eg,150/1500,250/2500 has a different rating". I am starting to see this. Really just baffles me why they bother calling them 150, etc. Should really be F-10000 or whatever for total towing capacity. So...payload (is that same as towing capacity?) is equal to truck plus rv? Here is a working example...(not that I am getting a 2015)....Sample.
Maximum Conventional Towing=19,000 lbs
Maximum Payload=7,260 lbs.
Maximum GVWR=14,000 lbs.
Please make sense of these numbers.

[pitch]

You need to do a lot of reading to know what you want.
You refer to Toms River,so I assume most of your towing will be east coast.
What are your plans for the camper?
Every truck no matter the nominal rating,Eg,150/1500,250/2500 has a different rating.
Pay load is the number most important to you at this point. Pay load can be determined by looking at a sticker on the driver side door jamb. The sticker will have a statement something to the effect of: Weight of passengers and cargo should not exceed xxxx pounds.
Tongue weight is the amount the front of your trailer is placing on your truck when hooked up. Needs to be 10 to 13 percent of the loaded weight of your trailer. Ball park on a 6500 empty trailer will probably be 1000 to 1200 lbs. You then have to figure the weight of everything you put into the truck. This includes passengers,after market equipment,camping gear, firewood and the chicken mcnugget under the seat.
I hope this helps a little bit.
As an aside I think that I would skip the Silverado, just because the guy is looking for a dirt bike in trade. Just my prejudice, but I think a dirt biker would have been hard on a 4wd truck.