Towing with 2013 XLT w/Tow Package

[thestrangebrew]

Hey all! New to the forums and doing a bunch of research. I've done a search with people asking if a 2013 explorer can pull xyz TTs and most recommend for this particular TV either a popup or HTT. We're currently looking at a Jayco 16xrb HTT and I just want to check if I'm (roughly) calculating my numbers correctly.

So the Jayco GVWR is 3500lbs and dry weight of 2575 lbs. A lady on the Jayco Forums (I've posted on several different forums in my research) who has this exact trailer bought in Feb. saying her yellow sticker was 2832 lbs. I know this number could vary immensely, but just as a baseline I'll use that number.

Curb weight of TV - 4557lbs (including 150lbs for driver)
Passengers (3 - not including driver) - ~450lbs
No cargo (wife said we will put all our gear in the trailer when towing which I'm totally skeptical about)
tongue (dry hitch?) - 315 lbs (most likely higher from what I've read)


Weight of vehicle + passengers + 0 cargo + tongue = 5322 lbs

So dry weight - 2832 lbs
Trailer has 26gal fresh water capacity, but we don't use a whole lot of water and to keep things light, I fig. we would use about 10 gals over the course of a weekend. I'll go with 15lbs just to be safe.

Water @ 15 gals. = 8.33lbs/gal = 124.95 gals.

Propane & battery = 125 lbs(?)

Cargo (I have no idea what food/clothes will weigh and we generally use paper /plastic products) so I'd guess about 200-300 lbs

Weighted vehicle (dry weight + water +cargo (300lbs to be safe) = 3381 lbs

TV + Weighter Trailer = 8703 lbs.

My TV GCVWR is 9980 so 9980 - 8703 = 1277 or 87% of Max

Does this sound about right as to how I would figure out actual weights etc once we decide to get the trailer? @ 87% would I have a hard time going up some mountains? I will be using a wdh & brake controller and anything else that will enhance safety that you guys would recommend (I've never pulled anything before so this is all new to me). Thanks.

[e-light]

thestrangebrew wrote:
MY GVWR is 6160lbs. Can someone school me on payload & receiver limit? From what I understand, say curb weight is 4557lbs is my payload 6160-4557 = 1603 for passengers, cargo + tongue weight? How about my rear axle #? My TV says 3300lbs rear GAWR. How do you measure what's on the rear? Is it on a CAT scale?

Payload should be on the pillar inside the drivers door. Every vehicle will be slightly different, since anything added to the vehicle weight will count against payload.

An easy way to estimate would be to check your payload number and towing capacity. So say your payload is 1000 lbs. Subtract your family, gear (anything you add to the truck) and your tongue weight. If you run out of payload the trailer is too much for the vehicle. If you're under payload and the trailer weight is under your towing capacity you should be good.

[thestrangebrew]

MY GVWR is 6160lbs. Can someone school me on payload & receiver limit? From what I understand, say curb weight is 4557lbs is my payload 6160-4557 = 1603 for passengers, cargo + tongue weight? How about my rear axle #? My TV says 3300lbs rear GAWR. How do you measure what's on the rear? Is it on a CAT scale?

Edit: Actually I think I found it on my tire sticker - Combined weight of occupants and cargo should never exceed 1570lbs.

[Campfire_Time]

goducks10 wrote:
You say only 10 gal of water, well that's 84lbs.

Unless you boondock, I see no reason to carry water in the fresh tank. We've never done it.

Don't want to burst your bubble but I don't see anyway for 4 people to only use 10 gals of water in a weekend. Unless you spend all the time in a restroom and never use the TT water for anything except washing dishes. That sort of defeats the purpose of having a TT IMO. You could rent a lot of cabins for the same price.

And why is this bad? Its the bane of having a small trailer I know, but its not the end of the world, nor does it defeat anything. We did it for 10 years in a Kiwi 17a. The wet bath was just too small and the black tank was only 6 gal. Its not a whole lot different than a pup except that you have some of the benefits of a TT.

dodge guy wrote:
I can tell you from experience you will load at least 1000lbs into a smaller a TT. I wouldn't worry about water because you can fill when you get there.

We agree on the water, but my weight experience is different than yours. I weighed everything in our old trailer for pretty much the same reason the OP is asking questions about. It was 350# of stuff. I was actually surprised because based on comments from this forum I though it would be more. Over time we added a few things, so if I that number reached 500# I'd be surprised. What's interesting is that when we got our current trailer which is much larger than our old one, we actually got rid of a lot of stuff that was never used. Turns out that its no different than home. You say to yourself "I think I might need this", when I really don't.

I will say that with a family of 4, more "stuff" in the future is a given. That alone would make me be leery of such a small trailer.

[dodge_guy]

I can tell you from experience you will load at least 1000lbs into a smaller a TT. I wouldn't worry about water because you can fill when you get there.

[APT]

Payload and receiver limit will likely come into play with the Explorer. Check the driver's door for the sticker listing the max combined weight of occupants and cargo should not exceed xxxx pounds.. Then check the receiver for its ratings.

[bikendan]

you don't need a bigger TV, since the newer Explorers can tow 5000lbs. IF it has the factory tow package.

you just need to pick a slightly larger hybrid with a better CCC, like the Roo or Shamrock 19.
GVWR of around 4700lbs. and a CCC of 1,182lbs.

[goducks10]

If as you say the dry weight will be around 2832lbs and the TT's GVW is 3500lbs then you will only have 668lbs for food, clothes, utensils, pots and pans, skillet, lawn chairs, etc. You say only 10 gal of water, well that's 84lbs. Don't want to burst your bubble but I don't see anyway for 4 people to only use 10 gals of water in a weekend. Unless you spend all the time in a restroom and never use the TT water for anything except washing dishes. That sort of defeats the purpose of having a TT IMO. You could rent a lot of cabins for the same price.

[thestrangebrew]

goducks10 wrote:
I wouldn't touch that TT with a family of 4 and only 668lbs of CCC. You'll run over the TT's GVW in no time.

Is it just the CCC that you'd be worried about? Or is the GVWR too much?

[thestrangebrew]

Teamfour wrote:
I can't find the GVWR on that vehicle but I would think you are getting close. You will also need a weight distribution hitch would could add another 100 lbs to the vehicle.

GVWR is 6160lbs. I understand the CCC issue. If there's space my wife would be very tempted to fill it. I guess I just need to work on convincing her to get a new TV 1st.

[bikendan]

2832lbs. sounds like a realistic UVW yellow sticker weight.

but this is the biggest issue with small trailers that have the magic 3500lbs. GVWR.
LOUSY Cargo Capacity amounts!

speculating that you'll only have 300lbs. for food, supplies and cargo, is not realistic. unless your family is extreme minimalists.
which is rare for a family with kids.
for these types of trailers, families soon find out that they don't have enough cargo capacity for their stuff.
i know quite a few hybrid owners, of this size of trailer on other Hybrid forums, that ended up regretting that they bought a 16-17' trailer.
even the Jayco 19UXD has a lousy CCC amount.:(

[Teamfour]

I can't find the GVWR on that vehicle but I would think you are getting close. You will also need a weight distribution hitch would could add another 100 lbs to the vehicle.

[goducks10]

I wouldn't touch that TT with a family of 4 and only 668lbs of CCC. You'll run over the TT's GVW in no time.

[thestrangebrew]

e-light wrote:
I would say your numbers look OK.

My advice would be to buy a smaller used camper to see how your family likes camping. Here is what happened to me...

First camper was a Jayco 10' popup, 2500 lbs loaded. Tow vehicle was a 2005 Jeep Libery. Years of towing my boat and a couple of years of towing the camper killed my Jeep...so...

Bought a Tundra...plenty to tow my popup and boat. But...

Family LOVED camping...and the little popup wasn't cutting it...so

Bigger camper...and to haul the bigger camper...bigger truck.

Hopefully all is good now 🙂

But my advice is to buy something small and used that you like. Try it out for a year or two. Find out if your family likes camping, if they do figure out what you want in a new camper. Then you'll be in a position to get exactly what you want, camper and tow vehicle wise.

I would have saved myself some money if I had just went straight to a bigger truck when my Jeep died. But I figured (incorrectly) that we'd stick with the popup for a while...

I know my family loves camping. My wife's done it her whole life and I've been into it since college. We typically go at least 2x/yr, mostly because we were doing it tent style, and we'd always go with friends that had the trailers and amenities tent camping lacked so we were always good. But now, we're in a position to at least entertain a trailer and just looking at options. In the next 2 years hopefully I'll be getting a truck, and I know that opens up an endless circle of upgrading from then on, but honestly, I think a HTT of this size will do for a good while. My step son loves a tent, and we pretty much just sleep in the trailer. Otherwise we're outdoors hanging out.

[e-light]

I would say your numbers look OK.

My advice would be to buy a smaller used camper to see how your family likes camping. Here is what happened to me...

First camper was a Jayco 10' popup, 2500 lbs loaded. Tow vehicle was a 2005 Jeep Libery. Years of towing my boat and a couple of years of towing the camper killed my Jeep...so...

Bought a Tundra...plenty to tow my popup and boat. But...

Family LOVED camping...and the little popup wasn't cutting it...so

Bigger camper...and to haul the bigger camper...bigger truck.

Hopefully all is good now 🙂

But my advice is to buy something small and used that you like. Try it out for a year or two. Find out if your family likes camping, if they do figure out what you want in a new camper. Then you'll be in a position to get exactly what you want, camper and tow vehicle wise.

I would have saved myself some money if I had just went straight to a bigger truck when my Jeep died. But I figured (incorrectly) that we'd stick with the popup for a while...

[thestrangebrew]

loulou57 wrote:
Just curious where will you put such things as bikes? They do not fit well inside a trailer. Just from experience, if you have empty space in your vehicle...it will get filled. It is easy to say, oh we will just throw this in the back but very quickly this will turn into a couple of hundred lbs.

Thanks for asking. We only have a little bike with training wheels for my 4 yr old daughter. I should've mentioned it's a family of 4, me, wife, 16 yr old stepson & 4 yr old daughter. As far as cargo goes, we usually just bring lawn chairs, an EZ up and I guess the rest would be food/drinks/clothing. I don't have a ton of equipment/hardware otherwise, such as generators and tools.