Give them somewhat of a break
I am posting this here because it is one of the few forums I look at. I see a lot of critical reviews of people and their choice of trailer or TV and the research they do. I only ask that we give t...
Forum Discussion
Lantley wrote:joshuajim wrote:
It's not just the salesman, but the manufacturers too. I have a F150 Eco with both Max tow and HD payload. The manufacturer sez I can tow up to 11,300 lbs. ...but the receiver is only rated for 1,130 lbs. Thats 10% of the trailer weight. Ten percent tongue weight is on the edge of disaster!
It's almost impossible to find a trailer that has 10% tongue weight from the factory. The trailer manufacturers know that 10% is marginal and usually design around 13%.
The max I feel that I can safely tow with 1,100 lbs on the ball is about 8,000 lbs.
Blame the tow vehicle manufacturer as much as the salesman. In many cases, he's only regurgitating what the manufacturer publishes.
You must understand RV trailers are different from boats and other types of trailers. THey have large frontal and side areas. If you read closely the manufactures typically address the large frontal areaa of RVs.
10-15% is TW is based on RV trailers boats and other trailers do not have this issue. The ratings are designed for all trailers not just RVs. You can see why all parameters must be examined. RV trailers have heavy TW's boats have less. The physics involved require more than one parameter (max tow rating) to determine tow ability of a trailer.
...and when the manufacturer publishes their specs, they do not know which type of trailer I will be towing, so they must assume the worst case which is RV. Ten percent TW on an RV in my opinion is marginal and not likely to happen in the real world.
I understand that RV's are different, thats why I don't tow over 8,000 lbs even though Ford sez I can tow 11,300.
