Hitch weight

[Capeteacher]

I was talking with a friend about some of the TT I am interested in. I told him the Xterra has a 500lb hitch limit and I was looking for TT with a low weight so that when the WD hitch is attached and battery and propane are added the weight is still under the limit.
He said the hitch weight listed already adds in battery and propane. Agree or disagree.

[Lwiddis]

"I know some may say it was close enough,"

Not me Bailor. Trading was the safe choice.

[JIMNLIN]

Capeteacher wrote:
I was talking with a friend about some of the TT I am interested in. I told him the Xterra has a 500lb hitch limit and I was looking for TT with a low weight so that when the WD hitch is attached and battery and propane are added the weight is still under the limit.
He said the hitch weight listed already adds in battery and propane. Agree or disagree.

FMVSS 571.110 section S4.3.5 for RV trailers shows regulations that say; (snipped for length) 571.110 FMVSS clicky

**The weight of cargo should never exceed XXX kilograms or XXX pounds”**

Then farther on down says;
** If the vehicle is a recreation vehicle trailer and is equipped with a propane supply, the weight of full propane tanks must be included in the vehicle's unloaded vehicle weight.**

Batterys/water/100 lb tool boxes/etc IMO are considered cargo and not included in the trailers dry weights on the label.
I didn't read the whole thing so those who are interested might want to read farther.

[handye9]

Capeteacher wrote:
I was talking with a friend about some of the TT I am interested in. I told him the Xterra has a 500lb hitch limit and I was looking for TT with a low weight so that when the WD hitch is attached and battery and propane are added the weight is still under the limit.
He said the hitch weight listed already adds in battery and propane. Agree or disagree.

As you can see, your results are about 50/50. Some manufacturers include that weight, some don't. You really can't count on dry hitch weight being accurate, or, even close when loaded for camping.

As for true hitch weights, there are other factors (in addition to propane and batteries) that need to be considered.

1. The weight of the weight distribution hitch itself, adds 80 to 100 lbs of dead weight on the vehicle's hitch receiver, and counts as cargo weight against the vehicle's available payload. If the receiver is stamped 500 / 5000 lbs max, part of that is used up by the weight distributing hitch itself.

2. True hitch weight is not a constant number. It goes up and down during every trip. Different things get loaded in different places, groceries get loaded and used up, and holding tanks, depending on their location (in relation to the trailer axles) and fluid levels, can add or subtract considerable hitch weight.

My travel trailer had an advertised "dry" hitch weight of 880 lbs. My fresh tank is behind the axles, black and grey tanks are directly above the axles, and I have a galley tank in front of the axles. Water in the fresh tank takes hitch weight away. Water in the galley tank adds hitch weight. During any given trip, my actual hitch weight can fluctuate between 975 and 1200 lbs. With the weight of the WD hitch, my receiver is actually carrying 1075 to 1300 lbs.

[bailer6334]

Here is my experience.

The TT manufacturer's spec sheet for my specific unit which came with the manuals said Hitch Weight was 412lbs. I had 2 20lb propane tanks, and 2 batteries. When I weighed the tongue it weighed 700lbs. This was ready to camp with the exception of any water in any of the tanks. It also did not include the 80lbs of WDH.

Total weight without any water was 775lbs or 55lbs over the hitch rating.

My Dodge Durango had a maximum hitch capacity of 720lbs because of its uni-body construction. Some vehicles hitch tow ratings increase when WDH is used. This was not the case with mine when I talked to customer service at Dodge.

As safety is very important to me with a family, I traded my Durango for a tow vehicle I knew would safely handle all the weights associated with my TT.

I know some may say it was close enough, but I'd rather have a reasonable safety margin than be on the edge.

I would recommend weighing the hitch to make sure it is within the safety margin for your tow vehicle.

Good Luck

[RedRocket204]

Capeteacher wrote:
I am being as cautious as I can, asking a lot of questions which sometimes confuses things more. Thanks

Ask away until it really sinks in. You might get a salty response or two but the important thing is you won't have made a costly mistake on a TT purchase.

You are doing the right thing by turning to those who have experience and nothing to gain. But as always, take the responses and obtain an 'average' as some responses might be somewhat off-base. You'll generally see a trend towards reality... as confusing as it might seem at first. Also consider that some might have experience in a slightly different respect from the next.

Just remember that no one, not a single person on this forum was born with RV towing knowledge, they too had to learn it.

[Lwiddis]

"Storing stuff in the front of the trailer will increase hitch weight, correct?"

Oh boy. Do some reading on trailering basics. Think wheelbarrow. Put stuff near handle, you lift move. Put stuff over wheel or in front, you lift less.

[SoundGuy]

Capeteacher wrote:
He said the hitch weight listed already adds in battery and propane. Agree or disagree.

Disagree. Any new trailer I've purchased has included only the weight of empty propane tank(s) in the factory stickered dry weight of the trailer as propane itself and any battery (or batteries) are added later by the dealer. Regardless, surely you realize that any trailer's average gross tongue weight will be considerably more than it's brochure listed dry tongue weight once loaded & ready to camp. I typically average ~ 625 lbs of gross tongue weight with my own Freedom Express 192RBS which had an advertised factory dry tongue weight of just 392 lbs. Good thing too, as that 625 lbs represents an average gross tongue weight to average gross weight of ~ 13%, right where it should be.

[Capeteacher]

wanderingaimlessly wrote:
Welllllll either way consider
If you believe they counted it, was it one propane tank, or two, and were they empty or full, and the same for the batteries.
The manufacturers of the trailers are no different than the dealers on this. They want to open their trailer to as many prospective buyers as possible, hence the advertising from manufacturers that nearly all trailers, and many 5th wheels are 1/2 ton towable.
Until you can put it on a scale, errr to the side of caution.

I am being as cautious as I can, asking a lot of questions which sometimes confuses things more. Thanks

[Hannibal]

Take the gvwr of the trailer and figure 15% of that figure for tongue weight. That way your TV will be plenty adequate and likely not too far from real weights. Just my humble opinion.

[Capeteacher]

RedRocket204 wrote:
Agree with what Scott said. Easy way to look at it is listed dry trailer weights generally don't account for battery and propane. Do the math on the dry trailer weight at ~ 10 or 11 % and see if that is what is listed as the hitch weight.

But the glaring issue here is that listed hitch weight is always going to be lower than the actual wet/loaded hitch weight. And, a hitch weight at 10-11% of the loaded trailer weight could very well be marginal for a stable tow. The hitch weight may be needed to be increase to make that trailer tow stable without any sway event under normal towing conditions.

If I understand what you are saying a too low hitch weight can cause trouble as well as too much..
Storing stuff in the front of the trailer will increase hitch weight, correct?

[wanderingaimles]

Welllllll either way consider
If you believe they counted it, was it one propane tank, or two, and were they empty or full, and the same for the batteries.
The manufacturers of the trailers are no different than the dealers on this. They want to open their trailer to as many prospective buyers as possible, hence the advertising from manufacturers that nearly all trailers, and many 5th wheels are 1/2 ton towable.
Until you can put it on a scale, errr to the side of caution.

[Lwiddis]

All weights given by TT manufacturers are....estimates, guesses etc. A reasonable tongue weight for a DRY 3,000 pound TT is 390 pounds at 13%. That leaves you 110 pounds for the hitch and everything else...water is particularly heavy...on this estimate of a light TT. Not enough truck. What's your payload? What do you carry in the Xterra?

[RedRocket204]

Agree with what Scott said. Easy way to look at it is listed dry trailer weights generally don't account for battery and propane. Do the math on the dry trailer weight at ~ 10 or 11 % and see if that is what is listed as the hitch weight.

But the glaring issue here is that listed hitch weight is always going to be lower than the actual wet/loaded hitch weight. And, a hitch weight at 10-11% of the loaded trailer weight could very well be marginal for a stable tow. The hitch weight may be needed to be increase to make that trailer tow stable without any sway event under normal towing conditions.

[ScottG]

Some do and some don't. According to some in the industry, it is supposed to include things you cannot remove, like battery and propane.
Problem is they lie about real hitch weight so you can expect it to be much higher than they claim.
Mine is more than 400# over the stated weight.