How heavy of a trailer can I get?

[Shorteelaw]

OK so I just posted another topic about my payload but after the help of others, I figured out that with everyone in the vehicle (including another child down the road) and our gas tank full we are left with roughly 900 pounds of payload in our truck to tow. How do I figure out what weight of a trailer would be acceptable (and of course, safe)?

[Shorteelaw]

He's the LIGHT packer... I'm the heavy one... but we've travelled enough through our marriage that we know how to pack light and intend to do the same when we travel with our TT. So luckily I'm not concerned with over-packing. Our initial ideas before we even started looking at TT and TV's was to pack just as we would if we were camping in a tent so as not to take out ALL of the simplicity and adventure of camping. Sure a TT will take out some of that but we don't want to bring the whole house with us as that would just defeat the purpose and we could just stay in a hotel for the cost that we will be spending on the TT, gas, and camping spot fee.

[PAThwacker]

Hahaha, need full tool kit, compresser, battery charging, impact wrench, impact sockets, 3 bikes, canoe, firewood, on and on.......

Just a weekend trip: shredded wires, had two flats on the boat trailer. Kicked myself for not bringing the floor jack or spare hubs. Sub gets loaded heavy with 2 kids aged 2 and 5, dog and all the support******needed. Id be better off with a crew cab 3500 utility body racked up, and every tool bin filled.

[Francesca_Knowl]

Shorteelaw wrote:

Francesca Knowles wrote:

Shorteelaw wrote:

Yes this was a helpful post; however, me and our two year old and dogs certainly don't weigh 1/2 of 1300... more like 1/4... That made me laugh. 🙂

Guess I should've gone into more detail...as a Camping Grandma my experience has been that children, pets, and Grandma's own self must be planned for not just by their self-weight but by the weight of the STUFF one brings along to accommodate them! You'll be surprised how fast it all adds up....:B

Haha. I love it! So true...

And of course that all pales by comparison once Hubby starts putting together the "New Trailer Toolkit"- from floor jacks to shop-sized compressor, he's going to want to bring it all "just in case". And this before it even occurs to him that the fullsized Weber grill needs to come along with its very own five gallon propane cylinder; and we mustn't forget his chain saw, a couple of twenty-pound sledges/wedges, two or three shovels, several buckets, some fire extinguishers and whatever other critical campcraft items he was taught about in Boy Scouts.

Come to think of it, I think I may have to revise my recommendation per trailer gross weight to 5,000 pounds or less! 😉

[PAThwacker]

I am not being rude. Half ton anything can tow up to its rating. Add passengers, fill every seat, a few large dogs and its gets challenging. The industry knows this and offers better vehicle options.


Our K2500 Sub with 2nd row captian seats and 94lb black lab on the rear bench still has over 2000lbs of payload left. We tow a 5000lb hybrid camper that is 2600lbs below the maxinum tow rating. I lost trailer brakes during last trip and had to tow with only truck brakes. I was glad i was not at or near the vehicles limits.

[Shorteelaw]

Francesca Knowles wrote:

Shorteelaw wrote:

Yes this was a helpful post; however, me and our two year old and dogs certainly don't weigh 1/2 of 1300... more like 1/4... That made me laugh. 🙂

Guess I should've gone into more detail...as a Camping Grandma my experience has been that children, pets, and Grandma's own self must be planned for not just by their self-weight but by the weight of the STUFF one brings along to accommodate them! You'll be surprised how fast it all adds up....:B

Haha. I love it! So true...

[Francesca_Knowl]

Shorteelaw wrote:

Yes this was a helpful post; however, me and our two year old and dogs certainly don't weigh 1/2 of 1300... more like 1/4... That made me laugh. 🙂

Guess I should've gone into more detail...as a Camping Grandma my experience has been that children, pets, and Grandma's own self must be planned for not just by their self-weight but by the weight of the STUFF one brings along to accommodate them! You'll be surprised how fast it all adds up....:B

[Shorteelaw]

fdwt994 wrote:

Francesca Knowles wrote:
Here's how I'd look at it if I were you:

You already know from your other thread here that after fuel/hubby/hitch you only have about 1300 pounds of payload available. Since that's before you've loaded you, the kids, the dogs, and etc., I'd reserve at least half that number for this purpose.

That leaves, say, six or seven hundred pounds for tongue weight, which most agree should be at least 10% of total trailer weight for optimum handling. In your case, that number is about seven hundred pounds, meaning a 7,000lb gross trailer, max. As others have pointed out,though, I too think it's unwise to push the outer limits/capacity of any component, so shopping for trailers more in the 6,000 pound-fully-loaded vicinity may be best.

I know this seems paltry next to the 9,000-plus "capacity" of the truck's other features, but as others have said, payload is often the limiter. And you might look at it this way: It seems to me that the vast reserve in horsepower and other capabilities etc. resulting from this much lighter-than-maximum combined tow limit will result in a very pleasurable towing experience.

Well said. :C

Yes this was a helpful post; however, me and our two year old and dogs certainly don't weigh 1/2 of 1300... more like 1/4... That made me laugh. 🙂

[sarahbyu1]

Gaffer222 wrote:
If I was a newby looking to buy a TT and I read this thread, I would get a tent. Just go camping and have a beer.

Way to many "weight police" opinions confusing the OP. Agree it's important to have safe setup but..........

*LOL*
It's true. My husband told me to stop reading message boards. He just wants to get the darn TT and I keep freaking out about weight limits.

[fdwt994]

Francesca Knowles wrote:
Here's how I'd look at it if I were you:

You already know from your other thread here that after fuel/hubby/hitch you only have about 1300 pounds of payload available. Since that's before you've loaded you, the kids, the dogs, and etc., I'd reserve at least half that number for this purpose.

That leaves, say, six or seven hundred pounds for tongue weight, which most agree should be at least 10% of total trailer weight for optimum handling. In your case, that number is about seven hundred pounds, meaning a 7,000lb gross trailer, max. As others have pointed out,though, I too think it's unwise to push the outer limits/capacity of any component, so shopping for trailers more in the 6,000 pound-fully-loaded vicinity may be best.

I know this seems paltry next to the 9,000-plus "capacity" of the truck's other features, but as others have said, payload is often the limiter. And you might look at it this way: It seems to me that the vast reserve in horsepower and other capabilities etc. resulting from this much lighter-than-maximum combined tow limit will result in a very pleasurable towing experience.

Well said. :C

[dodge_guy]

Gaffer222 wrote:
If I was a newby looking to buy a TT and I read this thread, I would get a tent. Just go camping and have a beer.

Way to many "weight police" opinions confusing the OP. Agree it's important to have safe setup but..........

No kidding!

It really is simple. add approx. 1200lbs to the dry weight of almost any trailer you are looking at. then compare that to your tow rating. shoot for 12-13% of the loaded ready to travel, tongue weight. 15% is on the extreme high end and in my personal and actual experience can also cause sway. and 10% is too low to safely pull without sway.

You want to be safe, but cars/trucks will not break and crash at 1 lb over any of it`s ratings!

[handye9]

Shorteelaw wrote:

MitchF150 wrote:
I respect all the research you are doing and trying to make an informed decision on buying an expensive RV and not biting off more than you can chew, but WOW....

In all the time I've been RVing... And this goes back to the early 70's when I was a kid and Mom and Dad got tired of taking us kids camping in tents, have we or I ever worried about the difference in the TW going out and coming back from a camping trip...

I base my weights on it's max ratings and if it's less, it's just a bonus.. 🙂

Sure, I might have been overweight in the past... The world did not end and I didn't kill anyone.. 😉

I know it's a different world than it was 45 years ago, but physics have always been the same since ancient times.. 🙂

Anyway, I think you are WAY over thinking this deal and just need to find something with around a GVWR of around #6000, load it up and ENJOY and HAVE FUN and not fret the little stuff..

Sure, you don't want to get a #10,000 TT with a Nissan Titan and a big and growing family.... We didn't do that 45 years ago...

It mostly comes down to common sense and knowing your own limits and comfort level.. That's what keeps you within your limits of everything in life, right??

Good luck!

Mitch

My profession is accounting... Analyzing numbers is what I do.

I think MitchF150 made some good points here. If you purchase a TT that doesn't have you on the edge with your weight ratings, there is no need for constant analyzing or weighing everything. You need to have room for some unexpected weight, especially with young children. There will be times when one of them wants to bring along their bike, favorite toys, or a playmate.

As you are TT shopping, take note of the floor plans, you will see most manufacturers have taken loading into consideration. Units with front or rear kitchens, will have holding tanks or other heavy items located to counterbalance the kitchen weight. All others, have the kitchen / living area located above or slightly forward of the axles.

Normal loading of dishes, pots and pans, groceries, bedding, and water, will end up where the manufacturers intended the loading weight. Your tongue weight will go up, but, the percentage should remain in the 10 - 15 percent range. It's the additional loading of coolers full of ice, BBQ grill, tables / chairs, bikes, etc, where you may need to plan your weight location. ie: don't put them all behind the axles

[69_Avion]

Shorteelaw wrote:

Ron Gratz wrote:

Shorteelaw wrote:
So say our trailer is 6,000 pounds when we leave and we verify the hitch weight is 900 pounds.... How much would I want it to be on the way back?

First -- we need to know the following:
1) Do you plan to have a full fresh water tank when you leave? If so, does this mean there is no place to fill the fresh water tank at your camping destination?
2) Do you plan to return home without emptying your gray and black water tanks?
3) Why do you want a TW% of 15% when you leave home?
4) How many pounds of food and beverage do you plan to carry with you when you leave home?

If the weight of the trailer remains close to 6000#, the TW should be kept above 600#.
And the TW should never be greater than 940#

With a trailer weight of 6000#, there is no reason to have a TW of 900# (15%) when you leave home, unless you're sure that the TW is going to decrease by 200-300# for the trip home.

If the fresh water tank is full when you leave AND empty when you return, AND if the gray and black tanks are full when you return, AND if the fresh tank is ahead of the axles AND the waste tanks are behind the axles, then the TW might decrease by 200-300# for trip home if you are not able to move any load from the rear of the trailer toward the front.

If the fresh water tank is full when you leave AND empty when you return, AND if the gray and black tanks are full when you return, AND if the fresh tank is behind the axles AND the waste tanks are in front of the axles, then the TW might increase by 200-300# for trip home if you are not able to move any load from the front of the trailer toward the rear.
In this case, the TW should be limited to 600-700# when you leave home so it does not increase to more than 940# when you return.

The location of fresh and waste tanks varies with manufacturer and model.
Ideally, the fresh tank would be between the axles, with one waste tank ahead of the axles and one waste tank behind the axles.
Then, if the fresh tank goes from full to empty and the waste tanks go from empty to full, there is very little change in TW.

We really can't say what will happen to TW unless we know the tank sizes and locations, whether tanks will be full or empty when travelling, and where the consumables such as food and drinks will be stored.

Ron

Thank you for your posts! You're right- everyone has been hammering this 15% into my head that I'm stuck on making my TW precisely 15%. I just want to make sure that I'm not way over 15% but not under 10%. So I guess I could load it up, take it to the scale, pick a number between say 13-15% and call it good. Right?

To answer your questions - the only way we will have much fresh water in our tanks is if the CG we go to does not have water and in which case another vehicle we would be traveling with (my mom or in laws) would be hauling all of our food to cut down on weight. We won't be keeping food in our TT while we are not camping so it won't be a hassle to just pack it into someone else's vehicle until we get there. Do most CG's have a place to drain our tanks? Obviously RV'ing is new to us.

Which by the way- you're one of few who has always been nice and not snotty when I ask questions (albeit some ignorant ones I'm sure, but that's how we are learning!) and so I wanted to say thank you!

You have the concept down well enough to make an informed decision. As long as you are over 10% and not too much over 15% you will be fine. The reason that the 10% figure is so important is that if your TW is too low the towing characteristics can become very dangerous. Going over the 15% TW really doesn't hurt anything except that it may overload the TV and the tongue of the trailer may not handle the excessive weight. Over 15% TW won't cause an accident from terrible handling and uncontrollable sway. Most trailers are designed to have the proper weight distribution. The problem usually occurs when folks load most of the extra weight in the back and add a rear carrier on the back of the trailer for extra hauling capacity without thinking of the reduced tongue weight.
The smart thing is that you ask questions before you have an issue whereas many folks think they know what they are doing and get into real trouble.
Have fun camping, it really isn't that difficult.

[Gaffer222]

If I was a newby looking to buy a TT and I read this thread, I would get a tent. Just go camping and have a beer.

Way to many "weight police" opinions confusing the OP. Agree it's important to have safe setup but..........

[AH64ID]

Huntindog wrote:

ah64id wrote:
Look at where the water tank is, if it's fwd of the axles tongue weight will decrease on the trip home.

Not in all cases. It depends on where the waste water tanks are. Along with a lot of other things.

True, guess all the campers I deal with have waste tanks aft, so that's what comes to mine.