Tow question for new member

Danny,

Dry weight and dry tongue weight on the trailer aren't useful. Choachmen says the GWVR on that trailer is 7,000 lbs. 15% of that would be 1,050# tongue weight. Having towed with a 2005 Tahoe, I think you would be too close to the limits for comfort. Personally, I wouldn't do it.

Rob

Second Chance wrote:
Danny,

Dry weight and dry tongue weight on the trailer aren't useful. Choachmen says the GWVR on that trailer is 7,000 lbs. 15% of that would be 1,050# tongue weight. Having towed with a 2005 Tahoe, I think you would be too close to the limits for comfort. Personally, I wouldn't do it.

Rob

Not sure I follow. It says the tongue is 540. Unloaded weight 4800. Max cargo capacity is 7000. If I'm not near the 7000 why would it be too close? Not discounting what you say just trying to understand.

Dry weight and tongue weight as supplied by the manufacturer are usually polite fiction - based on a TT with no options, no battery, no LP gas, etc. This is often buried in the fine print.

Having said that, unless Coachmen is giving you an actual weight (and at one time they did) I agree with Rob, above. By the time you have your TT loaded for the road, it will weigh much more than the "dry weight." The only way to know is to take it to a scale. Good luck & safe travels.

dw1gator wrote:

Second Chance wrote:
Danny,

Dry weight and dry tongue weight on the trailer aren't useful. Choachmen says the GWVR on that trailer is 7,000 lbs. 15% of that would be 1,050# tongue weight. Having towed with a 2005 Tahoe, I think you would be too close to the limits for comfort. Personally, I wouldn't do it.

Rob

Not sure I follow. It says the tongue is 540. Unloaded weight 4800. Max cargo capacity is 7000. If I'm not near the 7000 why would it be too close? Not discounting what you say just trying to understand.

Only you know how much weight you will put in the TT. Personally, I don't believe you will add 2200lb to the TT weight. If not. IF you add say 1000, or 1200lbs. You will be OK.

Do remember. every pound you put in the Tahoe lowers the tow capacity by that much. so if you add 400lb of people not counting you. Your tow cap is 7000.

However. With the Wheelbase of the Tahoe. You will need to get the hitch setup as close to perfect as possible. A 27' TT can turn into a 31' TT once you add in the tongue.

IMO if you did not buy the trailer yet take the tahoe to a cat scale. Get front and rear axle weights.

Make sure full tank of gas and all the people you are going to tow with as well as gear...

Take the axles weights on the door tag and subtract that from the scale weights.

That will tell you exactly what your tahoe can tow. ( Will tell you what you actually have left for TW)

If you do this post back and let us know..

You may be very surprised by what the scales tell you...

I agree with the CAT scale idea. My TT dry weight is 5000 lbs. Loaded it is a bit over 6000 lbs. A trip to the scales showed that my normal load put the TV near it 1400 lb. max cargo limit.

The scales give you the real story. It is surprisingly easy to eat up your TV’s payload with camping stuff.

It is always best to look at the trailer GVWR on the driver's side front of trailer, rather than go by dry weights.

If it says GVWR 7,000, I would figure 10% of that for tongue wt, since you likely won't load trailer right to the max. This would be 700#s hitch, plus 100#s for WDH.

I think your tow vehicle will work, but will be a heavy load for it.

Jerry

As mentioned, a 4800lb dry trailer weight can easily be 6k lbs. and the loaded tw can range from 12-15%, which would be 720lbs-900lbs depending on what THAT trailer likes for a safe, stable tow. So using only 10% of the gvwr may not be a close enough estimate to actual to base a purchase decision on. Add about 100lbs for the wd hitch also toward your total payload.

Does your Tahoe have a round tube hitch? If so, consider replacing it with a nice, square tube hitch. The factory hitches (any round tube style) can twist when using a wd hitch, making it harder to get the hitch adjusted right.

What is the total normal passenger weight, and about how much cargo will you have in the Tahoe? Is the 1750lbs per the yellow sticker in the drivers door jamb of YOUR Tahoe, or from the listed "brochure" payload?

Thanks for the replies. I am going to cat scales to weigh. Payload is as stated. 6000 is what I have calculated for total trailure weight loaded. Total for all cargo including passengers is 650 to 750 lb.

Here is something humorous.

Class 5 hitch for an 03 Tahoe.

2400 lb TW and 17000 lbs towing.... Ha ha ha...

http://www.etrailer.com/Trailer-Hitch/Chevrolet/Tahoe/2003/C15324.html?vehicleid=200314112