Towing Capacity for New Travel Trailer

rexlion wrote:

sch911 wrote:
It's really easy to figure out the actual towing capacity of your Dodge...

What it can tow = the GVWR Rating - It's actual weight (loaded for travel).

So, get it weighed and find out for yourself.

With all due respect, I don't see how that can be correct. Take my SUV as an example:
4900 lb curb weight
6200 lb GVWR
If I subtract my GVWR from just my curb weight (let alone actual weight), I can only tow 1300 lbs! But my Lexus GX470 has a 6200 lb tow rating!

In YOUR case, subtracting 4900 curb weight from 6200 GVWR gives you 1,300 lbs of CARGO weight available...

Subtract driver, passengers, full tank of fuel and any other items you put into the tow vehicle MUST be subtracted from that 1,300 lbs of cargo.

The LEFT OVER cargo is the MAX TONGUE WEIGHT your vehicle can handle..

So, lets play with the numbers a bit, 1,300 lbs cargo MINUS 200 lbs for driver, 25 gallons of fuel (150-160 lbs approx) gives you 950 lbs..

So with 950 lbs you could possibly tow a trailer of 9,500 lbs at 10% tongue weight.. BUT it IS better to have tongue weight of 13%-15% for a more stable tow..

So, IF you want the BEST towing stability we want to be at or near 15% tongue weight..

950 lbs at 15% tongue weight would be 6,333 lbs..

But in reality in YOUR case if you have one passenger and some gear in your vehicle you would have most likely about 750 lbs of cargo left over..

That would mean at 15% your max trailer would be 5,000 lbs LOADED, not "dry"..

MOST "tow ratings" typically assume driver only and full fuel tank AND 10% tongue weight..

That is why folks who understand the towing ratings will say that you will most likely run out of available cargo weight BEFORE running out of "tow rating"..

Cargo weight of the vehicle is key, not tow ratings..

By the way, in my examples above, I left out the weight of the WD hitch, that also should be accounted for in the tongue weight if you really want to be right on the numbers..

Unfortunately there is a narrow band of folks who ignore small things like cargo weight and manufacturers ratings of tow vehicles and substitute their own reality and will overload their vehicles..

Hoping that Mr "Murphy" will never visit them or cross their path..

Personally I would rather have a bit more "capacity" in my tow vehicle just in case Mr Murphy decides to mess with me..

So, far, for me, it has been an extremely wise choice..

I have had not just once but twice to make emergency maneuvers at highway speeds to avoid DEER running in front of my vehicle.. Both times I was able to keep the whole darn train in line and not ruining my vehicle and trailer or ending up in the hospital or dead..