When looking at trailers, should we be looking at 'dry' weight or GVWR of the trailer as to whether it is something we can pull or not?
Our vehicle is 08 Aspen, 4.7 liter V8, towing capacity of 5950, max GVWR 6650, wheelbase 119". We would love a queen and 3 bunks. The "ultra lites" are probably best for us, like the North trail, Rockwood.
But when looking at all of these, which number should we be looking at on the spec sheet...the dry weight, gross weight? Just trying to figure out an easy way to know if a trailer is too heavy for us.
so the GVWR of the trailer we pick should equal slightly less than our vehicle's maximum towing capacity?
I also read to subtract your vehicle's GVWR from its GCWR to figure out how heavy a trailer you could tow. Is that true? And, this would be the gross weight of trailer you could pull, correct?
Quote: I also read to subtract your vehicle's GVWR from its GCWR to figure out how heavy a trailer you could tow. Is that true? And, this would be the gross weight of trailer you could pull, correct?
Not exactly, though that is a good figure to start with. You also need to keep in mind the trailer's loaded tongue weight, which is usually 13-15% of the trailer's full loaded weight (figure 13-15% of trailer's GVWR for a good ballpark figure). That tongue weight has to be within your tow vehicle's payload and hitch specs.
GVWR of the trailer should be less than your tow rating, yes. If you don't feel like doing lots of math, a good estimate is if the trailer's GVWR is about 80% of the vehicle's tow rating. (That's known as the 80% rule here, and we've found that works well.)
Remember that with most vehicles, you'll need to subtract the weight of all passengers, pets & cargo you usually will carry in the tow vehicle, from the vehicle's payload capacity - that will let you know what remaining payload capacity you have for the hitch & tongue weight.
Weigh your truck as it would be loaded with all occupants and cargo and subtract that weight from it's GCWR rating... The resultant number is the maximum trailer weight (loaded) you should be towing to stay within factory GCWR assuming that the TT tongue and hitch weight do not put you over the GVWR rating of your truck...
Using the TT's GVWR rating is probably best although a lot of us do not load to max TT GVWR - I do but I think I'm in the minority...
Subtracting the TV's GVWR from it's GCWR would work but if your TV is not loaded to it's max GVWR when fully loaded you will be cheating yourself on trailer tow capacity... Figuring that way would be a good starting point if your window shopping but actual scaled weights are always best... And remember that TT tongue weight (and hitch weight if applicable) should be added to TV GVWR rating...
Les
2000 Ford F-250SD, XLT, 4X4 Off Road, SuperCab
w/ 6.8L (415 C.I.) V-10/3:73LS/4R100
Banks Power Pack w/Trans Command & OttoMind
2006 Nomad 3150 Double Slide (Bunkhouse)
Hensley Arrow
Jordan Ultima 2020
When you're determining the ability of your tow vehicle to tow the TT in question, consider the GVWT only.
You will also need to consider tongue weight and I recommend taking 14-15% of GVWR to calculate tongue weight. Do NOT use the manufacturer's empty tongue weight as it's useless.
In your case, the tongue weight will probably be the limiting factor. I'd suggest weighing your Aspen with the family on board as well as anything you plan on carrying inside the vehicle. Subtract that weight from the Aspen's GVWR of 6650# and then subtract an additional 100# for the weight of the trailer hitch. The number left is the tongue weight your Aspen can safely carry. Then, multiply that maximum tongue weight by 7 and you have a reasonably close GVWR of the TT you can safely tow--assuming that number is less than 6000#.
Most 'lite' TTs tend to have less CCC than otherwise similar 'standard' TTs. When an RV manufacturer wants to market a 'lite' TT, there is no easier way to reduce its weight than lowering the GVWR!
Steve & C. J.
"Gracie" the Rough Collie & "Bo'sun" the Bichon Frise
2009 Arctic Fox 24-5N
2007 Ford F350 4X4 Crewcab LB 11.5K GVWR
PullRite 18K SuperGlide
You can look at dry weight if you never plan to add or carry anything in the trailer.....Dry weight is a useless number. You can easily be 1000# over dry weight.
Ken
KE5DFR
Vintage 1979 Silver Streak Supreme Rocket toted by a 2002 F350, crewcab dually, 7.3L,4.10 axle,SCMT. Travel with one miniature Schnauzers, one standard schnauzer and one African Gray parrot. Practicing for retirement!
All good advise above. I will add, as you get closer to the max weight your truck can handle performance will suffer, and the driving experience will become uncomfortable.
2003 Jayco 308fbs eagle 33' tt, towed by a 2003 Ram 3500 slt, quad cab dually, cummins diesel ho, trailer towing package, with 6 speed manual. Hauls better 1/2, 3 kids, myself, and a 2003 ez go clays car.. I have added so far, neon lights, clearance lights, back up lights, black light, lift kit, mud tires, and everything necessary to make the golf cart street legal. It's now ready to spend the winter in the garage for more mods. More neon, strobe lights, alarm, a pa system, maintance, and whatever else that comes along. This golf cart does wheelies and travels thru 7 inches of mud when need be. Two honda eu2000i gens twinned to supply the electrical power. Latest addition an 04 Honda Goldwing. [url]http://www.hometown.aol.com/rvnagain/myhomepage/profile.html[url]
dave54 wrote: Adding a 1000 to the dry weight is a common rule of thumb.
True this is the best way to go. maybe even add 1500lbs to the dry weight. I would not recomend going by the GVWR of the trailer as some have a fairly high Cargo Carrying Capacity (CCC). our trailer fo instance has a dry weight of 7100lbs and a GVWR of 11,200lbs! thats a 4100lb CCC quite a bit of weight to be added to get to the GVWR. also be sure to figure about 12% of the figured weight (dry plus 1500) for tongue weight!
Good luck!
Wife Kim
Son Brandon 8yrs
Daughter Marissa 7yrs
Dog Shadow
07 Cherokee 32B
02 Excursion 4X4 V-10 4.30 gear, Hellwig sway bar
Reese HP dualcam,Prodigy brake controller.
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