Did I make a mistake?
06-19-2014, 10:38 PM
#31
My King Ranch is even more challenged than your truck. My GVWR is 7200, and the sticker payload capacity is only 1115 lbs - but with my drop-in bed liner and BakFlip tonneau I'm down to 1020 lbs!!!
With the hitch weight of my 6200 lb car hauler at about 675, and my almost 100 lb Equal-i-zer WDH, when I put my 220 lbs in the driver's seat I've got maybe another 25 lbs before I'm overweight. Actually, when I tow 700 miles up to a track event later this month I'll probably haul a different car that will add about 250 lbs - so my loaded trailer will be almost 6500 lbs.
However....another limiting factor in pulling a trailer is the GCWR. The GCWR for my truck is 15,500 lbs.
if I load my truck to its 7200 lb GVWR, then subtract that from the GCWR, I can pull 8300 lbs.
Butt....how can I do that with my very limited payload capacity???
I got a Trailer Toad!! The used Toad I got has a 3500 lb axle, and can only handle about 2000 lbs of tongue weight, but I won't get close to that. The new Toads can handle more than 4000 lbs of tongue weight.
With the Trailer Toad carrying the entire tongue weight of the trailer, I have the entire payload capacity of the truck to haul me, my wife, her luggage and snack cooler in the cab, and I can still load up more that 500 lbs of tools, spares, and track support junk in the bed of the truck - but I'll be hauling less than that so we won't even be up to the truck's GVWR.
If I was at the truck's GVWR, I'd be limited to towing 8300 lbs. My Trailer Toad is about 200 lbs, so I could still pull a trailer that weighs more than 8000 lbs and not exceed any limits of the truck.
That's just my solution to the towing problem of my truck having a VERY low payload capacity.
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With the hitch weight of my 6200 lb car hauler at about 675, and my almost 100 lb Equal-i-zer WDH, when I put my 220 lbs in the driver's seat I've got maybe another 25 lbs before I'm overweight. Actually, when I tow 700 miles up to a track event later this month I'll probably haul a different car that will add about 250 lbs - so my loaded trailer will be almost 6500 lbs.
However....another limiting factor in pulling a trailer is the GCWR. The GCWR for my truck is 15,500 lbs.
if I load my truck to its 7200 lb GVWR, then subtract that from the GCWR, I can pull 8300 lbs.
Butt....how can I do that with my very limited payload capacity???
I got a Trailer Toad!! The used Toad I got has a 3500 lb axle, and can only handle about 2000 lbs of tongue weight, but I won't get close to that. The new Toads can handle more than 4000 lbs of tongue weight.
With the Trailer Toad carrying the entire tongue weight of the trailer, I have the entire payload capacity of the truck to haul me, my wife, her luggage and snack cooler in the cab, and I can still load up more that 500 lbs of tools, spares, and track support junk in the bed of the truck - but I'll be hauling less than that so we won't even be up to the truck's GVWR.
If I was at the truck's GVWR, I'd be limited to towing 8300 lbs. My Trailer Toad is about 200 lbs, so I could still pull a trailer that weighs more than 8000 lbs and not exceed any limits of the truck.
That's just my solution to the towing problem of my truck having a VERY low payload capacity.
.
06-19-2014, 10:47 PM
#32
Senior Member
I have never heard of a tow toad. I wonder what the legality of that up here would be. In sask the 1st "trailer"(I'm guessing the toad would be considered this) needs two axles to have another trailer pull behind. In Alberta the lead trailer needs to be a 5th wheel. So very curious. Also how is the handling?
06-19-2014, 11:25 PM
#33
The trailer toad isn't a trailer itself. It plugs right into the hitch receiver. It doesn't hook up to a ball mount. It essentially is a ball mount with an axle underneath.
Very nice idea but will add a lot of length that will make maneuvering harder.
Very nice idea but will add a lot of length that will make maneuvering harder.
Last edited by Mike Up; 06-19-2014 at 11:39 PM.
06-19-2014, 11:29 PM
#34
I have never heard of a tow toad. I wonder what the legality of that up here would be. In sask the 1st "trailer"(I'm guessing the toad would be considered this) needs two axles to have another trailer pull behind. In Alberta the lead trailer needs to be a 5th wheel. So very curious. Also how is the handling?
The Trailer Toad is a "hitch extension". It doesn't require any registration, title, tag, etc.
It is another axle, so if I go on toll roads I pay a little extra.
When I was shopping for mine I saw a number of used ones for sale up in the Great White North, so I assume there's no problem towing with one up there.
It tows great! The only long tow I've done with my trailer was 1300 miles with it empty, and it had no sway problems at all.
I have towed it loaded without the Trailer Toad about 300 miles roundtrip to a track event here in Florida, and it towed great, but I was way overweight.
With just the limited towing I've done with the Trailer Toad, it feels just the same as without - very stable and no sway from big trucks. The manufacturer says it actually helps with sway control - I'll report after I haul 700 miles each way the end of June.
06-20-2014, 12:35 AM
#35
The Trailer Toad is a "hitch extension". It doesn't require any registration, title, tag, etc.
It is another axle, so if I go on toll roads I pay a little extra.
When I was shopping for mine I saw a number of used ones for sale up in the Great White North, so I assume there's no problem towing with one up there.
It tows great! The only long tow I've done with my trailer was 1300 miles with it empty, and it had no sway problems at all.
I have towed it loaded without the Trailer Toad about 300 miles roundtrip to a track event here in Florida, and it towed great, but I was way overweight.
With just the limited towing I've done with the Trailer Toad, it feels just the same as without - very stable and no sway from big trucks. The manufacturer says it actually helps with sway control - I'll report after I haul 700 miles each way the end of June.
It is another axle, so if I go on toll roads I pay a little extra.
When I was shopping for mine I saw a number of used ones for sale up in the Great White North, so I assume there's no problem towing with one up there.
It tows great! The only long tow I've done with my trailer was 1300 miles with it empty, and it had no sway problems at all.
I have towed it loaded without the Trailer Toad about 300 miles roundtrip to a track event here in Florida, and it towed great, but I was way overweight.
With just the limited towing I've done with the Trailer Toad, it feels just the same as without - very stable and no sway from big trucks. The manufacturer says it actually helps with sway control - I'll report after I haul 700 miles each way the end of June.
06-20-2014, 12:09 PM
#36
You can see in that picture of the sticker on my used Toad in that previous post that it was a little funky looking when I got it. I pressure cleaned it and shot it with a can of black paint and it looks nice now.
The spare for my trailer was a nice aluminum wheel like all the other trailer wheels. I got one more like that plus another spare on a plain steel wheel. So now the Toad has the exact same wheels as the trailer, and I've got two spares that can be used on either the Toad or the trailer.
The picture above is before hooking up the Toad to my trailer. The white PVC pipe sticking out to the right is just an extension I put on a 1-1/4" to 2" hitch adapter that makes it easy to roll the Toad around for storage in the garage, and then to roll it into position under the tongue of the trailer. You can see the trailer tongue jack is down and supporting the 675 lbs of tongue weight.
The picture below is after rolling the Toad under the tongue and putting the WDH spring bars into place. The trailer's tongue jack is retracted and all the weight is on the Toad. The support under the shank on the front is just supporting a few pounds of weight of the shank and the extension I use to roll the Toad around.
You must use a WDH with the Toad, but there's not a whole lot of tension on the bars - they just sort of keep the Toad level while towing.
Below is after removing my "roll-around" extension from the shank and backing the truck up to insert the shank into the truck's receiver. This is where two people can ease the operation. I did it by myself by supporting the shank at the proper level with that jackstand. I still had to get in-and-out of the truck a couple times to get the pin into the receiver to lock the shank in.
I'll post up info on how it does on a long tow after I do 1400 to 1500 miles the end of June and the first few days of July.
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Last edited by KR Kodi; 06-20-2014 at 12:28 PM. Reason: Added picture
06-20-2014, 01:15 PM
#37
That'd be great, thanks! Right now I am passable- way overweight on the TV, but it's handling the weight well after the suspension, rubber and shock upgrades- but if we ever want to go on longer trips I would want either this or a 3/4 ton... and the latter is not really something I am wanting to bother with.
06-20-2014, 06:37 PM
#38
Not sure how good that would work with a camper. Most of the time I'm on campsites that are pitched either toward the front or back with a mound where the tow vehicle is. Not sure if the toad would go back into the trucks receiver once it was pulled out.
Also they recommend their stabilizer bars when backing up with the toad, as most will need to do with a camper. Otherwise, the toad bar can stretch open the truck's receiver opening.
Also they recommend their stabilizer bars when backing up with the toad, as most will need to do with a camper. Otherwise, the toad bar can stretch open the truck's receiver opening.
06-20-2014, 06:46 PM
#39
Senior Member
Not sure how good that would work with a camper. Most of the time I'm on campsites that are pitched either toward the front or back with a mound where the tow vehicle is. Not sure if the toad would go back into the trucks receiver once it was pulled out.
Also they recommend their stabilizer bars when backing up with the toad, as most will need to do with a camper. Otherwise, the toad bar can stretch open the truck's receiver opening.
Also they recommend their stabilizer bars when backing up with the toad, as most will need to do with a camper. Otherwise, the toad bar can stretch open the truck's receiver opening.
