Eff0neFitty

Dang, this basically sucks. I guess they left that off the TV commercials. And that tongue weight limit of 500 pounds seems awfully low.

Ricktwuhk

Use a WDH and alleviate that limit.

Eff0neFitty

I'm starting to think, to answer the question, "How much can I tow?", is not a one-number answer. The real answer will be a list of numbers. You can't just say, oh, you can tow 7,700 pounds. Instead, there's a whole list of limits, GAWR, GVWR, tongue weight, etc. But I don't understand how do people go about measuring all those weights?

So let's say the front GAWR is 3,225 pounds. How do I know how much weight normally rests on that axle when the truck is empty? How do I know how much the weight is if there's passengers in the cab?

Ricktwuhk

You're wasting your time. Payload will be the limiting factor. Read thread after thread after thread.

1,530 (assuming your truck is stock) minus 100lbs wdh minus anything you added like floor mats, tonneau cover, bed liner.

Subtract your weight, weight of other passengers, pets, and any stuff loaded in the truck. Divide remainder by 0.13 for 13% avg hitch weight.

Example: You weigh 200. Wife and kids weigh 300. 50 pounds of stuff.

1,530 - 200 - 300 - 50 = 980. Minus 100 for wdh is 880. 880 / .13 = 6,769 max loaded trailer. Many people load 1,000 pounds or more into a trailer.

if you are by yourself, then the hitch weight of 1,160 is the max. 1,160 ‐ 100 wdh = 1,060. Your payload, less you, is higher than the hitch limit so the hitch limit is the limiting factor.

TerryD64

You need to put it on a scale for the most accurate result.
Find a CAT Scale near you.

rd.king

Are you actually panning to tow a trailer or just figuring out if you can.
The numbers you need to concentrate on are GVWR, GCWR, payload.
Find out what your truck weighs as it stand now, with you and a full tank at the scales.
Add up the combined weight of passenger and cargo you plan to carry in the truck.
Add that to the weight from the scales.
Subtract that number from the GVWR and also from the GCWR and that will be your remaining payload
and also a rough idea of what weight you can tow minus the tongue weight.
Those are the numbers that decides what trailer you can tow.
Because that remaining payload decides The tongue weight of the trailer you can tow.
because the tongue weight adds to the payload.
If you have less than 600lbs remaining Your tongue weight cannot exceed 500lbs
If you have more that 600lbs you can choose a trailer according that weight calculation.
But if the trailer you choose has a tongue weight exceeding 500lbs you need to add a WDH which weighs
aprox 100lbs which will be removed from the remaining payload number and starts the calculation all over again.
GAWR number and the like never enter the picture in this light truck scenario as they are taken into account with GVWR and GCWR.
Focus on the 3 number GVWR, GCWR, payload and don't let the other noise confuse you.

Flamingtaco

Typically do not have to worry about front GAWR. If you set up the WDH properly, you are just returning the weight that normally sits on the front axle back to it, plus a little. Most of the weight is added to the rear axle, but if you've got something heavy hanging off the front, like a steel bumper, front hitch, and a large winch in a hitch mount, you might need to check it. Or if you take three really fat dudes with you on your trips.

The easiest way to do this is weigh your truck with everybody that will be in it with you, and also all the stuff you need to have in the truck, including a full gas tank. Subtract the results from your GVWR, you have your remaining available payload. Almost all of this is available for tongue weight, if you are comfortable driving at the truck's max weight. You may want to subtract a bit for growing children if you plan to keep the truck awhile.

Start looking at trailers. Ignore trailer dry weight, use the GVW, which is the max weight the trailer can handle, multiply that by 0.13. The resulting number will be within 10% of the max tongue weight you should expect to see with that trailer. You want that number to be under the payload number. The closer you get to payload, the more you will have to be conscious of what you load into both the truck and trailer.

Once you find out what trailers your payload has restricted you to, start looking at the number and size of propane tanks and batteries the trailers require. Most will have these on the a-frame, putting 90% or more of that weight on the tongue. Where are the water and waste tanks? You can easily calculate how much of that weight will end up on the tongue.

GCWR tends to not be broken except with boats and high payload toy haulers. There are also some older TT's from the days when we drove much closer to 55 than 75 that have nearly mid-ship axles so you could pull that gargantuan trailer behind your '57 Nash Cosmopolitan.

Eff0neFitty

So where does this 13% come from?

Mister C

Rule of thumb: Trailer tongue weight is generally between 10%-15% of the trailer's listed GVWR so 13% is used for estimating purposes. 13% * Trailer's listed GVWR = Expected tongue weight of that particular trailer.

If you then subtract your fully 'loaded for camping' truck's weight (full tank of gas, you and any passengers, pets, gear, WDH, etc.) from your truck's GVWR. The remaining balance is available for trailer tongue weight.

Example:

Trailer GVWR = 8300 lbs. 8300 * .13 = 1079 lbs. That is this example trailer's estimated tongue weight
Truck's GVWR = 7000 lbs. Scaled weight of fully loaded truck is 5750 lbs. 7000 - 5750 = 1250 lbs. This is the amount of payload you have remaining for a trailer's tongue weight.

In this example you are within the boundaries as this trailer's expected tongue weight is 1079 and you have 1250 available. Obviously it's important that you don't skimp when weighing the truck. You want to ensure that everything you are taking camping is loaded in when you scale it. Allow for future expansion as well - it's likely you'll find other items you just have to take on that next trip (extra wood, 3 more chairs etc.) In other words, just because you have 1200 lbs available for tongue weight, don't look for a trailer that gets you right up to that limit - try to keep a safety margin.

Flamingtaco

It comes from striking a balance between stability, maneuverability, and payload consumption. The further you push the axles back on a trailer, the more stable it becomes, but at the expense of weight on the tongue and maneuverability of the trailer. 10-15% is the sweet spot for maxing those three qualities on a bumper pull trailer.