New to the towing game, help please?
05-25-2015, 02:07 PM
#11
Grumpy Old Man
Kodi did a pretty good job if you take the time to study and analyze what he wrote. I'll try to simplify what he wrote.
There are numerous weight ratings in the specs for any tow vehicle. The only ones you need to work with is GVWR, GAWR, and GCWR. If you never exceed the GVWR then you'll probably be below the GAWR and GCWR limits as well. So concentrate on the GVWR of the tow vehicle.
Since you already have the tow vehicle, here's the drill:
1. Load the tow vehicle with everyone and everything that will be in it when towing. People, pets, coolers, tools, jacks, campfire wood, and anything else you haul around when camping. Include the head from your hitch, or if you don't have the hitch yet then add 50 pounds for a TT hitch or 150 pounds for a 5er hitch to the weight of the tow vehicle in step 4 below.
2. Drive to a truck stop that has a certified automated truck (CAT) scale.
3. Fill up with gas.
4. Weigh the wet and loaded tow vehicle on the CAT scale.
5. Subtract the weight of the wet and loaded tow vehicle from the GVWR of the tow vehicle. The answer is the maximum hitch weight you can have without being overloaded.
6. Divide that max hitch weight by 0.125 (12.5%), which is the average tongue weight of travel trailers (TTs), or by 0.17 (17%) which is the average pin weight of smaller fifth wheel RV trailers. The answer is the maximum GVWR of any trailer you want to tow with that tow vehicle if you don't want to be overloaded.
TT tongue weight runs from about 10% to 15% with very few having less than 12%, so using the average of 12.5% is not an exact science. 5er pin weight for smaller 5ers runs from about 15% to 20%, so using 17% is also not an exact science. But it gets you in the ballpark. If you want to be more conservative and assure you won't be overloaded on the road, then use 15% for TTs and 20% for 5ers.
When looking at the specs for RV trailers, ignore all the specs except GVWR. Dry trailer weight and dry hitch weight are useless numbers that will confuse you and likely cause you to be overloaded by the middle of your third RV trip. Use the GVWR of the trailer, and estimate hitch weight as either 12.5% of the GVWR of TTS or 17% of GVWR of 5er trailera. Hitch weight is probably your limiter, so other weights don't matter much.
Last edited by smokeywren; 05-25-2015 at 02:10 PM.
