jkc0607

I think my signature will give away my TV, but here is the question andstatement. Why not trust the numbers that Ford and the trailer companies provide? Payload, GVWR, GCWR, axle rating, tongue weight, dry weight, total weight etc... if the numbers are within specs then why not say it's OK to tow that trailer. Then others will say. .. it's too long, don't forget the transmission cooling, trailer brakes cannot stop the trailer. Blah blah blah... I say if it's within the numbers then go for it. What say you?

P.s. drive safe and keep it slow

ambush

Technically, I agree. The problem is that you don't know what kind of towing experience everyone has. For example, my wife has a cousin who had never owned a pickup truck before. He has done well for himself and can afford to spend a fair amount of money. One day, he and his wife decide they're going to buy a camper. So they go out and buy a great big 40 foot long fifth wheel with 3 axles on it. The sales rep tells them they need a one ton diesel to pull it. Since the biggest vehicle they have is a small suv they stop on they way home from the rv store and buy a brand new duramax dually. Then take it back to the rv store and have them set it all up for them. Keep in mind now, that this guy has never pulled anything larger than a 5x8 utility trailer before. They took it camping once, then sold both. Between not being able to back it up and the dually not fitting in his garage, he was in way over his head............ The numbers were all good however.
So the short answer is..... It depends.

smokeywren

Because unless you truly understand exactly what the numbers mean, some of the numbers are misleading. Tow rating and payload rating on the tow vehicle. Dry weights on the trailer.


Numbers you can trust are GCWR, GVWR, GAWRs. If you don't exceed any of those "gross" numbers established by chassis engineers, then you can say it's OK to tow that trailer. But if you use calculated numbers such as tow rating or payload capacity, then you'll probably wind up overloaded when you weigh the wet and loaded rig on a certified automated truck (CAT) scale.

The biggest misconception is tow ratings. Tow rating is the GCWR minus the weight of the empty tow vehicle (TV) with no options other than those required to achieve that tow rating. But since nobody tows with a TV that has no options and absolutely no weight added in the TV except a skinny driver, the tow ratings are overstated, and often extremely overstated. And the tow ratings ignore the payload capacity, which is normally the limiter as to the weight of any trailer you can tow. (You'll exceed the payload capacity available for hitch weight long before you reach the tow rating.) IOW, GVWR of the TV, not GCWR, is your limiter as to how heavy a trailer you can tow without being overloaded.


For example, my 1999.5 F-250 diesel had a tow rating over 13,000 pounds. But I was overloaded over the GVWR of that F-250 with my small fifth-wheel RV trailer that weighed less than 8,000 pounds. My current F-150 has a tow rating of 8,000 pounds, but it's overloaded over the GVWR when towing my TT that weighs less than 5,000 pounds.


Payload capacity on the sticker is also misleading because it also assumes an empty TV with absolutely no weight in the TV except a full tank of gas. Almost everyone underestimates the amount of weight they add to their TV, and the result is an overloaded TV when you add hitch weight to the normal load of people, pets, tools, campfire wood, options such as bed rug and tonneau cover or camper shell.


Again use dummy ole me as the example. My F-150 has payload rating of 1,566 pounds, but I'm overloaded with just me, DW, a 40-pound dog, a toolbox, and tongue weight of only 650 pounds. I guess that bedrug and camper shell were a lot heavier than I thought.


Nobody tows a dry trailer, and very few folks can accurately estimate the weight of options and stuff they add to the RV. So they wind up overloaded on the road. So you should use the GVWR of the trailer as your estimated wet and loaded weight, then assume you have enough brains to not overload the trailer.


The hitch weight published by the trailer manufacturer is the dry hitch weight. So ignore the published hitch weight and compute your own as 13% of the GVWR of the travel trailer or 18% of the GVWR of a fifth-wheel RV trailer .


Average hitch weight of a TT is 13% of gross trailer weight, but it varies from around 12% to over 15%. If you use 13% you'll probably be very close to what the scale weights reveal, but don't be surprised if your tongue weight (TW) is almost 15% - like my wet and loaded TT.


Average hitch weight (weight of the "pin" or kingpin on a 5er hitch) of a small to medium-size fifth-wheel RV trailer is about 18% of the gross weight of the 5er. It varies from about 16% to 20%, but the average is about 18%. Larger and heavier 5ers usually have more pin weight, often 20% to 24% of gross trailer weight. So most folks that advise how to compute pin weight on a 5er use 20%. Luxury 5ers such as a Travel Supreme usually have more than 20% pin weight. Those granite counter tops are heavy!


To repeat, manufacturers' numbers you can trust are GCWR, GVWR, and GAWRs. If you don't exceed any of those "gross" numbers established by chassis engineers, then you can say it's OK to tow that trailer.


Your real world tow rating is the GCWR of the TV minus the wet and loaded weight of that TV, including the weight-distributing hitch and everything in the TV ready to go camping.


Your real world max hitch weight of your trailer is the GVWR of the TV minus the wet and loaded weight of that TV, including the weight-distributing hitch, tools, jacks, campfire wood, pets, passengers and everything in the TV ready to hook up the trailer and go camping. Don't guess - load it up and weigh it on a certified automated truck (CAT) scale.


GVWR is easy to check after you have the travel trailer; when sitting on the scale with everything and everybody in the TV, with the trailer tied on and the spring bars of your WD hitch properly tightened, add the weights on the front and rear axles of the TV. Compare that combined axle weight to the GVWR of the TV. If you've done your homework and used your brain for something besides a hat rack, then you won't exceed the GVWR of your TV.


But if you simply use the published tow rating or payload capacity of the TV, then you'll probably be overloaded.

Ricktwuhk

Ambush's comment covers the biggest issue - most people are freakin' clueless. Driving with a trailer takes an understanding of how to hook it on properly, how to load it properly, what speed to properly drive at, how it will handle when you brake, how it backs up, ... Most don't take the time to learn. Many/most trailer tires have max speeds on them that people routinely exceed. In short, most people risk their lives, AND OUR LIVES, because they are so clueless.

Your PS - Drive safe and keep it slow - covers it. But most don't do either!

Mike Up

I remember some dufus thinking that the GVWR was his tow rating. Not everyone should be behind the wheel towing.

TooManyVehicles

Now that is the guy to buy stuff from. Used once, then they are on to the next play thing.