kehyler

Friendly suggestion that you shouldn't say that. We can't even assume its true in the situation at hand.

Let's say that OP uses 10% tongue weight, which is perfectly reasonable since that's what the society of automotive engineers recommend and all major truck manufactures adhere too. OP has a post driver and post weight distributing hitch of perhaps 1432 lbs of payload. At 10% tongue weight, he wouldn't run out of payload until a trailer weight of 14320! That would exceed his GCWR, which is dangerous.

Its better to say that it's necessary to check all weight ratings (vehicle GVWR, GCWR, RAWR, FAWR, hitch, and trailer GVWR), and make sure that you do not exceed any of them.

kehyler

OP, to illustrate my point of the dangers of over-focusing on payload, take a look at my truck (sig). I have about 1600 lbs of payload after me and a weight distributing hitch. If I only focused on payload, I would conclude @ 10% that I could tow 16000 lbs! That would be over my GCWR by nearly 50%. Maybe my brakes would fail, maybe my engine would overheat, who knows at that point.

This forum does a good job of making sure people check their payload, but to be honest, its become kind of a forum-obsession. We have an entire thread about posting your payload, but not an entire thread about posting your max-trailer weight as an example.

It's necessary to check all weight ratings (vehicle GVWR, GCWR, RAWR, FAWR, hitch, and trailer GVWR), and make sure that you do not exceed any of them.

8100hd

The payload obsession is on every RV forum on the Internet. Everyone believes that payload rating alone dictates how well the TV performs which is not always the case.

kehyler

Interesting.

Velosprout

We are not talking about performance and what you CAN tow. We are talking about what you SHOULD safely tow and stay within specs. 99% of the time payload is the limiting factor. All the other limits must be checked as well, including frontal trailer area, which few mention or check.

Velosprout

You are completely off base using 10%. When I speak of tongue weight, it is the a percentage of the trailer, usually 13% plus (excepting boats and 4-wheel wagons). I also stated to be accurate, the tongue is to be weighed with tongue scale. Very many trailers will have a tongue weight in excess of the 13% guideline. I Very few loaded cargo trailers or towable RV trailers will only have 10% tongue weight unless they are improperly back loaded.

8100hd

“We are not talking about performance and what you CAN tow”
I’m not referring to that type of performance.

acdii

I challenge anyone to tow a travel trailer with only 10% tongue weight. Unless you particularly enjoy white knuckle driving, it is a safe bet you won't like it one bit.

My 6x12 cargo is right around 10%, and with a wind it gets a bit loose, can feel it wiggle back there. Just got back from a 400 mile trip to Iowa with it, and it was wiggling a bit. It barely put any weight on the truck when I put it on the ball, but there is no way I can even attempt to lift it, wont even budge. Next time I will put the boxes I had in the rear in the truck instead. That 50 pounds will be enough to make it stay straighter in winds. I was behind a semi tanker for a bit and the vortices coming off that truck were really wiggling the trailer too.

So when we, who have plenty of towing experience say that 13% is a good figure for tongue weight, we have our reasons why. I can pretty much guarantee that a travel trailer with 10% tongue weight will not tow well at all.

jcb206

I doubt many would disagree with you. I think everyone is saying the same thing.

Tow rating is subjective by what you are towing. Many say 7-8% for boats is what they use. The SAE rating is given with 10% in mind. Travel trailers are 12-15%. Gooseneck/fifth wheel is 15-25%. Payload will play a part in all of these.

The SAE rating has to pick a percentage to use. They use 10% so they give a rating of 13,200 with 1320lbs of tongue weight for a properly equipped F-150. For travel trailers, you may not get to half that and stay below all ratings.

Depending on trim, configuration, options, and payload, you could have a tow rating between 4000-10500 lbs. With most settling between 5,000-7,000 lbs loaded weight.

Cornerz

Put 4 adults in an average F150, and you'll be tongue weight limited on the trailer side. Put 4 average adults (220 lbs) in mine, and you are down to an 8600 lb trailer at 10%, less if you are more conservative. That's roughly a 24 foot enclosed car hauler with a very light race car in it - nowhere near the 11,200 or 13,200 that the sales manager told you about when you bought it.

I'm pretty pissed about mine - the stated goal to the sales manager who sold it to me was to carry my family and a 10,000 lb race trailer. He bragged about how he ordered them all in so that it would never be an issue. He's wrong. I got a good price on the truck I bought, but I didn't get the truck I wanted. I almost rolled back the deal but I was tired of shopping and arguing, and needed a truck.

That's where the payload awareness comes from. People getting lied too by Ford salesmen.