Max Weight for 3500 lb tandem axles?

[Home on the Range]

My newly purchased but used 2008 27' Wolf Pack toy hauler has a max
GVWR of 8,011 lbs. but it came from FR with tandem 3,500 lb axles.
Wouldn't those axles limit the GVWR TO 7,000 lbs?
What am I missing here?

[TURBS]

Your forgetting the hitch weight.
The truck carries the remainder.

[Home on the Range]

That's it. Thanks!
And I just bought a Sherline
tongue weight scales and determined the tongue weight was 1,000 lbs.
That's with the toy hauler unloaded and a dry weight of 5,800 lbs.
The 1,000 lb tongue weight exceeds the recommended 10%-15% of the trailer weight. Guess I'll have to load most of the weight aft of the axles. Not very practical though because the axles set very far back on the trailer.
Next question. How much weight can a 1/2 ton truck safely handle?
Common sense would say 1,000 lbs.
My truck is a 2011 F-150 Ecoboost with tow package and 3:55 axle.

[TURBS]

Look at the payload sticker on your door or door jamb.
It's normally with the tire info.
If you have p rated tires you may want to go to lt's

[Home on the Range]

Yep. Thanks
It lists the front axle GAWR 3750 lbs and rear axle GAWR 4050 lbs.
Total GVWR of 7200.
P275/55R20 tires.
So if I knew the actual weight on the rear axle (bed, bumper, frame, gas tank etc.) I could subtract that from the GAWR 4050 lbs and come up with a max trailer tongue weight?

Well I had the truck weighed last week on certified CAT scales.
Steer axle wt. 3580 lbs
Drive axle wt. 2920 lbs
Gross wt 6500 lbs.

So if I subtract the 2920 lbs drive axle scales weight from the 4050 rear axle rating GAWR, I get 1,130 lbs.
This should be the max tongue weight for my 1/2 ton truck.
Right?

[dnismenace]

But if you subtract the actual gross weight of 6500 lbs from your GVWR of 7200 lbs, you can carry 700 lbs which is 300 less than your hitch weight.

I am only playing the devils advocate here and do not intend to argue the point, nor do I wish to start any agruments.

I think the TV manufacturers make this a very confusing situation.

[Home on the Range]

Yep, you are right.
I was just thinking about that limit also.
A 700 lb tongue weight is pretty light for a 8,000 lbs toy hauler.
Maybe I could have the trailer axles moved forward to lighten the tongue load and shift more weight aft.

[Home on the Range]

Thanks for your help.
I'm going to turn in for the night.

[dnismenace]

Personally, I think you can hitch up and go camping. Try to see if you can forget the inequities of the numbers. I have an f-250 crew cab with 8800 lbs GVWR. My truck full of fuel with me and 5th wheel hitch actual weight is 7250 lbs. GAWR on rear is 6084 lbs, actual weight is 2940 lbs. But if you go with the GVWR 8800 minus the actual of 7250, it only leaves 1550 for hitch weight. I am looking for a 32-34 ft 5er. Most of what I am finding have a 2000 plus hitch weight.

[Home on the Range]

Guess I'll hitch up and go.
Otherwise I'll have to get a bigger truck or smaller trailer.
Thanks

[dnismenace]

lol, Happy Camping

[wyo700]

Yes hitch up and go. Everything will be ok. Have fun and be careful.


2012 Sandstorm 203SLC
2013 Toyota Tundra Crewmax 5.7
2014 Honda Pioneer 700-4

[Home on the Range]

Thanks guys. With your help last night I was able to determine that based on the truck rear axle weight rating and the truck rear axle weight from the scales, I could have 1,100 lbs tongue hitch weight.
However, the actual curb weight of the truck (6500 lbs) compared with the truck GVWR (7200 lbs) limits me to 700 lbs tongue hitch weight.
Another thought hit me last.
The Weight Distribution Hitch.
Correct me if I'm wrong. It appears that I could put 1,000 lbs on the truck hitch if the WD Hitch would distribute at least 300 lbs of that weight to the front truck axle. Right?
Perhaps I'm overthinking this, but as a commercial pilot, I have a respect for weight and balance limitations.

[MtnGuy]

To distribute 300 lbs. to the front axle is possible, but the weight is still on the truck, and goes against the payload.......you are taking 1000 lbs, putting 300 lbs. on the front axle, but still have 700 lbs. on the rear axle.....to a point. There is another factor when using a WDH.....some of the weight goes back to the trailer axles. In the case of my 700 lb. trailer tongue weight, I am sending about 120 lbs. back to the trailer axles.

Another thing you need to consider is the hitch weight rating. There should be a sticker on the hitch stating maximum weight carrying capacity, as well as a maximum weight distributing capacity. Make sure your hitch is up to snuff.

[Home on the Range]

Thanks for your input. You're right.
Even if I shifted 300 lbs from the rear axle to the front with the WD Hitch, it is still excess weight on the truck.
The hitch rating should not be a problem. Although there a number of good WD hitches on the market, I decided to try the Anderson WD with Anti-Sway/Anti-Bounce TDM (True Motion-Dampening) system.
It has many good customer views, for sway control, being super quiet and light weight (25 lbs shank and ball).
It has a 14,000 lbs GTWR with the
2-5/16 ball and a 1,400 lbs tongue rating. I have not had a chance to tow with it yet.

[MtnGuy]

Originally Posted by Home on the Range

The hitch rating should not be a problem. Although there a number of good WD hitches on the market, I decided to try the Anderson WD with Anti-Sway/Anti-

My apologizes. I was referring to your truck receiver hitch rating.........but did not state that as such.

[Happy Vibe]

6500 lbs is almost 1000lbs heavier than the listed weight of the 2011 super crew ecoboost what was in the truck when you weighd it

[Home on the Range]

No problem. I appreciate your input.
I did not realize there were so many factors and variables.
My objective was to find with a 1/2 ton truck with great towing capacity and yet still good gas mileage when not towing. My research steered me to the F-150 with the twin turbo Ecoboost V-6, with a 11,200 lbs tow rating.
Found a good clean low mileage 2011. Love the truck and I do get 21-25 mpg on the hwy without towing.
Found a good clean FR toy hauler with a max GVWR OF 8,000 lbs.
Figured I'm good to go with plenty of margin for safety and less wear and tear on the truck. Right?
Seems like I have a little issue with the hitch tongue weight load on the truck. So I'll experiment with the location of cargo in the toy hauler and amount a water in the 105 gallon tank. Anyone know if the water tanks have baffle plates to help keep partially filled tanks from sloshing around?

[TURBS]

I doubt there's a baffle.

[Home on the Range]

Thanks everyone, I appreciate your input. Seems like one question leads to another.
I have thought about replacing the original 3500 lb tandem axles with new 5000 lbs axles.
My thought being, that I currently have a toy hauler max GVWR of 8011 lbs. and with a trailer dry weight of 5800 lbs, I only have 2,200 lbs of cargo capacity.
My 2 seat RZR side by side weighs 1,100 lbs and with full 105 gallon water tank and full 30 gallon fuel station I'm about right at the cargo capacity and I don't even have any bacon or eggs in the refrigerator.

If I went with new 5,000 pound axles, I'd get 12" brakes vs the current 10",
heavier leaf springs and axle bearings and could use higher rated 16"" tires with 6 bolt wheels vs the current LT 15" tires and 5 bolt wheels.
My question though, would the tandem 5,000 lb axles boost my trailer max GVWR to 10,000 lbs??
Or would perhaps the trailer frame not be able to handle the additional 2,000 lbs? This might be an engineering question.