Towing weights

[captainperry]

This post is for people who might not have access to a scale, and its pretty accurate:

First find truck GVWR- should be on Sticker on door jam of vehicle
Find max trailer weight-in owners manual. looks complicated but very easy. For axle ratio, if you dont know pick the lower number for yours. Use 3.55 instead of 4.10 etc....
Find truck GCWR-in owners manual
Next look for truck max load number-should be on tire decal somewhere in front of vehicle on drivers side.
You will need to find this number to subtract from truck GCWR to establish the weight of your tow vehicle (empty).
Here's my numbers for my F150 and new trailer;
Truck GVWR=7,050lbs - Max load of 1,585 lbs= trucks weight empty of 5,465lbs
Passenger weight= 350lbs
Tools and accessories in truck=200lbs
Trailer tongue weight=485lbs (I would add weight to factory tonque weight or look on line to get weight using a bathroom scale)
All these numbers equal= 6,550 lbs. This number is the trucks GVWR or total weight. You can weigh everything you put in truck and trailer on a bathroom scale to get more accurate results.
Next, on to the trailer
You need trailer dry weight. will be sticker somewhere on the front of trailer showing the dry weight. In my case its 4,945 lbs.
Next you will need the weight of everything you put in/on trailer. Propane tanks, batteries, I travel with all my tanks empty, if you do not you will need to add this weight. Then add any optional equipment and all your goodies. in my case, the total was 800lbs. At this point I have my numbers.


TRUCK GVWR=6,550
TRAILER GVWR=5,745

6,550 + 5,745= 12,295
Truck GCWR according to owners manual = 13,500lbs
I am under by 1,205 lbs.

Max trailer weight according to owners manual =8,500lbs
8500lbs - trailer GVWR as figured above (5,745lbs) =2,755 lbs under my max trailer weight.

I am towing a 26 ft. trailer, so you can see you will normally reach your Trucks GCWR long before you will reach your trucks max trailer weight capabilities.

[dcheatwood]

Interesting

[emm-dee]

Good info, but you do realize there can be a lot of difference between the "sticker" payload and other numbers and the actual numbers. My truck weight, with me inside, a full tank of fuel and a loaded truck toolbox came in 200 pounds less than the sticker info. The trailer was 250 pounds lighter than published, and that was with the battery and propane stuff installed.

On the other hand, my HD Cummins dodge, no driver and probably less than three gallons of fuel, was 400 pounds heavier than the sticker numbers. Even worse, my 38 foot horse trailer (LQ model) is 900 pounds heavier than the sticker.

Until you get to a CAT scale the only numbers on the sticker/specs that are real are the maximum vehicle weight, max towed unit weight and maximum axle weights. All the others can really vary a lot from what is published. Fortunately for you the numbers you come up with can be several hundred pounds off and you will probably be well within specs.

[captainperry]

emm-dee, please read the first sentence of my post. I know the best way to get your weight is by scale. I also know the curb weight or dry weight of my tow vehicle using the formula I used is a good number to start with and plug some numbers into a formula to get an idea of your situation. Regardless, I was trying to give people (especially newbies) a formula that was more accurate than going by "max trailer weight". The max load on the tow vehicle seems to get lost in the shuffle and is hardly a consideration. Also in quite a few instances the Trucks GCWR will be reached long before "max trailer weight" is. I'm sure there are a lot of 1/2 ton trucks towing 7000lb + trailers that are over on at least one factor if not more. I have a 5.4L F150 with tow package and you can see how close I came to trucks GCWR but was 2700lbs+ away from max trailer weight

[Oaklevel]

Interesting ideas but finding a CAT or other scale is usually fairly easy........


Here is my problem using your ideas....... Have no idea what my truck weighs empty or what the gross weight would be I do know the cargo payload cap. and .......only way to know what weight is on the axles is to weigh it. From a web site I do know what the towing capacity should be. Rear gear tag is still on the differential.

The trailer is another story dry weight is 9800 lbs Gross is 14500 ( same trailer new is 13500)....... Dry weight is way off and another 1000 lbs could be easily added before any camping gear......

Ours add to the dry weight of 9800 lbs one extra small 120V refrigerator, propane, a second AC, 120V service that was added as well panel box wiring etc. , a fence, another futon, water, second TV .......... so guessing how much?? Then add the camping gear to that........

Our trailer can vary over 1000 lbs from one trip to the next.....


Sorry never seen any one only have 800 lbs of camping gear and extras....... Most would be surprised as to actual weights........ Max Gross trailer weight is probably a closer number.

[Briorick]

Originally Posted by Oaklevel

Sorry never seen any one only have 800 lbs of camping gear and extras....... Most would be surprised as to actual weights........ Max Gross trailer weight is probably a closer number.

We are the exception here.

Just had our TT at the scales last Sunday, and after calculations, we are carrying 506 lbs of cargo. That's also counting the battery weight in that total. That baby weighs enough.

And that's hard to even imagine that much, as we are light loaders. Of course, that's not counting the 208 lbs. ( 25 gallons ) of water we usually transport each time out. So say...714 lbs at most on any given trip.

Yep, we are still camping like we are still in the POP UP. Everything is LIGHT! Old habits are hard to break. And the fact that we are on a smaller scale, we don't like all that clutter.

[ricksterv]

[QUOTE=Briorick;1244222]We are the exception here.

Just had our TT at the scales last Sunday, and after calculations, we are carrying 506 lbs of cargo. That's also counting the battery weight in that total. That baby weighs enough.

I assume what you are stating cannot be read without the intention.. Fuel Economy!

You know that once you resign yourself to the luxury of a 12000 lb 5ver the idea of traveling light is greek. I like the way you travel.

Keep the faith and have fun!

[Briorick]

[QUOTE=ricksterv;1247769]

Originally Posted by Briorick

We are the exception here.

Just had our TT at the scales last Sunday, and after calculations, we are carrying 506 lbs of cargo. That's also counting the battery weight in that total. That baby weighs enough.

I assume what you are stating cannot be read without the intention.. Fuel Economy!

You know that once you resign yourself to the luxury of a 12000 lb 5ver the idea of traveling light is greek. I like the way you travel.

Keep the faith and have fun!

Good observation Ricksterv. Never thought of it that way.

No, we don't worry about the gas it takes to get out camping. It's like having a boat. If you worry about the gas, the last thing you want is a boat.

We just like keeping things to a minimal. If we don't need it, it doesn't get taken along. I think that's why we have soooo much storage space left over on this new TT. The storage space is incredible. Maybe we should pack more stuff. Now, I'm feeling kind of guilty with all this leftover "real estate".