Weight question

[Deryll1]

Hey folks, I have a couple of questions, probably asked before but I couldn't find the answer. So here we go:
1. The gcwr( gross combined weight) does it incl the tongue weight too or just the trailer+ truck?
2. The sticker on my TH says 5206 lbs. dry weight, does this incl the tongue weight or just the trailer?

I am crunching numbers to not go over my gcwr, so everything is helpful.

[prairiecamper]

As I understand it, it is total weight of the truck and the trailer, as weighed on the truck scales.

The dry weight of your trailer is the total weight of the trailer empty,(tongue weight included) and I think that is without propane and battery.

[Deryll1]

Thanks, that's what I thought. But still leaves me the question of the tongue weight incl in the gcwr. Only way to figure it out is probably driving on a scale....

[TURBS]

Originally Posted by Deryll1

Thanks, that's what I thought. But still leaves me the question of the tongue weight incl in the gcwr. Only way to figure it out is probably driving on a scale....

That is the only way.

And fully loaded ready for camping.
Passengers
Wood
Dogs cats
Camping gear
Genny
Full of fuel

Etc etc etc

Dry weight is a number you should never ever go by as its as the camper comes of the assembly line and will never ever be that number again.

[BarryD0706]

Originally Posted by Deryll1

Thanks, that's what I thought. But still leaves me the question of the tongue weight incl in the gcwr. Only way to figure it out is probably driving on a scale....

You'll violate all kinds of other limits long before you ever get to GCWR so don't even worry about that one. But yes, GCWR includes tongue weight.

[WEMig]

Originally Posted by Deryll1

Thanks, that's what I thought. But still leaves me the question of the tongue weight incl in the gcwr. Only way to figure it out is probably driving on a scale....

GCWR is the total weight of the tow vehicle and the camper. Hitch weight is already factored in the weight of the entire rig (TV/camper).

[TURBS]

Originally Posted by BarryD0706

You'll violate all kinds of other limits long before you ever get to GCWR so don't even worry about that one. But yes, GCWR includes tongue weight.

Cargo carrying capacity comes to mind.

[Charli]

The GCWR is the is the rating for the total wt of the truck, trailer and all your stuff. This includes the pin wt. Drive on the scales all hooked up and fully loaded,weigh the TV front axle, then the back, pull fwd and weigh all trailer axles. Take the total and it should be under the GCWR. If over its time for a bigger TV or just live with it.

[Deryll1]

Thanks! Scale here I come!

[ependydad]

Is it a travel trailer or fifth wheel?

If it's a TT- you need to get 3 weights:
- Truck + Trailer with WDH bars in place
- Truck + Trailer without WDH bars (bars in the truck bed)
- Truck only (bars with the trailer)

If it's a FW- you only need 2 weights:
- Truck + Trailer
- Truck only

For all weightings, you want to get weights for each individual axle (truck's front axle, truck's rear axle and then all camper axles can be combined).

[Deryll1]

Well, the dry weight as it sits is 5206 lbs. (actual weight since it was weight before I bought it. I weight everything I put in and it's now 6570 lbs. my TV is a 2008 suburban with 7000 max towing. Passengers together are 360 lbs. that's the numbers I have right now before the scale....

[Deryll1]

It's a toy hauler....

[ependydad]

Originally Posted by Deryll1

Well, the dry weight as it sits is 5206 lbs. (actual weight since it was weight before I bought it. I weight everything I put in and it's now 6570 lbs. my TV is a 2008 suburban with 7000 max towing. Passengers together are 360 lbs. that's the numbers I have right now before the scale....

On your Suburban - do you know what your cargo carrying capacity is? Usually looks something like this:


Even better if you have this sticker:


(Note, these are from 2 different vehicles.)

[Taylorgso]

Remember that the tongue weight is not a weight separate from the weight of the trailer... it is a function of how the trailer is loaded and the balance from front to rear. You can change the tongue weight (within reason) by shifting the load of the trailer. The GCWR is a function of the chassis manufacturer's design of how much weight their chassis can safely handle.

[Deryll1]

Cargo carrying capacity is 1510 lbs.

[Deryll1]

Sorry, it's 1593 lbs...

[garbonz]

you will probably be over your payload capacity then, I can almost gaurooonnteee it. But maybe under everything else, if you are lucky.

IMO of course.

[Deryll1]

??why? Payload is tounge weight+ passengers + cargo inside the car.

[ependydad]

Generally speaking, we way underestimate our weights when calculating payload. I was shocked to find that my family and I (and ALL of our stuff and add-ons for the truck) came to 1,200 pounds alone. I'll admit, I could use a 80 pound diet myself. But, I wouldn't have guessed it was that much.

A trip to the scales will teach you a ton.

Your toy hauler likely has a tongue weight of between 10% and 15% of its actual loaded weight. It'll likely be a higher percentage without toys.

I don't know if you will or won't. Scales will tell you.

[asquared]

The first thing you need to do is better understand your trucks capabilities than just my truck can tow x lbs. (I learned this the hard way). Most TV are limited by their payload. To find out your TVs true towing capacities then you need to go weigh it. Load the tv up with all occupants, pets, and cargo that will be in it when towing plus a full tank of fuel and then go weigh it at a local scale (CAT Scale ). Weigh each axle on a separate scale pad so it will give you a breakdown of front and rear axle weights individually and a total weight. Take the total weight and subtract it from your Trucks gvwr to get your available payload. Take the scaled Truck weight and subtract it from your Truck gcwr to get your adjusted towng capacity.

Next understand you will never tow an unloaded or dry trailer. Those numbers are somewhat irrelevant. You can either add the amount of weight of cargo you will tow to the dry weight (this is heavier than you think as most add 1000-2000 lb of gear) or simply use the tt gvwr to do your calculations. Being that this is your first tt, using the tt gvwr is the safer route for you. Next understand that the tt loaded tongue weight needs to be subtracted from your available payload. The loaded tongue weight is typically 13-15% of the loaded tt weight. For your purposes go with 13-15% of the tt gvwr.

As stated above weights add up quickly. my family of 3 has added almost 1500 lbs to our TT and its not even a toy hauler. I learned the hard way that my old armada had a stated towing capacity of 9100 lbs but only had an available payload of 810 lbs. This would have limited me to a loaded trailer weight of around 6000 lbs. I didn't understand this and bought a TT that ended up being 7000 lbs and it proved to be a very bad experience. lets just say it went from being a white knuckle experience to being a very scary experience when the armada couldn't hold the TT back going down a 7% grade.