Salem 179DBK Hitch Weight Advice

[El__Quijote]

Although I'm looking for advice on the Salem 179DBK, I'd welcome any advice on this.

My wife and I reserved with a downpayment (none in stock) a 179DBK, but are having second thoughts because our tow vehicle is 600/6000. Starting with the 502lbs hitch weight (from the website, so not including any extras, adjustments, water/lp tanks, etc) and adding any sort of cargo, I'm really worried it'll go over our 600lbs limit. I'm not even sure I want to get that close to the limit, as this is our first TT and I have to admit I'm a little nervous about it.

Now, I joined this website just so that I can ask these questions, because I really have attempted to find the answer elsewhere and can't find anyone that has discussed this. What little I did find confused me even more, because I read:

Originally Posted by casper9545

I'm picking up my salem 179dbk today.
We chose this model because of towing weight (2019 toyota 4runner 500/5000).

Originally Posted by VOLguy

Sounds like our TVs are similar in towing. Our Ridgeline is rated up to 600# tongue weight, 1,543# payload & 5,000# trailer weight.

I did try to reply, but the website won't allow me to because the threat is over a year old?
I'm curious how this has worked for him and others with similar TV restrictions (500-600lbs), given that the website states that the 179DBK has a hitch weight of 502lbs.

What are the recommendations for lowering the tongue weight of this specific model?
How low (percentage-wise) should get the TW down to? From the factory, it looks like it is already at 14.5%, which is already high (I've read min 10% - max 15% recommended).
Is it even advisable to lower it?
I don't want to load up all the cargo in the back, and find out that I need the 14.5% to avoid sway.

For those that have the 179DBK, what hitch weight have you experienced when using the TT? That is, after loading it up with the "standard" cargo.
This "advertised TW" is based on the dry weight; are the water tanks behind the axel and, therefore, help reduce the TW? I just don't see a trailer manufacturer designing a trailer that is meant to have over 15% tongue weight on what is supposed to be a light TT. But then again, I may be naive thinking that.

For more specifics: Our TV is a BMW X5 35d. The tow capacity is limited by the OEM hitch, not by the vehicle. Although the vehicle itself should be able to do 7700lbs tow and 700lbs TW (those are the European specs), the OEM hitch is limited to 600 hitch/6000 tow due to US restrictions (label on the hitch itself).
The cargo capacity, per the door sticker is 1109; giving us 500lbs of people/cargo in the vehicle after the TW.
The vehicle also specifically states that BMW does not allow the use of WDH due to the construction of the vehicle and the hitch (it's impossible anyway due to a proprietary ball)

We picked the 179DBK because we really like the dinette on the door/awning side, and it's the only TT we've found with this layout that'll meet our weight/size restrictions (except for the TW). If anyone has any recommendations for other make/models we're open to suggestions.

Please be gentle in your responses. I'm definitely new to Travel Trailers (and towing in general) and am looking for advice.
Thanks in advance for the help.

[Ohio_john]

I don’t know how much I can help you decide, but I can tell my experience. We just bought a Salem 27RKS this past Feb. On the way home from picking it up, I ran thru the scales to get an empty weight. 1st time out and loaded I ran thru the scale again. Now, it’s only the wife and myself. The weight adds up real fast when you load a camper! We’ve got about 700lbs of crap inside camper! Know idea what the it is..lol..we don’t haul wood, nor water, that’s just stupid weight we don’t need in my opinion! Now comes the TW. Empty, the TW was 890lbs. Loaded is right around 1050lbs. Hitch is rated at 1100lbs with WDH. I don’t lose any sleep about that. The Salem 27rks storage is all up front. A Little over the axles. With all that said..your TV is 600lb max TW..you will most likely hit that number or exceed it. DO NOT put a bunch of weight in the rear of trailer to try and get TW down, you can to a point, but you have to be careful that you don’t move too much to rear! You risk getting trailer sway by doing so! Trust me, you don’t want that! You have to watch your TV GVWR. That’s occupants, any gear you put in with you, dogs, etc. AND the tongue weight of trailer! Don’t go over that. You mover stuff as much as you can in trailer, put some in TV with you and so on to try and keep that TW down, but there’s only so much you do. Invest in a Sherline tongue weight scale! Bout $140 on Amazon. You will find TV “towing” weight is usually more than ample..where you lose is the cargo capacity of the TV. GVWR. You will exceed that 9.9 times out of 10 before the you exceed the tow rate. The weight nazis on here are gonna yell, but, if you’re only over a little, I wouldn’t worry too much! There’s really only 3 things you can do, and ONLY YOU can decide...(1) play around with shifting weight while loading (2) get a different trailer that matches with your TV, or (3) get a different TV. My trailer is around 7700lbs loaded..1050lb TW..Ford F-150 rated at 9700lb tow..7200lb GVWR. 15500lb GCWR. I’m at 7280lb GVWR and 14700lb GCWR. Truck pulls it just fine. More than enough power. Brakes just fine as well (with the help of a good brake controller obviously). Would I pull out thru the Rockies? NOPE!! But around the rolling hills of Ohio, PA, Michigan, Kentucky it’s just fine! All this probly isn’t much help to you. My advice is don’t look too hard on here about weights. You WILL drive yourself nuts, trust me!! Everyone on here means well, and you can get some great info..just don’t look too much into it. You’ll see guys that say you gotta have a semi tractor!! And others that say you can use a VW bug!! Good luck..have fun..and don’t sweat it to the point you drive yourself insane!!

[Jfkmk]

I was wondering what you meant by a proprietary ball and did a quick search. No offense, but leave it to BMW to reinvent something so basic as a hitch! There appears to be adapters that allow you to add a “normal” receiver, but everything you add to the hitch takes away from capacity.

The single axle trailers tend to have more hitch weight. I would never put weight behind the axle to try to reduce tongue weight. It is a recipe for sway.

Speaking of sway, does the BMW hitch allow for even a sway bar?

Our first tt was 17’ and 3500# gross and we towed with a much more capable tow vehicle, at least for towing. It was a body on frame mid sized SUV. The rv dealer suggested towing with just a sway bar with no WDH. While it didn’t sway, it bounced all over the place. We bought a WDH and all was good. I would never tow without a WDH.

You might want to reconsider your tow vehicle or perhaps a lighter trailer.

[El__Quijote]

Originally Posted by Ohio_john

I don’t know how much I can help you decide, but I can tell my experience. We just bought a Salem 27RKS this past Feb. On the way home from picking it up, I ran thru the scales to get an empty weight. 1st time out and loaded I ran thru the scale again. Now, it’s only the wife and myself. The weight adds up real fast when you load a camper! We’ve got about 700lbs of crap inside camper! Know idea what the it is..lol..we don’t haul wood, nor water, that’s just stupid weight we don’t need in my opinion! Now comes the TW. Empty, the TW was 890lbs. Loaded is right around 1050lbs. Hitch is rated at 1100lbs with WDH. I don’t lose any sleep about that. The Salem 27rks storage is all up front. A Little over the axles. With all that said..your TV is 600lb max TW..you will most likely hit that number or exceed it. DO NOT put a bunch of weight in the rear of trailer to try and get TW down, you can to a point, but you have to be careful that you don’t move too much to rear! You risk getting trailer sway by doing so! Trust me, you don’t want that! You have to watch your TV GVWR. That’s occupants, any gear you put in with you, dogs, etc. AND the tongue weight of trailer! Don’t go over that. You mover stuff as much as you can in trailer, put some in TV with you and so on to try and keep that TW down, but there’s only so much you do. Invest in a Sherline tongue weight scale! Bout $140 on Amazon. You will find TV “towing” weight is usually more than ample..where you lose is the cargo capacity of the TV. GVWR. You will exceed that 9.9 times out of 10 before the you exceed the tow rate. The weight nazis on here are gonna yell, but, if you’re only over a little, I wouldn’t worry too much! There’s really only 3 things you can do, and ONLY YOU can decide...(1) play around with shifting weight while loading (2) get a different trailer that matches with your TV, or (3) get a different TV. My trailer is around 7700lbs loaded..1050lb TW..Ford F-150 rated at 9700lb tow..7200lb GVWR. 15500lb GCWR. I’m at 7280lb GVWR and 14700lb GCWR. Truck pulls it just fine. More than enough power. Brakes just fine as well (with the help of a good brake controller obviously). Would I pull out thru the Rockies? NOPE!! But around the rolling hills of Ohio, PA, Michigan, Kentucky it’s just fine! All this probly isn’t much help to you. My advice is don’t look too hard on here about weights. You WILL drive yourself nuts, trust me!! Everyone on here means well, and you can get some great info..just don’t look too much into it. You’ll see guys that say you gotta have a semi tractor!! And others that say you can use a VW bug!! Good luck..have fun..and don’t sweat it to the point you drive yourself insane!!

Originally Posted by Jfkmk

I was wondering what you meant by a proprietary ball and did a quick search. No offense, but leave it to BMW to reinvent something so basic as a hitch! There appears to be adapters that allow you to add a “normal” receiver, but everything you add to the hitch takes away from capacity.

The single axle trailers tend to have more hitch weight. I would never put weight behind the axle to try to reduce tongue weight. It is a recipe for sway.

Speaking of sway, does the BMW hitch allow for even a sway bar?

Our first tt was 17’ and 3500# gross and we towed with a much more capable tow vehicle, at least for towing. It was a body on frame mid sized SUV. The rv dealer suggested towing with just a sway bar with no WDH. While it didn’t sway, it bounced all over the place. We bought a WDH and all was good. I would never tow without a WDH.

You might want to reconsider your tow vehicle or perhaps a lighter trailer.

I would normally agree with you regarding BMW's proprietary ball. However, being an European company, they design for what is required there, and the balls can't have any movement at all, unlike here in the US. Those are the requirements for the ball.
They do have a 2" receiver adapter, and we also have it. However, it limits the weights further down to 350 tongue and 3500 tow weight; this is completely out of the realm of possible for a TT for us.

Ohio_john gave me a great perspective with his experience, and you also mention something important, the WDH and Sway Bar. BMW does not allow for either; this would not be a problem if we weren't already pushing the limits, but here we are.

The dealer finally called us to tell us that your trailer was in. He told us that, after adding the battery and gas, the TW was 588 and, since our TV was rated for 600, that we would be good to go. I called him back and reminded him that, pushing the limits with a completely empty trailer (minus the battery and gas) would make it unacceptable once we put weight on it. He hesitated, told me that he may have made a mistake and that he would call me back. When he called the next day, he told me that it must have had water loaded when he weighted it the first time because it was now 488 (what a coincidence). Then ensued a short argument because I refuse to believe that, if the brochure TW on a single axel TT is 502 that, after you load a battery and gas right next to the tongue, it'll go down in weight. He claimed that the brochure weight is guesstimated before the TTs are even designed and can be way off from the true weight once built, hence the disparity in weights.
Regardless of what the dealer told us, we're no longer interested in the trailer and will wait it out until we can buy a truck and then, with the better tow numbers, we'll pick a trailer we like that fits our new restrictions. For now, we'll survive without a trailer, especially since we're close to the end of the season.
Thank you all for your guidance and advice. Hopefully I'll see you around here again once we're ready to start our TT search again.

[Karbean]

Please allow me to acknowledge the good decision you have made. IMHO, there are far too many people who come on this forum asking for the same advice you asked. They get the same sage advice...don' t push the TV limits. Just 'cause you CAN tow something doesn't mean you SHOULD. Unfortunately, the majority have already made up their minds and just want us to validate their bad decision. You are the exception. Thanks for helping to keep us all safe. Cliff

[bikendan]

Originally Posted by Karbean

Please allow me to acknowledge the good decision you have made. IMHO, there are far too many people who come on this forum asking for the same advice you asked. They get the same sage advice...don' t push the TV limits. Just 'cause you CAN tow something doesn't mean you SHOULD. Unfortunately, the majority have already made up their minds and just want us to validate their bad decision. You are the exception. Thanks for helping to keep us all safe. Cliff

x2! The dealer just wants to make a sale, not to keep them safe.