Quote:
Originally Posted by Jlang
The curb weight is under 5000lbs so I know I'm ok on that front.
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Not sure how you came to that conclusion, but if you based it on reading the tow capacity on a placard, the hitch itself or in the manual...that 5K tow capacity has some caveats.
You may already know all this but maybe not, but it will be good for other members as well.
Here's my previous response to another fella that was going to do the same thing:
All good advice but no one addressed this part that I noticed. "tow my 5000 lbs Truck”. That may be another wrong assumption but I'm glad you're realizing you need to be careful.
I know for me—when I first began trying to figure this all out—it was difficult to understand how all this weight stuff works by reading a whole bunch of short tips from 50 people. It was hard to connect all the dots so that I understood it all. Maybe you do understand it but in case you don't or others that read this don't, I'm going to break this down so you/others can really check what you're able to do.
• You have your basic MH weight as it stands unloaded when you bought it...Dry weight. Then you put all your stuff in it. Then add people, pets, water, fuel and everything else as you are going to travel with. You can keep doing all that until you max out your weight and achieve your GVWR. Your "Gross Vehicle Weight Ratio" is the MAX you can "CARRY" on board OR on the chassis.
• Now, concerning the tow vehicle and what you put in it. Your toad has a factory weight too—BUT—make sure it has everything in it too. When you go to the weigh station, you'll have the toad hooked up to your MH. When you weigh, you'll be weighing everything concerning the toad....like, the tow hitch, maybe an additional braking system in the toad, the toad itself, it's fuel, spare tire, maybe extra camping gear in the bed, etc. This is where you might be assuming something here that raised a flag to me. Your hitch rating says it's capable of 5K. Well, yes as long as your toad & MH doesn't exceed your GCWR - Gross "Combined" Weight Ratio.
So for example our MH:
• Our MH has a GVWR of 22K - so that means I can load the MH/chassis up to 22K max amount and also making sure I don't overload the front & rear axles doing it.
• Our GCWR is 26K, so that means, if I max out my GVWR at 22K, I can only tow 4K max, "EVEN THOUGH MY HITCH AND MY MH IS RATED FOR 5K". So, if I want to tow a 5K truck, I'll have to shed 1,000lbs off my GVWR, instead of maxing it out at 22K. In other words, I'll have to get my MH/chassis weight down to 21K to tow that 5K truck.
• The next thing to watch for is that whiling your loading up your MH and then go weigh it, make sure you don't exceed your front and rear axle weights. This is why you want a 4 corner weigh. That will accurately show you your total axle weight, how the weight is distributed throughout your MH and the weight report will inform you how you'll have to adjust and redistribute your weight so that your axles are not over loaded and whether your side to side weight is heavy on one side. Then, once you've distributed your weight and got your final weight, THEN you'll know what max you can tow. This weight info will also be valuable on how to inflate your tires to the proper PSI to carry that weight.
Now for me, I always like to be a little more conservative and not max out everything just because it's capable. It's easier on the entire drive train, better MPG's, better braking (especially down hills) climb better, hopefully run cooler etc. We are preparing to FT soon and we're working through all these issues as we speak. Our goal is to try to run 80%-85% of GVWR or around 21,500lbs. max + we chose a Ford Fiesta as our toad which will have a weight of somewhere around 2,800lbs. So at the end of the day "rolling down the road" we're shooting for around 24,500 or so which will be 1,500lbs. UNDER our GCWR.
Once you figure all this out for your scenario you'll KNOW where you stand and you've taken the precautions to be as safe as possible not only for you but those driving around you. NTSB has stated that 60% of traveling RV's are over weight and is dangerous.
Here's another informative link on this subject:
https://www.fmca.com/motorhome/polks...versights.html
Hope this helps.