Dazed and Confused...towing capacity

[Loraura]

Originally Posted by kmb1219

Looked at this and with wood loaded on the TV for camping our max TT with 12% TW is just under 4800, but if I leave the wood at home it bumps it up to 8000! How can 300-400 payload may that big of a difference in max tow capability?

Every 100 lbs of available tongue weight (effecting payload) translates into ~800 lbs of GVWR on the TT when the desired 12% of total TT weight resides on the tongue.

400 lbs of available payload = 3200 lbs of trailer that can be attached.

Heavy items in the truck are 100% effecting payload.

Heavy items near the TT axles are 12% effecting payload.

The closer heavy items are to the truck, the more the truck has to carry the weight of them. The further heavy items are away from the truck, behind the axles, the less the truck has to carry, and if heavy enough, may even reduce the amount the truck has to carry. This can be dangerous if you move enough weight behind the axles if it lightens the tongue weight by too much.

[Loraura]

Originally Posted by drittal

Every 100 lbs of payload used up for wood, is 100 lbs of tongue weight you can't have, equating to 1000-1200lbs of trailer weight.

300 lbs of wood... 3000- 3600lbs less

I think your math might be backwards here.

Every 100 lbs of payload used up for wood, is 100 lbs of tongue weight you can't have, equating to 800-1000lbs 1000-1200lbs of trailer weight.

[drittal]

Originally Posted by Loraura

I think your math might be backwards here.

Every 100 lbs of payload used up for wood, is 100 lbs of tongue weight you can't have, equating to 800-1000lbs 1000-1200lbs of trailer weight.

Yup. Sorry

[kmb1219]

Originally Posted by Loraura

My TV tows ok here in central Texas. I do 98% of the driving while towing. I have not taken it in the mountains yet. I suspect I will want a diesel 2500 as soon as I do. I know it's back there. RPMs go up on hills. Max torque spec on my truck is 3950 RPM. I do see 3500 on long hills. The 8 speed transmission helps a lot to keep the truck from revving high in one gear. I find that the cruise control does a better job of gear management than I do, so when able, I let it. I'm not setting any speed records, and I stay @65MPH on the highway. With the switch to the blue ox I no longer have white knuckles with passing trucks or crosswinds, but I still know it's happening. My towing experience has gradually progressed from an 8' popup to a 19' hybrid to the 29' TT (33' overall).

I absolutely would not go longer or heavier without a 3/4 ton truck.

However, I had to make some adjustments after we brought it home to be under on all my numbers.

1)I had to move the ice chest and our bikes to inside the trailer, near the trailer axles to reduce impact on tongue weight and payload. No lazy loading leaving all that stuff in the truck. When we pick up the TT from storage, we spend 5 minutes loading stuff in.

2)We load all groceries and clothes into the TT before we take off. The fridge is right at the axles. I put our clothing bags on the couch, across from the fridge, again, to reduce overall impact on payload.

3)I got some lighter camp chairs and went through all of our items we transferred from our previous TT and took out everything we don't actually use.

4)I balanced weight of items put in front compartment (more of an impact to tongue weight) and the rear compartment so I still had enough tongue weight for stability, but didn't just shove everything in that convenient front compartment.

Keep in mind that there are only 2 adults and a 35 pound dog in the truck, even though we have a trailer that sleeps 9. Our friends meet us on location in their own vehicles. I do not have enough payload to put additional adults inside the truck. I do not have children in the truck. (Or at all, for that matter, my son is 18 and meets us there if he joins us)

Here is a copy of the work I emailed my husband when I worked out the weight details:

Current setup:

People: 410
Dog:35
Bikes: 75
EAZ Lift WDH: Shipping Weight: 101.41 pounds

Total payload used before camper hitched: 621

Payload 1490-621 = 869 payload available so tongue weight has to be under 869.

At 12% desired tongue weight, max trailer weight under current setup is 7241. This assumes yeti and food/clothes are inside the camper near axles. If we don't move the cooler and clothes to the TT, our available tongue weight will decrease further. GVWR of TT is 7558 so we will overload the truck before overloading the TT. We can't use the last 300 pounds of CC set up this way. I don't know that we NEED that last 300 pounds of CC, but, if we did, we'd max out the truck.

Proposed:

Move bikes to inside trailer near axles (dinette fork mount mod)
Install Blue ox hitch: Shipping Weight: 96.03 pounds (doing this anyway)

People: 410
Dog: 35
Blue ox: 96

Total payload used before camper hitched: 541

1490-541 = 949 payload available -- have roughly 100 lbs more tongue weight available this way. This can translate into ~1000 lbs more TT weight when loaded properly.

At 12% desired tongue weight, max trailer weight under proposed setup is 7908. Everything but us and the dog in the TT, heavy items near axles. GVWR on the TT is 7558, so we would overload the TT before we overloaded the truck when loaded properly.

Our dry weight is 6104, so that will allow 1454lbs CC. More than we need.

We need to make a point of loading food and clothes etc into the camper while towing, and the bikes and ice chest should never be in the truck.

Math is hard for girls. Feel free to check it.

Thanks for all the info, it's helpful. We are also looking at the Blue Ox, which model do you have? Sway Pro 1000?

Here is what my numbers work out to be.

Payload = 1545 (truck as is with full tank; verified at CAT scale)

People = 440
Blue Ox = 100 (rounding up for ease of math)
Other items = 50

Payload before hitch: 1545-590 = 955 (nothing else in truck; cooler, wood, etc in trailer or leave behind)

12% of GVWR of TT (7750 max) = 930
I don't see us "maxing" out the trailer with over 1500 CC but anything is possible but even maxed and just loading the TT correctly numbers work but are very very close.

Thanks again and happy camping!

[1bigmess]

One can be close, as long as the system/vehicles together work out OK. Think of all the big rigs out there hurtling themselves down the road just a few pounds under, or maybe over, the legal weight limits for where they are.

I know it's not an apples to oranges comparison of any kind, but I know quite a few trucks leave the quarry quite a bit over the 106K (rounding up) pounds they are allowed to carry. Every risk should be a well informed one, IMO.

[Loraura]

I have the Blue Ox SwayPro Weight Distribution w/ Sway Control - Clamp On - Trunnion - 10,000 GTW, 1,000 TW

I purchased it a etrailer.com for $614.93 including the hitch, a ball mount, and the lock-tite that is recommended. I then provided proof of a lower price including shipping of the hitch itself, and etrailer issued me a credit of $48.58 per the Price Pledge.

I highly recommend etrailer.com. Also, I uninstalled the EAZ-Lift WDH that was installed by the dealer, and installed the Blue Ox by myself with only 2 trips to Home Depot for the right sockets and a torque wrench. I'm not saying anyone can do it, but I'm a 42 yo female who had back surgery 1.5 years ago. If I can do it alone, I'm pretty sure almost anyone else can, too. This also allowed me all the time in the world I needed to get it set up right after install.

numbers work but are very very close.

To protect your TV, be sure to take it to a CAT scale with the TT loaded up with all your camping stuff and run through the scales a few times while making adjustments to loading. Then you may need to be the weight police to keep your family from contributing to a slow weight creep over time. You'll notice when people take CAT weights after owning a TT for some time, they almost all say "Weighed the TT today, was shocked that it weighs so much!" We all suffer from the slow creep of items into the TT!