I hate the fact that determining what you can really tow is a complicated puzzle. Unfortunately, most truck sales people and even many trailer salespeople focus only on maximum tow rating and they ignore max payload, hitch rating, axle ratings, etc.
When I was shopping for a trailer in 2019, it took me a long time to figure my truck’s options and capabilities. I had to review the original window sticker, the RPO codes for my specific truck, the GMC trailering guide, my owner’s manual, and finally the door jamb sticker on my truck. I took little bits of information from each source and pieced it all together. For example, my truck’s factory hitch is rated for 700 lbs. However, when digging into the owner’s manual, I found that it’s rated for 700 lbs. when towing “on the ball” in a weight carrying fashion, and 1,250 lbs. when towing with a weight distribution hitch. My truck was equipped from the factory with the GMC “trailering equipment package”. I asked my sales person what that was, and he had no idea. It wasn’t listed in the brochures or the trailering guide. I finally found it online and determined that it was simply a hitch and trailer wiring connection (7-pin and 4-pin).
As mentioned above, payload rating and often axle ratings come into play more than maximum tow rating when towing a travel trailer. My Airstream weighed just shy of 5,300 lbs. when loaded for camping and it had a measured tongue weight of about 635 lbs. When fully loaded for camping, we were close to our payload limit and under our axle limits by a couple of hundred pounds. There’s no way that I could have towed a larger/heavier travel trailer and stayed under my limits, even though the truck was rated to tow 9,500 lbs.
The keys to a comfortable towing experience include knowing your actual weights, balancing your load properly, and using a weight distribution hitch that’s properly configured.
Good luck and I hope you find a setup that works well for you!
__________________
Dennis
|