trailer weight

15silver · June 19, 2016

1500, 4x4, crew cab, 3.42, 5.3L, trailer pkg, rated for 9400lb trailer.

Reasonably how much should I plan to pull. I'm thinking 5000lbs. Not based on fact though.

Concerned the truck will be running hard and the pedal down a lot to drag anything close to its rated weight.

Curious what others comfortably pull with a similar setup.

Ie doesnt seem to tax the driveline by making the engine work hard. Expecting the ride to be different, and feel the inertia of the trailer starting and stopping.

Debra in Cali · June 19, 2016

I have a 2015 DC 5.3 Z71 with 3.42 gears. I just got back from a 3 week trip pulling my 5400 lb trailer, which is the dry weight. I figure that it easily tops 6000 with water and stuff in it. For the most part, I barely knew that I was pulling a trailer. I drove from the Central Valley of California to Olympia WA and back visiting various parks and locations. I will admit that my gas mileage sucked when climbing some of the mountain passes on interstate 5. But only had it floorboarded a few times climbing a grade while passing an 18 wheeler. We looking forward to cruising down from Lake Shasta on the way back, but alas, I hit a head wind that made me feel like I was still climbing a grade instead of going down hill and my gas mileage reflected that to be true.

SouthpawHD · June 19, 2016

What kind of trailer? Camper/Travel trailers pull a lot different than boat trailers and they pull differently than utility trailers. This is due to wind resistance and potential sway going down the highway.

Also, the motor will easily pull 5,000 pounds. And substantially more.

As for stopping.... Does the trailer have trailer brakes? This plays a big factor in the overall drivability of trailers.

Now, what is the payload of your truck? Tongue weights vary greatly for the different trailers mentioned above, with travel trailers generally being the most tongue weight. The tongue weight eats up payload quickly.

After these items have been addressed, then you can start to pinpoint how much trailer you can pull.

15silver · June 19, 2016

typical RV trailer. Likely dual axle with brakes.

Been looking, and its a couple thousand$ more for this and a couple more for that.

Trying to keep it to a 20-24' to keep the weight in line, but at 27' and closer to 6000 lbs there are some nice rigs ... then on and on to over 30'.

Figure at 10% of trailer weight on the tongue payload isn't going t be an issue.

Remember pulling an empty 6x10 cargo trailer behind a Montana. On the highway the engine was running hard and always a gear or 2 below drive.

Gun shy of getting too much trailer for the vehicle.

I like Debra's reply - pulls like nothing there except hills and headwinds. So sounds like I made a lucky guess at about 5000 lbs. And thats dry weight. Good point about tanks - how often is it dry.

Hoping to hear from a few other's experience to see how much weight vs aerodynamics on RV trailers tip the scales where to draw the line.

Gary13 · June 19, 2016

I have your same set up, (engine, gear ratio, etc) and tow a 33' travel trailer with no problem. Dry weight is 7300lbs so with water and beer, I'm thinking it's close to 8000. Truck does well and I'm impress with the results.

gmcleer · June 19, 2016

I have a 30' travel trailer with a dry weight of 6750 and a tongue of 902. My truck is a 2014 CC 5.3 with 3.42s. It has plenty of power, but I do not have enough payload and have been looking at HD trucks. Its all about the payload, that is what you want to keep an eye on.

GsBowtie · June 19, 2016

I have a 30' travel trailer with a dry weight of 6750 and a tongue of 902. My truck is a 2014 CC 5.3 with 3.42s. It has plenty of power, but I do not have enough payload and have been looking at HD trucks. Its all about the payload, that is what you want to keep an eye on.

This is spot on. I think your on the right track with the weights you have in mind. Don't go by dry weights. Go off of gvwr for a more realistic figure.

An old rule of thumb is to go no more than 80% of your tow rating with the trailers gvwr.

That may be too conservative for some folks and that's OK. That's just what i do. Your being smart. You don't want the tail wagging the dog or to exceed your payload rating, which is very easy to do on a half ton truck.

I pull a 6k gross 24' tt with mine and it tugs it around very well. I would not want to tow a rig much over 7k gross though, but that's just me. Others have done it with success.

I just prefer to have more margin than some others. You can pull the weight, but how well can you stop it or control it in an emergency situation? That is what you have to ask yourself what your comfortable with.

Good luck. I love camping!

muddkatt · June 19, 2016

Dry weight is 7300lbs so with water and beer, I'm thinking it's close to 8000.

700 pounds of beer....must be a two day trip.

peejaykay · June 19, 2016

Properly equipped trailer and you'll be just fine.

15silver · June 19, 2016

I was thinking payload would pretty much be the tongue weight (plus hitch and anything you throw in the back). I'd have to look up my listed payload, but I think its about 1700??

Going by GsBowtie's formula, which sounds reasonable, a 7500 GVWR trailer would be max. I believe the 6000 lb trailers are in that range, but I'd obviously verify with the trailers sticker. That opens up more choice in trailers than I thought I had.

Tongue weights there would be lots less that 1700 - is there more to calculating payload besides tongue & bed cargo?

Lots of good feedback here - thanks !!!

Britt Lifsey · June 19, 2016

Passengers should be included in payload.

GsBowtie · June 19, 2016

Passengers should be included in payload.

This is also correct. You take the payload limit off of the yellow sticker on the drivers side door jamb, and deduct the weight of all passengers, cargo in the cab and cargo in the bed and what's left is your available payload for trailer tongue weight.

I believe a typical tongue weight is 10-15% of actual trailer weight (not the dry or gvwr weight)

The only way to get that is to haul the trailer to a dot scale, loaded and ready to camp and see where your at.

I have never done that, simply because i stay very conservative with my trailer weights and use the formula i noted so I'm no where close to the tow or payload limits. Another number you don't want to exceed is rear axle weight rating (rawr).

I'm not sure what that is on our trucks, but i believe the 14 and up V8 trucks have a 9+" rear axle so it's pretty beefy.

Today's "half ton" trucks are very capable. I believe my truck has over 3/4 ton of payload. The brakes on these new trucks are great too. A far far cry from the 89 Silverado 4x4 I had that i always felt was under braked.

Due your research, stay within your limits , set up your WDH corectly and you'll be rewarded with a good and enjoyable towing experience

15silver · June 19, 2016

This is also correct. You take the payload limit off of the yellow sticker on the drivers side door jamb, and deduct the weight of all passengers, cargo in the cab and cargo in the bed and what's left is your available payload for trailer tongue weight.

I believe a typical tongue weight is 10-15% of actual trailer weight (not the dry or gvwr weight)

The only way to get that is to haul the trailer to a dot scale, loaded and ready to camp and see where your at.

I have never done that, simply because i stay very conservative with my trailer weights and use the formula i noted so I'm no where close to the tow or payload limits. Another number you don't want to exceed is rear axle weight rating (rawr).

I'm not sure what that is on our trucks, but i believe the 14 and up V8 trucks have a 9+" rear axle so it's pretty beefy.

Today's "half ton" trucks are very capable. I believe my truck has over 3/4 ton of payload. The brakes on these new trucks are great too. A far far cry from the 89 Silverado 4x4 I had that i always felt was under braked.

Due your research, stay within your limits , set up your WDH corectly and you'll be rewarded with a good and enjoyable towing experience

passenger weight. Yep, that'll add up quick.

found a nice 24' ultralight @ 4700 dry. waiting to see what they counter at. So its going to fit into the capacity ratings nicely if the deal works.

Appreciate all the feedback - big help knowing what's gonna work for an easy tow.

GsBowtie · June 20, 2016

passenger weight. Yep, that'll add up quick.

found a nice 24' ultralight @ 4700 dry. waiting to see what they counter at. So its going to fit into the capacity ratings nicely if the deal works.

Appreciate all the feedback - big help knowing what's gonna work for an easy tow.

Good deal! 4700 dry is probably around 6-6500 gross, but you could figure that out real quick by looking at the sticker on the left side of the rig.

My rig is the same length your looking at and it's a great match for my truck. You will enjoy it. Plus rigs in the 24' range opens up more campsite availability then what you'd have on a 30+ foot TT

15silver · June 20, 2016

Good deal! 4700 dry is probably around 6-6500 gross, but you could figure that out real quick by looking at the sticker on the left side of the rig.

My rig is the same length your looking at and it's a great match for my truck. You will enjoy it. Plus rigs in the 24' range opens up more campsite availability then what you'd have on a 30+ foot TT

Size - Just had that discussion with a buddy who rv's a lot. Not all parks can handle the bigger rigs - thats good advice.

Tough enough around here to find availability when you want it, let alone scratch off a few because your rig is too long.

Nice knowing others can do a 30'er with a 1500. I was getting upsold everywhere I went, and its so easy to get carried away. Just another $50/month ....