Can we haul this trailer?

[WhyMe]

My husband and I are building a tiny home that we were planning to move infrequently on our new property as we determine where we want to build our house.  I've learned a lot too late about tiny home building (and the lack of regulation) and need advice.  We are planning to get a 2013 GMC 2500 Z71 4x4 long bed diesel truck.  The tiny home is estimated to be 11,500lb.  Tongue weight was not evaluated in the design and is now estimated (I don't know how accurately) to be 2400lb.  This is clearly above the standard recommendation I've read online for tongue weight to be 10% of trailer weight.  We won't be moving it far, when we move it.  Can this truck-which has a 13000lb towing capacity and 3300lb payload based on the brochure-move this trailer?  I've read (which might not be accurate and why I am posting here) that the tongue weight is limited by payload, but that only makes sense to me for a 5th wheel or gooseneck where the hitch is in the bed.  Can't there be a tongue weight high enough to break the hitch, even if the truck can physically withstand that amount of downward pressure on the rear of the truck?

 

Thanks for any help/advice!

 

Jennifer

 

 

[davester]

"tongue weight is limited by payload" is related to the maximum tongue weight you can have.

 

Other components can reduce that maximum, like the hitch, hitch mount, ball, tires, other payload you are carrying (passengers, luggage, etc in the cab and bed).

 

And does that 11.5k lb weight for the tinyhome include furnishings or will they be hauled separately?  And don't forget the trailer the house will be on has some weight to it as well...

[WhyMe]

We've been told by the builder of the tiny home and trailer that 11,500lb includes the trailer.  Since we will just be moving it on our property and not going on a trip for example, there won't need to be anything else in the truck.  There will be some items in the tiny home but no appliances and just one oversize chair and bed (a latex mattress, which is heavy) but we could move those items out if that is the difference between the truck being able to move the tiny home or not. 

 

How do we determine how much the hitch, hitch mount, ball and/or tires reduce the maximum tongue weight?

 

Thanks for your help!

[davester]

They will indicate what they are rated for, either imprinted on the part itself or in the documentation of the part.

[swathdiver]

1 hour ago, WhyMe said:

We've been told by the builder of the tiny home and trailer that 11,500lb includes the trailer.  Since we will just be moving it on our property and not going on a trip for example, there won't need to be anything else in the truck.  There will be some items in the tiny home but no appliances and just one oversize chair and bed (a latex mattress, which is heavy) but we could move those items out if that is the difference between the truck being able to move the tiny home or not. 

 

How do we determine how much the hitch, hitch mount, ball and/or tires reduce the maximum tongue weight?

 

Thanks for your help!

The Tire and Loading Information sticker inside the door jamb tells you what your maximum cargo weight is.  Subtract that number from the GVWR number on the silver sticker usually attached to the door and you have the vehicle's curb weight, full of fuel, as it was delivered from the factory.  If you've added heavier tires and wheels, the center console is full of stuff, glove box, etc.  All of those things take away from the cargo weight capacity.  Your cargo weight also includes the tongue weight of your trailer.  The weight of your ball and ball mount and weight distribution hitch not only take away from the cargo weight, those things directly affect the hitch rating too.  Anything stored behind the rear axle in the bed of the truck does too.  Make sense?

 

A weight distribution hitch will mechanically move weight off the tongue and rear axles and shift it to the steer axle and trailer tires, so your truck's nose doesn't point towards the sky and the back sag once the bars are tensioned.  Before we get into that, how far do you have to tow the house from where its being built to your property and what kind of terrain will you be covering to get there?  Flat roads or mountains and hills along the way?

 

[WhyMe]

Thanks for all the details.  We can empty the truck (it won't be used for daily driving anyway) to reduce cargo weight.  I'll see if I can get a picture of the door jamb stickers and ask about tires and wheels.   I know the truck is currently outfitted with a Class V hitch, which the internet tells me has a maximum tongue weight of 1700 (or maybe it was 1800) lbs.  How much weight can a weight distributing hitch take off the tongue?  We are meeting with the tiny home builder on Friday to discuss these issues (your responses are timely and appreciated) and any modifications to the design that can still be made to reduce the tongue weight.  We can't really add much weight to the back of the tiny home at 11,500 lbs already with the 13,000 lb towing capacity on the truck. 

 

Our property is 9 acres.  Wooded and sloping but the tiny home will be moved on a driveway of gravel or caliche and parked on a pad of the same.  The farthest it would go is from one side of the property to the other, again on a driveway of gravel or caliche and parked on a pad.

 

Many thanks for the help! 

 

 

[r1byker]

Short answer is yes, your vehicle can tow this.

 

Warning: This is what I would do in your situation so this is not necessarily the perfectly "right" thing to do..  (Retired big rig driver here and I have a box 6 x 12 box trailer as well as a 22' boat that I tow.)  I would use a weight distributing hitch to take some load off of the rear axle of the truck and I would load some weight (up to 500 lbs. maybe?) in the trailer behind the trailer axles.  That would lessen the weight on the hitch while still being under the maximum tow rating. Then I would tow it with no worries.  Now, if you happen to notice that there's sway in the trailer (that uneasy feeling like the trailer is trying to steer the rear of your tow vehicle), then I would lessen the weight I added in the trailer behind the axles.

[amxguy1970]

It falls under the towing and payload capacities of the truck and will just be moved around a 9 acre property, you will be fine. I would do that with a half ton and maybe even a mid size if that was all that was available. That is like what a quarter mile tops? Trucks are over engineered for the back country and working folks. If you were running a long distance down an interstate with law enforcement around then I would make sure everything is good and law abiding but on a small piece of property it is more than enough. Enjoy, I don't think I could live in a tiny house though I may rent one once to appease the fiance... 

 

Tyler

[MaverickZ71]

No, but you may be able to tow it.  

[swathdiver]

8 hours ago, WhyMe said:

Our property is 9 acres.  Wooded and sloping but the tiny home will be moved on a driveway of gravel or caliche and parked on a pad of the same.  The farthest it would go is from one side of the property to the other, again on a driveway of gravel or caliche and parked on a pad.

I meant how far do you have to travel from where the house is built to get to your property?  Is it being built onsite or 200 miles away?

[WhyMe]

Sorry I misunderstood!  We are not moving it from the build site to the property.  The builder is moving it with a much bigger truck.  About 30 miles.

[WhyMe]

Thank you for all the comments. Very helpful to hear from real people with experience and not trying to glean a tidbit here and there out of articles I found on the internet!

[swathdiver]

8 hours ago, WhyMe said:

Sorry I misunderstood!  We are not moving it from the build site to the property.  The builder is moving it with a much bigger truck.  About 30 miles.

Then think nothing of moving it around your property!  I wouldn't bother with a weight distribution hitch either for what you want to do.  R1Byker offered excellent advice.  Post up a picture of the truck and your new tiny house when you get it "home"!  Good luck to you folks!