max. tow capacity

[josey]

I was wondering what you guys think about how much you can tow relating to the max. tow capacity. We were told only 2/3 of max. is "towable".

[coolpete1]

depends really on the truck and what your towing, i have a dodge diesel 1ton single wheel , it will pull any weight i throw at it but when i towed my back hoe home which weighs 12000lbs ( 10000lbs under max) i came close to ruining my underwear a few times , the trailer steering me was not fun . with the same truck i can pull a heavy holiday trailer between here and my land in northern bc and sometimes forget i have the trailer on.

[JB_AOL]

IMHO, depends what you plan on towing? and your towing history?

Boat? Travel trailer?

Each has their own characteristics that affect the truck.

For example, a travel trailer requires 12-15% of it's weight (tongue weight) to be on the truck in order to tow properly. And it's a big box, so wind affects it more than say a boat, and if the wind hits the travel trailer, you want the truck to keep control (hence the 12-15% tongue weight). So most times, your truck's payload is you limiting factor, and the actual tow rating means very little.

OTOH, if you are towing a flat deck trailer with 10,000# of bricks, the trailer has a very low center of gravity and low area affected by wind, so you could tow alot more of your tow rating w/o it being affected by the wind.

Or if it's a 10,000# boat/trailer, most of the weight is over the trailer wheels and the boat is typically very aerodynamic.

Most "1/2 tons" can not legally tow their maximum tow ratings without being over their trucks GVWR. most 1/2 tons have very little payload, and are usually very close to being overloaded when you have 4 adults with luggage, let alone adding 5-800# tongue weight.

re:towing history, have you towed before, if not, I wouldn't recommend a trailer close to your maximum tow rating.

[jcrayford]

I have a SWD 3/4 ton diesel and when shopping for a 5th wheel, I wanted to keep at 10,000 (or very close to) for a matter of NOT destroying my truck and driveline. Was told by the trailer dealer that the 5th wheel we ended up buying would be fine - he was right.... trailer weight from the factory is 11,500 and the truck pulls it great (and I don't drive like a race car; very important!)

However, my brother basically has the same truck (only with a 6 speed manual) and I've ridden with him when he's pulled a gooseneck loaded to +20,000 (hay bales) and his truck handles that fine as well.

On the other hand, my next door neighbor has a F-150 Ecoboost and is considering buying a 9000 lb trailer (he continuously tells me that the F-150 is rated to pull 11,000). Now here's the thing.... His trailer/truck ratio is 9000/11000 = 81%. Mine is 11000/18000 = 61%. Not sure I would feel safe about raising my % up to his.... Way over the 2/3 as you've mentioned Josey....

Also, before we bought our trailer I stopped in at a Government weigh scale to enquire. The gentleman there informed me that IF they do stop a pickup truck/trailer combination, it's usually to inspect because headlights are pointed to the sky. They will always look at the tire ratings first and see if the tires are properly rated to haul the load - the placard on the door of the truck is meaningless if the tires are not proper for the load.

Talk to the people that will tell you whether or not you're combination is legal; they will give you helpful information.

Best of luck,

J.

[josey]

tow max is 6100 and the 2 horse bumper pull trailer is 2500 with two horses (~1100 each). = 77% of max

First time trailering with that truck but experienced with trailering in general.

[newguy]

when i had my tundra, (10,000lbs tow cappacity) i towed regularly up to 7-8000lbs. I really felt that was enough especially in windy conditions.

So I'm in the 70-80% of max group...

[calgarygringo]

What you will find is most 1/2 tons run out of payload before you run out of towing capacity. See what the payload is on the door sticker of your truck first and forget about how much they tell you can tow. Add you, the wife, the kids, thedog,all the junk in the bed of the truck and then the real number of what the tongue weight is of your trailer once loaded. Most trailer mfg numbers for tongue weights are not even close when you weigh it in the real world. You should be as mentioned around 15% of the trailer weight. Add all that up and subtract it from your payload and see what is left or not. I would bet you run out of payload long before all these 10k towing capacity.