First trailer for a new Volvo XC90 T8 - 5000 lb wt limit

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grashley said:
Very specifically, the GVWR of 6355# is the most your fully loaded car is designed to carry.  This includes the car and all contents.

The CCC, by definition = GVWR - curb wt of car.  Curb wt includes a full tank of gas and all factory options.

The CCC is exactly what it says.  The total combined weight of all passengers, pets, car seats, snacks, toys, other cargo, hitch and TT hitch wt shall not exceed 1200#.
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Sometimes we get ahead of ourselves in what we say and what we intend to mean....CCC means CargoCarryingCapacity and refers to the 1200 lbs of passengers and cargo the vehicle is rated to carry, not the 6355 lb GVW.  Just want to set the record straight.
 
I am a private pilot so am aware of weight, CG, and such but have never had to think that way for a vehicle. Today I am going to look at the two Winnebagos lines that might work for me.  A bit more expensive but it appears they are better built.

Again this is where I get confused. The dry weight of their 21 ft is only 3800 lbs even though it can carry an enormous amount of cargo. Should this concern me since I generally travel ?light??
 
Instead of using the dry weight of 3800 lbs, consider using the GVWR of the TRAILER and base the tow vehicle load on that. (ie 10-12%). This is the maximum weight the trailer is designed to carry and in doing so will it give you a good safety margin. Every reader will interpret an "enormous amount of cargo" and "travelling light" differently.

No one drags around a dry weight (ie empty) trailer!!!
 
Larry, Thank you. Poor word choice by me.  I meant ... the most your fully loaded car is designed to weigh.

Dochands,
When you fly, do you use the empty weight of your plane to determine if you are within weight limits, or do you use the loaded weight?

IGNORE DRY WT!  It is useless!  Use the GVWR.  If you travel light and are a bit below that weight, you have a safety factor.
 
some of y'all are looking at something the wrong way. GVWR , you don't subtract the whole weight of the camper, just the tongue weight. so if you have a GVWR that the math says you can carry 1600#, that's the people, gas, stuff in the back of the truck and tucked into the storage compartments, and the tongue weight of a trailer.

for towing purposes you should be looking at the gross COMBINED vehicle weight rating for your tow vehicle and figure the whole weight of the trailer into that.

this article covers it all pretty well  :)

http://auto.howstuffworks.com/auto-parts/towing/towing-capacity/vehicle%20/gcwr.htm
 
papachaz said:
some of y'all are looking at something the wrong way. GVWR , you don't subtract the whole weight of the camper, just the tongue weight. so if you have a GVWR that the math says you can carry 1600#, that's the people, gas, stuff in the back of the truck and tucked into the storage compartments, and the tongue weight of a trailer.

for towing purposes you should be looking at the gross COMBINED vehicle weight rating for your tow vehicle and figure the whole weight of the trailer into that.

this article covers it all pretty well  :)

The GCWR ((fully loaded truck and fully loaded trailer) for my Nissan Frontier is 11230#. If I subtract the GVWR, 5666#,  for my truck from that; 11230-5666=5564. I should be able to tow 5564#. I can look at trailers with a GVWR of no more than 5564#. Am I looking at this correctly.

http://auto.howstuffworks.com/auto-parts/towing/towing-capacity/vehicle%20/gcwr.htm
Click to expand...
 
Oldgator73 said:
The GCWR ((fully loaded truck and fully loaded trailer) for my Nissan Frontier is 11230#. If I subtract the GVWR, 5666#,  for my truck from that; 11230-5666=5564. I should be able to tow 5564#. I can look at trailers with a GVWR of no more than 5564#. Am I looking at this correctly.
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that's the way I read that too. now you have me curious, what does the book say about your towing capacity? is it more or less than the 5564#?

And of course that's absolutely maxed out, and now we get into the conversation that some will say you should never max out, stay about 80% of it, which would be 4451# -  so that means either a lighter GVWR on the trailer, or just don't load the truck or the trailer to max capacity.

the big thing  is STOPPING not PULLING. just about any of us here could hook to just about whatever we want to and get it going on down the highway, but can we stop it when we need to?
 
papachaz said:
that's the way I read that too. now you have me curious, what does the book say about your towing capacity? is it more or less than the 5564#?

And of course that's absolutely maxed out, and now we get into the conversation that some will say you should never max out, stay about 80% of it, which would be 4451# -  so that means either a lighter GVWR on the trailer, or just don't load the truck or the trailer to max capacity.

the big thing  is STOPPING not PULLING. just about any of us here could hook to just about whatever we want to and get it going on down the highway, but can we stop it when we need to?
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So now we have to cut our tow rating back to 80% of GVWR. If this discussion continues much longer one will need Freightliner to tow a 3800 lb Winnie Drop.

I have heard the towing vs stopping statement many times and agree with it. With most any combination of truck and trailer you can get it rolling but you may have some serious difficulty stopping it.
 
The GCWR ((fully loaded truck and fully loaded trailer) for my Nissan Frontier is 11230#. If I subtract the GVWR, 5666#,  for my truck from that; 11230-5666=5564. I should be able to tow 5564#. I can look at trailers with a GVWR of no more than 5564#. Am I looking at this correctly.

Not really.  IF the truck is loaded to capacity, the max TT weight would be 5564# PLUS HITCH WT - carried by the truck and included in the GVWR.  You have about 600# hitch wt counted twice.

The published Max Tow comes at this from the opposite direction.  They start with a base model truck, max tow the ONLY option, full fuel tank and 2 passengers at 150# each.  They subtract this weight from GCWR.  NOT REAL WORLD!! 

My approach is to start with the real weight of the truck empty.  Subtract from GVWR to get actual Payload.  Subtract weight of all passengers, cargo and hitch.  What is left is max hitch wt.  Assuming 10% hitch wt.,  Max hitch wt X 10 = max TT  GVWR

If the truck is loaded to less than GVWR, then this allows more TT.
 
grashley said:
The GCWR ((fully loaded truck and fully loaded trailer) for my Nissan Frontier is 11230#. If I subtract the GVWR, 5666#,  for my truck from that; 11230-5666=5564. I should be able to tow 5564#. I can look at trailers with a GVWR of no more than 5564#. Am I looking at this correctly.

Not really.  IF the truck is loaded to capacity, the max TT weight would be 5564# PLUS HITCH WT - carried by the truck and included in the GVWR.  You have about 600# hitch wt counted twice.

The published Max Tow comes at this from the opposite direction.  They start with a base model truck, max tow the ONLY option, full fuel tank and 2 passengers at 150# each.  They subtract this weight from GCWR.  NOT REAL WORLD!!
Click to expand...

Yeah, I don't even consider max tow weight, which is 6100#. If I were to consider trading our Winnie Drop I would look at something in the 5000# fully loaded trailer weight category.
 
The dry weight that is advertised in the trailer specs is almost always several hundred pounds less than the actual weight as delivered to the dealer. My new trailer had an advertised dry weight of 5400 pounds but weighed in at 6200 the day I bought it, brand new.

There is also the issue of frontal area which WILL be listed in your owners manual. The wind resistance from pulling a wall down the highway is far more stressful on your engine than the weight of the trailer and can cause you to overheat if it is exceeded. They test all these things and then write the manual so you do not have to guess. As a pilot you must be familiar with weights and engine performance so you are probably understanding that you need to be looking at smaller, lighter trailers or more capable tow vehicles. Yours might work for a trailer weighing 4000 pounds loaded but only with no passengers or gear in the vehicle besides yourself. The maximum tow weight can only be achieved with a flatbed trailer because it needs less tounge weight,(7%), and adds no frontal area to be pulled through the air.

Perhaps the hard sided A-liner style pop-up trailers would be a better match. Almost no frontal area but quite roomy when set up.
 
The Aliner trailers look pretty cool.  Being the owner of another "5000 # limit" vehicle, I'd say you're also safe with R-Pod style trailers.  Fiberglass clamshells like Scamp, Casita, and Escape as well.
 
The Winnie Drop 1710 has a GVWR of 3800#. You shouldn't have a problem with that.
 
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