I'm really nervous now?what a mess

[ai guy]

This will probably be an unpopular thing to say, but I think that the buyer of a trailer is the one who should be responsible for deciding if their truck can handle it.  The trailer salesman ought not say anything at all about what vehicle can pull it - just give the manufacturer's weight of the trailer and let the buyer go from there.  Before you buy a trailer, go borrow or rent one and see how your truck handles it.  See how well it accelerates.  Do some hard braking and see how fast the tuck will stop it.  Go up and down some hills.  A person who's done some towing will be able to tell how a truck will perform.  Somebody will say, "But you won't be able to see how it does in the mountains."  If it feels sluggish on the straight and flat, it won't be able to handle the mountains. 

 

[Kenneth]

Went to U-Haul today to rent a trailer, before they would even consider the transaction ,I had to provide them with a description of what I was going to use to pull it. They wont rent one, to you unless the vehicle is capable (per their chart) to pull it safely.

Maybe U-Haul should go into the RV buisness ?

 

[Carl L]

This will probably be an unpopular thing to say, but I think that the buyer of a trailer is the one who should be responsible for deciding if their truck can handle it.? The trailer salesman ought not say anything at all about what vehicle can pull it - just give the manufacturer's weight of the trailer and let the buyer go from there.? Before you buy a trailer, go borrow or rent one and see how your truck handles it.? See how well it accelerates.? Do some hard braking and see how fast the tuck will stop it.? Go up and down some hills.? A person who's done some towing will be able to tell how a truck will perform.? Somebody will say, "But you won't be able to see how it does in the mountains."? If it feels sluggish on the straight and flat, it won't be able to handle the mountains.?

Maybe.? Would a person new to trailering be a competent judge of what should be expected into towing?? ?Borrowing a trailer presents a problem -- the weight distributing hitch system.? All that I know of require a specific ball mount on the truck and gear on the trailer.? ?With out a WD hitch and anti-sway system, all trailers tow badly.? ?Same problem with rental trailers.? ?El Monte used to rent them --- I rented one from them myself.? I had to pony up some $800 for the Reese Dual Cam System.? They don't rent trailers any more -- for that reason I suspect.

However, neophytes have some things going for them.? Every trailer made the US since at least 1995 to my personal knowledge has a DOT plate affixed on the outside near the drivers side front that gives and the gross vehicle weight rating of the trailer.? Every truck manufacturer publishes tow ratings for each of their models and configurations.? ?Trailer Life magazine annually publishes a compilation of these ratings for the current model year.? ?The magazine's website at www.trailerlife.com has an archive of several years past.? ?

With the trailer's GVWR and the truck's tow rating, a buyer is in business.? Discount the tow rating about 10% for a safety factor.? If the buyer is going to tow in the mountain west and the truck is not a turbo-diesel, add another 10% to the safety factor to allow for high altitudes and long steep grades.? Now evaluating trailer/truck matches is a matter of simple arithmetic.? ?

A lot simpler and surer than a test drive.

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

The trailer salesman ought not say anything at all about what vehicle can pull it - just give the manufacturer's weight of the trailer and let the buyer go from there.

I'd rather they did that than their usual "Oh sure you can pull that - no problem!". And they should also have a brochure available that explains tow ratings to prospective buyers, so that they can make some judgements of their own.