New to RV, need encouragement

[Oldgator73]

So your trailer weighs 6485 lbs. Your tongue weight will be 650 lbs (I rounded up 1 1/2 lbs.). Your truck is rated to tow 6800 lbs. Using the 80% rule (only tow 80% of what your truck is rated for) you should not tow anything over 5440 lbs.

 

[old RV guy]

FWIW, I towed a 4k lb Trailmanor with a 460 lb tongue weight with a 6 cyl. Nissan truck and it was at its upper limit. The Trailmanor was low profile, so that helped somewhat.

 

[Bluesjam]

Thanks to all, here's my math based on the Winnebago 2326RK. Dry weight of the trailer is 4510 lbs +280 lbs for water + 700lbs of gear = 5490 lbs. The 2020 Tacoma has max tow rating of 6800 lbs, using the 80% rule that is 5440 lbs. So am I safe to assume that it is in the allowable range?

 

[old RV guy]

Thanks to all, here's my math based on the Winnebago 2326RK. Dry weight of the trailer is 4510 lbs +280 lbs for water + 700lbs of gear = 5490 lbs. The 2020 Tacoma has max tow rating of 6800 lbs, using the 80% rule that is 5440 lbs. So am I safe to assume that it is in the allowable range?

I think the Tacoma's tow rating is largely wishful thinking, but if you're careful to strictly keep the weight of the TT in that range and with a correctly set up wdh, it would be doable. A quality brake controller properly set up will be essential, that much weight behind that size towing vehicle will quickly familiarize you with Newtonian mechanics.

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

So your trailer weighs 6485 lbs. Your tongue weight will be 650 lbs (I rounded up 1 1/2 lbs.). Your truck is rated to tow 6800 lbs. Using the 80% rule (only tow 80% of what your truck is rated for) you should not tow anything over 5440 lbs.

It's my personal opinion that the "80% rule" (a loose "rule of thumb") doesn't apply to pickup trucks. They are designed to carry/pull the advertised loads, whereas passenger cars/SUVs are designed with passenger comfort in mind rather than heavy hauling. Pickup are typically fully capable of the rated cargo capacity (payload) and the tow rating tested to SAE standards.

 

[bigb56]

The truth is that most pickups will exceed the payload number before reaching the max tow number. The max tow number is more of a marketing number.

I highly recommend as a starting point to visit the CAT scales and weigh the truck now, before you buy anything, and once you do that subtract that weight from your door jamb sticker GVWR and give us that number. Anything else is just guessing and risking a costly mistake.

 

[old RV guy]

There's no difference in the SAE J2807 standard for an SUV, car, minivan or truck. So the tow rating for a car and then a truck are relative to how they negotiated for example the Davis Dam 11 mile climb. The unofficial 80% rule of thumb for towing is for long range scenarios. Towing a load of lumber 20 miles from Home Depot at 100% of your tow capacity is one thing, towing a TT at 100% of your vehicle's ( regardless what it is) gcvwr cross country is another.

 

[Adventurous Traveler]

Pickup are typically fully capable of the rated cargo capacity (payload) and the tow rating tested to SAE standards.

And, not for anybody to get crazy ideas, I believe the Mfg's build in a margin of safety in the numbers they provide.

Back in the '80s, a friend had a boat and trailer weighing 5000#. His company provided a front-wheel-drive GM car had a maximum tow rating of 3500#s. The friend didn't want to have to buy a personal vehicle capable of pulling his boat and trailer. So, he took the company vehicle to a Chevy dealer, who installed a Class 3 hitch. Friend told the dealer what he intended to tow with the hitch and car combo and the dealer told him not to worry about the 5000# tow and the 3500# rating because GM was very cautious with their tow ratings, sorta like saying if they rated it at #5000# then some yahoo would try to tow 7000# with it, so they reduce the ratings for a margin of error, liability, and safety.

Again, I'm no towing expert, but it seems the OP has taken everyone's advice and put his math and investigative skills to good use. He has taken that knowledge and arrived at a formula that will just get him by his max weight ratings with little room to spare for his towing setup. Like most new campers, my guess is the OP will start slow with camping destinations and mileage, and perhaps after a season of using his setup, he'll decide he needs more truck, or be happy with the combo he has.

 

[No cats]

These type of towing questions come up frequently. I always encourage people on this forum to read up on the J2807 standard. It defines what how the ratings are certified to a particular model. It defines which weights are included on the payload of the tow vehicle (driver, full tank of gas, and tow hardware).

The assigned rating is based on "performance" parameters being met. So a tow vehicle (truck in this case) can exceed the "rated" numbers and successfully tow more or nearer it's limits. It just won't do it at the speed or in the time allotted by J2807.

 

[SpencerPJ]

And you don't need to travel with full water tanks, most all campgrounds have water, simply use a $20 filter.

 

[old RV guy]

....so a tow vehicle (truck in this case) can exceed the "rated" numbers and successfully tow MORE or nearer it's limits. It just won't do it at the speed or in the time allotted by J2807.

How much more and how near?

 

[No cats]

How much more and how near?

I would feel comfortable slowing down on grades and be at the limit. Near on the lower side of the limit needs no explanation. A couple of hundred pounds over the limit would not be a problem for me either.

I personally won't do that, been there, done that. I have more truck than I need. How much to push it is an individual choice of how "white" they can stand their knuckles.

So now my question to you is.

Did you read and understand how the ratings are generated and verified? Or?

 

[CharlesinGA]

I always travel with a full tank of water. I hate to consider getting to a campground and discovering the water is off due to broken pipe, pump failure, power outage or simply that is tastes or smells terrible. There are lots of really nice campgrounds in N GA, Tenn, and NC (when they recover from the hurricane) that don't have water. I also want water to use during intermediate stops during the day on longer trips.

I have seen water hydrants run over before and shut off. How would you like arriving to your reserved campsite and discovering that just yesterday the hydrant was destroyed.

My trailer has a 7500 lb gross wt. (which is high for its size) and I am running at about 67-6800 lbs (gotta weigh again) and my diesel truck pulls it easily but I would be really, and I do mean really, uncomfortable towing with a Taco in the mountains, or anywhere for that matter.

I highly recommend as a starting point to visit the CAT scales and weigh the truck now, before you buy anything, and once you do that subtract that weight from your door jamb sticker GVWR and give us that number. Anything else is just guessing and risking a costly mistake

Best advise yet.........

Charles

 

[bigb56]

These type of towing questions come up frequently. I always encourage people on this forum to read up on the J2807 standard. It defines what how the ratings are certified to a particular model. It defines which weights are included on the payload of the tow vehicle (driver, full tank of gas, and tow hardware).

The assigned rating is based on "performance" parameters being met. So a tow vehicle (truck in this case) can exceed the "rated" numbers and successfully tow more or nearer it's limits. It just won't do it at the speed or in the time allotted by J2807.

I might add that a good example of this is how the same vehicles in other countries are rated to tow more than they are in the US, because they have strict towing speed limits in those countries. They also get away with less tongue weight at the lower speeds and many of their trailers are designed that way, with the COG being closer to the axle which in turn reduces payload transferred to the TV.

 

[gwinger]

Thanks to all, here's my math based on the Winnebago 2326RK. Dry weight of the trailer is 4510 lbs +280 lbs for water + 700lbs of gear = 5490 lbs. The 2020 Tacoma has max tow rating of 6800 lbs, using the 80% rule that is 5440 lbs. So am I safe to assume that it is in the allowable range?

Again, you have to determine what the tongue weight is going to be.
The hitch weight will be at least 10% of the trailer weight.In your case, at least 550lb tongue weight plus the weight of the hitch.
Also, the Tacoma has a relatively short wheel base.
You're going to be pulling a fairly long trailer with a short wheelbase truck.

 

[Kirk]

The reason the numbers add up to 6485 lbs. is that the extra 485 are on the truck as part of the tongue weight. The 6000 max are on the trailers axles, probably two at 3000 lbs each.

I have always believed that GVWR was the total weight of the loaded trailer but according to the Hitch Specialist, it is not.

700lbs of gear

This is not much weight for two people if staying out for very long Remember that it not only includes both of your personal items, but you must include all of your groceries, tools, and everything that you take with you. I would be very surprised if you don't add at least 1000# and when we were fulltime we carried about 1200#, each.

 

[old RV guy]

I would feel comfortable slowing down on grades and be at the limit. Near on the lower side of the limit needs no explanation. A couple of hundred pounds over the limit would not be a problem for me either.

I personally won't do that, been there, done that. I have more truck than I need. How much to push it is an individual choice of how "white" they can stand their knuckles.

So now my question to you is.

Did you read and understand how the ratings are generated and verified? Or?

I understand enough about the standard not to conflate my opinion with facts and tell someone asking for towing advice they can successively "exceed" their rated tow capacity.

 

[No cats]

The ratings are based on meeting certain performance criteria at the GCWR.

The rating is given not because a tow vehicle cannot tow more than the J2807 rating. It just means that is the GCWR their product can tow and meet the J2807. It is not very complicated to see this J2807 is a "reference" from which buyers can compare.

If a truck can't meet the 0-60 time in 12 seconds, and does it in 11.5 because it's carrying 200 extra pounds, so what? It can still tow it.

Before manufacturers agreed to use the J2807, GM, Ford and Dodge used to change their ratings yearly to "up" the competition. Same trucks from one year to the next, suddenly, magically, got higher ratings.

To get certified for the GCWR rating, the tow vehicle must do the following.

1- Launch on Grade test

To pass, while on an incredibly steep 12 percent grade, a truck must be able to launch and travel 16 feet (5 meters) uphill, five times in a row, in 5 minutes or less. Then, the truck and trailer has to be able to complete the same test while launching up a 12 percent grade in Reverse

2- Flat out Acceleration

One is a test that measures the 0-to-30-mph time, with single-rear-wheel trucks needing to reach that speed in 12.0 seconds, while dual-rear-wheel models get 14.0 seconds.

There is also a 0-to-60-mph acceleration test that allows SRW trucks 30.0 seconds to reach that highway speed while DRW models get 35.0 seconds

To measure passing capability, the 40-to-60-mph time of single-rear-wheel trucks must be 18.0 seconds or less, and dual-rear-wheel trucks are allowed up to 21.0 seconds.

3- Highway Gradeability

With the outside temperature at 100 degrees min and the AC set to max. tests take place on a well-known stretch of Arizona highway, the 11.4-mile-long Davis Dam Grade.

To pass this test, a truck-and-trailer combination must be able to drive at 40 mph (35 mph for dualies) and never drop below that speed until the end of the test segment at the peak of Union Pass.

 

[Adventurous Traveler]

Also, the Tacoma has a relatively short wheel base.
You're going to be pulling a fairly long trailer with a short wheelbase truck.

Out of this whole conversation on weights, gwinger makes a great point that is understated in the OP's intent.

 

[Bluesjam]

Ok Guys, we have started looking at other trailer options now that we are getting more informed. Let's talk axles. Looking at some trailers what's the good and bad with single axle vs double axles? It seams to me that double axle would be safer and better to have but I want to ask.