Just got a new trailer, and may be in trouble with GVWR. Advice needed.

[Soldier415]

New (to me) tractor owner. Needed a trailer to go with it. Got a good deal on a new Big Tex 70CH 18 foot trailer with 7k lb GVWR. Trailer is 2,000 lbs empty. Went to calculate weights on everything

I looked at the manual for my Kubota L3010 and it listed the weight as 2,700 lbs.

Add 1,000 lbs for the LA482 loader and bucket

Add 600 lbs for the loaded R4 tires

Add 200 lbs for the sims cab.

Puts me at 4,500 lbs

add trailer weight and i'm at 6,500 lbs for both trailer and tractor.

tow vehicle is a 2015 Chevy 2500HD crew cab with duramax/allison.

I should be good to go, with enough weight allowance left to add a rototiller or other implement attached to the tractor.

Thats where I was apparently wrong.

Loaded it up to do a rototill project at a family members house. As I get on the road i'm thinking that this does NOT feel like 6,500 lbs, feels more like i'm towing my 9k lb camper. So the next day I loaded up and took the truck, trailer and tractor to the scales. Went crosseyed when it came back total weight was 16,000 lbs! Went back today with just the truck and the truck with a full tank of fuel is 8,000 lbs, putting the total trailer weight at 8,000 lbs and leaving me 1k over the GVWR.

Taking off the weight of the rototiller (640lbs) and the weight of the trailer (2k lbs), that leaves me with tractor and loader weighing 5,360 lbs

1st question: Where did the extra 800 lbs come from?

2nd question: Am I ok being at 8k GVW as i'm only towing locally? Not worried about the tow vehicle, just about damaging the trailer with an extra 1k on it if i'm hauling with the rototill or other implement attached.

Thanks for taking the time to read and respond.

 

[bcp]

Trailer is 2,000 lbs empty.

Actually weighed, or from the advertising literature?

Bruce

 

[ovrszd]

What you needed to weigh, while loaded, was the trailer tandems. You have no issue with GCVWR. You also have no problem with overloading the truck. Your only concern is the trailer weight when loaded. If it exceeds 7K on the trailer axles rearrange the load, putting more on the truck.

Probably should have bought a 10K trailer.

 

[George2615]

Agree that you should have bought a larger trailer.

Are you sure the trailer weighs 2000 and the cab only 200.
You also have to add weight of chains and binders, trailer spare wheel and tire, any storage box added to trailer, any options to the cab you added that would add weight. Actual weights of all items such as Tractor, trailer, attachments etc. do vary from what the sales brochures say.

The extra 1000 lbs. on the trailer will eventually put extra wear and tear on it. If you got it for a good deal I'd try to sell it for the same or a little more and buy a bigger (and maybe longer) trailer.

I went through the same thing when I bought my new tractor. It made my 7K trailer overloaded by almost the same 1K. I didn't want to take the chance of getting polled into a weigh station (there's one I have to pass only 2 miles from my house) and getting ticketed. I sold mine easily in about a week and went looking for a 10-12K trailer and ended up with a 14K.

 

[Sprinklerman]

I was in your shoes , I had a 7K landscape trailer , I was at or a bit over its limit , but when you consider the weight on the hitch , I was legal . I had the trailer for 25 years . Just today I bought a 10K 18 ft deck with beaver tail . 16 in tires .Why did I after having my trailer so long , I was ready for tires $ 600 , brakes and drums , another 6 to 7 hundred , plus new lights . So with the $ 1300 I didnt have to put in it , and the $ 1000 I will get for it when I sell it . I am going to be about 2 K out of pocket , and I saved the time on the repairs . Plus I increased my weight capacity and have a larger trailer

 

[screamin400]

I went with a 5k trailer for my 2538 due to the same numbers you have

 

[Deere Dude]

What you needed to weigh, while loaded, was the trailer tandems. You have no issue with GCVWR. You also have no problem with overloading the truck. Your only concern is the trailer weight when loaded. If it exceeds 7K on the trailer axles rearrange the load, putting more on the truck.

Probably should have bought a 10K trailer.

A agree with weighing the trailer axles with your normal load on it. The truck will carry 10% of the weight.

I moved using a 28' GN trailer. At every trip I would go to the scale and weigh the trailer axles. I could use the scale anytime so it was handy. I weighed the front axles, then the back and then both. At times I had to pull some stuff ahead to put more weight on the truck. I had a GN so the last trip I had stuff lashed to the goose neck part to try to lighten the load on the axles.

 

[George2615]

I went with a 5k trailer for my 2538 due to the same numbers you have

I hope that's a typo. 5K isn't enough trailer.

 

[ovrszd]

All of this discussion is futile until we know what the trailer axles scale when loaded.

Beyond getting the trailer under it's capacity, pull quality can be positively or negatively changed by moving the load. On my 32' GN it's a matter of a few inches fore/aft.

 

[Diamondpilot]

You need a bigger trailer, end of story.

Chris