Towing capacity

[Torvy]

Guys, thanks for all of the good advice. At this point, I am going to skip the big trailer and use the dealer to bring it in for service, if needed. I'll get a small trailer to move things around my property and pick up supplies from town. I do appreciate the info on swaying and balance. It applies to small tractors, too.

 

[Railroadman1]

My two cents respect the trailer with a load on the Hy Way get the feel of the combination keep your speed down read the road you need time to slow down, make a lane change, watch the other guy or gale a surprise can be an event to remember! small roads are another deal all together move over to meet on coming traffic can be an experience in trailer control slower can be safer on small roads

 

[cannuck]

New guy here, but light and medium duty trailers are kind of my "thing". My "day job" client has a huge fleet of pickups and trailers, and I can tell you that a 1/2 ton may be "rated" for 9k, and the trailer behind it may also be "rated" for that load, but it is mostly a complete load of marketing BS. If you are going to regularly tow 6k or more with a half ton, it will take its toll on the truck. Also, the brakes that normally come with consumer-grade axles are totally insufficient, as are the axles, wheels and tires. Now, I said REGULARLY tow. If you are just doing things a few times a year, you won't hurt the 1/2 ton but if you are planning on doing what we do (dispatch pickups daily pulling trailers) do yourself a BIG favour and buy a 3/4 ton or 1 ton pickup. Again, if you are doing it a lot, the fuel consumption of a tiny turbo gasser goes away pretty quick with a trailer behind. Diesels don't pay the same premium for loaded travel.

Don't even think of starting me on the issue of trailer braking. To be allowed to use non-ABS drum brakes on a modern vehicle at the rated weights should be a criminal offense.

 

[Jstpssng]

There have been a lot of good points raised in this thread. The OP could have also have titled it “everything you need to know about trailering, but were afraid to ask.”

 

[deezler]

I got a neat gadget for Xmas a few years ago that plugs into the truck harness under the steering wheel (F-150 and most others) and do the setup with your smart phone. It will (amazingly) provide you with many things including tongue weight, total vehicle and trailer weight, trailer weight by itself, weight of load on the trailer, etc. Just follow their instructions. The phone app is now called "Better Weigh" and the device was called something else. Newer one is Curt Better Weigh which is sold on Amazon for $99.

Whoa. Did not know such a device existed. First impression, this is a pretty irresponsible product, so use it with great care and a giant grain of salt.

It relies upon basic vehicle data, a handful of "calibration runs", and then a single internal tri-axial accelerometer to estimate your tongue weight and current payload? That is not a robust strategy, IMO. Just way too many variables that it cannot account for (level ground or not, altered suspension, incorrect input data, sticky suspension bushings, etc. I mean think about it. It's going to tell you, with accuracy, that a change in the vehicle level of under 1% pitch, equals so much tongue weight or payload? Furthermore it would have zero way to separate the payload from hitch tongue weight - same effect on the vehicle. hmmmm.

 

[JWR]

There's nothing "irresponsible" about an additional source of information unless the nut holding the smart phone is "irresponsible." There is no such thing as "accuracy" in adjusting trailer tongue weight. The only that matters is being good enough for the reality of the job at hand.

 

[Chewwy]

Whoa. Did not know such a device existed. First impression, this is a pretty irresponsible product, so use it with great care and a giant grain of salt.

It relies upon basic vehicle data, a handful of "calibration runs", and then a single internal tri-axial accelerometer to estimate your tongue weight and current payload? That is not a robust strategy, IMO. Just way too many variables that it cannot account for (level ground or not, altered suspension, incorrect input data, sticky suspension bushings, etc. I mean think about it. It's going to tell you, with accuracy, that a change in the vehicle level of under 1% pitch, equals so much tongue weight or payload? Furthermore it would have zero way to separate the payload from hitch tongue weight - same effect on the vehicle. hmmmm.

It is actually pretty good in determing both trailer weight and tounge weight. It was within 2% on my RVs weight and 1.5% on the tounge weight when checked against Cat Scales measurements. It also does a good job on setting trailer brake controller gain.

Without a doubt it’s not perfect, but much better than the guestimates that a lot of people use.

 

[ROUSTABOUT]

Not to get off what he is asking about, it is good to get set up right for sure ! I have a question i to tow a 3940 with loader an usually a box scraper or mower. How do you know where to locate your load on the trailer? Say like more tongue weight, less? And if it sways what is that telling you?

I always make sure I sink the rear of truck a couple inches from the rest position. I have hauled a lot in my life. Measure hitch height when trailer is empty. I just look, but you probably should measure until you get a feel for it. Nothing like hauling a wrong load. I have had plenty of those too.

 

[JWR]

I always make sure I sink the rear of truck a couple inches from the rest position. I have hauled a lot in my life. Measure hitch height when trailer is empty. I just look, but you probably should measure until you get a feel for it. Nothing like hauling a wrong load. I have had plenty of those too.

Yes, I agree except it is more than 2" on most pickup trucks and most loads. Depends on load of course ! In my experience with a typical 4WD pickup (springs-wise) and a GVWR load [trailer and what's on it combined] of around 8 to 10K lbs you want about 5 or 6" of drop in the back of the truck. The more total towed weight the more tongue weight you need. There are guidelines for % of the load that tongue weight should be (undoubtedly mentioned somewhere in the 109 posts above) but I never look at it that way. Like you I eyeball it and adjust to suit.

 

[nisaacs]

Yes, I agree except it is more than 2" on most pickup trucks and most loads. Depends on load of course ! In my experience with a typical 4WD pickup (springs-wise) and a GVWR load [trailer and what's on it combined] of around 8 to 10K lbs you want about 5 or 6" of drop in the back of the truck.

I disagree. 5" or 6" is way too much. 2"-3" is enough. If my new Ram 2500 dropped 5" it would be on the axle/frame stops.

Note the gap in the front/rear fender wells, I am down in the rear about 2.5", truck is maxed out. If the rear went down another 3" it would be ugly.