Towing with a smaller truck

[Ken45101]

Just saw an interesting accident on the freeway Saturday. Chevy Trailblazer facing backwards in the center lane, with a 20-something foot camper attached and laying on its side. Looked like the driver lost control and spun it without hitting anything else. Quite a feat!

Out of curiosity I looked up the trailer capacity for a trailblazer and its around 5500-6000lbs, a rough guess on a 20 foot travel trailer is about 4000lbs. Seems like it would be a pretty stable combination otherwise.

A short wheel base tow vehicle is less stable than a longer wheel base. Our Jeep Grand Cherokee is rated for towing 6000#. Personally, I would never consider that.

But then sometimes the manufacture's tow ratings are total fantasy. The Chevette (1970's compact car) had an official Chevy tow rating of 3000# I'm not sure how one would even attach 3000# to the Chevette's sheet metal.

 

[Sysop]

Just saw an interesting accident on the freeway Saturday. Chevy Trailblazer facing backwards in the center lane, with a 20-something foot camper attached and laying on its side. Looked like the driver lost control and spun it without hitting anything else. Quite a feat!

Out of curiosity I looked up the trailer capacity for a trailblazer and its around 5500-6000lbs, a rough guess on a 20 foot travel trailer is about 4000lbs. Seems like it would be a pretty stable combination otherwise.

From the few travel trailers that size I've seen that's a fair "rough guess" for a 20' (unloaded) whereas many folk have several hundred pounds of personal belongings they pack inside to travel with, it should have still been well within the limits. Unfortunate, but it likely could have been avoided with less speed. A good gust of wind from the side can make keeping an SUV or truck in its lane a chore at high speed without a trailer (and slowing down helps that as well).

 

[IndyIan]

I think if you keep your vehicle in good shape, towing at its rated capacity or a bit more once in a while isn't crazy. Just pay attention, pick a reasonable route where the traffic isn't heavy, and go as slow as you need to. 50-55mph does actually get you to the same places 75 mph does, but gives you some extra time to watch what's happening ahead of you and plan accordingly.
Also the factory limits are set with some extra safety factor, the sales guys want everything underrated so you have to buy a diesel dually to pull anything bigger than a log splitter, plus the lawyers assume half the buyers are idiots, so don't be an idiot and you'll be fine.

 

[cockeyedMFer]

A short wheel base tow vehicle is less stable than a longer wheel base. Our Jeep Grand Cherokee is rated for towing 6000#. Personally, I would never consider that.

But then sometimes the manufacture's tow ratings are total fantasy. The Chevette (1970's compact car) had an official Chevy tow rating of 3000# I'm not sure how one would even attach 3000# to the Chevette's sheet metal.

Few years back we had a Cherokee sport that was great for towing an open-center car trailer with light loads - car bodies or a Chevy Vega. Used a WD hitch and kept speeds reasonable and it was a nice alternative to 9 mpg from a big truck. I won't admit to ever towing a 66 Cadillac Fleetwood behind it though, at 45mph on the freeway all the way home

 

[Sysop]

But then sometimes the manufacture's tow ratings are total fantasy. The Chevette (1970's compact car) had an official Chevy tow rating of 3000# I'm not sure how one would even attach 3000# to the Chevette's sheet metal.[/QUOTE]

HAHAHA YOU sir just struck my funny bone!

All joking aside, partly why you'll see larger tow ratings on older cars is due to the fact most of the interstates that have a speed limit of 70 today, were all 55 at the time. Again, lower speeds are safer with larger amounts of weight. I keep tires on my truck and trailers that have the thickest sidewalls and heaviest load ratings I can get because I think their "load rating" is likely the closest to being accurate. It's nothing for me to load to 1.5 to 2x the truck or trailer's "rated capacity" and crawl the load from one side of the property to the other. Never have I had a concern. As Indylan said "the factory limits are set with some extra safety factor, the sales guys want everything underrated so you have to buy a diesel dually to pull anything bigger than a log splitter, plus the lawyers assume half the buyers are idiots, so don't be an idiot and you'll be fine"

 

[Sysop]

I won't admit to ever towing a 66 Cadillac Fleetwood behind it though, at 45mph on the freeway all the way home

The way a 66 Cadillac Fleetwood should be towed?

 

[cockeyedMFer]

That's where I learned the term "death wobble"

Someone mentioned older cars - in college I drove a 77 big block new yorker with a factory tow rating of 7,000lbs. Never tried towing with it though. Keep in mind that was before the days of receiver hitches bolted to the frame....How did we ever survive back then?!

 

[WM75Guy]

I looked at the weights for several trailer manufacturers, CM, S&H, and Sundowner. Most 2 horse slant loads, aluminum or steel, weigh 2600-2700 pounds empty, the 2 horse slant load goosenecks start at 3300 pounds. A straight load with a tack room of either type will be heavier as it will be several feet longer. A straight load has the axles further towards the rear causing more tongue weight. With 2 horses at 1000 pounds each and three hundred pounds of tack and supplies now you are at 5000 pounds bumper pull and 5700 pounds gooseneck. You will be close to max capacity with either type. The shape of the trailer front will also make a big difference in drag, flat vs a V. Driving level is one thing, hills, headwinds, and braking are another.

We pull a Sundowner 3 horse slant 8' wide GN with my wife's 08 and my 03 GMC. Three warmbloods at 1400 pounds each makes for some fun towing when they decide to start moving and kicking, you can feel them moving the truck. Trailer brakes on both axles are a must with a good controller. Having the diesel with the tow/haul mode helps stopping power. You can tell when it downshifts and the engine brake kicks in. My 03 is at 185,000 miles on the original brakes because I don't tow at max capacity every time and I pull some type of trailer weekly.

Like was previously suggested and if you can afford it look for a larger vehicle. It's not worth the risk and the stress created by towing at max capacity or beyond, especially with horses. You want to enjoy the outing, not be stressed out when you arrive at your destination or worse yet, stranded on the side of the road. But ultimately it's your decision, it's easy for everyone else to spend your money.

 

[Soundguy]

i preferer a heavier and longer tow vehicle. gives you more inertia to combat against what the trailer can do to you when things go bad.

 

[jejeosborne]

My first visit to the Trailer forum. I need some objective opinions.

I have a 2 wheel drive, 2006 Dodge Dakota 4.7 V8 with 3.55 gears, six speed manual trans., a class 4 weight distributing hitch, and helper springs. I occasionally pull a 2k pound, 2 horse bumper pull trailer with it, and it handles it fine. I'd like to move up in trailer size and get a 2 horse with more space in the front for storage.

The curb weight of the truck is 4,348 pounds. The GVWR is 6,010. The GCWR for the vehicle with 3.55 gears, is 5,500.

I am planning on having it re-geared to 4.10 gears in a few weeks.

The trailers that I'm looking at are around 3k pounds. All have electric brakes. Some are goosenecks, some are bumper pull. I would love to have a gooseneck due to the easier tow-ability and backing. There is a hitch shop in town that fabricates goosenecks for all kinds of trucks. They say they have done several for 3rd generation Dakotas. I know a gooseneck trailer will carry around 20% of the weight in the bed, but I routinely haul 1,500 pounds of hay in the back, and it barely even dips.

So, what kind of weight can I safely (and legally) pull? Getting a bigger truck is not an option. My Dakota is paid for, and only has 29k miles. I'd take a beating if I tried to sell it, and I can't handle a truck payment right now.

Keep in mind, each horse weighs a thousand pounds.

Thanks,
VA

What cab does your truck have? I owned a 2001 Dakota quad cab and towed a 25 foot ultra light camper without issue. I ordered it with the 4.7 liter 3:92 rear for towing. Most think of the Dakota as a compact truck but for that year it was longer in total length and wheelbase than the suburban and equal in these dimensions to the full sized truck. It was just narrower. Mine was rated for around 6500 lbs towing and the camper weighed about 5000 lbs ready to camp. I had no uncomfortable moments even going through the smoky mountains. Now in comparison, I own a f150 ecoboost and it is a lot more solid of a tow vehicle and obviously safer. No one should question your judgement if the rig feels safe and you are under all your limits.