what tlr to purchase

Hoeman00 · Aug 28, 2002

Hello rmonio;
I think u need to check the weight of your tractor.
7000 gvw trailer u need to take off trailer weight.
Example 7000 gvw
-2000 trailer weight
------
5000 net u can haul on trailer
My guess is the 4600 and loader is close to that (tires loaded or counterweight ???)

LBrown59 · Dec 30, 2004

( Gary in Indiana, I measured the deck. It is 20' long. Here are some pics. Excuse the quality all I have is a cheap digital camera. Hope to get a better on soon. )

Nice Tr.
Are the side rails removable?
You may want to load or unload something sometime with a set of forks.

LBrown59 · Jan 2, 2005

( Another thing to consider is the tow vehicle. There are not a lot of vehicles that will tow 10,000 pounds. )

What ones will?

BER · Jan 2, 2005

Something I had to consider when purchasing my trailer was the width of the trailer's tire track. The county roads here a narrow, so I went with a deckover flatbed. The drawback is the height of the deck. Loading can be a problem using ramps that are at the steep angle caused by the deck height.

keeney · Jan 2, 2005

RE:
( Another thing to consider is the tow vehicle. There are not a lot of vehicles that will tow 10,000 pounds. )

What ones will?


Generally, you are looking at a 3/4 ton pickup (Ford F250, Chevy/GMC 2500, etc). Towing capacity is one of the main reasons for moving to the larger sized pickup truck. I think some of them are advertised up to 14,500 lbs and come with a built-in brake controller.

Some SUV's like the Suburban are available in a 3/4-ton version.

My buddy at work has an Avalanche 2500 for towing his 12,000 lb camper - works great!

Most of the newer 1/2-ton pickups have towing cap of around 9500 lbs, so if you can stay a bit under 10,000 lbs, you would be OK, but at the limit of the truck's capacity.

- Rick

LBrown59 · Jan 10, 2005

( RE:
( Another thing to consider is the tow vehicle. There are not a lot of vehicles that will tow 10,000 pounds. )

What ones will?


Generally, you are looking at a 3/4 ton pickup (Ford F250, Chevy/GMC 2500, etc). Towing capacity is one of the main reasons for moving to the larger sized pickup truck. I think some of them are advertised up to 14,500 lbs and come with a built-in brake controller.

Some SUV's like the Suburban are available in a 3/4-ton version.

My buddy at work has an Avalanche 2500 for towing his 12,000 lb camper - works great!

Most of the newer 1/2-ton pickups have towing cap of around 9500 lbs, so if you can stay a bit under 10,000 lbs, you would be OK, but at the limit of the truck's capacity.

- Rick )
Can you combine towing capacity with load capacity?

Dartagnan · Jan 10, 2005

Load Capacity= amount of vehicle weight + Contents + Tongue weight

Towing Capacity= max gross trailer weight

Which means you can be limited by tongue weight rather than max tow cap, also means you can tow more with a bumper pull than a 5th or goose neck. Why? Goose and 5th pull better with Approx 25% tongue weight, bumper is closer to 10%. So if you only have capacity for 1000 lbs of load on vehicle, you can pull 10K on the bumper or 4k on a 5th/gooseneck. (Of course the 10k would probably be limited by "max towing Cap" of the said vehicle)

So the next question is why spend the extra for less cap on a goose or fifth wheel? Drivability. They handle/track better at speed and are generally much easier to manuever.

Just as a note, Truck class IE 1/2 ton, 3/4 ton is not neccesarily tongue weight limit, from my discussions with Ford, it is apparently a structual limit on the box/bed. Max tongue weight is determined by gvw stickers on door and subtracting weight of vehicle and contents. You also must take into account where the tongue weight is going, front axle/rear axle ratio, as the limits on each are not always the same nor are they "preloaded" the same in an empty vehicle.

Dart

LBrown59 · Jan 15, 2005

I guess what I'm asking is This.
EXAMPLE
If you have a truck that can haul 4000 pounds
That has a towing capacity of 10000 pounds.

Can you pull a trailer that loaded weighs 9000 pounds and haul 3000 pounds of something in the bed at the same time?

Egon · Jan 15, 2005

Gross combined vehicle weight.

Egon

keeney · Jan 15, 2005

RE: Can you pull a trailer that loaded weighs 9000 pounds and haul 3000 pounds of something in the bed at the same time? 

Not unless you are talking about a larger truck with a higher total combination rating, like a 1-ton. It would be right at the limit on most 3/4-tons, and over capacity on all 1/2-tons as far as I would guess.

Most trucks are already at or close to their Gross Combination Weight - the weight of the truck, trailer, and contents of both - when at their max towing weight.

There are generally four limits to worry about:

1. Gross Trailer Weight - the weight of the trailer and its load. For a given payload, you can reduce the total weight by going wioth a lighter trailer (aluminum).

2. Tongue Weight - how much of the weight of the trailer rests vertically on the tongue (or fifth wheel). Since a trailer needs more of its weight up front than behind its axle to be stable, the heavier trailers will often have heavier tongue weight. For a heavy trailer, you can reduce tongue weight with a load-compensating hitch.

3. Combination Weight - the toal weight of the turck, trailer, and all loads carried in each (including the driver and passengers).

4. Axle max and front-back ratio. You can't just lump all the weight on the rear axle. The tow vehicle needs weight on its front axle to stay stable and steer. Weight-compensating hitches and fifth-wheel setups help with this. If you need to haul something in the truck AND tow a trailer, make sure the payload inthe truck is as far forward as possible.