Help me understand towing weight

[Moflash]

Originally Posted by kscherzi

New half ton trucks have evolved to become so capable probably any Airstream made can be safely towed by one. General exceptions might be the top end models loaded with every luxury option and with 22" wheels. I would understand a heavier truck if also regularly hauling several near adult children and/or routinely carrying several hundreds of pounds of stuff in the bed.

I agree with you.The only problem is they are all ordered differently and people see the ads of the 1/2 tons pulling huge boats and trailers then stroll into a dealership in which the man that orders all the trucks knows not a thing about payloads,Max tow packages ,rear differential ratios etc Now they pick out the pretty blue one with navigation and air conditioned seats only to realize later when they hook onto their trailer that this beautiful $52,000 truck was not setup to tow.
Not everyone needs 3/4 or 1 ton.I do because in my application it is configured perfect for me.You cannot do this with a 1/2 ton unfortunately.My 2015 arrives tomorrow and it is configured exactly the same as the 2012 pictured.


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[dkottum]

Nor would I ever want to.

[Moflash]

Wow ...Doug I think you finally get it.We all use our trailers differently and they do build trucks for each application.

Good looking rig buy the way!
Great color on the truck..lol


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[kscherzi]

Like I said earlier, you can do the math all day and worry, or you can just roll.

[Airrogant]

Many well-intentioned towers try to do the payload math. Unfortunately the manufacturers always publish specs for the model and configuration that produces the maximum payload. No one buys this vehicle, however. Imagine how much weight a fully-loaded truck carries vs. a base model. In most cases it amounts to hundreds and hundreds of pounds. Essentially this just lowers a towers available payload.

The option trap is probably what causes some buyers to upsize their tow vehicle over what seems "reasonable."

Moral of this story: If you need to load your tow vehicle with all of the options be prepared to travel light to compensate for the extra weight. Else buy a bigger TV.

[Airrogant]

If you are really interested in digging into some towing numbers I recommend that you download this spreadsheet. It makes it very easy to play with the numbers to see what the consequences are.

It also can help to de-mystify the interrelationships of all of these variables.

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j...HdwqMykvIRWmKQ

[TouringDan]

Originally Posted by MrUKToad

Nicely put. I was just thinking that we obsess too much about weight and ratings when we shouldn't.

I don't agree. I am not saying that we should obsess about it and I don't think most people do. I do think that we should know what our rigs weigh relative to the ratings, and the only way we can determine this is to load them and then weigh them at a scale. If we are over then we can take steps to remove some weight or reposition the weight, so that we are within or at least closer to the weight ratings. If we are still over, we can adjust our driving style or maybe even the route to still tow safely (or safer than before). Too many folks just stick their head in the sand and tow without knowing what their rigs weigh. They think they are safe because their trailer weighs less than the advertised tow rating. Everyone should hit the scales at least once. It is the only way to know.

Dan