Quote:
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Originally Posted by mrbreez
RockyMtnRay,
Good point! I have heard pulling a 5th wheel is safer & easier to travel with. I have looked @ a few lite travel trailers to but I haven't seen to many trailers weighing 2700 lb empty weight either execpt for a pop up. The manual says that the Tundra can tow up to 7200 lbs so I was thinking of getting a trailer around 5500 to 6000 lbs & allowing 1000 lbs for stuff that I might take including, fuel, food, fishing equipment, and other stuff. Most of these lite campers are around weighing 4800 to 6000 lbs.
Thanks for your advice & I guess I better stick with a travel trailer!
mrbreez
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I'm glad I've conveyed the issues in 5th Wheel towing, but please
DON'T use the published tow rating to determine how heavy a trailer you can tow. It's purely a marketing number and useful
solely for comparison to other tow vehicles. Published tow ratings are useless, misleading, and very dangerous for trailer buying decisions. Here's why:
As the GAWR-rear was the critical limit for towing a 5th Wheel, the Gross Combined Weight Rating (GCWR) is usually the critical limit for towing conventional travel trailers. The GCWR is exactly what it says...the total
combined weight of the
loaded truck
and the
loaded trailer. All V8 Tundras have exactly the same GCWR: 11,800 lbs.
The published tow rating is determined by subtracting the weight of a Tundra base model standard cab configured to be as light as possible...zero options (and I mean
zero options including no AC), about a gallon of gas in the tank, only a 150 lb driver (no passengers), and no cargo. The published 7200 lb "tow rating" is calculated by subtracting that weight (only 4600 lbs) from the GCWR. The published tow rating is therefore a completely bogus number because no-one in their right mind is going camping with no gas, no cargo, no options, and no passengers.
Since you have an LTD with oodles of heavy options and probably don't intend to go out camping with an empty gas tank, no cargo and no passengers, a much more realistic number for your truck's loaded-for-camping weight is around 5600 to 6000 lbs. Let's use 5800 lbs as a realistic number. Subtracting 5800 lbs from 11,800 means that
your actual tow rating is only 6000 lbs.
Now when you subtract the 800 to 1000 lbs of water/propane/food/clothing/gear you'll be putting in the trailer, that means you should not buy any travel trailer that has over a 5200 to 5500 lb "empty" or "UVW" weight. A trailer that's 6000 lbs empty is just too heavy.
Recommendation: Fill your truck with gas, and the passengers and cargo you'd actually take on a camping trip. Then go get it weighed at a commercial scale...check the Yellow Pages for locations. Once you know exactly how much your loaded truck will weigh (a number that may be a lot higher than you think it will be), subtract that from 11,800 and you will know just how heavy a loaded trailer you can pull. Then subtract 1000 from the loaded trailer weight to get a very safe "empty weight" or UVW. Don't let any trailer salesman convince you that you'll "still be safe with a little bigger trailer"...insist that any trailer you buy is at or below
your safe empty weight.
HTH