Advice on Towing

[Germanrazor]

Without getting into the numbers like a college calculus lesson I try to keep things simple for the most part. Anytime you are looking to a TT over 30 feet and over 6000 lbs dry and we all know dry weight is just that…….never tow using a non-heavy duty PU.

Just pony up to a work truck. If you think one day you will go beyond the TT to a fifth wheel you may want to start calculating the numbers a bit to see if a gasser heavy duty or diesel is best.

Do people tow trailers you are asking about with 1500 series trucks? All day. But I would hate for that one time of catastrophic failure due to wear and tear or stressing that series of truck to a breaking point and injure others.

Now if you like the math of calculating precisely, go for it. Just don’t go with just getting by.

 

[Bob K4TAX]

Without getting into the numbers like a college calculus lesson I try to keep things simple for the most part. Anytime you are looking to a TT over 30 feet and over 6000 lbs dry and we all know dry weight is just that…….never tow using a non-heavy duty PU.

Just pony up to a work truck. If you think one day you will go beyond the TT to a fifth wheel you may want to start calculating the numbers a bit to see if a gasser heavy duty or diesel is best.

Do people tow trailers you are asking about with 1500 series trucks? All day. But I would hate for that one time of catastrophic failure due to wear and tear or stressing that series of truck to a breaking point and injure others.

Now if you like the math of calculating precisely, go for it. Just don’t go with just getting by.

Take your tow vehicle or the VIN number to the vehicle dealer. Ask the service department to look up the trailer towing specs for that specific vehicle. The GVRW of models of the same year and type will vary due to accessories. Then multiply that number by 80%. The result is the maximum GVRW of the trailer you should be towing.