We currently have a travel trailer (05 Jayco 29 BHS) that we tow with our 08 F150 Lariat Supercrew with tow pkg, 5.4 motor and 3.73 rear end.

We are currently looking for a new travel trailer or fifth-wheel.

While looking at a couple of units (travel trailer & 5's) the RV salesman told me that the tongue or king pin weight can be duducted from the trailer weights since that weight is figured into the truck cap.

After reading and reading and more reading I can not find any info to back-up his statement. I do know the Ford 08 trailering guide says you have to add the toungue or king pin weight to the truck but does not say anything else.

Has anyone else experienced this comment from a rv salesman?

I am hoping someone out there can help me.


Thanks,

Troy

 

That doesn't make much sense. The tongue weight is part of the trailer... I guess if you are weighing on a scale, yes, the tongue weight counts on the truck's rear axle. I see what he's saying... but its rarely thought of like that. Count the tongue weight as part of the trailer except when you are measuring axle weight on all four axles.

 

That sounds like another typical RV salesman trying to sell an RV. They will tell you almost anything to move a unit. One in NC tried to tell me that I could legally tow a Newmar Torrey Pine fifth wheel that had an advertised hitch weight of 2950 pounds. Problem is my truck's payload capacity is 2700. The dry weight of the RV is 15,525 pounds. Even with no cargo and no people, I would have already been over my GCWR.

 

grafekie, you mean count the tongue or king pion weight when measuring GAWR and GVWR on the truck ?

 

I think what he's saying is basically that any weight you add to the truck contributes to the Gross Vehicle Weight and the Gross Axle Weight. For instance, if the truck weighs 5800 pounds empty and your hitch weight is 1100 pounds, that 1100 pounds is added to the gross weight of the truck and therefore takes you closer to the GVWR of the truck. It is also added to the axle weights. A fifth wheel hitch, when positioned properly, places more of the hitch weight on the front axle than a traditional receiver hitch. That's another reason it is important to weigh both axles of your truck independently of the other.

Just to clarify: The GCWR is the total weight of the truck, trailer, and cargo combined. The GVWR is the weight of the truck, people, and any added weight such as gear and / or pin / hitch weight. The GAWR is the amount of weight that each axle in your truck is rated to handle.

Unfortunately, it is difficult to weigh the truck's axles and estimate how much you have left over before reaching your max because RV manufacturer pin weights are traditionally on the light side. Without being able to actually weigh the pin or hitch of the trailer, it can be a real guessing game.

 

He's wrong. The hitch weight or pin weight still needs to be applied to the trailer as that weight will determine the amount of stress placed on welds at the points where the a-frame is welded to the trailer frame on a bumper pull trailer or on the welds at the drop point of a fifth wheel.

Using his logic, if you have a big enough truck, you could load the front end of the trailer to the maximum capacity of the truck without regard to the capacity of the trailer, and then load the trailer to max GVWR all on the axles. Neat concept, but there are very few manufacturers who would endorse this concept in the event of a frame failure.

As an example, my F-350 tow boss has a carrying capacity of about 5,000 lbs. My trailer has axles rated at 18,000 lbs and a GVWR of 18,100 lbs. Using your salesman's logic, I can put 5,000 lbs on the pin because that's what the truck will handle, and then load the trailer axles to their 18,000 capacity for a total trailer weight of 23,000 lbs. Of course, I'm disregarding my GCWR for the truck, but you get the idea.

 

Some trailers DO measure like that... I personally would not. My trailer has two 7k axles and a GVRW of 14,000. My roomate's trailer has two 3500lb axles and a gross weight of 9500. What that manufacturer did was add the two 3500 axles together (7000) then add 25% too the total. So it is something that is done...

But I still would NOT do that. Load the trailer's total, stand-alone weight no more than the total of its axle's capacity. If you have two 7k axles, keep the total trailer weight, sitting by itself on a scale, under 14,000.