look at your door cert on the drivers door pillar. That will have your axle ratings. Don't exceed them or the tire ratings.

Which ever has the lowest ratings.

Get it on the scale so you know how much you have to play with.

 

I have tossed this question out several times as the debate about weight ratings and how much weight can be towed comes up continually.

Can anyone cite a single documentable case in which a non-commercial owner has been cited legally or been involved in a civil action based solely on towing over a published weight rating?

I am not trying to argue for or against anything here. I am Sally Safe when it comes to towing, as everyone knows who has read my posts in the past. It is just that I have researched this issue to death and can not find a single case. Not saying there are not some cases out there, but I would like to read the particulars.

Thanks,

Steve

 

The Police never checks the manufacturer tow ratings. All they care about is how much registration you are paying for. I see 1 ton pickup with 40,000 lb stickers all the time. The 4 car tilted goseneck trailer got new competition. Now those 1 ton pickup tow double decker car haulers. All legal.

 

Ok, I understand the math now. You can swap this % out to more accurately reflect how a trailer balances then derive the total weight, and the equation always works.

15% pin on a 20000# GN is 3k, 20% pin on a 15000# RV is the same.

 

the hills dont worry me much.i tow our 8kcamper now up hills now in pa.within the speed limit.i have load range e tires already.the 5fth wheel is 6,900 dry wieght and pin wieght is 1625.my question i guess is do they tow as nicely/easily as a regular camper with them being higher and all.the problem with my camper now is sway.it puts practicly no wieght on the truck.i had no sway when i hauled my garden tractor in the bed .
i know a diesel has more power but the only one in my $ range was a 03 6.0 fleet truck that was not taken care of.i got the 99 5.4 for 6,400 thats 4x4 supercab and had 152,000 on it.the ony problem with it so far is a warped manifold that ticks until its warm then you only hear it under load.
as for photos i will have to get the wife to upload them im not good with that stuff.thanks again for the help

 

You will notice the 5er pulls much easier.
Sort of simplified. While it sits higher and will grab more wind, you have to look at the weight distribution. A TT hangs the weight off of the back of your truck and when a wind hits it it is pushing against a unit that is providing apporx. 800 lbs to hold down the back of your truck, and that weight is leveraged behind your axle, and pulls in the bumper of your truck. A 5er weighing the same while sitting higher puts apporx. 1600 lbs pushing down over the top of your axle, the same wind while pushing harder on the bigger sail is pushing the trailer to move a heavier truck from approx 4 feet farther forward on the truck. Instead of shaking the truck from the rear it is trying to basically shake the whole truck.

 

thanks i was worried about wind drag.the only worry now is 160,000 miles to many to tow that much 200 miles one way?iguess thats what tow insurance is for