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What do you think?

  • You won't even know it's back there

  • Not a problem but be cautious

  • Trucks are made for towing, giver!

  • Stay off steep grades and speeds over 65mph

  • Might want to consider a bigger tow vehicle

  • Please don't do that when I'm on the road

  • Upgrade your insurance and keep your lawyer on speed dial

  • This is a terrible and dangerous idea

  • You'll die a firey death and take out nuns & school children with you

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Towing a 25' travel trailer

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3.5K views 4 replies 3 participants last post by  Bigblockyeti  
B
#1 · (Edited)
So I've got a 2012 Equator CCLB 4x4 rated for 6100lb, max tongue weight 610lb, max 60sqft frontal area (I know this was halved later but why?), 5815lb GVWR, 11133lb GCWR and I just weighed it with me + gas & crap in the cab = 4920lbs (add +40lb for full gas tank).

This combo seems doable to me but the frontal area as has been discussed multiple times does give me pause. FWIW, I'm not going to be trying to maintain 70mph up a 5% grade in 100° heat with the A/C blasting, 50mph would be more realistic and I'm comfortable with that given what I'm working with.

The trailer I'm looking at is a Micro Lite 25bhks, 4406lb empty, 5729lb GVWR and measured to be right at 60sqft frontal area. I'm not ignorant to the fact the camper will have ~400lb worth of crap permanently in it even when "empty" so considering it to be 4800lb when underway would be more realistic. Food & misc will be in another vehicle entirely & water tanks will be empty when traveling.

The truck weight when under weigh should be figured at 4960lb + 120lb (1 kid) + 50lb (full gas can) = 5130lb rolling.
Adding the weight of the camper gives me a real GCW of 9930lbs or 89% of my max GCWR. This would also give me a tongue weight of somewhere between 480-510lbs (& I'll be using a weight distributing hitch) and the Reese hitch I've had forever is rated for 5000lb coventional, 6000lb weight distributing.

This leaves me good on:
  1. Towing capacity @ 79% of max
  2. Tongue weight @ 84% of max
  3. Frontal area @ 100% of max
  4. Truck GVWR @ 88% of max
  5. Truck GCWR @ 89% of max
It works on paper but will it work in real life? I'm hoping to convince the seller to let me pull it on a 15 mile loop to see how it handles in real life.
 
B
#3 · (Edited)
That's kinda what I was thinking and the poor fuel economy I've experienced with a 5K trailer with a pretty unaerodynamic load headed from Cleveland to SC via the WV turnpike. If I knew right off the bat I'd want to upgrade the truck, I'd probably skip the TT and go for a class A RV instead as the +$20K spent would be a bit less than the +$35K I'd spend on a new, bigger truck.

I forgot a few pieces of the puzzle:
  1. Of the 4800lb trailer, 100lb was allotted for the included weight distributing hitch.
  2. Though implied, I have stock gearing & no lift kit.
  3. I have slightly upsized tires at 265/70r17 vs. factory 265/65r17.
  4. I have an electric brake controller already installed.
 
T
#4 ·
You have to go by your lowest common denominator, which is typically your payload capacity. Absent your door sticker rating, if we take your GVWR less your truck's weight (5815-4920), that gives 895lbs of payload capacity.

If your trailer is 4800lbs rolling and we put 12% on the hitch, that is 576lbs extra on the truck, leaving 319lbs remaining. The weight of your person was already factored into the truck's weight that you reported, but if we subtract the kid's weight and the fuel, that leaves 149lbs. So by that math, you're still good to go. Even if we bump the trailer to 5000lbs (because the unladen weight is typically the stripped out base model with no options), you'd still have 125lbs of payload.

More anecdotally, I will say that I personally find towing a trailer that's wider than 7' to be cumbersome with anything but a full-size truck or SUV. It helps that you have a crew cab long bed, as the extra wheelbase and weight will give better stability.
 
B
#5 ·
Yeah, I'm probably another 5-10lb for strap on trailer mirrors as the camper at 96" wide is already a bit wider than the width from outside to outside of each sideview mirror. I really need to weigh exactly what I'm considering before making an offer and I need at least a 10-15 mile shakedown run. The last thing I need when buying a $12-$16K trailer is to find out I need a $65K truck to pull it. The frontal area has me concerned but I'm already planning on where I'm likely to go and keeping a max of 60mph isn't going to be a problem.
 
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