Things to consider about your tow vehicle when looking into a Trailer Purchase

Things to consider before looking into any trailer purchase. The following is a brief overview about towing and what to look for. This post is to point out potential issues that need to be looked at when choosing to tow any trailer. All individuals must take their own responsibility for their choices made when deciding on a tow vehicle and trailer.

Tow Vehicle

Consider the tow vehicle (or TV) that you will be using to tow the trailer. Read your vehicle's owners manual! Keep in mind that, when towing a trailer, you will have slowed down your acceleration, increased your stopping distance, and reduced your maneuverability with the added weight and length you are now driving. You may need to look into Factory or aftermarket tow packages to be installed. These include, but are not limited to; Transmission cooler, heavy duty alternator, proper wiring, heavy duty brakes, improved suspension, just to name a few. This will be more important if you plan doing the following. It is one thing to get your trailer from the lot to home and can be a total nightmare trying to get from home to your favorite fishing spot on that high mountain stream if you do not properly evaluate your TV.
You need to consider the type of towing you are going to be doing. If you are one for heavy mountainous and back country towing, even with the comparative light weight of a TM, you will need a fairly heavy duty TV. Steep grades and altitude take its toll on a TV. Engine power is reduced the higher you go. Cooling becomes more difficult because of the thinner atmosphere. Braking on the long downhill slope can be very hard on your TV as well. That just covers a few.

Flat, level plains towing can allow for a lighter TV. Mild slopes an low altitude changes are not such a burden and can accommodate smaller TVs. Again, read your vehicle's owners manual!

Two additional pieces of important information are...

GCVW; Gross Combined Vehicular Weight

Most important is the total weight that a TV can manage as specified by the manufacturer. This implies total weight of the TV, including occupants, fuel, options, cargo and total weight of the trailer including cargo, options, water, etc. Weight does add up very quickly so you want to be generous with your guessing or very accurate with your values. This is not the area you want to be conservative and underestimate your weight.

Towing Capacity; Total weight a TV is designed to tow while not exceeding GCVW. Most specifications are marked with an asterisk. This more often means an empty TV, no occupants, cargo, fuel, etc. Read and understand what they are referencing this for when evaluating your TV!

When considering a trailer, do not look just at "Dry Weight". This is a completely empty trailer with no extra options. Rather look at the combined "Dry weight" and "Load Capacity" (by design, how much the trailer can safely carry). More often than not they list these values as approximates.

Example; A trailer with a dry weight of 2,748 lbs (approximate) and load capacity of 1,328 lbs, you need a towing capacity of more than 4,076 lbs but still not exceed your GCVW.

The above will help you determine if you need another vehicle first and help you understand your tow limits in choosing a trailer.

Trailer Hitch

Most use a WDH (weight Distribution Hitch) with a travel trailer. This helps distribute the tongue weight of the trailer across the front and rear axles of the TV. Without one, there is a risk that the front end will be too light to operate properly in a panic situation. This is due to the fact the front end controls your steering and manages 60-85% of the overall braking of the TV. Some of your larger TVs can support the smaller trailers without a WDH. Consider using one if your are anywhere near the upper towing capacity of your TV.

Brake Controller

TM Trailers come equipped with electric brakes so you will want to get a brake controller and have it installed. This allows the trailer to help with stopping when the brakes are applied. You can read elsewhere on the differences of the type of controllers available and make your choices as to which one to use. With this install you need to have a fully functional 7 position plug-in for your TM available. This is NOT a 4, 5, 6 position to 7 position adaptor!

This gives you operation over the brake/turn/running/backup lights as well as the brakes between your TV and TM. The 7 positions are; brake lights, trailer brake, left turn signal, right turn signal, running lights, back up lights, and Trailer battery charge.

Excellent compilation, You might add something about the TV having a factory installed Tow package and the key components. Many times people think adding a hitch and elect connector constitutes a tow package.

[Bill]

Nature Recorder -

That is a very good post, and I'm glad you made it. I suspect that this will become a long thread.

Let me start by making a couple observations, or suggested changes.

In my opinion, the very first rule of choosing a tow vehicle should be "WHERE do you plan to tow your trailer?" If you are going to tool around the flatlands of Florida or Indiana, then you can think about a fairly lightweight tow vehicle. But if you plan to get into any mountains, including the Appalachians, then a more stringent set of contraints comes into play. And if you plan to get up around 10,000 feet in the Rockies or Sierras, for example, then the constraints become even more severe. This is true, not only because of the prolonged steep grades you will encounter, and because engine and transmission cooling are poor in the thin air, but also because for every 1000 feet of altitude, the engine loses more than 3% of its sea-level power. All these things are very hard on a car. So my first piece of advice is always "Figure out where you intend to tow before you even think about a tow vehicle". Or, if you are doing it in reverse, "Figure out where you intend to tow before you even think about choosing a trailer." Unfortunately, many people don't want to do this, because they don't like the answer.

I think that GCVW refers to the total weight of the car, the trailer, and all options and all cargo in both - regardless of how you get there. The issue of "This usually implies an empty vehicle, no gas or driver/passenger(s)" usually refers to the vehicle's tow rating, as specified by the manufacturer. In other words, when the manufacturer says "This vehicle is rated to tow 3500 pounds", check the asterisk! There always is one. And it always means "3500 pounds when there are no passengers, no cargo, no factory options, no aftermarket options, and (often) no gas in the vehicle". This is where newcomers often go wrong, concluding that a 3500-pound-rated tow vehicle can actually tow 3500 pounds, even after they add 1000 pounds of passengers, cargo, and options to the vehicle. T'ain't so.

And finally (and believe me, I am not trying to nitpick your excellent post), I think that the statement "you want to have a 7 position plug-in for your TM" should be rephrased as "you MUST have a properly wired 7-position plug-in ...". Over the years we have had a couple forum members trying to get by with a 4-pin-to-7-pin adapter (or a 5-pin-to-7-pin or 6-pin-to-7-pin adapter). This will not work. It must be a properly-wired 7-pin socket.

Again, thanks for starting a good thread.

Bill

Thanks all for the great feedback!

I have updated my post based on these inputs. I hope I have properly paraphrased these inputs. It is always helpful to have another set of eyes to review what I feel is a very important process to evaluate towing needs.

If you would be so kind as to review again, I will be looking forward to your feedback.

[Wavery]

Although I agree with Bill in theory....the reality of selecting ""WHERE do you plan to tow your trailer?" , may be a bit naive IMO........ How does the old saying go??...."The best laid plan of mice and men" or something like that......

I feel that the TV should be up to all challenges that it could possibly be challenged by. That is why vehicles are given ratings in the 1st place. You don't see "regional exceptions" on ratings.

I live in So Ca and I mostly tow along the coast, which could be considered, "Moderate" towing. However, there will ALWAYS be that "one special trip" to the mountains or wherever.

I truly feel that any responsible person should have a TV that is capable of towing a specific weight trailer that they have, under the most extreme circumstances. It is the very odd exception that someone would go out and buy a new TV because a particular trip presented itself (and trust me.....it always will).

When you are a camping enthusiast (as many of us are) or even if you're not, that scenario seems to always present itself.

When I say "the most extreme circumstances", I'm not suggesting that it is essential that one has a 1-ton pick-up to tow a TM. I'm merely suggesting that one should never compromise with the factory weight limits because they "Mainly" travel in flat lands. It only takes one incident to ruin a trip or even take a life.

Originally Posted by harveyrv

Although I agree with Bill in theory....the reality of selecting ""WHERE do you plan to tow your trailer?" , may be a bit naive IMO........ How does the old saying go??...."The best laid plan of mice and men" or something like that......

I feel that the TV should be up to all challenges that it could possibly be challenged by. That is why vehicles are given ratings in the 1st place. You don't see "regional exceptions" on ratings.

Wayne, I fully understand what you're trying to say, and actually agree somewhat, but there is very valid point to Bill's comment about "where you plan to tow". I agree that if you are going out specifically to buy a TV for a TM, that you should "buy as big as you can afford", but "region" does come in to play, especially if you are like most and have a budget.

For example, it's at least a two day drive in any direction from New Orleans before you hit anything close to a "hill" much less a mountain. My wife and I could camp for years and never go over 200ft above sea level.
Do we eventually want to go to places like Yellowstone, Yosemite, etc,??... sure, but I can guarantee it won't be for at least 5-7yrs. We could use up a TV in that time, and then buy a larger one later when we do plan on more challenging trips.
There are also many who use RV's to simply get away on the weekends and rarely go more than a few hundred miles from home. If home is a place like Louisiana, then "grunt" is rarely needed, thus "region" does come into play.

Now if I was retired and going out today to buy that ultimate TV for the next 10yrs, and money is no object, then I would say to plan for the unexpected and buy a beast. I know I would.

[Bill]

That is why vehicles are given ratings in the 1st place. You don't see "regional exceptions" on ratings.

That's exactly the problem I was trying to lay out, Wayne. In my opinion, there SHOULD be regional exceptions (or at least regional advisories) on tow vehicle tow ratings. It doesn't take much thought to realize to realize that a single one-size-fits-all number cannot possibly cover all situations. But that is what the manufacturers give you. Again in my opinion, the tow vehicle manufacturers quote the best possible number (that is, the sea-level flatland number) because it maximizes their chance of selling you a vehicle. It is up to the buyer to realize that the flatland number won't apply when you are not in the flatlands.

I can guarantee you that a 3500-pound rated vehicle will not be adequate going up 8% grades at 8,000 feet as you approach a campground in Yosemite National Park in the high Sierras - or a campground at 10,000 feet in Colorado. I have gone both places with my TM and Explorer (rated 6800 pounds), and it was a long slow slog. [Full disclosure - I am unwilling to run the engine near red line for prolonged periods of time.] In spite of the fact that I had more than 2-to-1 margin (according to Ford), there were moments when I wasn't sure I was going to make it. Again in my opinion, there should be a regional advisiory, but since there is not, it is up to the owner to be smart about it.

Bill

[Wavery]

Originally Posted by Bill

That's exactly the problem I was trying to lay out, Wayne. In my opinion, there SHOULD be regional exceptions (or at least regional advisories) on tow vehicle tow ratings. It doesn't take much thought to realize to realize that a single one-size-fits-all number cannot possibly cover all situations. But that is what the manufacturers give you. Again in my opinion, the tow vehicle manufacturers quote the best possible number (that is, the sea-level flatland number) because it maximizes their chance of selling you a vehicle. It is up to the buyer to realize that the flatland number won't apply when you are not in the flatlands.

I can guarantee you that a 3500-pound rated vehicle will not be adequate going up 8% grades at 8,000 feet as you approach a campground in Yosemite National Park in the high Sierras - or a campground at 10,000 feet in Colorado. I have gone both places with my TM and Explorer (rated 6800 pounds), and it was a long slow slog. [Full disclosure - I am unwilling to run the engine near red line for prolonged periods of time.] In spite of the fact that I had more than 2-to-1 margin (according to Ford), there were moments when I wasn't sure I was going to make it. Again in my opinion, there should be a regional advisiory, but since there is not, it is up to the owner to be smart about it.

Bill

Point well taken. The problem is, most consumers will still purchase a tow vehicle that will tow the maximum trailer with the minimum TV in most cases.

I would like to see people do as much research as possible to know EXACTLY what they have and what the limitations are.

It's really encouraging when we have discussions like this because it puts out a lot of information and opinions on towing the TMs. My fear is that someone, sooner or later, will not be able to stop one of these things going back down that 10,000' mountain that you mentioned.

Going up the mountain slowly offers little danger. The dangerous aspect is having a TV that can slow and stop that load going down those grades.

[QUOTE=harveyrv;60864
Going up the mountain slowly offers little danger. The dangerous aspect is having a TV that can slow and stop that load going down those grades.[/QUOTE]

Many years ago I saw a class C come within a few hundred yards of Sonora Summit. He was unable to climb any higher. He had to back down a narrow two lane road.

An undersized TV towing a trailer in that situation would have had a much more difficult time backing down that road.

There is a sign much lower down the mountain that states that it is not advisable to tow a trailer over that summit, but I am pretty sure I could.

I think I can, I think I can...

[Bill]

Originally Posted by harveyrv

The problem is, most consumers will still purchase a tow vehicle that will tow the maximum trailer with the minimum TV in most cases. I would like to see people do as much research as possible to know EXACTLY what they have and what the limitations are. It's really encouraging when we have discussions like this because it puts out a lot of information and opinions on towing the TMs.

Wayne, we are in exact agreement on this! One of the purposes of the entire TMO board is to help TM owners understand what is involved in towing a TM, and to truly understand it - not just accept unsubstantiated advice from someone's cousin's brother-in-law. As part of this, we want to help with the research on what all the ratings mean and don't mean, and your inputs to the process are great. And at the end, we all hope that TM owners will be a little more knowledgeable and a little better equipped than other trailer owners.

[soapbox mode OFF]

Bill