Distance Between Tire, Outigger, and Wheel Well?

I'm new guy to TM and towing, one thing I've been doing is looking at the numbers and weight rateings. My 2720 came to me weighing 3580lbs. (gas, no water) trailer is rated at 4000 someing. but each tire is rated at 1870. thus giving a total of only 3740 lbs.

This allows only 160 lbs. for food, clothing, water and whatever else one wishes to carry. Add 20 gal of water and your at 166 lbs.

Can't help but wonder why TM did not put heavier duty tires, whatever on their trailers. We carry most of our stuff in the truck and move it to the trailer when we get where we are going, sure wish we didn't have to.

Lol......it's amazing how much stuff you find to look at on the new ones *just* after you've been to see em. I had the opportunity to swing by a dealer that carrys the TM's today to look at the new 2003 models. Of course I noticed the things I'd been reading about in the forum like the control panel and the holding tank monitor, things like that, but I didn't even think to look at the suspension system.....or what they're doing where they used to use the elegant lights in the front. One thing I did notice is the new one had a small window up in the very front where the front bed was on both sides of the trailer. Mine doesn't have these windows, just the big one on the front. They've also changed how they do the window in the door as well where it doesn't use a curtain anymore. We were kind of pressed for time as we were still 1.5 hours from home and just passing through or I might have looked around it a little better. I did like the way they have installed the cable/phone jacks that run from one side of the trailer to the other. I also noticed they have a switch for the water heater to turn it on under the lip of the sink. I've not seen any of the earlier models that are newer than mine, just the 2002, and 2003's. But I didn't even think to look at the undercarrage!

[glow=red,2,300]Happytrails.......[/glow]

Windbreaker,


Wow...3580lbs seems way too high for a dry 2720. We had the SL with many options and I'm pretty sure even with full water and lp we had over 1000lbs available. Are you sure about this number?

Wade

Yep, I'm looking at the weight ticket now 3580!

My wife just reminded me we did add a microwave and 13 inch TV before we took it down to weigh it, but other than that nothing added by us. It did have all the options except the extra water tank and the microwave.

The station we used is mostly used for livestock trailers, don't know how close to right they have to be but my guess would be right on if someone is paying for cattle by the pound.

Windbreaker,

Don't mean to sound so skeptical, but what does the sticker say inside your TM? The apx dry weight is 2555 so somewhere you have added 1000lbs to the equation. Doesn't seem possible unless you really loaded that thing down!

Wade

[Denny_A]

Yep, I'm looking at the weight ticket now 3580!

My wife just reminded me we did add a microwave and 13 inch TV before we took it down to weigh it, but other than that nothing added by us. It did have all the options except the extra water tank and the microwave.

The station we used is mostly used for livestock trailers, don't know how close to right they have to be but my guess would be right on if someone is paying for cattle by the pound.

WB,

My 2002 2720SL tops out at 3005 lbs dry (includes propane). That's with every convenience but a microwave , elec tongue jack and folding hitch.

Check insde your trailer, to the immediate right of the entry door. A few inches above the velcro'ed flap you'll find a weight specs card. It should indicate the GVWR (Gross Vehicle Weight Rating) - UVW (Unloaded Vehicle Weight) - Fresh Water Wt - LP Gas Wt = CCC (Cargo Carrying Capacity). The 3rd to last page in the TM Manual, which came with the trailer, has a sample card and advice which recommends a truck weigh station for weighing.

If you add UVW + LP GAS WT = Dry weight, that's the ready to load for camping weight. That number varies from 2700 lbs to 3005 (in my case) and a bit more if options I don't have are included.

Since you seem to also have the tongue jack and swing away hitch, you might be looking at another xxx lbs.

Be aware that if you hook up a weight distribution hitch, 2/3 of the tongue weight is carried by the tow vehicle. If the tongue weigth is 510 lbs (frinstance,as is mine), then 340 lbs of that will be on the tow vehicle, and 170 lbs on the TM axle.

Having said all that - repeat check the wt card first. Then find a certified scale (best ones are at a high volume truck oasis. Get a 2nd opinion!

BTW - I also am firmly convinced that an empty 2720SL can't be anywhere near 3600 lbs.


Denny_A

[Bill]

I'll echo Denny on this one. Seems too high. I'm not personally convinced that a truck-stop scale rated at 100,000 pounds will have the accuracy we need (a few tens of pounds) down at the very bottom end of its range, but regardless of that, you do need a second opinion!

I had the same questions as you did - with two 1870-pound-rated tires, there doesn't seem to be much margin. And I don't fully understand the weight numbers given on the sticker that Denny refers to. I spent several hours on the TM web site, the Goodyear web site, and the Dexter Axle web site trying to sort this out. I think I finally understand the answers. The following discussion applies to my 2720SL, but the TM web site suggests that it also applies to the 2619 and the 3023 series.

First, to my surprise, it is not the tire capacity that limits the weight of the trailer. The limit comes from the axle assembly, which is rated at 3500 pounds. This means that if you put a scale under each of the tires, the total weight indicated by these scales must never exceed 3500 pounds, even though the tires themselves could carry 3740 pounds.

The weight of a trailer comes down in three places - two tires and the hitch. The sticker in my TM suggests that about 14% of the total gross weight of the trailer comes down on the hitch, and the other 86% on the tires. So my first expectation was that the total gross weight of the trailer could be as much as 4070 pounds. The hitch weight would be 14% of this, or about 570 pounds, leaving 3500 pounds on the tires. All is well, right?

Well, sort of. IF YOU DO NOT USE A WEIGHT DISTRIBUTING HITCH, then the tow vehicle does indeed carry the full tongue weight (570 pounds in this case), leaving 3500 pounds on the tires, and all is well.

But most of us DO use a WDH, and as Denny indicates, a weight distributing hitch transfers about a third of the tongue weight back onto the trailer tires. The other 2/3 is carried by the tow vehicle. If you do the numbers, you find that if the total weight of the trailer is 3860 pounds, then the weight on the tires will be 3500 pounds when you hook up the WDH. So 3860 pounds should be the maximum gross weight (GVW) of the trailer.

So what does this mean in the real world? How do I weigh my trailer, and what is the maximum I should see? It means this.

If you put the entire trailer (both tires plus the tongue jack) on a scale, the total weight must not exceed 3860 pounds. When you get ready to drive away, and you hook the trailer back up to the tow vehicle with your weight-distributing hitch, the tow vehicle will take some of the weight, and leave 3500 pounds on the tires.

You can also weigh it by putting both tires on the scale, but leaving the trailer hooked up to the tow vehicle with the hitch properly engaged. In this case, the indicated weight should not exceed 3500 pounds. Personally, this is the way I would weigh the unit - it is clean and unambiguous - and easy. No hitching or unhitching.

I hope this explanation helps some. I frankly wish that someone from the TM factory would weigh in on this topic, because it is generating a lot of interest and a lot of confusion. And more to the point, I can't make these calculations agree with what is printed on the weight sticker inside my TM. As noted above, I believe that the GVWR should be 3860 pounds - but the printed GVWR in mine is a couple hundred pounds higher. And I am worried about that discrepancy.

Bill

Bill, which brand of WD hitch do you use with your 2720SL?
We used the Euali-i-zer brand. The other day on a different tow vehicle we tried to lift the spring bars to a higher setting where they attach to the trailer, but the door side bar would hit the lower part of the pivot pin on the swing away hitch. So, we had to use the next lower setting on the bracket that attaches to the trailer. I'm curious if there is another WD hitch arrangement that provides more clearance from the hinge pin in order to provide greater WD capacity. What I like about the EQ brand is that it works well and doesn't hang far below the frame to impact ground clearance.

Wade

[Denny_A]

This is in reference to Bill's post, regarding effects of WDH and axle limitations, on max load.

I have already posed this issue, with sample calculatons, to TM via email. I am still awaiting a response. If none is forthcoming I must assume my hypothesis was correct. I will follow up on this issue in a separate thread when it's been sorted out to my satisfaction.

Denny_A

As per your suggestion I did check the sticker by the door it said 2775. But I put the trailer on the scale unhook it so that only the trailer was on the scale and the number was 3580, hooked it back up with a Reese WDH light setting and the trailer axle went to 3600. Needless to say I don't use the WHD now.

I'm wondering if the 2775 number is without options as is the number for my truck. Chevy book says #### plus options such as AC, 4WD transfercase, ect. If the 2775 is base trailer then the scale numbers could be very close. Which takes us back to the question, I wonder why TM did not put a little heavery duty axle and or wheels and tires on the thing in the first place?

Don't get me wrong I like the trailer but being able to carry a little something in it would be great.