gvwr and towing

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Hadn't come across this calc before either. My 17 Limited with the 6750 gvwr package allows me 151 pounds of anything else if i'm hauling my family with me. This is a great tool and also helps me verify that when I recently went on a trip and had us, a full cooler, and a partial load of wood in the bed that I believed the truck felt a bit too weighed down while hauling my 22 salem cruise lite 263bhxl. Also helps me verify that I do need to get the Roadmaster Active Suspension in addition to the Safe Weigh WDH I have, since I'm so close to being at the limit with just my family.
i kicked my family out of the truck. need to in order to be legal towing this thing. good thing is we always have to bring 2 trucks whenever we go anywhere so the girls dont have to hitchike.
 
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i kicked my family out of the truck. need to in order to be legal towing this thing. good thing is we always have to bring 2 trucks whenever we go anywhere so the girls dont have to hitchike.
After that triip I really started paying attention to how I loaded my camper that I almost always tow with no freshwater. We load up the fridges and freezer with everything we need since the truck provides power while driving, and I be sure to keep the hitch weight at no more than 825; having the true tow is really helpful in keeping that on the spot.
 

Keshka

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Personally I would not try it. My rule is that if what your towing weighs more than the vehicle, no no! I have a 5th wheel travel trailer at 8-9k and tow it with my '91 F150.....after many mods! 5th wheel trailers are much more stable than bumper tow. With out the mods that RV would have made road kill out of me at anything over 30mph. Even that was iffy. With mods I tow at 50mph and lots of experience. The Raptor with it's 5 link is not designed for towing at all. Yes, you can get away with small utility loads but I would not exceed 2k or you end up like this poor fellow. Rolled new truck

Pick up a used F350 and tow with that. The family can ferry the Raptor.
 
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After that triip I really started paying attention to how I loaded my camper that I almost always tow with no freshwater. We load up the fridges and freezer with everything we need since the truck provides power while driving, and I be sure to keep the hitch weight at no more than 825; having the true tow is really helpful in keeping that on the spot.
our plan is specifically to use my truck to tow the empty camper since its on the cusp of being too big. however i put in 8000lbs at my tow weight to add into account for water and it was still green all the way down. so technically i can drive thid thing full of water, but its within 100lbs of the limit on everything
 
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Personally I would not try it. My rule is that if what your towing weighs more than the vehicle, no no! I have a 5th wheel travel trailer at 8-9k and tow it with my '91 F150.....after many mods! 5th wheel trailers are much more stable than bumper tow. With out the mods that RV would have made road kill out of me at anything over 30mph. Even that was iffy. With mods I tow at 50mph and lots of experience. The Raptor with it's 5 link is not designed for towing at all. Yes, you can get away with small utility loads but I would not exceed 2k or you end up like this poor fellow. Rolled new truck

Pick up a used F350 and tow with that. The family can ferry the Raptor.
we dont know the story of that guy and he hasnt been on to inform us his side of the story. i have a lot of towing experience and with the weight distribution hitch and sway stability, i would think it is ok. luckily we have a grace period worked into the deal since we talked about the weight. they are 20 miles from our house. if we hitch up and we have problems driving home, i can turn right around and return it. i would think the first few miles would tell you right away if you can or can not tow it
 
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In that case you’ve picked too heavy of a trailer. You need to be in the 5k range for a trailer.
based on the weight sticker i would think as long as you are in the parameters, there should be no legal issues. as long as i keep the trailer empty, im well within those paramters. this is by 4ft the biggest trailer i have towed, but not the heaviest (i had to tow a raptor once on a 2000lb trailer after a wreck.)
 

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Let's muddy it up good. First how is weight capacity calculated. Motor vehicles are calculated as follows. Dry weight no fluids then add exactly the fluid capacity and driver. So they give you fluids are included and 150 pounds for driver. GVWR IS JUST THAT. Maximum the towed trailer anybody besides 150 pound driver any tools or modifications made to vehicle including anything that adds to the weight like a stereo replacement. Batteries if replaced and new battery new lights or tires or anything you add to the truck. If you exceed the max you open yourself up to your insurance carrier denying you coverage. Read your policy it's in the fine print. If you are over the max weight by 500 pounds you probably won't have an issue as it would be hard to prove after an accident. If your several thousand pounds over and it's clear and obvious your going to have a tough time. What it most likely comes down to is would a reasonable person have known that towing that would be dangerous. If you answer yes don't do it. But if the attorneys for the plaintiff smell a deep pocket for a huge payout they will pursue that. They don't want your insurance to deny coverage because they won't likely get any money... If your like me you carry no matter what umbrella coverage that covers oh sh it I did not count on that. 400 a year for 2 mill oh sh it coverage. My advice is don't take a chance if it's close get a tow vehicle. Trailers are calculated as it comes off the assembly line. No fluids no battery no propane no linens no toilet paper. basically empty... just an fyi.
 
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Let's muddy it up good. First how is weight capacity calculated. Motor vehicles are calculated as follows. Dry weight no fluids then add exactly the fluid capacity and driver. So they give you fluids are included and 150 pounds for driver. GVWR IS JUST THAT. Maximum the towed trailer anybody besides 150 pound driver any tools or modifications made to vehicle including anything that adds to the weight like a stereo replacement. Batteries if replaced and new battery new lights or tires or anything you add to the truck. If you exceed the max you open yourself up to your insurance carrier denying you coverage. Read your policy it's in the fine print. If you are over the max weight by 500 pounds you probably won't have an issue as it would be hard to prove after an accident. If your several thousand pounds over and it's clear and obvious your going to have a tough time. What it most likely comes down to is would a reasonable person have known that towing that would be dangerous. If you answer yes don't do it. But if the attorneys for the plaintiff smell a deep pocket for a huge payout they will pursue that. They don't want your insurance to deny coverage because they won't likely get any money... If your like me you carry no matter what umbrella coverage that covers oh sh it I did not count on that. 400 a year for 2 mill oh sh it coverage. My advice is don't take a chance if it's close get a tow vehicle. Trailers are calculated as it comes off the assembly line. No fluids no battery no propane no linens no toilet paper. basically empty... just an fyi.
hey rich, good to see you here after all these years. first off the trucks curb weight is 6210lbs. i figured (in the calculator above) the extra weight in payload as an approximate. with the campers weight i am not sure if the batteries or propane tanks are included in the final weight on the sticker. just shows 7456lbs. but even if i put the trailer weight as 8000lbs, the calculator shows i got 25 lbs to spare.... so right on the edge of the legal tow limit as well as payload capacity. if the calculator is wrong, or i forget something (which i have thought long about) i would possibly exceed the max by 100lbs? at most. but i have added everything i could think of into payload capacity with the curb weight of the truck and the gwvcr and it shows im good to go
 
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