posted 10-05-2004 11:17 AM ET (US)        

I'm trying to figure out how much truck I need to pull my boat and a small truck camper and haven't had time to take mine to the CAT scales. (See thread on pulling Whalers with RVs.)

I know the boat weighs about 1,680 lbs and the motor 385 lbs but don't know how much the trailer weighs. I'm also assuming that the factory balanced the rig correctly so that 10% of the weight in the tongue. Has anybody verified this?

posted 10-08-2004 09:53 AM ET (US)            

Boat- 1400lbs
4-Stroke 90 (wet)- close to 400lbs
Trailer - 500lbs (this is what I found for most trailers this size, with a spare and brakes probably 600lbs)
total - 2300lbs without fuel, anchor, bimini, spare, brakes

posted 10-10-2004 01:41 PM ET (US)            

I'd count on 3,000 lbs coming out of the truck's Gross Combined Weight Rating (GCWR), and the 250-300 lbs tongue weight coming out of the truck's Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR), and with an extended hitch, 400 lbs coming out of the truck's rear Gross Axle Weight Rating (GAWR).

--
Moe

posted 10-10-2004 11:13 PM ET (US)            

Shown in:

posted 10-12-2004 08:08 AM ET (US)            

Another weighs 3,627 lbs.

That is a difference of 1,377 lbs.!

posted 10-12-2004 04:53 PM ET (US)            

Seriously, though, the things he added against the boat weight, like people and the car's gas, do come out of the manufacturer's "towing capacity."

posted 10-12-2004 06:08 PM ET (US)            

My guess is that you will need a truck that has a towing capacity of at least 5000 pounds for your setup. A truck with a 5000 pound towing capacity is "empty", any weight that you add to the truck or trailer is subtracted from the towing capacity(Like your camper shell). If you have to tow up hills or mountains then you will need an even larger towing capacity.

Boat 1400
Motor 400
Trailer 500
Gas (24 gal) 145
Bait Tank 200
Passengers(3) 500
Tackle 50
Ice Chest 50
Batteries(3) 200
Trolling Motor 50
Gas (22 Gal/Car) 132
Camper 1000?
TOTAL 4627

I forgot to add in the beer.

posted 10-12-2004 06:20 PM ET (US)            

Ratings? Capacities?
This is from Trailer Life Magazine:

TOW RATING -- The manufacturer's rating of the maximum weight limit that can safely be towed by a particular vehicle. Tow ratings are related to overall trailer weight, not trailer size, in most cases. However, some tow ratings impose limits as to frontal area of the trailer and overall length. Tow ratings are determined by the vehicle manufacturer according to several criteria, including engine size, transmission, axle ratio, brakes, chassis, cooling systems and other special equipment.

GCWR (Gross Combination Weight Rating) -- The maximum allowable weight of the combination of tow vehicle and trailer/ fifth-wheel, or motorhome and dinghy. It includes the weight of the vehicle, trailer/fifth-wheel (or dinghy), cargo, passengers and a full load of fluids (fresh water, propane, fuel, etc.).

posted 10-12-2004 06:41 PM ET (US)            

Perhaps I am confused too.

But, if your tow vehicle has a tow capacity of let's say 4000 pounds and six 300 pound linemen get into your tow vehicle. How much can you tow on your trailer? I'm guessing that it will be 4000-1800=1200 pounds.

posted 10-12-2004 07:05 PM ET (US)            

Start with the tow vehicle,
Assume 3500 lbs curb weight, 120 lbs for 20 gallons of gas, 1800 lbs for linemen or 5420lbs total loaded weight of tow vehicle.

Assume GCWR of tow vehicle is 8000lbs. So 8000 lbs less 5420 lbs of tow vehicle with linemen and gas which leaves 2580 lbs that I can tow out of the 4000, things on the boat and trailer.

OR another example

Assume 3500 lbs curb weight, 120 lbs for 20 gallons of gas, 300 lbs for 2 people or 3920 lbs total loaded weight of tow vehicle.

Assume GCWR of tow vehicle is 8000 lbs. So 8000 lbs less 3920 lbs of tow vehicle with linemen and gas which leaves 4080 lbs that I can tow out of the 4000 lbs. Even though it is higher I'm still limited to the 4000 lbs.

Jim

posted 10-12-2004 07:26 PM ET (US)            

Yep. You are right. My figures are off.

posted 10-12-2004 10:03 PM ET (US)            

In addition, there's GVWR (Gross Vehicle Weight Rating = tow vehicle and everything in it, but not the trailer), and GAWR
(Gross Axle Weight Rating = load on front or rear axle. Note
that the actual load is likely to be different front and rear,
and the rating may well be be different front and rear).

Some actual numbers:

'01 Nissan Pathfinder, manual transmission:
GCWR: 8000
Max trailer weight: 3500
Max tongue load: 350
GVWR: 5300
GAWR (front): 2350
GAWR (rear): 2850

'01 Nissan Pathfinder, automatic transmission:
GCWR: 9500
Max trailer weight: 5000
Max tongue load: 500
Don't have GVWR or GAWR -- the are on a sticker on
the door jamb, not the owner's manual.

But not that options affect things. Just because your
buddy's truck, same make, model, and year as yours is
rated for X pounds, doesn't me yours is rated for X. Yours
may be half X, or twice X. This is especially true of the
domestic vehicles which have tons of options that affect
this: brakes, rear end, springs, transmission oil cooler,
transmission, engine, etc. all affect it)

posted 10-12-2004 10:14 PM ET (US)            

Part of the trailer, the tongue weight, must come out of the GVWR.

The GVWR will not exceed the sum of the front and rear axle GAWR, but it might be less than that due to limitations other than the axles.

Getting back to the question about towing capacity being less than GCWR minus actual weight. It's rare that happens, since towing capacity is calculated as GCWR minus the lightest possible configuration of the vehicle. Where it does happen is when the hitch rating is less than GCWR minus actual weight. That occurs especially with 3500 lb Class II hitches, but it also occurred with some 3/4 and 1 ton trucks who's large engines and low gear ratios provided a high GCWR, but the manufacturer supplied hitch receiver was only rated 10,000 lbs.

posted 10-13-2004 10:21 AM ET (US)            

anyway..the 155 EFI is 24lbs heavier than the opti...funny tho if you hold the carbs off the 90's in one hand..the efi unit in the other...the efi feels much heavier.

honestly
thanx wt
from now on I will call you "eagle-eye"