When towing there are three things to consider . . .

[1] Towing Vehicle

You need to know and understand GVWR (Gross Vehicle Weight Rating). It is important to towing because it tells you explicitly the maximum weight of cargo and passengers you can carry safely in your pickup truck, SUV, or CUV. GVWR is the total combined weight of the truck, including all passengers, fuel, fluids and cargo. GVWR is engineered in when the vehicle is manufactured and remains constant, regardless of what you tow.

Because tongue weight must be included in the GVWR, you will need to know how much weight capacity you need to have “left over” for when you hook up your trailer.

For example, if you have a 5,000-pound truck with a 6,300 pound GVWR, you can safely carry 1,300 pounds in the vehicle. If you are towing a trailer with a 300-pound tongue weight, the amount of passengers and gear you can carry is reduced to 1,000 pounds.

You most likely already own your vehicle and that will be a major factor in deciding what size hitch & trailer to get.

[2] Trailer type & size

For some this is an obvious decision, for others maybe not.  Trailers are divided into several classes and the two most common for consumers are Cargo/Enclosed trailers & Utility/Open trailers.   Both Cargos and Utilities are offered in a wide range of sizes. Obviously, your first consideration is the dimensions and weight of the biggest and heaviest stuff you may need to haul.

It may help to see the available sizes for both Cargo Trailers (enclosed) and Utility Trailers (open).  We set up two tables below by width and length.  Then we looked at the last 12 month of sales data and ranked each size by number of units purchased.  To show popularty for each size (Width x Length), we plotted the rankings on the table.  From the chart below you can see that our top three size sellers for cargo trailers were: 7x16, 6x12, and 6x10.

Cargo Trailer Popularity by Size

The mix is a bit different for open utility trailers when comparing the same 12 month period sales data in units.  Here we see that the most popular three size utility trailers are: 5x8, 5x10, and 6x12

Utility Trailer Popularity by Size

Just like your vehicle, each trailer has a GVWR which let's you know the maximum weight of the trailer which is confusing.  First, the manufacture sets the GVWR and usually determines this weight based on the weakest component.  This gets tricky because the axles also have a weight rating called GAWR or Gross Axle Weight Rating.  With these residential class trailers most trailer manufacture set their GVWR at same weight of the GAWR to be safe and because the DOT usually has restrictions based on GAWR.  In some cases, the GAWR will be set lower than its actual capacity to ensure the trailer stays under a restriction level. The trailer and vehicle posted ratings will be the values enforced; therefore, this rating will determine your payload.  Payload is generally what we want to know.  We want to know . . . "How more stuff can I cram into/onto my trailer after I load that refregerator?"  
 
Pay load capacity is calculated by subtracting the weight of the empty trailer from the GVWR. Example: a trailer has a GVWR of 2,999 lbs and has a dead weight of 1,000 lbs - that means you are allowed to haul 1,999 lbs on that trailer assuming your hitch and vehichle weight ratings will allow it.  By the way, we have professionals at each of our Leonard locations to help you out with all of this so stop by when get an opportunity and we will work it all out for you.

 

[3] Determining the right hitch system . . .

Check back soon to see our next post "Determining the right hitch system"