Trailer GVW Question

[NHCharger]

I'm selling my construction cargo trailer and buying an enclosed trailer to haul cars, looking at 20' to 24'. 90% of the trailers I look at have a GVW of 7k. The trailers weighs  3k to 3.4k depending on size and model, toss in a BB Charger and I'm already over the limit. Several of the sellers say that you can deduct the 300 to 600 lbs. of the tongue weight off that figure so I would be under the 7k limit. I call that fuzzy math. The other problem I'm finding up here in the rust belt is many sellers have used their trailers to haul sleds in the winter and the salt has done a number on the frames.

Am I being to cautious on being over weight by several hundred lbs

[Troy]

Get one with 10,000 lb axles. By the time you add a car and some tools and accessories you're going to have a load around 5,000 lbs. I'd never buy a 7,000 lb enclosed trailer unless I was hauling Minis or Miatas. Make sure you get trailer brakes on both axles too. Of course, I live near the heart of trailer country so I have all the options in the world.

Troy

[Tilar]

You can't be too cautious when it comes to being overweight. You get into an accident and the insurance company finds you are a few pounds overweight from the manufacturers suggested GVW and you won't get a dime. It's not worth the chance IMO.  The trailer is probably rated at the axle weight. Twin 3500lb axles for the 7k rating. Chances are it would actually handle closer to 10k than 7 but they rate them lower for safety reasons.  My car trailer has 2 7000lb axles and I'm glad I made the extra investment.

[Old Moparz]

I agree, skip a 7000 pound trailer & go for a higher GVW. I think the lighter rated ones are probably best for racing where the cars can be drastically lighter than a B-Body. There was a really clean enclosed trailer for sale near me that was only about 2 years old, but rated at 7000. I would have wanted to add a counter/workbench up front, but the weight of it with a car, tools & other extras would push me way over.

Of course now you need to consider whether your tow vehicle is rated to pull a 10,000 GVW set up. I know my '04 Hemi Ram 1500 isn't, it's somewhere around 8400 or so. I think you could get a ticket from the DOT if your truck is spot checked & found to be rated less than what you are pulling.

[69 OUR/TEA]

I agree, skip a 7000 pound trailer & go for a higher GVW. I think the lighter rated ones are probably best for racing where the cars can be drastically lighter than a B-Body. There was a really clean enclosed trailer for sale near me that was only about 2 years old, but rated at 7000. I would have wanted to add a counter/workbench up front, but the weight of it with a car, tools & other extras would push me way over.

Of course now you need to consider whether your tow vehicle is rated to pull a 10,000 GVW set up. I know my '04 Hemi Ram 1500 isn't, it's somewhere around 8400 or so. I think you could get a ticket from the DOT if your truck is spot checked & found to be rated less than what you are pulling.

  First,NHCharger,I totally agree with getting the 5k lb axles vs. the 3,500.When I was looking for an enclosed,I would not even think of getting a 20'.The 24' enclosed I bought has 5k lb axles,so the GVW is 10k.By having the 5k lb axles vs. the 3,500,the lugs go from 5 to 6 and 10'' brakes to 12''.My trailors dry weight is 3,340,so you can put in 6,660lbs.A 7k lb trailor does'nt leave you much for the car,as Troy said.

The obvious is to have a deisel truck to make it effortless,but,Old Moparz,I have the same truck as you,04 Hemi ram QC w/3:92's,towing capacity is 8,600lbs.I tow my 69 skylark in it that weighs 3,520 lbs.to LVD,NY along with some tools,jack etc,so maybe another 200lbs for a total of about 7,000 or so.My truck does just fine doing it.
As this topic has been brought up before,towing an enclosed trailor with a half ton truck,before you all jump and say how you would'nt do it ,and say you should have a 3/4 ton,remember,the trailor is supposed to have braking capacity to stop what it is rated for,in my case,payload of 6,600 lbs.The trailor should be worrying about itself as the truck should still be stopping as it were stopping just itself.The 1/2 ton and 3/4 ton hemi rams have the same engine and tranny,so there is no benefit fron the drivetrain department form one to the other.With the exception of the bigger brakes and rear.(heavier leafs).What does the owners manual say??? Towing cap is 8,600.
Am I pushing its limit,no.Am I being smart about towing it,hell yes.I have a weight distribution hitch as well as a sway control ,would'nt think about towing without it,and for that matter ,I even use the sway control on the open trailor as well.Speaking again about the brakes,even with the controller on 2.0,I can feel everything stopping together easier than if I were just driving the truck alone.
Also,staying away from the tow cap by 1,600lbs to me is more than adequit,would never tow right on the brink of it's rating !!!

[NHCharger]

You guys confirmed what I was thinking.
Never thought of a possible insurance problem in case of an accident. good call.
My work van has a 10k tow package so that's not an issue. The only problem this raises is that it will probably push back the completion date of my 68 project since I need to dip into the Charger funds for the trailer.

[Old Moparz]

I agree, skip a 7000 pound trailer & go for a higher GVW. I think the lighter rated ones are probably best for racing where the cars can be drastically lighter than a B-Body. There was a really clean enclosed trailer for sale near me that was only about 2 years old, but rated at 7000. I would have wanted to add a counter/workbench up front, but the weight of it with a car, tools & other extras would push me way over.

Of course now you need to consider whether your tow vehicle is rated to pull a 10,000 GVW set up. I know my '04 Hemi Ram 1500 isn't, it's somewhere around 8400 or so. I think you could get a ticket from the DOT if your truck is spot checked & found to be rated less than what you are pulling.

  First,NHCharger,I totally agree with getting the 5k lb axles vs. the 3,500.When I was looking for an enclosed,I would not even think of getting a 20'.The 24' enclosed I bought has 5k lb axles,so the GVW is 10k.By having the 5k lb axles vs. the 3,500,the lugs go from 5 to 6 and 10'' brakes to 12''.My trailors dry weight is 3,340,so you can put in 6,660lbs.A 7k lb trailor does'nt leave you much for the car,as Troy said.

The obvious is to have a deisel truck to make it effortless,but,Old Moparz,I have the same truck as you,04 Hemi ram QC w/3:92's,towing capacity is 8,600lbs.I tow my 69 skylark in it that weighs 3,520 lbs.to LVD,NY along with some tools,jack etc,so maybe another 200lbs for a total of about 7,000 or so.My truck does just fine doing it.
As this topic has been brought up before,towing an enclosed trailor with a half ton truck,before you all jump and say how you would'nt do it ,and say you should have a 3/4 ton,remember,the trailor is supposed to have braking capacity to stop what it is rated for,in my case,payload of 6,600 lbs.The trailor should be worrying about itself as the truck should still be stopping as it were stopping just itself.The 1/2 ton and 3/4 ton hemi rams have the same engine and tranny,so there is no benefit fron the drivetrain department form one to the other.With the exception of the bigger brakes and rear.(heavier leafs).What does the owners manual say??? Towing cap is 8,600.
Am I pushing its limit,no.Am I being smart about towing it,hell yes.I have a weight distribution hitch as well as a sway control ,would'nt think about towing without it,and for that matter ,I even use the sway control on the open trailor as well.Speaking again about the brakes,even with the controller on 2.0,I can feel everything stopping together easier than if I were just driving the truck alone.
Also,staying away from the tow cap by 1,600lbs to me is more than adequit,would never tow right on the brink of it's rating !!!

I know exactly what you mean by not towing right at the limit & avoid doing it myself. I have a 16' flatbed, car hauler rated at 7000, & a 24' travel trailer at around 6400 or so. Why I brought up the towing capacity wasn't about what you can "physically" tow, it was about what you can "legally" tow. (In NY at least) A friend of mine has a landscape business & drags a bobcat & a bunch of other equipment on his trailers. He has a CDL & is better informed at the DOT laws than I am, & has told me he sees 1/2 ton trucks all day long that are illegally towing way over their classification. Aside from that, towing over a certain weight class requires a CDL that most people don't have.