Towing question

[Jonell]

We are brand new campers and we just bought our first travel trailer last week. I'm worried now because I'm getting different feedback from people about the towing ability of our SUV. It has a towing capacity of 6500lbs and we are pulling a 24' 5000lb trailer. Should we be worried making long trips towing it? We plan on making the 700 mile trip to WDW this summer. I've heard we may need to install a transmission cooler? Thanks

 

[bama_ed]

Jonell,

It really depends on the specifics. BTW, you might want to put this topic on the main board to get more visibility and responses.

For example, if your Tow Vehicle (TV) can pull 6500#, is that in the owner's manual? On the door frame sticker? Some manuals have towing limits "IF PROPERLY EQUIPPED" so you have to know what exactly is actually in/on your vehicle. If your vehicle is not properly equipped, you would have a much lower limit. If you are not the original owner, your local brand dealer service department should be able to run the VIN and tell you for certain how it left the factory. Sometimes the tow limit says a number (assuming 2 people each 165 pounds). Well I had a family of 5 with the kitchen sink thrown in plus bikes, easy ups, etc.

I used to tow a heavy popup with a minivan (a common arrangement) and these types of questions came up frequently on my pop-up forum boards. Smaller numbers but the same issues. Is the 5,000# number on the trailer the GMVW or UVM? Gross Vehicle Motor Weight is the maximum weight the camper can handle (usually its axle is the limiting factor). GVMW includes the empty weight, propane tanks, bikes, groceries, luggage, whatever else is in the camper. UVW is the Unloaded Vehicle Weight which was the empty weight as it left the trailer factory where it was made. Obviously unloaded weight will be much less than gross max weight. So which one is 5000#? By law there should be a label somewhere on the camper (inside a cabinet, outside on the frame, somewhere) that lists the max and empty weights of your trailer.

Tranny coolers are needed if you are NOT properly equipped (some SUV's leave the factory with a heavy duty cooler) and have to add it as an after-market item. Towing is work on a tranny since it will have to shift more often as you slow and accelerate. The higher front surface area creates a bigger hole to punch in the air as you drive down the highway so you are basically pulling a barn door down the road. That means you will suffer a drop in gas mileage also.

So determine the specifics of the TV and the trailer and match the two up.

Bama Ed

PS - since you are asking this kind of question, do you have a brake controller and a power outlet for the trailer already wired into the back of the TV?

 

[Teamubr]

Jonell,

Congrats and welcome to the camping addiction... I mean world. Many of us here have had a lot of camper and towing experience and towing with a vehicle not up to the task is always a concern. On pure numbers, you should be OK. But like Ed said, there are a couple of other things to consider.

Can you tell us a little more about the camper you bought and what you are towing with? What vehicle, engine, tow package or not. Just because your car/SUV/whatever may not have come with a "tow package" from the factory, it can probably have things added to make it more competent. Some factory tow packages only give you a hitch and maybe a trans cooler. Others have bigger radiators, batteries and other things. Hitches and trans coolers are easy additions. Bigger radiators are a little harder, but if you have/add an external trans cooler, that gets a lot of heat out of the radiator too. (most automatics have a trans cooler built into the radiator)

The best thing you can do to help with piece of mind is to take your camper to the scales. Most truck stops have scales. It sounds crazy, but go across with the trailer hitched and again without the trailer, then do the math. A lot of folks say to only tow up to 75-80% of the tow rating. It does make you feel more comfortable towing way under, but I have towed right up to the limits in several vehicles and it doesn't feel much different. That's me though and I tow a lot of things all over the country, some really big (21,000 lb, 2 car race car hauler) and some really small (T@b trailer for friends).

Last thing, read through the owners manual for you car. I had a V8 Explorer that had a 8000 lb tow rating, but it also said in the manual that the trailer needed to have less than 49 sq/ft frontal surface area. It wasn't the over weight, but also the drag (wind) that mattered. I towed a 33 ft, 7200 lb TT with that Explorer. It needed dual sway controls and a big trans cooler, but it did it for 168,000 miles until it was hit by a semi and totaled.

Hopefully, you aren't scared off by now. Like I said, being 23% under your tow rating should be plenty of comfort. Knowing all the numbers helps put it into perspective.

j

 

[Jonell]

Thanks guys..We'll be pulling a 24 foot travel trailer with a 2010 Lexus GX460 SUV. It has a 4.7 L v-8 engine. It has a towing package factory installed, but I'm not sure what is included with that tow package. We had the electric brake installed and we have sway controls. We've pulled the camper a short distance and it seemed to pull fine but I'm worried about the 700 mile trip in the June heat!

 

[Teamubr]

I just looked it up and found the same 6500# tow rating. If the trailer really weighs 5000 lbs, that should put the hitch weight around 500 lbs or so. Depending on the springs on your Lexus, you may want/need a weight distribution hitch if you don't have one. That shifts some of the hitch weight directly off the rear. It levels out the vehicle and makes it feel much more stable towing.

All in all, I wouldn't hesitate to tow it across country. As long as you buy the gas.

j