Trailer towing for dummies

OK, I have a 2011 Nissan Armada. It's supposed to tow 9000 lbs. Went looking at toy haulers and there are so many weights listed my head is spinning. Found UVW which I think is unloaded vehicle weight of 7300 lbs. I figure 1 bike, 1 scooter and gear will weight 1500 lbs. putting me very close to my 9000 capacity.

Am I adding the right numbers up?

 

Don't forget water at 8.3lbs per gallon as well. Manufacturers also sometimes don't include little things like weight of propane, etc. With only 1700 lbs to play with it would be easy to go over your limit.

 

Also don't forget that the 9000 lbs. is probably GVWR, i.e. its the weight of the car/contents, plus the weight of the trailer. Not a trailer that is loaded up to a weight of 9000 lbs.

 

Towing capacity is 9000 GVWR is 15000+

 

I am looking at making a toy hauler purchase as well. Below are 2 links that might be helpful to you. The first is the link to a thread on a Tacoma forum by a guy who appears to know a lot about towing. The second is a link to a brand of trailers and toy haulers made from aluminum that are advertised to be the lightest on the market.

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/the-tacoma-towing-bible.4031/

https://www.livinlite.com/

Hope this helps

 

Your GVWR is nowhere near 15k (more than a F450). That is almost certainly your GCWR. Technically, you shouldn't exceed any rating. This includes

GVWR (maxcarried by your truck's 4 tires)
GCWR (max total weight of trailer and tow rig)
RAWR (max weight on rear axle)
FAWR (max weight on front axle)

You likely have two trailer weight ratings. Normal and weight distribution. Look them up. This page will explain more. http://changingears.com/rv-sec-tow-vehicles-understand.shtml

 

Thanks

 

Your limiting factor may be the payload capacity of your Armada, not the overall tow rating. In other words, how much total weight you can add to the vehicle including people, stuff you throw in the back seat, and the tongue weight of the trailer.

According to Google you're good for around 1500lbs. What's the tongue weight of the trailer you're looking at? It's typically 10% of the total weight of the trailer. So, for a 9000lb trailer that's 900lbs. Subtract that from your 1500lb payload capacity and you've got 600lbs to play with including you and all your stuff in the truck...

 

I agree, looks like I need to find something in the 6500 lbs range for the trailer...

 

Get a bigger truck

 

I destroyed my Armada trying to tow my 23' Eclipse with a dry weight of 5500, GVRW of 7500. The air suspension gave out, I supplanted with Firestone air bags, stiffer springs and spacers. The IRS ate rear tires for lunch while towing. That was with a weight distributing hitch too. It also got 6mpg.

Smaller. Much smaller.

I did this.

 

I'd look towards a new truck as well.. you could maybe do alright with a hyperlite 24hfs however.

 

whatever you do dont take advice from your RV dealer. They will let you tow a 35 foot with a Camry if it makes the sale.

 

The forest rivers up to 22ft are about 4100lbs and 550 hitch weight... looking into them but wish they had a genny

 

Meh, just get a nice inverter and use shore power. Quieter and more modular.

Don't forget to include all of the stuff you need to carry, and you can't load it tongue light or it will fishtail. You need a good tongue weight.

I was serious about getting a bigger truck first. You'll open up far more trailer options, have far less stress when towing and ultimately probably use your rig more.

 

thats likely do to alignment changes from suspension compression

 

Psycho. But I knew that.

 

That's something i've noticed on the smaller/lighter toyhaulers, they almost never have a generator option. You would think they'd try to get the extra $$$ out of a customer if it was possible.

 

Actually, I think you're confusing GVWR with towing capacity. The Armada has a GVWR of about 7000 lbs and a towing capacity of up to 9000 lbs.

The F450 has a GVWR of 14,500 lbs and a towing capacity of 19,000 lbs.

GVWR = the total amount of weight on the vehicles tires, which is the vehicle itself, passengers, cargo, fuel etc and includes the tongue weight of an attached trailer.

Towing capacity = how much the trailer can weigh in total, including the tongue weight (ie, how much weight does the tow vehicle have to accelerate and decelerate).

That said, Nissan may claim the Armada is rated for 9k, but you'll regret it. If you want a trailer that big you need a 3/4 ton truck minimum.

 

price and weight wise it looks like the forest river 19RR or 22RR are the best I can do...