Trailer towing for dummies

And a 30' Travel Trailer is Waaaay over that 3600 lbs of weight that he is towing. And all the stuff you mentioned in the above post....that's find and dandy, but the weight ratings, and staying within them or better yet...Under them, is what towing safely is all about. Any and all manufacturers will clearly state in their owner's manuals....to NEVER exceed ANY of the weight ratings for a particular vehicle....not GVWR, not Payload or CCC, not front or rear AWRs, not GVCWR, not tire ratings, .....none of them. And while we are talking that 500 - 800 lbs of weight applied to the hitch, that may be a pretty accurate number for a smaller trailer, but travel trailers in the 30' range are almost always going to be more than that. As a rule of thumb, 10-15% of the GVW of the trailer is or should be tongue weight. Most trailers, realistically are usually in the 13-14% of GVW for their tongue weight. When you start getting closer to the 10%, 11% number, you will have trailer sway issues.....almost guaranteed. So let's think probably in the 7500-8000 lbs of trailer with 13% of that number being the actual tongue weight going onto the van. Remember, he is already WAY overloaded because of the 3600 lbs towing capacity. So 7500 would be 975 lbs of tongue weight and 8000 lb of trailer would be 1040 lbs of tongue weight.....so not over the payload, but certainly way over the towing capacity. And doing this on P metric tires which may or may not be up to the task. Airstream really isn't know for building lightweight/cheaply built trailers either, to those number may be even higher....I don't know. But the Caravan is designed to carry passengers, not 1000 lbs on the rear end of it, with all of that weight leveraging on the very back of the van. He should, and probably does know that.....which just makes it all the worse.

 

He's probably using European ratings to justify it. Except the other side of the coin is Europe has much stricter rules outside of the actual weight that you are towing. This comes up on Jalopnik and other car sites all the time. Here is one story on it with actual math and why using the Euro numbers in the US is a really bad idea.

https://oppositelock.kinja.com/tow-me-down-1609112611/1609771499

 

Watch some of his towing videos. He rents racetracks to do the testing. And has proven many times how much better certain vehicles handle towing than the traditional pickup/SUV.

And again the hitch limits are due to the fact the factories do not provide hitch mounts that can distribute the weight forward because of the unibody style bodies.

And hey, I get the arguement against it, but I have talked with him and his customers enough times to know that much of what he does s legitimately better than what is available out of the box. I was sceptical for a long time, but starting to see some of the logic.

 

Probably because the limiting factor is the piece of shit tin can box of a body, and not the powertrain.

My Grand Cherokee has the same engine as a RAM 2500 pickup. Guess I can finally get that 3 axle 44 ft toy hauler.

 

I really don't need to watch any of his videos to know that a Dodge Caravan is NOT an appropriate tow vehicle for a 30' travel trailer.....even empty without cargo. I stand by what I said earlier and he can do whatever he wants to modify/change/build/install a "proper W.D. hitch/system, but unless he is a vehicle manufacturer or is a certified vehicle modifier/builder, the weight capacities for towing, payload, etc., etc. are still the same as the day that Caravan left the factory. It's no different than people that think that putting air bags and helper springs on trucks changes the payload of the truck.....it doesn't. If your truck has a 10K GVWR, it's always going to have a 10K GVWR unless a certified vehicle modifier/builder puts their certification on it when they are done. And speaking of done.....I am!

 

Went with Snapper, they did have a #5200 axle and all of their 14's come standard with brakes.
7x14 V-Nose (16' at the V), 5200 axle, brakes, ramp, etc. $3381.

I don't need to haul over #5000, but here's what I'm having trouble understanding:
My Taco does not have the "tow package:, larger battery and alternator, trailer brake, etc but does have the hitch and wiring installed from the dealer. It's the only hitch available.
No hitch: #3500(tow from the bumper)
Hitch: #5000
Tow package: #6500
How does the battery and alternator allow another #1500?
Is this an assumption that a #5200 single axle likely has brakes or a tandem axle or something that weighs #6500 that requires additional pairs of brakes requires the electrical upgrades?