Load rating and towing

PatM

Original poster
Member
Jan 27, 2012
25
It's a toss up whether this goes to towing or tires but since it's the tires themselves I'm asking about I figure this is the better place.

I'm going to be towing a travel trailer starting in a couple of months so I thought I'd better ask - are stock tires fine for the tow capabilities of the TB? I have the 4.10 gearing so I believe my max is 6200 lbs (max 930 on tongue at 15%). My current tires are rated about 2000 lbs each and I think I read the curb weight on rear axle of the non EXT is about 2000 lbs - leaving me about 2000 lbs leeway. Full tongue weight of 930 lbs leaves a futher 1000 lbs of load capability as far as the tires are concerned. Or do I have this completely wrong?
 
Jan 21, 2012
58
I have been towing our 26 ft trailer 5300lb since 2003 and have had no problems you need the equalizer hitch and sway control other wise when trucks pass you will have some white knuckle times but the truck will pull just fine. best to run in third keeps the tranny from hunting a lot.
 

Jkust

Member
Dec 4, 2011
946
What is the loaded weight of the travel trailer? There are some really heavy ones out there. My only issue with towing really heavy would be the need for some additional torque. There are times with just my 4000lb boat and my v8 where I would love some extra oomph when you get into thouse outlier situations. They usually occur on heavy travel weeks like 4th of july in my experiences. Adding a couple thousand extra lbs and I could imagine some white knuckle moments. Our trucks would tow just about anything you throw at them but it is the margins where things can get concerning.
 
Jan 21, 2012
58
Jkust said:
What is the loaded weight of the travel trailer? There are some really heavy ones out there. My only issue with towing really heavy would be the need for some additional torque. There are times with just my 4000lb boat and my v8 where I would love some extra oomph when you get into thouse outlier situations. They usually occur on heavy travel weeks like 4th of july in my experiences. Adding a couple thousand extra lbs and I could imagine some white knuckle moments. Our trucks would tow just about anything you throw at them but it is the margins where things can get concerning.

thats where 4.10 gears come in they do wonders for towing
 
Dec 4, 2011
518
PatM said:
It's a toss up whether this goes to towing or tires but since it's the tires themselves I'm asking about I figure this is the better place.

I'm going to be towing a travel trailer starting in a couple of months so I thought I'd better ask - are stock tires fine for the tow capabilities of the TB? I have the 4.10 gearing so I believe my max is 6200 lbs (max 930 on tongue at 15%). My current tires are rated about 2000 lbs each and I think I read the curb weight on rear axle of the non EXT is about 2000 lbs - leaving me about 2000 lbs leeway. Full tongue weight of 930 lbs leaves a futher 1000 lbs of load capability as far as the tires are concerned. Or do I have this completely wrong?

Not quite sure where you get the 930 Lbs tongue weight from, other than 15% of 6200 lbs Gross weight.

Just to clear some things up. We have Class II hitches that come with our vehicles that are rated for 3500 lbs and 350 lbs tongue weight. This is why people use "weight distribution hitches" to keep the hitch weight within these limits. So our vehicles won't take 920lbs of tongue weight. They can however tow 6200 lbs with a weight distribution hitch that keeps the tongue weight around the 350lb limit.

The closer you get to the limits of the vehicle the more interesting towing becomes. When it becomes too interesting it becomes dangerous and deadly. More care needs to be exercised as the weights up.

You need to find out the weight of the trailer, the weight of all the things you will haul in the trailer and add these together. This becomes the weight you will tow.

You then need to make sure that your vehicle is outfitted to accommodate this weight IF it is within the specs for your vehicle.

My boat weights about 4300lbs, not quite sure what the tongue weight is but it is heavy enough to require oomph and/or the jack to lift it off (the more tongue weight you have the better the trailer follows the vehicle. To little weight and the tail starts wagging the dog).

My 5.3 Denali tows this real nice, and safely.

Hope this helps shed a little light on towing. You also know that over a certain weight (could be as low a 2000lbs) you require brakes on the trailer. My boat used to push my 95 Jimmy down a wet road before I put surge disc brakes on the trailer.
 

Jkust

Member
Dec 4, 2011
946
Enderbygrandpa said:
thats where 4.10 gears come in they do wonders for towing

Yes the do from a standing start. I caught the 4.10 right away because it is rare on the i6 and was not available on the 5.3 liter.
 

gmcman

Member
Dec 12, 2011
4,656
PatM said:
Full tongue weight of 930 lbs leaves a futher 1000 lbs of load capability as far as the tires are concerned. Or do I have this completely wrong?

Are you stating the TT has a tongue weight of 930 lbs?

Need to know what type of trailer, weight of trailer, and what tires you have/condition.
 

Jkust

Member
Dec 4, 2011
946
RedEnvoyDenal said:
heavy enough to require oomph and/or the jack to lift it off

I'm in the same boat so to speak. I literally can't lift the tounge more than an inch with all my might which is frustrating. I need to go get a heavy duty bathroom scale and weigh the toung weight at some point. The tounge weight of travel trailers really gets up there when the dual LP tanks are right on the tounge. Then of course you should have your spare tire that can be near the tounge as well. Even a small pop up trailer can be suprisingly heavy.
 

MDBT

Member
Jan 26, 2012
223
Factory hitch ratings rom a post i read in another thread:

4000lbs weight carrying, 400lb tongue weight
7600 lbs load distributing, 912lb tongue weight.
 

The_Roadie

Lifetime VIP Donor
Member
Nov 19, 2011
9,957
Portland, OR
MDBT said:
Factory hitch ratings rom a post i read in another thread:

4000lbs weight carrying, 400lb tongue weight
7600 lbs load distributing, 912lb tongue weight.
Those numbers are from a sticker that the receiver manufacturer slapped on their product. When installed on our vehicles, the lower towing weight limits from the manual prevail, and that's from 5200 to 6800 pounds max depending on the drivetrain. The 912 pound tongue weight needs to be analyzed for front/rear proportioning as well, to make sure you don't exceed either axle's limit from the door tire and weight sticker.
 

MDBT

Member
Jan 26, 2012
223
the roadie said:
Those numbers are from a sticker that the receiver manufacturer slapped on their product. When installed on our vehicles, the lower towing weight limits from the manual prevail, and that's from 5200 to 6800 pounds max depending on the drivetrain. The 912 pound tongue weight needs to be analyzed for front/rear proportioning as well, to make sure you don't exceed either axle's limit from the door tire and weight sticker.

RedEnvoy posted that the hitch itself was a class 2 rated for 350/3500, I was correcting that point which is why I specified that they were the hitch ratings. Sorry if there was any confusion. :thumbsup:
 

PatM

Original poster
Member
Jan 27, 2012
25
Sorry, I should have qualified the weight statements. My trailer GTW is 4500 lbs and 2990 empty (as per customs inspection, not the 2500 lb dry weight spec). I expect to be pulling around 3600 lbs for the majority of trips and around 3800-3900 once I fill up with water at the other end.

The weights in the original post were from the towing limit of 6200lbs. I figure if I outfit the truck with tires and hitch equipment then I should buy for worst case rather than best case.

Anyway, the towing parts I have all figured out including the equalizing hitch, it's just the tire load ratings I'm virtually clueless about.
 

gmcman

Member
Dec 12, 2011
4,656
Load ratings stamped on the side of the tire are the max at the pressure indicated. Generally it will read something like 2045 lbs @ 44PSI cold, you need 44 PSI in the tire to achieve that weight rating....you can't roll down at a sqooshy 34 PSI and expect that rating to stick.

Your door sticker will give you the max weight per axle. If Johnny Law pulls you over, he/she will go by the door sticker and weigh each axle, this is what matters, in combination to your 11,000 GVWR or the max of the combined load.....if you have the 4:10 ratio....less for other ratios.

You can be under the legal limit, in which case it appears you will be, but be over-axle. This is where the WD hitch comes into play..it removes some of the weight from the rear axle and places it on the front.

I have never been pulled over for a weight check in a non-commercial vehicle but if you have a clean setup you should be fine...drag your tongue down the road and it will surely raise an eyebrow.

The weight ratings on the tire in your case are for a single tire. You need to re-check your door sticker and report back, our Sienna minivan has a 2845 lb rating per axle so something is amiss here. I have the van today so I cannot check mine......:redface:

Also to further arm yourself with all the necessary info, please take your whole getup to a trash facility or a quarry, moving company etc. and get the entire rig weighed. They will seperate the two and even the axles....well worth the possible $20 charge.

FWIW, my 02 SLT 4WD with NOTHING in it except for a full tank of fuel and owners manual was 4720 lbs... +- 20 lbs.
 

PatM

Original poster
Member
Jan 27, 2012
25
Here in BC (not sure about other provinces but I think it's the same) the highway scales can be used by anyone free of charge and they leave the scales on when they're closed as well. I do plan on weighing the truck and trailer for curiosity's sake if nothing else.

The real axle rating is something like 3200, the 2000 is the curb weight for the rear axle. Don't remember where I read that or what the exact number is (just over 2k I think).

So I figure the rear end tires can handle 4000 lbs, the rating is only 3200 so I won't get anywhere near stressing the tires while towing. I know the equalizing hitch spreads the load to the front of the TB as well but like I said, I like to plan for worst case.
 

DocBrown

Member
Dec 8, 2011
501
If you have 16" wheels, consider getting LT rated tires (they don't make LTs for the odd 17" stock TB wheels). They make for a slightly stiffer daily ride, but a dramatically improved towing experience. Especially with a larger trailer such as yours.
 

gmctodd

Member
Jan 8, 2012
22
I have towed my 5100# boat with two different Envoys . The first was an 06 with the factory 16" Goodyear Forterra HL's and the second an 08 with the factory 17" Michelin Cross Terrains and now Hankook DynaPro ATM's all P-Metric radials and have had no trouble related to tires. I know you are towing a TT with more tounge weight, but. IMO, if you are staying within the vehicle weight limits the stock tires will be just fine. Based on your numbers there is already an 800# safety margin built in. (2000 lbs per tire and 3200# rear axle weight)
 

The_Roadie

Lifetime VIP Donor
Member
Nov 19, 2011
9,957
Portland, OR
DocBrown said:
...they don't make LTs for the odd 17" stock TB wheels...
Sure they do. Agree on the LT recommendation. My first set of upgraded tires for offroading and towing were Goodyear Silent Armor LT265/70R17. Didn't have enough rock crawling performance so my next set were MT instead of AT tread. But the LT with Kevlar were fantastic tires.
 

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