cargo weight

[BarbaraRose]

What all is considered cargo weight in a trailer?

The dry weight for mine is 3780 lbs. GVWR is listed at 5900 lbs. That seems like an awful lot of "cargo weight" considered. I can't imagine I would add anywhere near 2000+ lbs to the trailer. I don't have a lot of stuff I plan to put in there. Even if I filled the water tank, full propane, batteries, food, clothes, a few books, kitchen things, camping stuff, etc, I know I won't get anywhere near that much weight.

Am I missing something?

[Azusateach]

Barbie, my 19' Hideout had virtually the same floorplan as your trailer. The only difference was that the bunk above the corner bed converted to cupboards.

I pulled my Hideout with a V6 Explorer, and it struggled in the mountains, and I didn't carry much, either. That Explorer was quite a bit beefier than your Liberty. I ended up getting a V8 Expedition -- longer wheelbase and lots more power.

When you start looking for a new tow vehicle, get MORE than you'll need for that trailer. Frankly, a truck would be your best bet.

[Cougarfan]

A good rule of thumb is to never tow more than 80% of tow capacity of your vehicle. So, whatever tow vehicle you buy should have a tow capacity of about 7-8000 lbs. Also make sure it has a tow package already installed on the vehicle from the factory. This should include the receiver hitch, a transmission cooler, bigger alternator, a tow/haul mode, and possibly bigger brakes. Make sure the payload capacity (located on a sticker inside the driver door frame) is enough for the hitch weight, you, and anything else you put in the vehicle. Most people run out of payload on the tow vehicle before they run out of towing capacity.

Laura

[Colliemom]

That dry weight is just the trailer, empty. No propane, no water, not sure about battery etc., so when you fill the propane tanks etc., that is going to reduce the amount of personal stuff you can carry. Somewhere there are some threads with the weight figures for propane, water etc.

[Bethers]

You'll be surprised how much you'll have in there... And all the little stuff can add up. The only way you'll have a clue to your weight is to get weighed... After you're loaded and with the water and propane tanks full.

[MelissaD]

When they make your trailer and it rolls off the assembly line they weigh it. That's you dry weight. It's on a little sticker probably in the door jamb of your trailer.

Mine was 10,500# Dry weight for example. The manufacture said that based on the frame design, the axles, the tires and the hitch setup it should be able to safely carry 14,000# so that if my Gross weight (GVWR). They then took gross 14,000 - 10,500 = 3,500 # cargo weight.

Well things add up. I added a 2nd AC unit. So subtract 100# or so.
Propane, mine is 2 bottles at 55# each or 100# when full.
I added some cast iron pans because I like my fireside cooking that's probably 200#
Dishes, I like real dishes and they weigh more than disposable dishes.
A stocked panty is probably 200# (groceries are heavy)
Not to forget the lawn chairs and little tables for my drinks.
Water weighs 8# a gallon (about) so a full fresh water tank 50 gals (mine) is 400#
My waste water is 160 gallons (4x40 gal) 1280# if full (1 reason to dump before heading out if possible)
Everything you put in or on you trailer counts against cargo weight.

Point is, it all adds up, a whole lot faster, than you might think.

The larger the trailer the more people seem to pack away. By the time we got done with modifications and packing what we wanted we added about 1,500# to ours. In other words ours tips the scales over 12,000# now. My Pickup w/ trailer is pushing 20,000# rolling down the highway.

In your case you have 5,900 - 3,780 = 2,120 or 2,000 for simple math. They are reasonable numbers but did you get them off a brochure or off the unit? Unit numbers are actual, brochure numbers are engineer guesses used for comparisons. By the time you add propane, FW water, food, your stuff and ready to go camping you will probably use 500 to 750# of that. That would be average. If you are trying to figure out a tow vehicle you need to figure the trailer will weight between 5,000 and 6,000#. If you are looking for a safety marigin pick a vehicle based on the 6,000# number.