How much is enough????

[northwad]

Hi all-

I posted a couple weeks ago about the Fleetwood Bayside and asked about the weight and towing capacity of my TV...Thank you for all the insight, it has been a HUGE HELP...buuuuut I have another question-

How much "extra" towing capacity should I have (or do I need?) above the weight requirement for my TV?  ie. If my Bayside is 3500lbs then do I need more than that in my TV capacity or is a vehicle that has a limit of 3500lbs going to do the job???  

The reason I ask is because we have decided to make the plunge, buy the Bayside and also a new TV.  When I have been looking on line at the towing capacities most SUV's are either 3500 or 5000lbs.....quite a difference.  I would like to get the "smallest" TV that will do the job BUT do not want to buy either one that is too much or too little in the towing department...make sense?

Thanks for the help-

Dave

[brainpause]

Some use a 1000# rule of thumb as a cushion, some use a whole ton, 2000#.

On the other hand, there are many that tow overweight, which I don't recommend at all. From experience, get as much tow vehicle as you can afford. Don't tow with a "to the limit" tow vehicle.

Shoot for a vehicle that can tow 5000#, and I promise you will be happy.

Larry

[AustinBoston]

How much "extra" towing capacity should I have (or do I need?) above the weight requirement for my TV?  ie. If my Bayside is 3500lbs then do I need more than that in my TV capacity or is a vehicle that has a limit of 3500lbs going to do the job???

In most circumstances, that is not even enough to do the job.  The reason is, tow ratings are elastic, and the tow rating is the MAXIMUM it should ever tow.  With only a few exceptions (all of them imports...but only a few of them), it is based on only a driver and tank of gas in the tow vehicle.  

But very, very few people camp that way.  Will you be towing with an EMPTY tow vehicle, or will you be bringing spouse, children, lugage, foodstuffs, firewood, camping/ fishing/ other gear, etc. along in the tow vehicle?  Thought so.  Those extra people and things have to be subtracted from the towing capacity.  So with a typical family of four (and all their stuff) a van with a 3500 lb. tow rating is really only rated for about 2800 lbs.

It can get worse.  If you tow in the mountains, then you need to know that normally-aspirated gasoline engines (those without a turbocharger) loose horsepower with altitude.  How much depends on a number of factors, but it is usually in the range of 2-4% per thousand feet.  So if you have to tow over a 5,000 foot pass (an easy thing to do in western mountains), you could be down by as much as 20% of your available horsepower.  Our trailer has passed 8,000 feet several times.

There is an old "rule of thumb" that says you can only tow 75% of the available rating.  I think it's a good idea.

Austin

[campingcop]

I have to agree with Larry, when we had the pop up I towed it with a Pathfinder rated at 5000lbs It towed the camper fine(didn't know it was back there.  When we moved up to a Hybrid the Pathfinder towed it but it was right or maybe a little over limit and I did not feel comfortable towing the Hybrid so I purchased a new TV.