Light Pop Up Questions

[TheViking]

I guess as long as you have a warranty on your TV... load it as full as your capacities allow and have a good time.  When stuff breaks going up that steep hill, take it to the dealer, get it fixed and start over.

[SpeakEasy]

Ok, So I have an 06 Ridgeline, I have a GVW of 6,050, I can tow 5000Lbs, and I have a payload capacity of 1550.  Therefore, I can have a 5000Lb trailer loaded, 1550Lbs in the truck (Not including people), and it will not put any stess on the truck whatsoever?  Because that's what the "General" consenses seems to be here except for a couple of people.

Not exactly.

There are two kinds of "stresses." (Let's call them forces.) There's the downward force of all the weight the tow vehicle has to carry. For my Highlander that capacity is a mere 925 lb. The only way in which the trailer impacts that 925 lb is through the trailer's tongue weight. The tongue weight is a downward force on my Highlander's frame. This, by the way, turns out to be the most limiting figure I have to work with. By the time you add up passengers, luggage, and tongue weight that 925 lb gets "full" VERY quickly. I can carry very little luggage!

Then there is the (normally horizontal) force that resists your movement down the road. This is where the towing capacity comes in. It puts stress on your tow vehicle in different ways and in different places than does the downward force of the weight of stuff you're carrying.

No matter how much downward force I put into my Highlander, I can still PULL 3,500 pounds.

I'm not making this up.

And I don't think Mark Polk, the guy who wrote the article provided by "The Viking," has read a Toyota manual.

[TheViking]

No matter how much downward force I put into my Highlander, I can still PULL 3,500 pounds.
 
I'm not making this up.
 
And I don't think Mark Polk, the guy who wrote the article provided by "The Viking," has read a Toyota manual.

 
I have so much to add to this but I think I will decline and just continue to read this thread...:W

[dthurk]

I did say it was confusing.  Of course, the hardest step in this process is to get everything weighed, rather than guessing at weights.  I don't know how many actually might do that.  I use the scales at our local landfill transfer station.  They're more than happy to help me out.

[SpeakEasy]

I have so much to add to this but I think I will decline and just continue to read this thread...:W

Post away! Why hold back? If there's something that I'm misunderstanding, I want to be corrected. I just don't see any other way to interpret what my owner's manual says.

No animosity here.

 

[TheViking]

Post away! Why hold back? If there's something that I'm misunderstanding, I want to be corrected. I just don't see any other way to interpret what my owner's manual says.
 
No animosity here.
 

Ok, first off, this statement: No matter how much downward force I put into my Highlander, I can still PULL 3,500 pounds. Makes no sense. As you said in another post, "Downforce is tongue weight" then what you are saying is your Highlander can have an Unlimited amount of weight on the tongue. So by this are you saying that if you had a trailer that weighs 1500lbs, you could load 2000lbs on the tongue plus add gear and people in the Highlander?
 
Personally, I don't believe in running the weight of my trailer all the way up to the limit of the TV & overloading the tongue weight, it's simply not safe for me, my family, or anyone else on the road with me. If the Toyota manual says that, it is wrong IMO. I will see what my Tundra book says.
 
Also, I believe Mark Polk to be an expert in the RV field, as he has been doing this since the 1970's, he has seen and tested way more stuff than you and I will ever see.

[wavery]

MMM....MMMMMM.....MM..........MMMMMMMMMMM......MMMMM!
And that's all I have to say on the matter


Oh ya...............MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM

[SpeakEasy]

Ok, first off, this statement: No matter how much downward force I put into my Highlander, I can still PULL 3,500 pounds. Makes no sense. As you said in another post, "Downforce is tongue weight" then what you are saying is your Highlander can have an Unlimited amount of weight on the tongue. So by this are you saying that if you had a trailer that weighs 1500lbs, you could load 2000lbs on the tongue plus add gear and people in the Highlander?
.

Relax, Mr. Viking, relax.

Context is everything. The statement above came after a long harangue about the weight-carrying  capacity of the Highlander being 925 pounds. The point I was trying to make was that towing capacity and weight-carrying capacity are two different things. Rather than saying "no matter how much downward force I put into my Highlander..." what I mean to say is, "whether I put zero pounds in my Highlander or 925 pounds in my Highlander...." Please don't think that I am saying I can carry unlimited weight. The full context of that post should make that clear.

No point in getting testy here.

[TheViking]

I'm not being testy at all, I'm merely trying to understand where it is you are coming from, that's all.    No big deal Bro.

[wavery]

Post away! Why hold back? If there's something that I'm misunderstanding, I want to be corrected. I just don't see any other way to interpret what my owner's manual says.

No animosity here.

 

hehehehehehe :p

I saw this one commin'

[TheViking]

hehehehehehe :p
 
I saw this one commin'

 
 
Hey.....Wayne......Go sail a boat somewhere would ya........LOL  

[abbear]

Things change.  I happen to think this is a change for the good.

My Grand Caravan owners manual gave a max trailer weight and then went on to point out that the weight of the passengers, cargo , etc. had to be subtracted from that.  For some people that's too much work.  They stop at the 3500 lbs and never really figure out what they can tow.

My Saturn Vue owners manual gives a flat tow rating that includes the passengers and cargo.  As long as I don't exceed the GVWR for the Vue and have trailer brakes I can tow 3500 lbs.  Much easier for the average joe to figure out.  Many of the newer vehicles are listing the tow weight this way - I believe it is in the interest of protecting them from lawsuits.  

The problem of weight still exists, however.  I believe the at least 75% of the people who tow camping trailers (be they hardsided or pup) have never weighd their rig at a scale to really see if they are within the GVWR of either vehicle, the GAWR of each axle, and the GCWR of the entire rig.  I cringe whenever I read someone's comment about their pup as "the specs say..".  You don't tow specs, and you don't tow advice. Get your rig weighed so you can really know if you are within "specs" or not.

[wavery]

Hey.....Wayne......Go sail a boat somewhere would ya........LOL  

Geee......you don't have to get all "Testy" Brian :p

 

[Kavoom]

Oh, being a Subaru owner (04 Forester 2,400 lb tow rating) and having researched the living poop out of things, you look OK on the Starcraft but will quickly be at your limit. Check out the Fleetwood Taos if you can find one (they only produce them in mid year in small amounts for big dealers).  They run under 1200 lbs and have a light tongue weight U shaped dinette.  Can sleep six but make sure anyone who has to pee at night is on the dinette bed...  

You will also find that Subaru limits you to a 200 lb tongue weight.  Taos's come with electric brakes standard.  There is also the Tuscon at 1245 lb's.  Fleetwoods are nice and light in the front end.  There is a place selling new ones in Georgia (don't know where you live but for context) called peco camping check them out at around 4,700 bucks.  This is a DEAL.  Based upon your 2K limit, you have at least a four year old??? Outback.  If it is the regular 4 banger boxer engine you are there.  If it is the six, then they seriously underrated you on weight.  If you have an automatic irrespective and plan any "hills/mountains" up and down, get a tranny cooler or reconsider...    

I have a Flagstaff 176 and they are heavy on the tongue weight at 178 lbs.  I have to pull my battery to stay under but it is a great camper.  I am at around 1800 to 1900 with a dry weight of 1351 and I am not overloading my pup...  Four or five year old Taos's or Jayco Quest 4U's come in at less than 1,000 lbs so keep that in mind and I don't know why the older ones are lighter but they are.  The Quests have surge brakes, but are still nice.  

Check this site out also... http://www.rvtowingtips.com/what-can-i-tow.htm

And you could also pull an Aliner ($$$$) or a Livinlite (all aluminum $$$$).  

good luck, you can do it, you are just limited and research it a bit.  But for 2 to four people an 8 box will give you everything you want.

[Kavoom]

I saw someone mention things about reducing what you have in the vehicle...  For Subaru's, the tow rating is pure in that as long as you are under you GVWR and axle ratings you are cool irrespective of what is in the Subaru.  Unlike most US vehicles you do NOT have to subtract what is in the TV from what you are towing. But don't go to the max anywhere and always give yourself a cushion on weight where you can.  You will always be counting lbs.  

Subaru's allow substantially higher tow ratings in other countries.  UK, Australia and New Zealand have rated a "Forester" as the best tow vehicle for the last three years (different years different countries).  It has been postulated that in the U.S., Subaru is afraid of how sue happy our culture is and that is why they lower the tow rating to reduce litigous complications, but don't count on that to get antsy and think you can go heavier.  

Oh, and get a Class II after market hitch.  I have a hidden hitch.  The Subaru Class I hitch is another over priced attempt to keep people from towing anything in the U.S.