Need advice: towing a Jayco Ultralight x213 w/ a 2013 Ford Explorer

[chrobrego]

Hi,

We have a 2013 Ford Explorer with a tow package. It says it will tow 5000lb with a 500lb tongue weight. We're looking at a 2014 Jayco Ultralight x213 which has a dealer weight of 3995. Our dealer model says 4200lb unloaded with a maximum weight capacity of 5500lbs. It's my wife (140lbs), me (250lbs) and my son (100lbs) -- not sure if our weight contributes to anything since we're riding in the Explorer.

Will this SUV safely tow this rv trailer?

Thanks so much!

Shawn

[chrobrego]

Dry hitch weight is 330lb for the trailer whatever that means.

[chrobrego]

Our rv dealer and Ford dealer said it will tow it fine, but they seem to just say 'yep, the 2013 Explorer tows 5000 lbs so you should be good.' Is this right?

[Pitch1]

First thing you do is open your driver door. There will be a sticker on the jamb seemingly about tires. On that sticker will be a statement something like
Weight of passengers and cargo may not exceed xxxx pounds. 150# is allowed for the driver in that number, my ram also includes full fluids. Any thing else that is in or on your vehicle counts against that figure from your wife the kid and the chicken mcnugget under the seat.
Tounge weight is the weight of the trailer that the hitch is carrying. (a very important number) Tongue weight will be from 10 to 15 % of the total trailer weight, Use the maximum gross weight to go by.
Using the figure you have given tongue weight is going to hover around 600.
Ford must have build site that you can get the exact capabilities of your vehicle by VIN.

Personally I think it is too much trailer. Do a bit more research,you can spend a lot of money or create a dangerous situation if you screw up.

[rfloyd]

You are right on the edge. Smaller/lighter trailer or larger tow vehicle would be recommended. Yes your body weight comes off the 5000 tow capacity as well as other things like , water, propane, food, clothes. Please research by just Googleing tow capacity. Let's say your camper weighs 4200. 5000-4200=800 your combined weight is 490 you only have 310 Lbs left for everything. REMEMBER Capacity not beginning weight. There will be hills to go up and you will really overwork your car. Also your Explorer is a unibody not a framed vehicle like a truck. I would not recommend towing 5000 lbs with a unibody car. I tow a 6100 lb Travel Trailer with an Expedition with a HD tow package. Capacity 9600 and 11200 with a weight distribution hitch. I am telling you this is almost more than the Expedition can handle. Rethink this. I have seen vehicles hooked to campers that should never have happened I see it all the time. Don't listen to the sales people research it yourself.

[chrobrego]

You guys are awesome. Thanks so much for your help. I can't say how much I appreciate it. I'm taking your advice.

[smurfs_of_war]

Originally Posted by Pitch1

First thing you do is open your driver door. There will be a sticker on the jamb seemingly about tires. On that sticker will be a statement something like
Weight of passengers and cargo may not exceed xxxx pounds. 150# is allowed for the driver in that number, my ram also includes full fluids. Any thing else that is in or on your vehicle counts against that figure from your wife the kid and the chicken mcnugget under the seat.
Tounge weight is the weight of the trailer that the hitch is carrying. (a very important number) Tongue weight will be from 10 to 15 % of the total trailer weight, Use the maximum gross weight to go by.
Using the figure you have given tongue weight is going to hover around 600.
Ford must have build site that you can get the exact capabilities of your vehicle by VIN.

Personally I think it is too much trailer. Do a bit more research,you can spend a lot of money or create a dangerous situation if you screw up.

I don't belive the 150lbs driver is counted in payload capacity, only in GCWR. The payload only includes a full tank and topped up fluids, so all weight of passengers and additional cargo goes against that. If I am wrong I am open to correction.

[s1njin]

Instead of relying on opinion and rhetoric, why don't you do the math and see for yourself just where you'll be?

http://rvitch.com/resources/resources.php

Grab the Towing Capacity Worksheet. Plug in all the numbers and see where you fall.

[rvhippo]

I'm just going to copy-and-paste to save the trouble of clicking on a link.

I'm looking at the exact same trailer. I'm extremely limited in tongue weight because my tow vehicle has very little remaining payload capacity. Manufacturer's claimed weight and the actual weight are very different. You will want to look at the Federally mandated "yellow sticker" on the trailer that gives actual as-built weight, then add cargo and calculate 10-15% for tongue weight.

I've seen "yellow sticker" weights of 4258 and 4300 lbs weights for the X213 (not including cargo).

A 2011 Trailer Life article reviewing the X213 with water and propane puts the weight at 4680lbs with a tongue weight of 560 lbs. Quite a bit more than the claimed 330 lbs!

Remember, as soon as you put propane and a battery on the front of the A-frame, you'll add 100-150lbs to the tongue weight.

Once you load a X213 up, you will exceed your hitch's dead-weight rating by a considerable margin. You should get a smaller trailer or a larger tow vehicle. Can your tow vehicle hand a weight-distributing hitch? Most uni-body vehicles cannot.