Quote:
Originally Posted by protege-five
Thank you for your reply, I have the following numbers but I am not sure how to do the math.
GCWR 15000lb
Combined weight and cargo 1507lb
GVWR 7000lb
GAWR FR 3950lb
GAWR Rear 3950lb
Axe ratio 3.42
Equalizer system
Did I missed a number and can someone can show me how to do the math. Thank you
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If thats off your door jamb sticker, the 1507lb is what your going to want your passengers, cargo, and tongue weight on your truck to be under I believe to be in your manufacturer limits. It likely counts for a driver and full tank of gas, so you don't have to take that into account. Passengers, stuff in the truck, accessories on the truck (after market running boards, bed liner, topper, etc) , stuff in the bed of the truck, the hitch, and the actual tongue weight of the camper you will have to account for.
The 28BHBE maxes at 9250lbs (GVWR per the jayco site), so your tongue weight if the trailer is maxed figuring 12% tongue weight (some like a little higher) will be 1110lbs (9250*.12), leaving you a little under 400 lbs for all passengers and cargo in your truck plus the weight distribution hitch. (1507-1110). This is WORST case unless your trailer is overloaded.
If you don't load the trailer heavy, tow it without water in it, etc, that will all lessen these numbers and give you more wiggle room, but its gonna be close. One thing you DON'T want to do is load the trailer too back heavy, you want around 12% (I have seen people say 10%-14%, so its an average) of the total weight on the tongue or it wont tow well. At a minimum, you should take the weight off the yellow weight sticker on the side of the trailer (not jayco.com) and take 12% of that, but honestly that number on the trailer seems to be quite low from my experiences. I don't think it will include a battery, tanks, definitely no cargo.
One thing to consider, I bought a Sherline scale, available on Amazon or Ebay, when I found out about all this. Just make sure you get the 2000lb one.
http://www.amazon.com/Sherline-LM-20...s=tongue+scale
I would hope you should be able to take it to a dealer and ask them to stick the tongue on it for you I would think, if they have a problem with that, find another dealer. That will give you a good idea on your MINIMUM tongue weight, keep in mind the Battery, LP, and cargo will add to that number somewhat, but some of it will be supported by the axle on the trailer. I wish I had done that prior to buying, probably would have bought a different model Trailer in the 26-27 foot range instead of a different truck.
Also don't expect the dealer at a Truck lot or a camper lot to be well educated on this topic, I learned most of this right here on this site, and then verified it by reading the truck manuals, truck towing guide (available online) etc, which I would encourage if you haven't.
As someone who made the mistake of buying too much trailer which they thought was quite within the tow specs of the TV I had, and then upgrading a truck (mostly for peace of mind), I wouldn't wish that experience on anyone else.