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Old 06-08-2013, 07:14 AM   #1
zuley
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Join Date: Oct 2012
Location: Guelph, On
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Towing for Dumbies

I have gained a tremendous amount of knowledge while playing on this site over the past few months. Thank you to all. However, I am still not fully up to speed on towing capacities and specifying a vehicle suitable to pull or tow whether it be a pup, or a large travel trailer. Everyone of us have had experiences with a saleman telling us that yes that half ton will tow your 30 footer or yes you can tow that 30 footer with your half ton. I recently ordered myself a new pick up to tow my 23 footer. The numbers meant nothing to me. I suspect this thing is going to be somewhat over kill for what I am towing but I would rather have been safe than sorry heading up the road on the first trip out with it.
There are numerous people on this site who are very well versed in calculating what will work and what will not. I would love to see someone create a template of sorts and list it with a sticky that we could print off and use as required. The template would show fill in the blank formulas for calculating capacities along with all terminology and an explanation of each.
Is there any interest in this and is there anyone willing to take on this task?
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Old 06-08-2013, 08:07 AM   #2
fla-gypsy
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I have seen some spreadsheets like that but there are so many variables that it is hard to create something that will anticipate each nuance and so much is dependent on actual towing equipment used. Education is your best hedge against making mistake and unfortunately that takes time and some mistakes to learn properly. BTW, what did you settle on and what are the specs on the TV and TT?
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Old 06-08-2013, 08:54 AM   #3
rtltspd
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Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: sparks nv
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Trailer Life puts out a real easy to understand and complete guide in a supplement called Guide to Towing I found it very helpful. I just purchased a 2013 Dodge 1500 with the 5.7 hemi and 8 speed transmission and am towing a cougar 25rls with it and have had no problems at all.
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Old 06-08-2013, 03:53 PM   #4
Ken / Claudia
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Join Date: Nov 2012
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Thats way to much work. Just get the tow,payload,GVWR etc. off the vehicle if you have one or look it up. Each vehicle is different per year, motor, axles, cab/bed lenght etc. All pickups have their towing abilities printed on the door jam, Its name is Federal Standards Sticker. Trailers all print the shipping wt. and loaded wt. Than try not to go over the numbers. Put up your nunbers on here and get help or advice. I have read some towing tests and thoose have choose to tow 75% of the vehicles max. when testing. I would try to start there also but, really many lighter vehicles are loaded /towed at max. I like to travel at highway speeds and choose the trucks that can do that. I did tow for afew years pulling highway hills at 35mph in 55 zones.
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Old 06-09-2013, 04:41 AM   #5
SGardiner
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Join Date: Nov 2012
Location: Georgetown, Ontario
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Quote:
Originally Posted by zuley View Post
I have gained a tremendous amount of knowledge while playing on this site over the past few months. Thank you to all. However, I am still not fully up to speed on towing capacities and specifying a vehicle suitable to pull or tow whether it be a pup, or a large travel trailer. Everyone of us have had experiences with a saleman telling us that yes that half ton will tow your 30 footer or yes you can tow that 30 footer with your half ton. I recently ordered myself a new pick up to tow my 23 footer. The numbers meant nothing to me. I suspect this thing is going to be somewhat over kill for what I am towing but I would rather have been safe than sorry heading up the road on the first trip out with it.
There are numerous people on this site who are very well versed in calculating what will work and what will not. I would love to see someone create a template of sorts and list it with a sticky that we could print off and use as required. The template would show fill in the blank formulas for calculating capacities along with all terminology and an explanation of each.
Is there any interest in this and is there anyone willing to take on this task?
You need to research and go through the number for your specific application. All 1/2 tons are not equal. Optional tow and max payload packages and axle selection can make a huge difference in tow capacities within the same manufacturer / product line. We choose our TT first then purchased a Tow vehicle to meet the requirements of the TT. IMO you should not exceed 70 to 75% of the maximum ratings for the vehicle. White knuckle towing is not my idea of a fun vacation.
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Old 06-11-2013, 03:26 AM   #6
TomHaycraft
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Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: Round Rock
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Quote:
Originally Posted by zuley View Post
I would love to see someone create a template of sorts and list it with a sticky that we could print off and use as required. The template would show fill in the blank formulas for calculating capacities along with all terminology and an explanation of each.
Is there any interest in this and is there anyone willing to take on this task?
Send me a Private Message on the board, I'm happy to share the spreadsheet I've built. If you are comfortable with spreadsheets and adjusting the math in the cells as you add more data, you might find it helpful.

I have an initial row with weights of the TV, wife and I, full tank of fuel, toolbox etc as we normally travel. Subsequent rows have been added each time I get weights of the TV and trailer. Steer axle, drive axle and trailer weights can be added and a number of additional cells automatically calculate to show various percentages of the GAWR / GVWRs of TV and trailer, along with calculated pin weights, pin weight % of trailer weight, % of max tire and axle weights, on and on. Conditional formatting will show some cells in green where I'm good and in red if you go over the GAWR/GVWR.

When I insert a new row for the latest weight, it takes a bit of work to redirect some of the cells and calculations. Someone who is more an EXCEL wizard than me, might be able to re-program a few of the cells to make it a bit more user friendly.

PM me and I'm happy to forward it on!
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