How is this possible?

[wegone]

They advertise this trailer is 1/2 ton towable.
Look at the hitch weight, which I assume is dry, right?

I don't get it?

GVWR is 8900 lbs.

https://maine.craigslist.org/rvd/d/m...575111733.html

Could one of you savvy members chime in here and school us please?

[Poppy]

There are many TT and 5th wheels that a labeled and sold as 1/2 ton towable.I have a 5th wheel labeled as such. But, just because a pu is able to tow it, doesn’t make it a good idea. Nany cases, if it’s not safe, or it will wear out or cause more repairs for your truck.
Personally, I would not pull my 5th wheel with a 1/2 ton truck. It’s weight is close to the one you linked.

[wegone]

Yes Poppy, I see that a lot too.
This trailer is 75k to buy.
A person might have 150K tied up in a rig that just might come to a sad ending, certainly not the happy times they surely imagine when laying out so much $$$$$, a dream turn nightmare!

I am hoping someone can do the math using their knowledge to spell this all out in REAL TERMS.

No time for emotions, but hard cold reality in what is really being sold here.

The best half ton I can find is about 1500 pounds payload.

How can you expect to honestly pull that safely with it loaded to what you need to use it?

[cougar23]

Very shady advertising but there a few 1/2 ton pickups that could handle them.
The wife and I were looking at a Keystone Cougar 23MLS and was told by the sales agent the pin weight was 1100 lbs. I had a Ford F150 with cargo capacity
of 1720 lbs.
We bought the camper [5th wheel] , had a hitch installed and brought it home.
Checking specs on camper shower hitch weight of 1300+ lbs. ,hitch weighed 200 lbs. I lowered the hitch pin onto a tongue weight scale and got a weight of
1600 lbs.
Since we liked the camper I was forced to buy a 3/4 ton Super Duty truck.

[chuckster57]

I bet they use the “tow rating” of a 1/2 ton truck not the weight rating of the truck.

[JRTJH]

Originally Posted by chuckster57

I bet they use the “tow rating” of a 1/2 ton truck not the weight rating of the truck.

Yeah, I can hear the salesman now, "Half ton trucks have a tow rating around 11,000 pounds, this trailer only weighs 8900 pounds MAX, so you've got over a ton extra Heck, you could add another trailer with your ATV on it and still be under what your truck can tow."

[peanut]

Originally Posted by Island Eddie

I am hoping someone can do the math using their knowledge to spell this all out in REAL TERMS.

No one seems to have done any math, yet, so here goes. I'll probably be lambasted for this but:

The general rule of thumb for the tongue weight of a ball-mounted hitch is 10% - 15% of the total load. There are other considerations but that is the generally accepted advise/rule.
(See here for one mfgs. comments:
https://www.gmc.com/gmc-life/trucks/...or-safe-towing )
and I have read the same from other mfgs. and other websites.

So - -
Dry - - 10% numbers are 6830 x .10 = 683 lbs
..........15% numbers are 6830 x .15 = 1024 lbs
Wet - -10% numbers are 8900 x .10 = 890 lbs
..........15% numbers are 8900 x .15 = 1335 lbs
The actual CLAIMED hitch weight (of this add) works out to 13.6% of dry weight and 10.5% of gross. Both are within the generally accepted parameters. It is interesting to note that the Lance website specs for this trailer specify 930 lbs as the DRY hitch weight - - the same as what the dealer is claiming (except that they are leaving out the DRY part).

People with real world towing experience may not be comfortable with the claimed spec. I wouldn't be. But they are technically within the recommendations. A beginner has no way of judging except for what the dealer tells them or what they may learn googling the subject. When a dealer AND a mfg. web page tells them that all is okay they will probably be happy. And I believe that most dealers will low-ball any of the numbers they need to to make a sale. It won't be until towing experience jars the new owner into reality that they will begin to question things.

[pdaniel]

Originally Posted by Poppy

There are many TT and 5th wheels that a labeled and sold as 1/2 ton towable.I have a 5th wheel labeled as such. But, just because a pu is able to tow it, doesn’t make it a good idea. Nany cases, if it’s not safe, or it will wear out or cause more repairs for your truck.
Personally, I would not pull my 5th wheel with a 1/2 ton truck. It’s weight is close to the one you linked.

But, the sales critter at the RV dealer said my little truck would pull it.

Heard that many times.

[NH_Bulldog]

My F150 was set up with the Max Tow package and had 2,195 cargo capacity. The 3.5L EcoBoost V6 would tow with tons of power to spare, but even my trailer was pushing the limits of the truck’s capability even though we never exceeded any of the rated limits. I would never have felt safe towing anything bigger. Just because you can do something doesn’t mean you should.

[Poppy]

Originally Posted by Island Eddie

They advertise this trailer is 1/2 ton towable.
Look at the hitch weight, which I assume is dry, right?

I don't get it?

GVWR is 8900 lbs.

https://maine.craigslist.org/rvd/d/m...575111733.html

Could one of you savvy members chime in here and school us please?

Dry weight of the trailer, I think is done at the factory with no propane, no water or any other supplies.
If you add the dry weight with all you supplies, i.e. water, propane camping stuff, clothes, then have your truck loaded with any extras you want to take, plus everyone that’s going with you. Get it all hooked up. If the total weight is less than your GVWR, and the load on your rear axels does not exceed the load capacity of the truck, then you’re good to go. Otherwise, I’d consider a smaller trailer or a bigger truck.
I think I have it right. If not, someone will correct me. I have been known to be occasionally wrong.

[wiredgeorge]

That thing is right at 30' long and will have a tongue weight just north of 1100 lbs. Add hitch, passengers, junk in the 1/2 ton pickup and you are looking at 1600 lbs or more payload so it is possible a 1/2 ton can drag it down the road without being over payload rating if the 1/2 ton is equipped where it has a payload of around 2000 lbs and we do know that is possible. Given the length, I suspect at least a 3/4 ton would be a happier tow vehicle.

[markdol1]

Hey homey i bought a 37.5 cougar that says half ton right on the front graphics , loaded it weighs 10800 .an f150 may move it but i sure as hell would not drive it a mile! Lance products are nice but WAY overpriced Shop around theres no rush and the market is really getting soft $700 bucks a month is a big nut,you can buy a nice house for that depending on where you live.

[markcee]

Yep....definitely possible to stay under some 1/2 ton vehicle limitations and tow it.

I had 1873 lbs of payload capacity and managed to stay a couple hundred pounds under that cap with about 40 lbs or rear axle capacity to spare. Loaded up the trailer is 8300-8500 lbs. Of course I couldn't carry anything in the bed of the truck. I lasted about 6 months before trading in a brand new F150 for the F350.

If I had had a 'unicorn' F150 HDPP with 6.5' bed, which comes with a thicker frame and other beefed up components and about 2500 lbs of payload, I may have kept things as is, but I just didn't feel comfortable with my regular ol' 'max tow'.

I think most salesman (truck and RV) don't have enough knowledge, or simply don't care to advise you that just because it says '1/2 ton towable', it doesn't mean EVERY 1/2 ton truck - regardless of how equipped, should be towing it. Probably 80-90% of the 1/2 ton trucks on the road would bust payload with the larger '1/2 ton towables' with just a driver and one passenger.

[markdol1]

Originally Posted by markdol1

Hey homey i bought a 37.5 cougar that says half ton right on the front graphics , loaded it weighs 10800 .an f150 may move it but i sure as hell would not drive it a mile! Lance products are nice but WAY overpriced Shop around theres no rush and the market is really getting soft $700 bucks a month is a big nut,you can buy a nice house for that depending on where you live.

By the way Last week i installed a curt class 5 hitch with a 17,000 lb . carrying capacity and a 2550 lb tongue weight load capacity. Overkill but i wanted some more peace of mind!

[notanlines]

Just as a side note: The discussion of shrimp, gumbo, cioppino, fettuccini, and the like is infinitely more interesting than including weights of propane tanks from the factory.
I've found that wintering in Florida has one small drawback. Nobody makes any venison sausage or summer sausage. Frog legs and oysters are a good substitute, but when we summer in Wisconsin about half the locals are anxious to show off their wares from the previous hunting season.
Now, back to the RV doldrums.

[sourdough]

Originally Posted by notanlines

Just as a side note: The discussion of shrimp, gumbo, cioppino, fettuccini, and the like is infinitely more interesting than including weights of propane tanks from the factory.
I've found that wintering in Florida has one small drawback. Nobody makes any venison sausage or summer sausage. Frog legs and oysters are a good substitute, but when we summer in Wisconsin about half the locals are anxious to show off their wares from the previous hunting season.
Now, back to the RV doldrums.

Just a short diversion....again Funny you should mention summer sausage. You're right, unless you go find something like Hillshire's summer sausage (which isn't that good) it's non existent. I've taken to bringing 2 sections homemade summer sausage with cheese and jalapeno from TX - made in the same meat market in central TX that I get my sausage for smoking and bratwurst.

I guess I don't know anyone good enough here to offer me venison. We are surrounded by wildlife refuges and they bring out all kinds of deer, ducks etc. I've had some tell me of their success hunting but no one offers to share their venison, duck or whatever is in season other than fish - we get plenty of fish. Now, back to LP tank weight, who put what where.....

[vampress_me]

Originally Posted by notanlines

I've found that wintering in Florida has one small drawback. Nobody makes any venison sausage or summer sausage. Frog legs and oysters are a good substitute, but when we summer in Wisconsin about half the locals are anxious to show off their wares from the previous hunting season.
Now, back to the RV doldrums.

Umm….question? Frog leg and oyster summer sausage? Is that really a thing?!?!

And, if you ever get over into MN from WI, go to the tiny town of Nicollet, MN to Schmidt’s Meat Market. They have the best summer sausage I’ve ever had from 5 states.

[notanlines]

Lynette, I certainly should have worded that differently! I can't imagine much worse than frog leg and shrimp sausage....
About once every summer we get on the bike and ride to Hinckley to get a caramel roll at Toby's Restaurant and Bakery. And then get a couple cinnamon rolls to go for breakfast the next morning. Only those who've been there realize that they might actually be worth a 100 mile ride one-way to enjoy.

Regretfully, Nicollet is the other direction. Until then we will just have to stay with www.louiesfinermeats.com in Cumberland, Wisconsin. Floridians just don't know what they're missing!

I don't want all the readers feeling sorry for us here in Florida. Today we will be headed to the Fellsmere Frog Leg Festival. Yum yum!

DW just reminded me that we'd be very close on the way back from Sturgis this summer. Sounds like a plan!

[wiredgeorge]

Lance doesn't seem to advertise the trailer as half ton towable... that is the dealer saying it.
https://www.lancecamper.com/travel-trailers/2465/

[Max23]

Dealers will use specs and whatever else to their advantage to sell a camper. Just had an acquaintance buy one a little heavier than mine and to keep cost down for the sale (imo) told him he doesn't need an equalizer hitch. Pulling it with his 1/2 ton truck. Me and a buddy of mine both told him to go vack and get one! Also started schooling him on how the whole weight distribution works. Dealers will say anything! I'm guessing that 20% cushion is gonna be gone in his case as well. I know I'm right at it loaded.