Trailer Weight


themadratter

New Member
I am planning on purchasing a travel trailer. It is 33ft in length and 10,000lbs. I have an Expedition with a V8 5.4 liter engine. Will my vehicle have any problems towing this weight? We have a 26ft travel trailer, but I am not sure what the weight of it is. We towed this trailer with a V8 4.6 liter engine and the truck seemed to strain to tow it. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. :)
 

Grandview Trailer Sa

Senior Member
Re: Trailer Weight

I doubt the 33' weighs 10.000 lb. My bet is that you are looking at GVWR, which is what the axles and tires can carry (gross vehicle weight rating). You need to look on the inside label and find the UVW. That is the "unit vehicle weight", also known as dry weight.

The Expedition with the 5.4 is probably rated to tow around 7,000 lb. Look in your owners manual and you can find what it is rated for. If you do not have the manual, it can be found online.
 

hertig

Senior Member
Re: Trailer Weight

And that 7000 pounds, or whatever it is rated for, is with no accessories added to the truck, no cargo, no passengers; just a 150 pound driver and a bit of fuel. And the amount you tow will be the UVW plus everything you put in the trailer. As you can see, these numbers can smash into each other fairly quickly, leaving you exceeding 1 or more of your weight limits. This leads to a greater chance of accident, faster wear on the truck, increased chances of breakdown, and if there is an accident, almost certainly the tender mercies of a lawyer.

So, run the numbers most carefully before signing on any dotted lines. And it is wise to visit a scale before you set out on any trip, to make sure you haven't slipped over any weight limit.

Frankly 1/2 ton vehicles (at least before this model year) should generally not try to tow more than 5000 pounds, and that is assuming the truck is fairly lightly loaded.
 

Archh

New Member
Re: Trailer Weight

I think that is way too much trailer for the Expedition.

Especially in an emergency manuver.

Another thing you have to be careful of is the tongue weight.
 

silverfox67

New Member
Re: Trailer Weight

I have a 2001 Eddie Bauer Expedition 4X4 with a 3.55 rear end in it and it is rated at 7,300 towing capacity with a 13,000 GCWR. Now this is a little deceiving as the expedition runs 5,500 lbs empty meaning that your actual tow capacity is 7,500 without a human being in it. A typical best guess approach is to take your GCWR-GVW-1,000 lbs not too exceed the maximum tow capacity. Also recognize that the listed weight of your trailer is a dry weight and does not include things like your Water both waste and clean, and propane tanks or batteries. All these things add up quick. I pull a 32ft Captiva Lite and it pulls like a dream the trailer comes in at 5,000 lbs empty.
 

hertig

Senior Member
Re: Trailer Weight

And the tow rating is for a flat bed trailer with 'no' wind resistance. I suggest reducing the estimated 'true' towing capacity by another 20%.
 
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