Trailering my 100 (1 Viewer)

[ndcruiser]

Hi -

Getting some conflicting advice, so figured this was a good place to ask. I want to trailer my 100 to CO on an aluminum trailer with tandem 3500lb axles. New 6ply tires.

I'm hearing that I'm "no problem" to "you should be fine, but you're getting close to the max".....with regard to the 100 being too heavy or not for the trailer.

I've got bumpers, sliders and winch, so figure I'm probably getting close to 5500 lbs for the rig alone. I've been told by some you don't take trailer weight into the equation (huh?) and by some you do (the guy trying to sell me a new trailer), and tongue weight will reduce the axle load.

Advice?

John

 

[nodaksn3]

Hi John- Kind of funny since I'm soon headed to ND from Massachusetts to visit cousins!
Anyway, that's quite a load to haul. Does the trailer have brakes- those would be a must. What are you towing with? Probably should not be smaller than a 3/4 ton p/u, better if it's a 1-ton. Make sure that you have enough weight on the tongue or it will fish tail and you might lose it (I lost a nice 40 once like that), but not too much to drag down the rear of the tow vehicle. In other words "just right". 6-ply trailer tires are pretty durable so you might be OK towing the 100, but take a spare, jack, and tire wrench, etc. As you know, that's a lot of weight to pull, so be careful. Me, I'd drive the 100. But good luck, Ned

 

[scottryana]

Why the aluminum trailer? Usually they are used to pull light vehicles behind other light vehicles. Don't get me wrong you can get a very nice heavyweight Featherlite with dual 7k axles but it isn't cheap. And if you're using a full-size diesel or bigger to tow with the slightly lighter aluminum trailer won't matter.

You do take the weight of the trailer into consideration. It isn't 1:1 because wheels and tires etc don't count against the axle max load. I would bump up to 5k axles if you'll be towing the 100 often. You might any to put spare parts or extra wheels, or load the truck with gear and I think youre just too close for what I would be comfortable with.

 

[GaFJC]

My guess is your 100 likely weighs easily in excess of 6000 lbs.,not 5500, with all the accessories. More if you pack stuff into it for your trip. Upgraded tires alone can add significant weight.

 

[hankinid]

Simply drive your LC to a place with a scale and weigh it. Manufacturer's plate on trailer should give you maximum weight including the load.

Guy(s) telling you trailer weight doesn't count are FOS, to put it kindly.

What's the tow vehicle?? Sticker or plate inside of door jam should show maximum gross weight...truck+loaded trailer. I prefer no more than about 80% of that number.

Brakes will be a no-brainer.

Do your homework and report back.

Steve

 

[mtnracer]

The trailer will have a small sticker / plaque (usually on the front left) indicating GVWR (Gross Vehicle Weight Rating) and hopefully the empty weight of the trailer or at least the load capacity of the trailer.

GVWR is the weight of the trailer + the weight of the cargo.

In other words, the weight of your LC plus the empty weight of the trailer should not exceed GVWR.

Of course your tow vehicle has weight limits as well that you have to figure out.

 

[ndcruiser]

Busy day so just getting back to this now. Well, glad I asked.

Tow is a 6.7 Superduty with firestone airbags all around. Why aluminum trailer? Because that's what I've got I'll do the math and try to figure it out, I guess what I'm wondering is if I'm near the rating of the trailer if that's ok, assuming they have some "cushion" built in or not.

Family of 6, so if we all are in the 100, I need a trailer for all our gear (I don't travel light these days, always have emerg stuff on me) but even if I did that this trip, I'd like to get the rig down to CO a few times a year so want to figure it out. Don't exactly feel like popping for a $7K trailer right now.

John

 

[ndcruiser]

A bit more info: towing capacity of the truck is 14K lbs, so that's not the problem. I can also rent a steel trailer with much greater capacity, but that will add, what, 1k more to the tow weight? Truck is SRW, tires on truck are 10 ply MT's. Again, I have the airbags, so I can really support the rear of the truck. The trailer has brakes.

I trailered my FJ40 on this trailer with DRW superduty (slightly older model) a couple years ago with no problems at all. I know there are inherent risks in trailering, but if the numbers work out, there really should be no issue, right?

Going early enough where getting stuck in a snowstorm isn't likely.

John

 

[ndcruiser]

Hmm. I was way off. 6300lbs!

 

[Arya Ebrahimi]

I would not be concerned about the tow vehicle at all. I routinely tow in excess of 10k lbs with a bone stock 2006 GMC Sierra 2500 without issue. The weight of the 100 in combination with the rating of the trailer is where my concerns lie. If you were wanting to do this once I would say be careful and you'll probably be fine. Since you're wanting to do this more than once, I would really crunch the numbers and see where you come out at. Without knowing the weight of the trailer, it's impossible to know for sure how far over the weight rating you will be. You can reduce the total weight of the trailer and load by a factor 10-15% to account for the hitch weight being transferred to the truck.

 

[ndcruiser]

Thanks - I'm considering driving the cruiser this time (get my use out of the rack) and then getting a heavier capacity trailer for next season. Then of course if I have a breakdown I'll be kicking myself - knock on wood.

I won't notice much difference in "pulling experience" between the FJ40 and the 100 series, would I?