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P-pod for dry camping? |
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offgrid 
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Joined: 23 Jul 2018 Online Status: Offline Posts: 5290 |
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 Topic: P-pod for dry camping?Posted: 09 Apr 2021 at 7:22am |
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Nope, mine says the same.
You are not understanding my point. I am talking about max hitch weight, which is 350 lbs on you vehicle, correct? You stated that you wanted to increase your tongue weight by about 200 lbs above it's current value of around 280 IIRC. That you can't do. I can. |
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1994 Chinook Concourse
1995 RV6A Experimental Aircraft 2015 Rpod 179 - sold |
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MarkW
Groupie 
Joined: 25 Jan 2021 Location: Michigan Online Status: Offline Posts: 54 |
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Posted: 09 Apr 2021 at 6:56am |
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"Toyota limits it's hitch weights to 10% of trailer weight" Well, maybe it did back in 2012, but here's what the manual says for our 2018: If it turns out that 11% is what I need for best stability, it will be no problem at all doing, say 3100# in the trailer and 340# on the tongue. Interestingly, the manual also includes this: ● If the gross trailer weight is over 2000 lbs. (907 kg), a sway control
device with sufficient capacity is required. Which I hadn't noted before (but which we already do have)
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offgrid
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Joined: 23 Jul 2018 Online Status: Offline Posts: 5290 |
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Posted: 09 Apr 2021 at 6:14am |
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Of course you have to get sufficient weight on the tounge of your trailer. After a rpod sway survey, I recommend a minimum of 11% if actual trailer weight for that.
Toyota limits it's hitch weights to 10% of trailer weight so no you can't add 200 lbs to the tongue. Some vehicles alliw an increase if you use a wdh, check the towing section of your manual. Staying under that limitation is very important in any vehicle but especially in a unibody vehicle. Unless of course you like very expensive frame repairs. You don't know what receiver loads the frame is actually engineered for, Toyota won't provide you with proprietary data like that. I know my Highlander is good for 500 lbs, so I limit myself to that. That turns out to be the critical limiting spec for my use case. As for staying within specs, I think we all agree with that here, as a minimum. Some want to see more safety factor than that, that's fine too. But myself and others here are not going to be convinced by hand waving debate. You would need to go to the scales fully loaded and actually weigh your axles, trailer, tongue, and combined rig. Of course, you don't need to convince us of anything, the only person who can require you to weigh is your friendly highway patrol officer. Just don't expect us to agree with you on that decision. |
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1994 Chinook Concourse
1995 RV6A Experimental Aircraft 2015 Rpod 179 - sold |
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MarkW
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Joined: 25 Jan 2021 Location: Michigan Online Status: Offline Posts: 54 |
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Posted: 08 Apr 2021 at 4:20pm |
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Dude your going both ways here.. You're either with factory spec's or your not.
I'm really not. If I were having trouble with the current van as a TV (even though it was within specs), my solution wouldn't be to trade in the van on a crossover that was about the same size, weight, and power of the van but had a 5000# rating (and then -- hey why not? -- load another 800# into the trailer because now there's a safety margin). Instead the focus will be on getting the trailer dialed in on the balance. During our first long trip, with the anti-sway cranked down, it was quite OK, not scary (despite, 25mph winds, steep grades in the Appalachians, and lots of trucks through multi-lane urban zones). But I'd like it to feel more solid with the anti-sway loosened up. And it shouldn't be a problem getting a couple of hundred lbs more of tongue weight by loading some more stuff in the pass-thru or on/under the 'v-berth in the bow' just as I've done at times with the sailboat). We've got a ton of space in the CVWR. The CVWR is is 8900# as compared to a total of about 7400# of the combined dry weight. So we have flexibility to carry the gear in the TV. Which is what we did on our initial trip. Bikes, inflatable kayak, cooler, luggage all were in the TV. We loaded next to nothing into the trailer that wasn't there when we signed the deal and handed over the check (and we unloaded the water). Bottom line for me (as I've said) -- stay within specs, balance the trailer. Consider upgrading the TV only if you can't balance within specs (or if your TV is overheating or a complete snail on long grades).
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Olddawgsrule
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Joined: 20 Sep 2017 Location: New Hampshire Online Status: Offline Posts: 1014 |
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Posted: 08 Apr 2021 at 3:21pm |
First you say "to make sure that your weights are within specs", yet then "I think it's a mistake to think that if you have sufficient 'reserve capacity' ". Dude your going both ways here.. You're either with factory spec's or your not. The mistake is believing you can go beyond 'comfortably'. There's a reason for those 'spec's'! Take the time and hit the scales. My town on Saturdays has no issues at all. Free if they don't print a ticket. They had fun with me and what I was doing! I know what my dry weight is of trailer alone (not stated, actual) telling me how much I can load. I know what the trailer hitched is and combined weight. No guessing, no "it works for me", no BS, actual weights. It's worth the time.. |
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lostagain
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Joined: 06 Sep 2016 Location: Quaker Hill, CT Online Status: Offline Posts: 2587 |
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Posted: 08 Apr 2021 at 3:10pm |
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Wow! That proves Fords are tough trucks.
But, the all time overloads are in the coffee country of Colombia where the ubiquitous Willys is the ultimate pack mule. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gKf2GlFnwfI In fact, when I lived in Colombia, I lost a friend who was taking is coffee down from the mountain to sell and went off a cliff from being overloaded.
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Never leave footprints behind.
Fred & Maria Kearney Sonoma 167RB Our Pod 172 2019 Ford F-150 4x4 2.7 EcoBoost |
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Olddawgsrule
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Joined: 20 Sep 2017 Location: New Hampshire Online Status: Offline Posts: 1014 |
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Posted: 08 Apr 2021 at 2:55pm |
That happens to be one the calculators used for axle placement in the builder's forum.It'sused quite a bit!
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GlueGuy
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Joined: 15 May 2017 Location: N. California Online Status: Offline Posts: 2630 |
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Posted: 08 Apr 2021 at 2:14pm |
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Everyone has their own idea of what constitutes overloaded.
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bp
2017 R-Pod 179 Hood River 2015 Ford F150 SuperCrew 4WD 3.5L Ecoboost |
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lostagain
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Joined: 06 Sep 2016 Location: Quaker Hill, CT Online Status: Offline Posts: 2587 |
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Posted: 08 Apr 2021 at 10:07am |
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Thanks for the interesting article MarkW. I agree that TV capacity is only one of many elements to be considered in safely towing a trailer.
Here is another trailer weight calculator that may be of use:
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Never leave footprints behind.
Fred & Maria Kearney Sonoma 167RB Our Pod 172 2019 Ford F-150 4x4 2.7 EcoBoost |
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Pod_Geek
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Joined: 04 Dec 2019 Location: Colorado Online Status: Offline Posts: 260 |
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Posted: 08 Apr 2021 at 9:26am |
Interesting article. I've never seen the "back-of-ball ratio" discussed before. I believe that's the ratio of hitch ball-to-trailer axle/hitch ball-to-rear bumper. 50% = marginal-to-bad whereas 75% = good-great. Not sure how that's measured on dual-axle trailers...maybe halfway between the axles? High BOB potentially equates to higher tongue weights as well, so that would also contribute to more stability.
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2020.5 R-Pod 195 Hood River
2018 RAM 2500 6.4L |
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