P-pod for dry camping?

Originally posted by MarkW I would say all good points to make sure that your weights are within specs, but I think it's a mistake to think that if you have sufficient 'reserve capacity' under your towing limits you're good to go.  To me, trailer balance and sway control seem to be the things to worry about most.  Here's an argument that 'short wheelbase' trailers (which I think we all have here) are particularly prone to instability: https://rv.org/blogs/news/short-wheelbases-and-accidents-go-hand-in-hand

So does that mean you will go weigh your rig (not just the trailer and tongue) and report the results here relative to your limits?

I would say all good points to make sure that your weights are within specs, but I think it's a mistake to think that if you have sufficient 'reserve capacity' under your towing limits you're good to go.  To me, trailer balance and sway control seem to be the things to worry about most.  Here's an argument that 'short wheelbase' trailers (which I think we all have here) are particularly prone to instability:

Mark, I haven't read all this, yet I see OG is asking the basic 'first step'. 

Not being one to want to go to the CAT scales everytime I leave I have a base weight (3225 lbs) which was TT loaded with what I would take everytime.  Then I weigh what I am taking for the particular trip.  Then I use my shureline scale to balance the load to get my 350 lb tongue weight.  I never carry any water in the tanks. 

Good day all. As a new person on this forum I have read a lot of the threads regarding towing, and towing safely. This particular thread already has a lot of points being made from both sides.

I think we all can agree manufacturers have provided reams of information regarding their vehicles and trailers for us to follow, though it can be difficult to discern exactly what to do (when towing a trailer in this case) in every circumstance. From what I have learned plus from my own experience, a good guideline to follow as given by one of the other members in another thread here. My truck has a max tow weight given. This is un-useable as guidance as I don't tow with only myself in the vehicle. So the next and more useful max weight given is the gross allowed weight of both TV and trailer combined. For my F150 that is 14000 lbs. Subtract from that my max allowable weight for my truck (7050 lbs) which must include all passengers, fuel, hitch weight and cargo. That leaves me with a max trailer weight of 6950 lbs. This is almost 2000 lbs under my advertised maximum tow weight capability. (My ordered 192 is estimated to be about 5000 lbs).

The only way to ensure an operator is not exceeding their maximum combined weight (before purchasing a trailer is a good idea) is to weigh the TV with everything loaded in it at a scale as it is loaded for use...this includes passengers! There has been a weight calculator provided earlier for any that may wish to use it. Individual axle loading will also come into play when towing so again, refer back to the individual axle weights from the scale to ensure limits are not exceeded. If you have the weights, see what the remaining capacity of the vehicle is, both GCWR and the axle loading.

I have max towed with a 3500 lb tow capacity vehicle towing a 3500 lb trailer. I also had to reload the trailer to increase the tongue weight as initially it had almost no tongue weight (that was disconcerting on the road, to say the least!). We drove 2000 kms at no more than 80-90 kms an hour through the hilly twists and turns of the Canadian Shield. I learned and will not ever do that again!

So, to summarize I would suggest (as this is a forum, that is the most we can do to try and help one another) is for Markw, or any other person who reads this, is to load their TV as they would if they were heading to their favourite camping spot (love the remote site you pictured earlier by the way!) and run your vehicle through a scale. You know now where you are and how close you are to the vehicles maxx allowable weight as well as the individual axle loading. You have the FR generated tongue weights etc, but would instead prefer to use the weights given here from actual owners and their loaded tongue/gross weights. They reflect reality, especially those that travel light as well, and have removed unneeded fitted equipment as you suggested earlier) as they know they are close to their own max allowable weight restrictions. This will generally let you know if you will legally be able to tow what you want within the max allowable limits of your particular vehicles or not. I initially entered "safely", but believe that is not applicable as weather, road conditions and trailer incidents such as a blown tire can quickly change the situation to an unsafe one for all vehicles but especially those towing at their upper limit.

Sorry it is so long of a post, I hope I haven't confused myself or anyone else that has made it through it to the end.