[Wavery]

Originally Posted by 4seasons

Thanks; like everyone I enjoy adding the options. Watching the total weight gain is going to be a carefull study. After reading the posts I may keep the kayaks on the car instead of mounting them on the trailer. Of course now I'm looking at adding solar panels. So I'll be looking at either a fully loaded mini. Or maybe a stripped down 2720SL. I'm planning a trip to the Campmore dealership in Oregon in the next month to get some hands on looking at the models. This will be a long term purchase, so I'm taking some time in the research.
And yes the tow rating is 3500 with the tow package. Engine is 268HP double overhead cam. I'll ask about useing a WDH with the hitch (had to look it up).

Putting the kayaks on the car or the trailer doesn't change much, unless your trailer is at max capacity to start with.

It's important to ascertain the GCWR (Gross COMBINED Weight Rating) for that vehicle. That is the total weight that the vehicle is capable of handling, including passengers, cargo and fuel..

Different manufacturers have different ways of displaying this info. Often, they will give you a "Tow Rating" then make a statement like, "Any cargo or passenger weight in the vehicle must be subtracted from the "tow rating". In other words, if you have 150# of kayaks, 400# of passengers and 200# of other cargo in the TV, that weight must be subtracted from the 3500# towing capacity. This would leave you with a max tow rating of 2750#.

Your TV has to be able to pull and (more importantly) stop the total package under various conditions and weather. Where you place the weight matters only in the balancing of the load, not in the capability of the TV tow the entire package combined.