TrailManor Owner's Forum  

Go Back   TrailManor Owner's Forum > TrailManor Owners Community > Prospective Owner Questions
Register FAQ Members List Calendar Mark Forums Read

Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Old 03-12-2022, 11:41 AM   #1
senoragosto
New Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2022
Posts: 3
Default I'm new, give me advice

I have a 2000 Chevy Astro V6 and it says I can tow 5100

How do I figure what I can tow? I've been told the following:

Weight of.......

water tank / propane tank / tow hitch / dry weight / stuff we load in

Example if a dry weight is 3100 then add all of the above.

water tank 210lb
propane tank 60lb
tow hitch 400lb
dry weight 3100lb
stuff we load in (not much just my wife and I)

Recommendations on what manor to look for
senoragosto is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-12-2022, 11:55 AM   #2
AMoo222
New Member
 
Join Date: Feb 2022
Posts: 3
Default

Stick with 80% of your rated towing weight and you will be in excellent shape. Around 4100 lbs total will be easier on your tow vehicle and allow a wide margin for error in your calculations.

That give you a lot of options. Way more than I have at 3500 lbs.
AMoo222 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-12-2022, 02:10 PM   #3
Bill
Site Team
 
Bill's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: The mountains of Scottsdale, AZ, and the beaches of Maine
Posts: 10,088
Default

I would make some changes to your estimate method, but I think you are OK.

"Dry weight" means the weight of the trailer before any factory-installed options are added. For a TM, the only heavy options are the air conditioner and the awning, so you would need to account for their weight. The other options are pretty light, so I might consider adding 100 pounds for all of them.

Water weights 8.5 pounds per gallon, so a 20-gallon tank weighs 170 pounds.

I can't imagine that a hitch weighs 400 pounds. I would think more like 200 pounds, but you should probably check.

Propane weights 4.2 pounds per gallon, and each tank contains 4.7 gallons. Altogether you have about 40 pounds of propane. The tanks themselves are installed by the factory, and so are included in the dry weight.

As you point out, the stuff you load in needs to be accounted for. Think food, clothes, bedding, cooking and eating dishes, TV-radio-computer-etc, water hose, sewer hose, some tools, and so forth. Unless you are really really good at packing light, I wouldn't be comfortable adding less than 500 pounds for all of this.

One item that is always in question is the battery. I think the dealer installs the battery, not the factory, so it is not included in the dry weight. You might want to check this if you are nervous - batteries are heavy.

One thing that most folks miss is that the rated towing capacity of the tow vehicle is the capacity when the vehicle is completely unloaded except for the driver. In other words, if you put 500 pounds of stuff in the back seat or the trunk of your tow vehicle, and add a 150-pound passenger, the tow rating is decreased by 650 pounds. Manufacturers don't like to admit this, but it is always buried in the spec somewhere, usually indicated by a small asterisk in the tow rating.

Finally, you should know if your vehicle has a factory-installed tow package, and if it does not, what is the tow rating as equipped. Probably the most important item in the towing package is an auxiliary transmission cooler. If your vehicle doesn't have the package, you should give serious consideration to adding one of these coolers. At the same time, you should consider adding a transmission temperature gauge. There are many available that simply plug into the OBD-II plug under the dashboard. They are generically referred to as a scan gauge, and Scan Gauge is also the brand name of one of them. There is a lot of discussion in this forum, which you can find with the search tool.

It is quite common to find that a packed-up-and-ready-to-camp TM weighs around 3800-4000 pounds, so you have some margin assuming you don't load up your van. Packing light would increase your margin, of course. The best thing to do is get packed up, ready to go, and then weigh your rig. Many truck stops have something called a Cat Scale, where for about $10 you simply drive on, drive off, and it gives you a printout listing the weight of all three axles - tow vehicle front, tow vehicle rear, and trailer. It is cheap, super-easy, and a very valuable piece of knowledge.

There are many owners on this forum who tow TMs with 5000-pound rated vehicles, and they are generally quite happy. If you plan to go into high mountains, you will notice the load, but it won't be catastrophic. Enjoy!

Bill
__________________
2020 2720QS (aka 2720SL)
2014 Ford F-150 4WD 5.0L
Bill's Tech Stuff album
Bill is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-12-2022, 04:14 PM   #4
Wavery
TrailManor Master
 
Wavery's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2022
Location: San Diego, California
Posts: 2,824
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by senoragosto View Post
I have a 2000 Chevy Astro V6 and it says I can tow 5100

How do I figure what I can tow? I've been told the following:

Weight of.......

water tank / propane tank / tow hitch / dry weight / stuff we load in

Example if a dry weight is 3100 then add all of the above.

water tank 210lb
propane tank 60lb
tow hitch 400lb
dry weight 3100lb
stuff we load in (not much just my wife and I)

Recommendations on what manor to look for
The AstroVan is a towing monster. It will handle any TM built. HOWEVER....... check the "Payload Weight" of the van. Be sure to include the tongue wt of the trailer, all cargo and passengers when figuring if you can use that van as a TV. Don't make the mistake of figuring that it can tow 5100# plus 3,000# of passengers and cargo.
__________________
TrailManor Elkmont
640W solar- 230AH LiFeP04 Battery
Wavery is online now   Reply With Quote
Old 03-14-2022, 02:28 PM   #5
Kmikesell
TrailManor Master
 
Kmikesell's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2021
Location: Utah
Posts: 300
Default

Don't know where I got the info but the "rule of thumb" in the RV industry is that the average RVer puts between 400 and 600 lbs of "stuff" into the trailer. YMMV.

As an asside, if at all possible you should NOT tow your traler with a full water tank. No need to expend gas hauling 160 lbs of water. Fill up at the campground or as near you destination as possbile. I start out with a full water heater (6 gallons) and about 2 gallons in the tank JIC, then fill at the CG. When leaving open the spigot on the water tank and let it drain as you drive.

I alway get a kick out of people telling me that I'm leaking something from my trailer, and they get shocked when I act unimpressed.
__________________
Moved to the "Dark Side" (Pop up's for 15 years)
Bought what DW calls "The Golden Unicorn"
TM 2006 2720sl
DH/DW 2018 Ford F-150
North Utah
Kmikesell is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-15-2022, 08:47 PM   #6
senoragosto
New Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2022
Posts: 3
Default How bout this one

Looking at a trailmanor 3124, 3100LBS. By what I reading it looks like I could tow this property?

thanks
senoragosto is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply


Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
 
Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump

Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Roof Repair experts - advice? lov2camp Exterior 17 03-22-2023 03:56 PM
Advice for newbie with 2011 2720 water damage? Hermey Prospective Owner Questions 4 06-23-2020 08:55 AM
Roof Leak Advice & Insight 6+Road-Roamers Exterior 22 10-17-2010 11:36 AM
Frame Advice Needed TrailGuy77 Frame 6 04-21-2010 07:42 PM
Towing Set Up Advice (Astro Van) Labs4us Towing and Hitching 2 03-26-2005 07:23 PM


All times are GMT -6. The time now is 08:10 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.11
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions Inc.
Copyright 2022 Trailmanor Owners Page.