5000 lb. tow capacity for a 4600 lb. rig?

[JoLin]

Well, I bought my first boat (1985 Pro-Line 21 w/a cuddy) and found a good trailer (Shoreland'r aluminum tandem axle). Next step is to find a suitable vehicle. My 2001 Odyssey is still worth some bucks, so I should be able to find a decent SUV or truck for about the same money I'll get for it.

I calculated the total weight of boat (2300 w/bracket), motor (400), trailer (1200), a full load of fuel (500) and a couple hundred pounds of batteries and "stuff", at 4600 lbs.

I spotted something interesting today and it prompted the question. Toyota 4Runner with 3.4 V6 and tow package. A little web searching revealed that tow capacity for this vehicle is 5000 lbs. Is that enough? Even if I don't buy this one, there are plenty of vehicles out there with that capacity, so it'd be good knowledge to have while shopping.

I am (dangerously, I know) seeking opinions and first-hand experience. Thanks!

 

[dgopetactical]

Re: 5000 lb. tow capacity for a 4600 lb. rig?

I haul the same weight with a V8 4.7 durango with a 4,700 lb towing capacity and it hauls good but dogs on hill. I have towed alot of things and my opinion is you need something bigger than a 6 banger. 5.0 and up, just my opinion. 5,000lb with a 4,600 lb towing capacity in right on I would try to get a vehicle with alittle more towing capacity. I thing the 6 banger will do the job but I dont think you will be happy with the performance.

Denny

 

[Gary H NC]

Re: 5000 lb. tow capacity for a 4600 lb. rig?

I think with a boat that size and weight you would be best finding a full size truck or SUV with a V-8.
Short wheelbase and a heavy boat makes for some white knuckled driving.
I'm sure i'll get flamed for this...

Also that 5000 pound tow rating would be with the full factory tow package,suspension,trans cooler,rear end gears ect...

 

[tommays]

Re: 5000 lb. tow capacity for a 4600 lb. rig?

19' less than 4000# Gives a fullsize 03 Silverado with 4.3 power a good workout on pulling (5000# tow rateing)

NO problem with brakes as they stay the same with the bigger motors that take the tow rateing towards 8500#


Tommays

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: 5000 lb. tow capacity for a 4600 lb. rig?

i tow that weight with a 99 Surburban, 5.0L longer wheel base, keeps the old tail wagging the dog, to a minimum. my boat is on a 30ft trailer. which helps. trailer brakes are a must have, recommend on both axles

 

[Silvertip]

Re: 5000 lb. tow capacity for a 4600 lb. rig?

A 5000# tow rating is only one part of the equation. The GCWR (gross combined weight rating) is the second part. There should be a tag on the door or somewhere on the vehicle that lists that number. That number represents the maximum "combined weight" of the truck, load in the bed, and trailer. If the truck weighs 4000#, and has a tow rating of 5000 and you are at that limit, you need a GCWR of 9000# or higher and I doubt that vehicle has that rating. The minute you put something in the bed, add people to the truck, etc. you have exceeded its capacity. You need a 1500 series truck or an SUV with a small v8 for that load. And stay away from short wheel base vehicles like 2-door SUVs (Explorers and S10 blazers). Very few tow vehicles work well at there rated maximums. Manufacturers like to stretch that number to the very limit just to make an advertising point. That does not mean the vehicle works well as a tow vehicle.

 

[45Auto]

Re: 5000 lb. tow capacity for a 4600 lb. rig?

I doubt that you would be very happy towing that rig with a 6 cylinder. I tow a 5000 lb 22' Crownline (brakes on all 4 wheels) with a 4.0L 6 cylinder 4wd Jeep Cherokee with a tow package rated at 5000 lbs. It works great on the flat land here around New Orleans, but ANY kind of hill puts a real hurt on it as I discovered when I pulled it to Arkansas.

My Jeep has a GVWR (gross vehicle weight rating) of 4900 lb, not a GCWR. Means the total weight of the Jeep including the tongue weight, gear and people can't exceed that.

As Silvertip says, you would be much better off with a full size truck or SUV with at least a small V8.

 

[JB]

Re: 5000 lb. tow capacity for a 4600 lb. rig?

I wouldn't get hung up on counting cylinders. If it is a true truck power train, that should be enough. If a vehicle is rated to tow 5,000 LB and the trailer has functioning brakes 4600lb is pushing the limits in my view.

I would look for at least 7,000lb tow rating and a relatively long wheelbase in a truck or big ute.

 

[mdunn]

Re: 5000 lb. tow capacity for a 4600 lb. rig?

Dang, ignorance is bliss as they say and I was a blissfull s.o.b. until I started looking at my door tags and claculating my trailer load with the 17.5 Smokercraft on there.
I have a 01 Tacoma with a GCWR of 5300 pounds according to the sticker.
I know from my dump runs that the vehicle weighs 4250. I think my boat and trailer weigh about 2500. That =6750.
It sounds like road trips are not a good idea although the launch I use is only 6 miles away so I don't think I'll run out and buy a bigger rig right yet.
Putting aside potential mechanical issues from over working the truck can I be ticketed you think for towing a trailer that pushes me over the limit of the GCWR?
Sorry if it seems like I'm hijacking this thread.
QUOTE=Silvertip;1521232]A 5000# tow rating is only one part of the equation. The GCWR (gross combined weight rating) is the second part. There should be a tag on the door or somewhere on the vehicle that lists that number. That number represents the maximum "combined weight" of the truck, load in the bed, and trailer. If the truck weighs 4000#, and has a tow rating of 5000 and you are at that limit, you need a GCWR of 9000# or higher and I doubt that vehicle has that rating. The minute you put something in the bed, add people to the truck, etc. you have exceeded its capacity. You need a 1500 series truck or an SUV with a small v8 for that load. And stay away from short wheel base vehicles like 2-door SUVs (Explorers and S10 blazers). Very few tow vehicles work well at there rated maximums. Manufacturers like to stretch that number to the very limit just to make an advertising point. That does not mean the vehicle works well as a tow vehicle.[/QUOTE]

 

[John_S]

Re: 5000 lb. tow capacity for a 4600 lb. rig?

I thought GCWR took in weight of vehicle, occupants, cargo, and tongue weight, but not the rest of the boat/trailer weight ???

 

[Jerico]

Re: 5000 lb. tow capacity for a 4600 lb. rig?

I used to tow my approximately 3800-4000 pound boat with an '01 Olds Bravada with a 5k tow rating and 6 cyl (also has the factory trailer kit). It would do it, but barely. The engine worked hard enough that on any major hill it turned on the check engine light. I picked up a 90 3/4 ton van for $500 and turned it into a camper. I figure I was going to blow up well over the $500 in parts on the Bravada...

 

[1730V]

Re: 5000 lb. tow capacity for a 4600 lb. rig?

Before you go looking for a tow vehicle I would get the boat weighed as it would be set up for an outing. Estimated weights are always low, in my experience.

Even if the weight is correct, your margin is very low to almost non-existant. Plus, the GCWR is probably at max or over.

I would like to see at least a 20% margin in GCWR.

 

[External Combustion]

Re: 5000 lb. tow capacity for a 4600 lb. rig?

mdunn: You can be ticketed in most states if not all by being over the GCVW. Practically as they say unless you are a one ton dually most states won't even check until there is an accident. Sharper legal beagles are now using any out of spec/overloaded/modified vehicle to get their clients off the hook even if they deliberately ran out in front of a bus load of nuns and orphans. That is the true risk and your insurtance may not pay off. Check your policy.

imported_John_S: The Gross Combined Vehicle Weight is the load of everything that is being moved by the tow vehicle. truck, fuel passengers potatoe chips, trailer, trailer load, etc. I believe that you were thinking of Gross Combined Axle Weight which just applies to the truck/car.

 

[John_S]

Re: 5000 lb. tow capacity for a 4600 lb. rig?

"I believe that you were thinking of Gross Combined Axle Weight which just applies to the truck/car."

OK, you made me look. You are right. But, at least on my vehicle GCWR is not on the door pillar info. The GVWR and GAWR per axle, is. The only place I found GCWR is in the owners manual. I think mdunn is not looking at GCWR either. Owners manual goes through all the calculations to figure max load and trailering.

FWIW, here is what I found on my Pathfinder:

GVWR: 6000
GAWR FR: 2775
GAWR RR: 3500
GCWR: 11,133
*all in lbs.

 

[JoLin]

Re: 5000 lb. tow capacity for a 4600 lb. rig?

Looks like the opinions are pretty unanimous for a change! LOL! I appreciate all the responses, folks.

Bottom line- the "example" vehicle would probably manage it, but just barely. Not really a good choice for all-purpose trailering. Even though my boat will be docked, I would like the option of taking it elsewhere if the urge strikes me. That was the reason I sprung for a really good condition, well-capacitized trailer, so I should really continue with that line of reasoning as I shop for the tow vehicle

A full-size, V8-powered truck or SUV is a much better bet in the long run, so that's where I'll concentrate. Luckily my next-door neighbor, who has a similar-size boat and a F-150 already set up for towing, has offered to help launch and retrieve the boat for me next season if I need him to. I have dock space lined up already, so the pressure is definitely off. That's a great position to be in. I'm not leaning toward any particular vehicle type (truck vs. SUV) or brand, so I can really afford to watch and wait for an excellent deal to come along.

The biggest advantage to starting from scratch as I did, is that I don't really need to make too many compromises. I was able to shop for the size and type of boat I wanted, and let that dictate everything else.

As always, thank you all for the knowledge and advice. Love this place!

 

[mdunn]

Re: 5000 lb. tow capacity for a 4600 lb. rig?

Thanks John.
You were correct, as I was just looking at the GVWR on the door post which also has the GAWR at 2650, and the RR at 2800.
Dug into the manual deeper and found that I have a GCWR of 9000 pounds so I'm well within the limits.

"I believe that you were thinking of Gross Combined Axle Weight which just applies to the truck/car."

OK, you made me look. You are right. But, at least on my vehicle GCWR is not on the door pillar info. The GVWR and GAWR per axle, is. The only place I found GCWR is in the owners manual. I think mdunn is not looking at GCWR either. Owners manual goes through all the calculations to figure max load and trailering.

FWIW, here is what I found on my Pathfinder:

GVWR: 6000
GAWR FR: 2775
GAWR RR: 3500
GCWR: 11,133
*all in lbs.

 

[hkeiner]

Re: 5000 lb. tow capacity for a 4600 lb. rig?

Estimating (calculating) total weight is not as reliable as actually taking the whole rig to a public scale.

I learned that lesson myself when I found that the actual weight of my rig was about 30% higher than what I had previously estimated using the manufacturer's published specs and such. This caused me to make some meaningful changes to my towing setup to accomodate the higher actual weight. Perhaps this experience just reflected on my own poor ability to estimate total weight, but the lesson to use an actual scale was still learned.