Hauling Hints

Trailer Weights Demystified

Here’s what you need to know about your trailer’s weight so you can select the right tow vehicle.

By Neva Kittrell Scheve

PHOTO BY KENT & CHARLENE KRONE Here’s what you need to know about trailer weights so you can select a tow vehicle that will be capable of hauling your trailer safely.

You need to know the loaded weight of your trailer so you can select a tow vehicle that will be capable of hauling it safely. Here’s an inside look at how trailer weights are measured, and what this means to you.

Empty Weight

The Curb Weight or Empty Weight is what your trailer weighs with no cargo. Sometimes, the manufacturer will list this weight on the Manufacturer’s Certificate of Origin, also called the Manufacturer’s

Statement of Origin, or MSO. Usually, this will be a general weight for the standard trailer model, and therefore won’t include the weight of any options you’ve added to your particular trailer. The only sure way to know how much your trailer weighs is to take it to a scale and weigh it. To do this, go to a gravel yard or commercial scale; don’t rely on a highway scale.

Trailer Plus Cargo

The Gross Vehicle Weight is the combined weight of your trailer, horses, and cargo. Trailer manufacturers rate each trailer based on how much GVW it can safely tow. This is the Gross Vehicle Weight Rating. You’ll find the GVWR on the trailer sticker. It’s important know this rating, so you don’t overload your trailer.

The GVWR is determined by the axle and coupler capacities. For instance, if your trailer has two 2,500-pound axles, it’ll be rated to safely carry 5,000 pounds, including the trailer weight, as long as the trailer’s coupler is also rated for 5,000 pounds or more. If your trailer has two 5,000-pound axles, the trailer will be rated at 10,000 pounds, and so on.

In Practice

If you choose a trailer with the recommended capacity for the horses you’ll be hauling, not that your trailer will most likely not weigh nearly as much as the GVWR. Let’s say your trailer has a GVWR of 5,000 pounds and weighs 2,500 pounds. When you load two 900-pound horses (1,800 pounds total) into your trailer, the actual weight will be 4,300 pounds, well within your trailer’s capacity.

However, if you load two 1,200-pound horses (2,400 pounds total) in that same trailer, your trailer will weigh 4,900 pounds — dangerously close to capacity. Add a bale of hay, water, and tack, and you’ll be overloaded. This will cause too much strain on the axles, tires, and coupler for your trailer to be safe. Any or all of these components could fail. So — if you have the large horses, you must have a trailer with a higher GVWR that will support their weight.

Your Tow Vehicle

Tow vehicles are also assigned a towing-weight capacity by the manufacturer. However, these capacities are recommended for hauling a boat or travel trailer/ recreational vehicle on flat terrain, not horse trailers.

You need a bit of a safety margin, because horses are live, shifting weights, which add to your towing-capacity needs.

When choosing a tow vehicle, use your trailer’s GVWR, so you’ll have an extra safety margin. If you do use the actual weight or GVW when shopping for a tow vehicle, add 15 to 20 percent to that number. Take into account any planned mountain hauling, and increase the tow capacity accordingly.

Glossary of Terms

Here’s a handy glossary of trailer-weight-related terms to help you with your trailer and tow-vehicle selection.

Curb Weight/Empty Weight:

These terms refer to weight of an empty trailer. Curb Weight also refers the weight of a tow vehicle with standard equipment, and maximum capacity of fuel, oil, >>

PHOTOS BY CLIXPHOTO.COM

Top: The Curb Weight or Empty Weight is what your trailer weighs with no cargo. The only sure way to know how much your trailer weighs is to take it to a scale and weigh it. Bottom: The Gross Vehicle Weight is the combined weight of your trailer, horses, and cargo. It’s important know this rating, so you don’t overload your trailer.

PHOTO BY CATE LAMM

PHOTO BY HEIDI MELOCCO Tow vehicles are also assigned a towing-weight capacity by the manufacturer. However, these capacities are recommended for hauling a boat or travel trailer/recreational vehicle on flat terrain, not horse trailers. You need a bit of a safety margin, because horses are live, shifting weights, which add to your towing-capacity needs.

and coolant. This weight doesn’t include optional equipment or passengers. Gross Axle Weight (GAW): The weight loaded on the front or rear axle

Gross Axle Weight Rating (GAWR):

The amount specified by the trailer manufacturer as the maximum weight that can safely be loaded onto the axle.

Gross Combined Vehicle Weight

(GCVW): The actual weight of the loaded tow vehicle and the loaded trailer combined. This includes the combined weight of the tow vehicle, the trailer, passengers, and horses, plus all equipment and supplies carried in both the tow vehicle and the trailer.

Gross Combined Vehicle Weight

Rating (GCVWR): The amount specified by the tow-vehicle manufacturer as the maximum GCVW the tow vehicle can manage, based on the manufacturer’s ratings. Gross Vehicle Weight (GVW) or Gross Weight (GW): The actual weight of a single vehicle and its complete load.

Gross Vehicle Weight Rating

(GVWR): The value specified by the manufacturer as the maximum loaded weight of a single vehicle. For the tow vehicle, this includes the weight of the tow vehicle, fuel, all passengers, equipment, and the tongue weight of the trailer (either a tag-along or gooseneck). For the trailer, this includes the weight of the trailer plus mats, spare tire, horses, hay, feed, supplies, etc. Gross Payload: The weight of all passengers, options, and cargo carried in or on the vehicle. Net Payload: The weight that can be placed in or on the vehicle after the weight of the passengers, optional equipment, and cargo has been subtracted from the payload rating (below). Payload Rating: The maximum allowable payload for the vehicle Tongue Weight: The amount of the trailer’s weight that presses down on the trailer hitch (tagalong) or the rear axle (gooseneck). On trailers weighing more than 2,000 pounds, the tongue weight should be 10 to 17 percent of trailer weight. For gooseneck trailers, tongue weight should be 25 percent of trailer weight.

Too much tongue weight can cause suspension/drive train damage, and can press the vehicle down in back, causing the front wheels to lift to the point where traction, steering response, and braking are severely decreased.

Too little tongue weight can actually lift the rear of the vehicle, reducing rear-wheel traction and causing instability which may result in tail-wagging or jackknifing. Weight-Carrying Hitch: This hitch supports the weight of the tongue as it presses down on the hitch. The hitch is rated by the tongue weight it can support and by the trailer weight.

Weight-Distributing (Equalizing)

Hitch: This distributes the tongue weight to all the wheels of the tow vehicle and trailer. This allows greater tongue weights and trailer weights to be carried, and tends to keep the tow vehicle more level and stable. A weight-distributing hitch greatly surpasses the capacity of the weight-carrying hitch. An example is a gooseneck hitch with equalizer bars attached. USR

Neva Kittrell Scheve of EquiSpirit Trailers has written three books on horse trailers, including The Complete Guide to Buying, Maintaining and Servicing a Horse Trailer.