So I just bought my Fuel 287( my first real trailer). GVWR is about 12,300lbs with a dry tongue weight of 1,400 lbs according to Heartland. The dealer I bought the trailer from installed a weight distributing hitch with sway control. I believe it's a Curt brand. The hitch is rated for 15,000lbs GVWR and 1,500lbs tongue weight. Now I know being a toy hauler I will lose some tongue weight when I load the garage, but per my math 10%-15% tongue weight should land in the neighborhood of 1,200lbs-1,900lbs. Would it be best to but a new hitch to handle 2,000lbs tongue weight or am I being extra paranoid?
Is my hitch strong enough?
- Thread starter jamesbr12
- Start date
mlpeloquin
Well-known member
Your GVWR , gross weight vehicle rating, is the maximum weight you can be at. So based on that your 12,300lbs is the maximum you can weigh. You should not go over it, because your trailer is not designed for it. That includes the axles, spring, and frame. So your hitch may be lacking with 15% at full GVWR of your trailer being 1845lbs and your hitch rating of 1500lbs tong weight. At 10% it is only 1230lbs. So if you load carefully and get it weighed, you maybe just fine. If you don't want to worry about it, get a higher rated hitch.
Some of us have a rule, you can never have too much truck and you can never have too much hitch. They are not areas where to skimp. That being said, load it up and get it weighed. On the other hand, if the dealer will take the hitch back and install a higher rated hitch, do it. It will give you peace of mind.
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