BEFORE TOWING
Our Trailers are easy to hook up and due to their lightweight design, they can be easily maneuvered into campsites and other areas. Many types of vehicles can tow this lightweight trailer, but If you’re not experienced, there are a few terms you will need to familiarize yourself with in order to determine suitability. Here are a few essential terms that can be found in most owner’s manuals and what they mean.
Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR)
The GVWR is a maximum weight specified by the vehicle manufacturer. This includes vehicle’s chassis, body, engine, engine fluids, fuel, accessories, driver, passengers and cargo but excluding that of any trailers.
Payload
Payload includes any additional weight inside your vehicle. This weight is fully supported by the vehicle only, without a trailer involved. All the cargo’s weight rests fully on the vehicle’s wheels. The payload capacity is typically less than its towing capacity.
Trailer Tongue Weight
Our cricket 12” of Ground Clearance – 15” rims with rugged, radial tires and torsion axle provide industry best ground clearance
Tongue weight is simply the downward force that the tongue of the trailer exerts on the hitch that is connected to the vehicle. Too little tongue weight can cause the back end of the vehicle to lift which can result in a very dangerous condition known as trailer sway. On the other hand, too much tongue weight can cause the back end of the vehicle to sag which negatively effects the handling of the vehicle, the visibility of the driver, and the effectiveness of the vehicle’s brakes.
Weigh Safe – as well as most experts agree – that an acceptable tongue weight for any trailer is somewhere between 9 to 15 percent of the gross trailer weight (GTW). Therefore, if you are towing a 5000 lbs trailer, the tongue weight should be measured at approximately 500 lbs.[SOURCE: (https://www.weigh-safe.com/towing-safety/how-to-measure-tongue-weight-mrtruck-com/]
Gross Combined Vehicle Weight Rating (GCVWR)
A vehicle’s GCWR is a specific weight determined by the manufacturer to be the maximum weight of a loaded tow vehicle and its attached loaded trailer. The total weight of the tow vehicle and trailer should never exceed the manufacturer’s listed GCWR [source: Ford Motor Company].
