Towing: Questions about Payload and Towing Capacity

[pearsonm]

For the past two years I’ve been hauling everything - bike, passenger, tools, canopy, generator and associated gear - in an extended cab S-10. It’s performed valiantly but it’s maxed out and showing its age. I’m also getting tired of loading my bike into the bed. I want to replace it and get a trailer, but at the same time I want to spend my money on track days rather than equipment.

I'm looking hard at the Kendon single-rail trailer. For a truck I’ve got it down to the extended cab I-5 Colorado, the extended cab V8 Dakota or regular cab V8 F-150 (one of my requirements is that everything fit in my two-car garage). Where I’m getting tripped up is understanding how payload and towing capacity relate to each other.

I think the correct payload and towing numbers for the Colorado are 1,500 and 1,600 lbs. I’m estimating my current payload as ~1,200 lbs. Kendon trailers weigh ~300 lbs. Figure ~450 lbs for my bike, so that‘s ~750 lbs for my bike and trailer and another 750 lbs in the truck. I’ve read that 15% of the weight of a Kendon trailer gets placed on the tongue which equals ~115 lbs (300 + 450 x .15).

Can someone tell me if a Colorado will fit my requirements? I’ve been reading everything I can and I have my doubts. It doesn’t appear they’re really designed for towing (no transmission or oil coolers, for instance). I'm leaning towards a V8 4x4 Dakota (V8 4x2's aren't very common). F150's have monster towing capacity but I really don't want to give up the cab space.

 

[jtsgsxr6]

pearsonm;109058 wrote: For the past two years I’ve been hauling everything - bike, passenger, tools, canopy, generator and associated gear - in an extended cab S-10. It’s performed valiantly but it’s maxed out and showing its age. I’m also getting tired of loading my bike into the bed. I want to replace it and get a trailer, but at the same time I want to spend my money on track days rather than equipment.

I'm looking hard at the Kendon single-rail trailer. For a truck I’ve got it down to the extended cab I-5 Colorado, the extended cab V8 Dakota or regular cab V8 F-150 (one of my requirements is that everything fit in my two-car garage). Where I’m getting tripped up is understanding how payload and towing capacity relate to each other.

I think the correct payload and towing numbers for the Colorado are 1,500 and 1,600 lbs. I’m estimating my current payload as ~1,200 lbs. Kendon trailers weigh ~300 lbs. Figure ~450 lbs for my bike, so that‘s ~750 lbs for my bike and trailer and another 750 lbs in the truck. I’ve read that 15% of the weight of a Kendon trailer gets placed on the tongue which equals ~115 lbs (300 + 450 x .15).

Can someone tell me if a Colorado will fit my requirements? I’ve been reading everything I can and I have my doubts. It doesn’t appear they’re really designed for towing (no transmission or oil coolers, for instance). I'm leaning towards a V8 4x4 Dakota (V8 4x2's aren't very common). F150's have monster towing capacity but I really don't want to give up the cab space.

If you're saying a colorado's towing capacity is 1600 lbs that's wrong. My subaru legacy is 2700lbs and my old zr2 s10 was 3500 or more can't remember.

Is the trailer you're looking at open or enclosed?

 

[ninjamansc]

Payload capacity is how much stuff you can put in the bed.
Towing capacity is ...well... how much you can tow. Trailer tongue weight is usually 10% of total weight.

Any of those pickups can more than handle your trackday load. It'll just come down to what features/brand you want. Don't know how much towing you do, but I personally wouldn't buy a truck that didn't have a V8. Sure the Colorado can boast better MPG, but when you've got to floor it to get up a hill, is it really worth it?

 

[Dave561]

I think you are probably mistaken on the tow capacity. With that truck you should be looking at around 5k on tow capacity which should be bale to accomidate a 6x12 trailer wit h2 bikes and gear. My concern would be getting a smaller motor which may not have the power for highway speeds over large grades. The hills out to Beaverun or VIR may tax the motor a bit. Not that you would need to do 90 the whole way but you may be working pretty hard to maintain 65mph on some of the steeper grades

 

[JeffreyDeal197]

get the dakota, you'll be glad you did! i love mine. 4.7 2wd quad cab.

 

[pearsonm]

jtsgsxr6;109063 wrote: If you're saying a colorado's towing capacity is 1600 lbs that's wrong. My subaru legacy is 2700lbs and my old zr2 s10 was 3500 or more can't remember.

Is the trailer you're looking at open or enclosed?

My trailer will be an open. I'd like an enclosed, and for what I'm paying for a Kendon I could get a decent enclosed, but I want to be able to get everything in the garage.

Getting accurate specs seems to be a black art. I can't find towing numbers at Chevy's own site. According to TruckTrend, payload is 1,380, towing capacity is 5,500.

 

[chaun]

ninjamansc;109064 wrote: Payload capacity is how much stuff you can put in the bed.
Towing capacity is ...well... how much you can tow. Trailer tongue weight is usually 10% of total weight.

:agree:

 

[jtsgsxr6]

pearsonm;109069 wrote: My trailer will be an open. I'd like an enclosed, and for what I'm paying for a Kendon I could get a decent enclosed, but I want to be able to get everything in the garage.

Getting accurate specs seems to be a black art. I can't find towing numbers at Chevy's own site. According to TruckTrend, payload is 1,380, towing capacity is 5,500.

That's close, I can tell you with a single axle open you'll be fine. I pulled a single axle open all season last year with two bike's, and gear for two bed/cab packed. on a 96 zr2 s10 150k miles plus, oversized offroad tires don't work well for towing. But it took it fine.

 

[pearsonm]

JeffreyDeal197;109066 wrote: get the dakota, you'll be glad you did! i love mine. 4.7 2wd quad cab.

Thank you for posting that photo. I always wondered how well a bike would fit in a quad cab.

 

[JeffreyDeal197]

no problem, i was wondering the same thing before i did it as well. strap her down and she's good to go.

 

[pearsonm]

ninjamansc;109064 wrote: Payload capacity is how much stuff you can put in the bed.
Towing capacity is ...well... how much you can tow. Trailer tongue weight is usually 10% of total weight.

Any of those pickups can more than handle your trackday load. It'll just come down to what features/brand you want. Don't know how much towing you do, but I personally wouldn't buy a truck that didn't have a V8. Sure the Colorado can boast better MPG, but when you've got to floor it to get up a hill, is it really worth it?

How they work together is what I don't get. Can you haul the maximum payload and tow the maximum towing capacity? I'm guessing not, but how do calculate how much of each you can do at the same time?

I'm guessing I'd get no better gas mileage with a Colorado as I'm towing but it'd be a lot easier on gas for the other 75% of the time that I'm using the truck. Not may Colorado's come equipped with tow packages. Clicking around Chevy's side, it looks like their tow package only includes a hitch and electrical connectors - no oil or transmission coolers or upgraded brakes or shocks. If that's so then I could possibly blow any savings prepping a Colorado to tow and still be left with a relatively weak motor.

 

[JeffreyDeal197]

tongue weight -(minus) payload gross capacity = total useable payload, at least in theory. let's say 1000 lbs payload max and 150 lb tongue max means you could have 850 in the back, 150 on the tongue, and full capacity say 3,000 lbs towing on the trailer.

however the main variable at that point is going to be your motor, tranny, and gear ratios, and how much your frame likes to be stressed. realistically if you're going to encounter situations like this you need to move up to a 250/2500/350/3500 level truck, but i don't see that happening

btw you can get the colorado with the 5.3 now i believe.

 

[barry38]

Payload is not just what you can put in the bed, it is the total vertical load the truck can handle. It includes the stuff in the bed, the driver, passengers, and tongue weight.

 

[JeffreyDeal197]

i thought that payload was basically rear axle vertical loading and that GVWR is total vertical load front/rear combined?

so say you've got 400 pounds of people/gear in the cab, you should subtract that from the payload rating?

 

[pearsonm]

OK, I think I‘ve got it. Assuming I’ve got the correct numbers for a Colorado, a Kendon trailer and my stuff (1,380 lb max payload, 115 lbs tongue weight, 750 lbs of stuff in the truck) then I’d have ~500 lbs of payload to spare with a Colorado (1,380-115-750 = 515). Theoretically a Colorado should work.

This would be a lot easier if I could find apples-to-apples payload and towing numbers. I'm assuming the F150 has twice the numbers as a Colorado with the Dakota somewhere in between.

 

[sasrocks]

if you are paying that much for an open trailer, think about possibly a friend who has some land who will let you store an enclosed trailer for free. thats what I did, luckily. like 10 minutes away. Once you get an enclosed trailer and the security it offers you will wonder why it took you so long. And with that, you have the rationale to get a F-150, worked for me.

 

[barry38]

[QUOTE=


so say you've got 400 pounds of people/gear in the cab, you should subtract that from the payload rating?
That's correct.

 

[pearsonm]

sasrocks;109109 wrote: if you are paying that much for an open trailer, think about possibly a friend who has some land who will let you store an enclosed trailer for free. thats what I did, luckily. like 10 minutes away. Once you get an enclosed trailer and the security it offers you will wonder why it took you so long. And with that, you have the rationale to get a F-150, worked for me.

I want to go the F-150 and 5x8 enclosed trailer route but would mean getting a storage unit. I live in suburbia and don't have access to my back yard, otherwise I'd have a shop.

Loading the bike in the bed has its advantages which is why I stuck with it so long. Even with my S-10 I drove no different than I normally do. I got a generator when I moved up to slicks and thought I had everything I needed, but now I think I've got to bring a 2nd set of rims. I'm out of room and I'm tired of teetering a hot, 400-lb bike over a ramp and tailgate.

 

[Thunderace]

I had a small 5x8 open trailer that I bought from Home Depot. It was about $500 when I bought it and sold it for that same amount two years later. It was big enough for two bikes, weighed next to nothing (compared to my enclosed trailer) and I could back it right into the garage at the end of the weekend. There is no need to buy a Kendon if you want to save well over a grand (assuming you are buying new). Kendon's are fantastic trailers, but they do cost more than your average trailer. I could have gone the Harbor Freight route, but I wanted something stronger and with sides. It made it pretty easy to haul cargo and not worry about it flying off the trailer.

This is the style I'm referring to.

 

[pearsonm]

Thunderace;109138 wrote: I had a small 5x8 open trailer that I bought from Home Depot.

I was just at Home Depot last night looking at what they had. I wish I knew enough about trailers to know the difference between saving money and asking for an expensive mistake.

What worries me about those are the small wheels, solid axles and buggy springs. Stuff like Kendon's come with larger wheels, tensional axles and easy-maintenance bearings. I set the cruise at less than 10 mph over the limit but that's still up to 80 mph. Having zero knowledge about this stuff is exactly why I've always backed up against a hill and walked the bike up a ramp and into the bed.