Trailer Life Towing Guide.

[Darwin Maring]

The latest issue of Trailer Life, March 2016, has a Towing Guide for more than 750 Vehicles. Trailerlife.com

Get it and you have your answer to your Towing Capacity questions.

[Uplander]

I just read that issue...a lot of work went into that detailed chart....BUT...always check with an owner's manual to confirm data...bring you vehicle to a dealership and get their opinion....year to year things change.

[Darral T.]

I also liked the letter at the front of the magazine explaining the absurdity of tearing down your wheels EVERY year regardless of the mileage and repacking bearings! Good stuff! I agreed with him 100%.

[floyd]

Nothing on tow capacity.... only tow ratings!

[patrick crawford]

Same issue has an article on installing a "super solar system" which I found interesting (at least the parts I could understand).

p@

[Uplander]

I looked at that article but have not read it yet. There seems to be a big learning curve for solar and in the end you still are working with batteries and cloudy days could be a problem. The reason major private companies are not getting into the solar electric business (or wind power for that matter) is the product is by its very nature unreliable and in the end the city, town or state still must maintain a conventional power plant using some fuel. This doubles or triples the cost of facilities while raising the true cost of power to consumers. That is why all solar power is supported by government grants or outright hand-outs. The funding comes from taxpayer dollars...that means you are paying more taxes to support a system that real businesses avoid investing their money into. Something to think about.

The big question for RV owners is simple...real cost vs benefits....how long do solar panels last bouncing down the highway?....what is the cost of batteries and how long before they must be replaced ? .....what is the cost of installation ?

I decided to buy a quiet inverter generator that was RV ready with a 30 AMP plug and 3,100 watts at a total cost of $750. If and when it does fail that is the total expense....I figure it is less than a complete solar system with batteries and it runs my A/C....something a solar system will not do.

[GregandTeresa]

We decided to go without solar for our upcoming build. For the way we plan on camping for the next 10 years until retirement, we should not be doing much boondocking. Plus, if and when the time comes that we will want solar, I would much prefer the mobile panels to fixed panels on the roof anyway. To me that just seems a more efficient system.

Originally Posted by Uplander

I looked at that article but have not read it yet. There seems to be a big learning curve for solar and in the end you still are working with batteries and cloudy days could be a problem. The reason major private companies are not getting into the solar electric business (or wind power for that matter) is the product is by its very nature unreliable and in the end the city, town or state still must maintain a conventional power plant using some fuel. This doubles or triples the cost of facilities while raising the true cost of power to consumers. That is why all solar power is supported by government grants or outright hand-outs. The funding comes from taxpayer dollars...that means you are paying more taxes to support a system that real businesses avoid investing their money into. Something to think about.

The big question for RV owners is simple...real cost vs benefits....how long do solar panels last bouncing down the highway?....what is the cost of batteries and how long before they must be replaced ? .....what is the cost of installation ?

I decided to buy a quiet inverter generator that was RV ready with a 30 AMP plug and 3,100 watts at a total cost of $750. If and when it does fail that is the total expense....I figure it is less than a complete solar system with batteries and it runs my A/C....something a solar system will not do.

[steve dunham]

Originally Posted by Uplander

I looked at that article but have not read it yet. There seems to be a big learning curve for solar and in the end you still are working with batteries and cloudy days could be a problem. The reason major private companies are not getting into the solar electric business (or wind power for that matter) is the product is by its very nature unreliable and in the end the city, town or state still must maintain a conventional power plant using some fuel. This doubles or triples the cost of facilities while raising the true cost of power to consumers. That is why all solar power is supported by government grants or outright hand-outs. The funding comes from taxpayer dollars...that means you are paying more taxes to support a system that real businesses avoid investing their money into. Something to think about.

The big question for RV owners is simple...real cost vs benefits....how long do solar panels last bouncing down the highway?....what is the cost of batteries and how long before they must be replaced ? .....what is the cost of installation ?

I decided to buy a quiet inverter generator that was RV ready with a 30 AMP plug and 3,100 watts at a total cost of $750. If and when it does fail that is the total expense....I figure it is less than a complete solar system with batteries and it runs my A/C....something a solar system will not do.

We have solar at home and on our trailer.
We paid 100% of the cost .Not one penny came from the government nor did we receive any tax credits. I personally find the noise from a generator as a source of irritation . No one has ever complained that my solar panels were too noisy. Money is not the sole criteria in making choices

[Captleemo]

http://webcontent.goodsam.com/traile...wGuide2015.pdf
Heres the link to that towing guide

[Darwin Maring]

Captleemo: Thanks for posting the Trailer Life web site. This site preaty much answers most of the questions asked on this site. I think It should be mandentory reading for everyone who wants to tow a trailer.

[Carol H]

Originally Posted by floyd

Nothing on tow capacity.... only tow ratings!

Well Floyd I suspect some might argue that in this day & age where the manufactures are now all doing the same tow test to prove the cars, SUV's and light trucks actually have the actual "tow capacity" to pull the "tow rating" they have put on it, its a bit of a mute point.

[Glenn Baglo]

Chart omits tongue weights, which in the case of Subaru is a significant issue.

[Carol H]

Originally Posted by Glenn Baglo

Chart omits tongue weights, which in the case of Subaru is a significant issue.

I would assume the chart to be missing a lot of the finer details the buyers need to be aware of not just tongue weight limits, but actual payload and the GVWR & GCWR. A lot of math involved in deciding if the vehicle you are considering is actually rated to pull the trailer you want it to.

[floyd]

Originally Posted by Carol H

Well Floyd I suspect some might argue that in this day & age where the manufactures are now all doing the same tow test to prove the cars, SUV's and light trucks actually have the actual "tow capacity" to pull the "tow rating" they have put on it, its a bit of a mute point.

That would be, if it were, a "moot" point! Mute seldom applies around here!
To have standing on the argument,one would need first to gain personal understanding of the specific vehicle in question. Otherwise he would only be able to compare "ratings".

[Carol H]

Originally Posted by floyd

That would be, if it were, a "moot" point! Mute seldom applies around here!
To have standing on the argument,one would need first to gain personal understanding of the specific vehicle in question. Otherwise he would only be able to compare "ratings".

I think you would at least have to agree that we now at least know what the towing standard that each vehicle had to perform to in order to achieve the rating it has been given - unlike the good old days when each manufacture did their own tow test and it was anyones guess as to what the bench mark was & how the vehicle performed with lots of back seat driver speculating on it

[floyd]

Originally Posted by Carol H

I think you would at least have to agree that we now at least know what the towing standard that each vehicle had to perform to in order to achieve the rating it has been given - unlike the good old days when each manufacture did their own tow test and it was anyones guess as to what the bench mark was & how the vehicle performed with lots of back seat driver speculating on it

Still doesn't conflate rating with capacity.

[Carol H]

Originally Posted by floyd

Still doesn't conflate rating with capacity.

Nope not entirely but at least we now know that they have the capacity of their rating which we did not know before.

As you know more than a few trucks, as well as SUV's and small cross overs had their ratings down graded in the lead up years to the test becoming the standard which some might suggest may mean they never had the capacity of their published rating of the past