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How Do You Know How Much Your Trailer Weighs For Towing Capacity Estimates?

awonderingdawn

Member
TTC Chicks
So random question, but my boyfriend has a 2014 Toyota Tacoma V6 (which I believe has a 3,500 lb towing capacity). We just bought a trailer that we were going to tow with it as we moved and we were going to fill it pretty ridiculously full (including putting things in the bed of the truck). My question is, how can we know the weight of our trailer when it's packed full to ensure we're not over-packing it?
 

toyotafan

Toyota Truck Club Founder
Staff member
1000 Posts
People often will do a google search for something like "Toyota Tacoma Towing Capacity" and it will show up a figure of 3,500 lbs, but that might not be true. Honestly, Google should stop pulling this data and displaying it to visitors on the search engine page and they should just list websites, forums and documented pdf's that explain in better detail.

Towing capacity for the 2014 Tacoma V6 is going to change depending on your setup. If you have the v6 with the factory v6 tow package, you jump up to 6,500 lbs towing capacity with the access cab 4x4 or 6,400 / 6,300 lbs with the double cab short / long bed and 4x4 option.

This is straight from the 2014 Tacoma Sales Brochure from Toyota

upload_2015-8-28_14-47-53.png



TOWING,23 MAXIMUM (lb.) (SAE J2807 towing rating-compliant) Class-IV towing receiver hitch, transmission and supplemental oil coolers (transmission cooler not available on manual transmission models), 130-amp alternator, heavy-duty battery, 7-pin connector with converter, and Trailer-Sway Control (TSC)26 (V6 only) – – – P – P P Tongue load (4-cylinder/V6) 350 350 350 350 350 350/– –/– Tongue load (V6 with V6 Tow Package) – – – 650 – 640 630 Towing capacity (4-cylinder/V6) 3500 3500 3500 3500 3400 3500 3500 Towing capacity (V6 with V6 Tow Package) – – – 6500 – 6400 6300
 

toyotafan

Toyota Truck Club Founder
Staff member
1000 Posts
Also, any trailer that you're looking at will have a dry weight listed on it from the factory. Figure that you'll load it up with food, clothing and other stuff ... typically a couple of hundred pounds of stuff, just depends on how long you're going to be gone, how many people, etc.
 

tibadoe

Moderator
Staff member
1000 Posts
Community Leader
Keep the weight evenly distributed on the trailer to keep tongue weight below trailer max rating and max hitch weight. If you have cat scales in your area you can always weight your truck/trailer to know for sure.
 

toyotafan

Toyota Truck Club Founder
Staff member
1000 Posts
Oh, wait, I totally misread what you have listed. You have a utility trailer. You're going to have to either guess as you load it or take it to a drive-on scale if you have questions about the weight. The trailer itself is pretty light, but I don't know what what you're going to put in it, like a rock collection or something heavy or just household goods?
 

jazz

Mechanic
100 Posts
What is the trailer rated for as far as load capacity..Tandem axle enclosed? Single axle utility? Household goods don't generally weigh much unless like has already been mentioned you are hauling a rock collection..
 

toyotafan

Toyota Truck Club Founder
Staff member
1000 Posts
I've got a single axle c&s trailer built in fort worth. I bought it for $175 or so at a garage sale 8 or 9 years ago. Turns out it was built for carrying a golf cart so it's good for 3500 total weight and I think they said the trailer weights like 500 or 750 lbs bare.
 

awonderingdawn

Member
TTC Chicks
Thank you very much for the tips, guys. As to answer a few of your questions.

We're moving; so we're packing it with everything (furniture, household goods, etc.) A LOT of books- which do tend to weight quite a bit. Not nearly as much as rocks, but still pretty heavy.

We cannot find the VIN number to know the weight capacity. Does anyone know where we can find that at? We've looked everywhere for a plate or sticker, but because we bought the trailer used we're thinking it may have been removed?

I'll have to ask my boyfriend about the axle.
 

tibadoe

Moderator
Staff member
1000 Posts
Community Leader
Usually the VIN # and axle weight sticker are located on the trailer tongue. The sticker on my trailer has faded over the years and is not readable now. Most newer trailers will have a metal tag on the axle stating the GAWR. As a last resort you can measure the axle tube thickness and that will give you a close idea of GAWR.

Typical Axle Diameters Based on Axle Capacity:
- 1,000-lb - 2,000-lb Axles: 1-1/2 inch - 1-3/4 inch diameter
- 3,500-lb Axles: 2-3/8 inch diameter
- 6,000-lb - 7,200-lb Axles: 3 inch diameter
- 8,000-lb Axles: 3-1/2 inch diameter
- 9,000-lb Axles: 4 inch diameter
- 10,000-lb Or more axles: 5 inch diameter
 

awonderingdawn

Member
TTC Chicks
Usually the VIN # and axle weight sticker are located on the trailer tongue. The sticker on my trailer has faded over the years and is not readable now. Most newer trailers will have a metal tag on the axle stating the GAWR. As a last resort you can measure the axle tube thickness and that will give you a close idea of GAWR.

Typical Axle Diameters Based on Axle Capacity:
- 1,000-lb - 2,000-lb Axles: 1-1/2 inch - 1-3/4 inch diameter
- 3,500-lb Axles: 2-3/8 inch diameter
- 6,000-lb - 7,200-lb Axles: 3 inch diameter
- 8,000-lb Axles: 3-1/2 inch diameter
- 9,000-lb Axles: 4 inch diameter
- 10,000-lb Or more axles: 5 inch diameter
I found that information through a google search as well. It was very helpful! Thanks for posting it here too.
 

toyotafan

Toyota Truck Club Founder
Staff member
1000 Posts
Thank you very much for the tips, guys. As to answer a few of your questions.

We're moving; so we're packing it with everything (furniture, household goods, etc.) A LOT of books- which do tend to weight quite a bit. Not nearly as much as rocks, but still pretty heavy.

We cannot find the VIN number to know the weight capacity. Does anyone know where we can find that at? We've looked everywhere for a plate or sticker, but because we bought the trailer used we're thinking it may have been removed?

I'll have to ask my boyfriend about the axle.
Books can be very heavy. When I was a kid we helped move a pastor from one house to another and this guy had nearly 7,000 books. Had to guesstimate that each book weighted 2 pounds, and some were paperbacks that weighed like 5 ounces and some were thick bound leather journal books from the 1800's that probably weighed 20 lbs each ... but we guestimated 2 lbs each ...

So 7,000 books x 2 lbs = 14,000 lbs in books! Needless to say, the books alone took special consideration to get moved across town.
 

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