A tow that shouldn’t have been

[Morningpride]

On Friday, my wife’s 2017 broke down on the Pa Turnpike. We rented a car, and drove the 120 miles home. The next morning, I rented a trailer, and took the trusty Ranger to retrieve the disabled scapē. When we headed out, I remember thinking to myself, that the trailer felt heavy. Well, when we arrived and loaded the car, I noticed that the weight of said trailer was close to 7000lbs.

So, what do I do? I strapped down the scapē and away we went. Risky? Yes. Reckless? No. Much to my surprise, the Ranger Danger towed said overweight trailer 120 miles in 95 degrees with ease. She even made 12.9 mpg running 94.

Not the way I planned it, but I passed a trooper, and he didn’t even blink.

Lesson learned? Always check the weight of the rented trailer, before you leave the yard.

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[bigb]

I seriously doubt that empty 2 axle car hauler weighs 7,000 lbs. Were you looking at the GVWR sticker? Most 2 axle car haulers weigh between 1,500 and 3,000, which would put the GVW with a Ford Escape loaded on at less than 7,000.

3,500 lb axles are common so 2 X 3,500 = 7,000 GVWR which means the weight of the trailer and the load together cannot exceed 7,000 lbs.

 

[Black Shadow]

I seriously doubt that empty 2 axle car hauler weighs 7,000 lbs. Were you looking at the GVWR sticker? Most 2 axle car haulers weigh between 1,500 and 3,000, which would put the GVW with a Ford Escape loaded on at less than 7,000.

The largest enclosed uhaul trailer weights around 2200. Not sure where he got those figures from either

 

[Morningpride]

I seriously doubt that empty 2 axle car hauler weighs 7,000 lbs. Were you looking at the GVWR sticker? Most 2 axle car haulers weigh between 1,500 and 3,000, which would put the GVW with a Ford Escape loaded on at less than 7,000.

3,500 lb axles are common so 2 X 3,500 = 7,000 GVWR which means the weight of the trailer and the load together cannot exceed 7,000 lbs.

Well that’s encouraging information. It was really hard to see exactly what it said. I should have stopped at the cat scale.

You guys are making me feel better.

 

[Morningpride]

However I swear the loaded (gtwr) was 11500

 

[Lion77]

If the escape could at least drive 10 more feet you could have used a car dolle. They weigh only 750lbs plus the weight of the vehicle.

I towed my daighters boyfriends car in a car dolle with my Raptor which is limited to 5510lbs GVW for towing.

The car itself was only 2750 lbs (just s little 2 door 11' hyundai veloster). So between the car and dolle I was at 3450 GVW, but also had about 880lbs of payload, so I wasnt too far from my combined limit since payload takes away from towing GVW (aside from the assumed 2 passengers).

So max tow is assumed you have only a drive and one passenger, any weight inside the vehicle then takes away from your tow weight.

 

[bigb]

However I swear the loaded (gtwr) was 11500

That would mean the payload would only be 4500 lbs, there wouldn't be much point in building a 7,000 lb car hauler that can only haul 4,500 lbs when you can do that and more with a 2,500 lb trailer.

(A typical 1 ton diesel pickup weighs around 7,000 lbs, so compare that to the trailer).

 

[Dino Jockey]

12.9 mpg towing that much … i have a 2750 lb dry camper and when loaded about 3600 and i get 7-9 mpg at best. Interesting..
🛘

 

[Morningpride]

If the escape could at least drive 10 more feet you could have used a car dolle. They weigh only 750lbs plus the weight of the vehicle.

I towed my daighters boyfriends car in a car dolle with my Raptor which is limited to 5510lbs GVW for towing.

The car itself was only 2750 lbs (just s little 2 door 11' hyundai veloster). So between the car and dolle I was at 3450 GVW, but also had about 880lbs of payload, so I wasnt too far from my combined limit since payload takes away from towing GVW (aside from the assumed 2 passengers).

So max tow is assumed you have only a drive and one passenger, any weight inside the vehicle then takes away from your tow weight.

The little scapē is awd, so that eliminated the idea of a tow dolle.

 

[got3fords]

I dunno, towing another vehicle at 94MPH sounds kinda reckless to me. But what do I know.

 

[bigb]

I dunno, towing another vehicle at 94MPH sounds kinda reckless to me. But what do I know.

I was hoping that was a typo, or a highway number!

 

[got3fords]

I was hoping that was a typo, or a highway number!

Me too!

 

[Morningpride]

I dunno, towing another vehicle at 94MPH sounds kinda reckless to me. But what do I know.

94 octane

 

[Morningpride]

You guys are correct. I stopped and looked at the sticker on the trailer. 2700 lbs

 

[RonEee]

What you noticed was it's GVWR load limit of 7,000 lbs, which includes whatever is loaded on top of it. That's not the trailer weight.

The trailer most likely weighs between 1500 and 2000 lb.

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