Has anyone towed really heavy with the D? As in 7000lbs+? Has anyone gone over the "7400" rating?

Why I asking, is I am planning a move from CA to ND and contemplating buying a 20ft enclosed trailer. I will have plenty of time, and don't mind driving a little slower, but do you think the D could handle say 8K lbs? how about 9? I was planning on trying 8k with the trailer and another 7-800lbs in the back of the D. I would be balancing out the weight, as I am already blueprinting out layout of my furniture and whatnot, to make sure everything fits.

I'm not sure how much weight I will have. We are going to be thinning out what we have, but we still have some heavier items(washer/motorcycle/couches are on the 400lbs mark) I'm just not sure how far past the 7400lb limit I want to run it. When we moved here, we had about 10Klbs, but we have gotten a rid of a lot of things(my wood shop for one thing)
I think we have around 5-6K lbs of stuff, but add the trailer weight in, and now we are at 8-9k lbs.
Also, here is another question, the two trailers I'm looking at are both 20' trailers. Now, they have 2 different ratings(based on the axles) one of 7Klbs and the other at 10Klbs. the 7k is 3000lbs and the 10K is 3200. Should I just push a little past the limits on the 7 k to put less weight on the D, or should I get the heavier trailer, rated for the weight, but make my D pull 200 extra lbs?


Last, please don't flame on me. I know best case scenario is to pull under 7400lbs, its just not looking in the cards.

 

I haven't. But I've towed a 20' Airstream at 5,000 lbs, with absolutely no difficulty. A lot of folks tow way over a vehicle's stated limit, but that is done with careful attention to the hitching, sometimes including reinforcing the hitch on the vehicle. Tongue weight might be an issue, and you would certainly need a weight distributing hitch with sway control. There is a lot written about this on RV forums, I can point to to some threads is you want.

 

Waynead,
That would be great. I do intend on properly balancing the load as well as using a weight distributing hitch with sway control.

Hopefully I can keep it closer to the 7K mark, but I won't know until its all loaded up.
As for the second question, do you think I should buy the heavier trailer with larger axles?

 

Personally, I would get the higher rated trailer, the best/appropriate hitch, and drive very conservatively. If you have more than one vehicle, you can always put a small trailer behind it too.

 

The heavier rated trailer will have bigger brakes, thus the tow vehicle brakes won't need to work as hard. The stiffer springs will make the trailer more stable when its loaded heavy.

 

Clay, I didn't know that. Thanks, I def want the bigger(cap) trailer then.

 

If you can put some of the heavy items on a pallet, you can send them by truck pretty cheap. That could easily knock 1000# off your weight. It might be worth looking into.

 

This place is known for setting up hitches. Check the articles under "Towing" and "Hitch Hints".

You may note that aerodynamics play a big role in handling a trailer. Airstreams, with their rounded shape tow very well. A boxy cargo hauler may be more difficult. So I'd take that into consideration when deciding which trailer to rent. Try to use one with a smaller front area that will catch the wind.

 

We were originally looking into PODS, but they don't go where i am planning on heading. Also part of getting the trailer, is we are going to use it for storage for 4 or 5 months.
Thank you for the link. I had seen some "V" front trailers, I assume those would be better then? The ones I was looking at do have a rounded front(http://losangeles.craigslist.org/lgb...430867995.html) but I don't know if its enough.

 

Rounded is better than totally flat. The vehicle will block much of the flat part.