bpu699

Still searching for a trailer... There is a featherweight 3110 for sale locally. Its 1500lbs.

Was looking for a trailex, as I here they are 900-1000lbs.

Realistically speaking, am I overthinking this? Will I even notice a 500lb difference, or is the featherweight just fine?

I ask, as I will be towing with a highlander with a 5000lb capacity, and car is 3000lbs (930)...

So, towing 4500lbs vs 4000...

Any practical difference?

Thanks

Coochas

I suppose it depends on what you are towing with.

That being said, I used to tow an open Featherlite with a first generation Cayenne S with a 3500 pound car on it. Was it the best choice? No. But it was OK.

BTW, there is a relatively new "truck and trailer" forum that this thread will likely get moved to.

Bill Verburg

The closer to the edge that you get the more each additional pound counts. My truck is rated for 7200# tow, trailer +car is ~4000# add tools and other gear maybe 4500# all up(~63% of rated). I'm comfortable here but if I was at 90% as you are headed , not so much.

The other thing is that factory tow ratings until just recently were pretty much inflated across the board.

External factors also affect the tow
distance and terrain you tow across makes a difference
traffic conditions
weather

It's hard to have too big a margin in this area

As does traffic conditions

TXE36

I don't think so, a bigger difference would be open vs enclosed. There is a certain amount of fudging around with trailer ratings anyway, so it's not like a hard number. I'll postulate this: If the 1000lb trailer resulted in towing bliss with your tow vehicle, then the 1500lb trailer wouldn't suck. If you don't have enough tow vehicle, it's going to be crappy with either trailer.

As another plus for the Featherlite, there are no bolts to loosen. Don't get me wrong, Trailex's are good trailers, but the Featherlite appears to have a must have feature here: it's available.

-Mike

177mph

With my Denali - no.

With your highlander - yes.

ExMB

As answered in one of your other post questions. Towing lbs is another variable that needs to modified based on your overall load which includes you, vehicle, payload etc. I know in my Taco manual there was a complete section on towing. Check your manual for that and all the variables that you need to consider.

DTMiller

The two biggest factors as to whether you can "get away with it" with towing capacity is terrain and traffic. If you're going to load the car, get cruising on a highway with no hills and no real threat of stop and go traffic you can get by.

But the lighter you go the easier everything is.

bpu699

As one gets closer to maximum towing capacity, help me understand the issue...

Is it merely a convenience issue, as you have to drive slower, accelerate slower, brake further away, etc?

Or, is there some catastrophic limit that you hit where its just uncontrollable?

I don't want to consider a featherlight if its dangerous...

Put another way, given that my tow vehicle will be a highlander, should I just focus on getting a trailex?

Emailed trailex to get info of distributors... no one ever responds...

Lots of distributors locally, but all they sell are boat trailers...

Whats a practical way of ordering a trailex and getting it to Wisconsin?

TXE36

If you are that worried, you don't have enough truck.

-Mike

RickBetterley

Buy it direct from Trailex and have them arrange the delivery to your driveway. Easy peezy.
I think that last 500 lbs. is a big deal from a safety and wear on the tow vehicle standpoint. Its not just about convenience.
When you go to sell the Trailex there will be a line of buyers waiting for it.

bpu699

Well, I wasn't worried until folks mentioned that it might be too much weight... Ignorance was bliss....

bpu699

Will call and get some info...

cello

I cannot speak to Featherlite having never owned one so the following may not be an issue but another consideration is getting the tongue weight optimized especially if nearing the limits. The adjustability of the axles on Trailex help with this especially with 911s. Optimized tongue weight will help the tow vehicle better use all four tire patches but is not a panacea for "towing headroom" so to speak...

pu911rsr

I towed a 914 on a very light trailer from Colorado to MT once with my wifes MDX- probably a little over 3000 lbs with vehicle with a 4500 lb tow rating, it was ok. I'm not sure I'd want to make a habit of towing a 3000 lb car, what year 930 - (probably weighs more than 3000 lbs wet) with a light duty SUV.

Phil

Paul Solk

Here is my towing setup... Trailer is 1350 dry, car is 3100. I am at 4,450 pounds. The Macan is rated for 5,600 pounds braked, 1,650 pounds unbraked. For this setup it is absolutely ideal. It is also rated for 4 Adults so factor in 1 driver at 150 pounds and I have plenty of overhead for gear. My tongue wait is 180 pounds with the car perfectly balanced on the axles so I am adding a custom tire rack that will sit below the Macan's roof line as well. I can tell you that I never lack for power, regardless of terrain/conditions. As ExMB mentioned though, that is a total consideration of myself, weight in vehicle, weight being towed and tongue weight together, not just weight of the trailer/car and maximum capacity...

Interestingly enough I did a trip to JPC to drop my car off for it's cage last week and sitting at 80 most of the way even up and down through the hills I got 15.2 MPG out of that Macan... AND it did a 1:39 on Thunderbolt... So yeah, it's capable lol.