The pin weight of an empty 3100 is going to roughly be around 2400-2600 lbs. depending on the options that you have. The hard part of a toy hauler is pin weights can drastically change by adding items in the rear garage or filling your water tanks. When loading a toy hauler you can kind of think of it as a giant teader-todder generally speaking for every 2 lbs. you add to the garage you remove about 1lb. of pin weight (this is different from unit to unit). Also when you add water to your fresh water tanks (which are located in front of the axles) this will also add weight to your pin weight.
AJ,
I appreciate the feedback and providing a general formula for toy haulers. I’m not convinced by realistic numbers that a formula is a good catch-all for all toy haulers. I suspect overall length of a toy hauler has greater play in attempting to determine what the pin weight may be based on the weight loaded in the garage.
Here’s my realistic example:
(Before loading anything in the garage.)
RVSEF weigh-in pin weight -
8/6/2010 – 3,600 pounds
6/14/2011 – 3,725 pounds
(After loading the garage with a 1,825 pound Smart car.)
RVSEF weigh-in pin weight -
7/8/2013 – 3,400 pounds
At this point in time and with the very limited weight data that I have been able to acquire and was provided by a respected RV Weighmaster, I will only recommend the formula I presented the thread above.
Here’s why:
- 25% is the standard maximum pin weight any 5[SUP]th[/SUP] wheel or gooseneck trailer should weigh.
- Using the 25% formula correctly will ensure the prospective vehicle buyer will seek sufficient rear axle load to carry the maximum allowed pin weight of any 5[SUP]th[/SUP] wheel or gooseneck trailer.
- Using the 25% formula correctly will ensure that 100% of the buyers will have good safety and powertrain margins for towing on any road condition.
My acquired data indicates the average pin weight is 20%. A person could use that as their formula and may get by with it. On the other hand, they may realize their tow vehicle rear axle is disappointingly overweight. I will always lean on the side of having a little more axle load rating available than what one may think they’ll need. Hence, the 25% formula I recommend for all 5[SUP]th[/SUP] wheel and gooseneck trailers. I have had enough clients contact me the past two years who leaned too late that their tow vehicle rear axle was overloaded by a new RV purchase too convince me to use the 25% formula.
If I could acquire additional scaled weight data, I could perform additional analysis.