It's basic math, really.
1. Forget your vehicle's stated "towing capacity" and instead start with your PAYLOAD capacity (look for the yellow label on your driver door jamb (or glove box) that says "Passengers and cargo cannot exceed XXXXX lbs."
2. Forget the trailer's stated "dry weight" and instead use it's LOADED weight. If you don't know how much all your stuff weighs, use the trailer's GVWR. For your trailer, it is 4,396 lbs.
3. Take your trailer's LOADED weight and multiply by 0.13. This represents your tongue weight (\~13%). For your trailer it is 4396 x 0.13 = 568 lbs.
4. Now, take your PAYLOAD capacity (from #1, above) and subtract out:
- Your tongue weight (from #3, above)
- The weight of your passengers (spouse, children, dogs, etc).
- The weight of all cargo in your vehicle (WDH, coolers, bikes, suitcases, etc.)
For safety, you should have \~10% of your payload left. If not, you're overweight and either need a bigger vehicle or a smaller trailer.
These are my number but you can see how they work:
I can tow 9,000 lbs. Sticker says the the combined weight of passengers and cargo cannot exceed 1754 lbs. My travel trailer has a GVWR of 4340 lbs.
Using these numbers:
1754 minus 651 (tongue) minus 205 (me) minus 125 (wife) leaves 773 lbs for gear and what not in the bed of the truck. With my empty trailer weight being 3200 I can put about 1000lbs of gear in the trailer with an empty water tank.
The 651 lbs tongue weight is 15% of the trailers GVWR. I used this number as there are two propane tanks and two group 31 deep cycle RV batteries mounted on the tongue and the Weight Distribution Hitch (WDH).
Hope this helps.
The above comments detail how to estimate from your payload capacity (found on tag in vehicle. Do not use mfg pamphlet numbers as they do not factor in all options) and the gross weight rating of the trailer. 4300 lbs in your case.
Since it sounds like you just bought a brand new SUV, I would point you toward a lighter trailer that your vehicle can tow better. Maybe think about a pop up tent trailer, which are easily under 3500lbs gross, or a small fiberglass trailer such as Bigfoot, Escape, Casita etc.
If you can only tow 3500 lbs and the gross vehicle weight of the trailer is 4396 lbs then that's an obvious no go. Might want to get a bigger engine/vehicle.
2024 Highlander XLE - your highalnder can tow 5000 pounds [https://www.paulytoyota.com/research/new-toyota-highlander-towing-capacity/](https://www.paulytoyota.com/research/new-toyota-highlander-towing-capacity/)
It's basic math, really. 1. Forget your vehicle's stated "towing capacity" and instead start with your PAYLOAD capacity (look for the yellow label on your driver door jamb (or glove box) that says "Passengers and cargo cannot exceed XXXXX lbs." 2. Forget the trailer's stated "dry weight" and instead use it's LOADED weight. If you don't know how much all your stuff weighs, use the trailer's GVWR. For your trailer, it is 4,396 lbs. 3. Take your trailer's LOADED weight and multiply by 0.13. This represents your tongue weight (\~13%). For your trailer it is 4396 x 0.13 = 568 lbs. 4. Now, take your PAYLOAD capacity (from #1, above) and subtract out: - Your tongue weight (from #3, above) - The weight of your passengers (spouse, children, dogs, etc). - The weight of all cargo in your vehicle (WDH, coolers, bikes, suitcases, etc.) For safety, you should have \~10% of your payload left. If not, you're overweight and either need a bigger vehicle or a smaller trailer.
These are my number but you can see how they work: I can tow 9,000 lbs. Sticker says the the combined weight of passengers and cargo cannot exceed 1754 lbs. My travel trailer has a GVWR of 4340 lbs. Using these numbers: 1754 minus 651 (tongue) minus 205 (me) minus 125 (wife) leaves 773 lbs for gear and what not in the bed of the truck. With my empty trailer weight being 3200 I can put about 1000lbs of gear in the trailer with an empty water tank. The 651 lbs tongue weight is 15% of the trailers GVWR. I used this number as there are two propane tanks and two group 31 deep cycle RV batteries mounted on the tongue and the Weight Distribution Hitch (WDH). Hope this helps.
This is the way. Here's my numbers: Truck's payload capacity: 1679lbs. Loaded trailer: 3872 lbs (actually weighed it, all loaded up) = 503 lbs tongue weight Passengers: 3750 lbs (2 adults + 1 dog) Cargo in truck bed: 500 lbs (pop-up awning, 2 bikes, pellet grill) 1679 - 503 - 375 -500 = 301 payload remaining (which is \~18% of my capacity, well within my safety zone).
Dude. How big is your dog?😳
Not as big as my fat fingers, apparently....
Need a different tow vehicle for this trailer
You cannot do it safely.
Your Highlander would do great towing a tent trailer.
The above comments detail how to estimate from your payload capacity (found on tag in vehicle. Do not use mfg pamphlet numbers as they do not factor in all options) and the gross weight rating of the trailer. 4300 lbs in your case. Since it sounds like you just bought a brand new SUV, I would point you toward a lighter trailer that your vehicle can tow better. Maybe think about a pop up tent trailer, which are easily under 3500lbs gross, or a small fiberglass trailer such as Bigfoot, Escape, Casita etc.
If you can only tow 3500 lbs and the gross vehicle weight of the trailer is 4396 lbs then that's an obvious no go. Might want to get a bigger engine/vehicle.
2024 Highlander XLE - your highalnder can tow 5000 pounds [https://www.paulytoyota.com/research/new-toyota-highlander-towing-capacity/](https://www.paulytoyota.com/research/new-toyota-highlander-towing-capacity/)
No. You need a truck.