110 towing capacity - no where near 3500kg

As an example of how far out the 10% rule can be - we just purchased 10 new trailers to put generators on. 8 of them 2,700Kg GTM and the other 2 are 3,500Kg GTM units. The manufacturer has stated a tow ball weight of between 4 and 5% for all of these and in big bold type ‘MUST NOT EXCEED 8%’

They are constantly battling the 10% myth and it drives their Rep mad.

We’ve ended up with around 5% on the 2,700Kg units (total weight is 2,380Kg in these) and 6% on the bigger units (that total 2,940Kg)

They all tow beautifully - mind you, I wouldn’t want to tow the big ones very far with any normal 4WD - 3,000Kg is a bit beyond them even if it is technically legal.

Weight distribution is far more important than tow ball weight.

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Originally Posted by scarry

There are many LC200's,and y62's running around at that sort of weight with a couple of mods and almost empty.

And a few D3/4 owners probably not far off as well.

They will still pull a 3T van no worries at all.

Not trying to open a can of worms,just saying.

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Not opening a can of worms, but OP is not towing a van. Therefore little on no ability to transfer stuff inside vehicle to trailer to lighten rear axle load. Therein lies the problem. Maybe and just maybe they can tow a 3.5T Van but not a 3.5T trailer as has been noted.

As already mentioned by others, loading the vehicle impacts on how much you can tow.
My Territory is 2.3 Tonnes tow capacity......with just a driver.
As soon as you load it up the tow capacity drops off, 7 people & some luggage and you might be able to tow an empty 6 X 4 trailer.
There is a formula in the handbook to allow you to work out what you can tow, this is possibly based on the 10% TBM 'guideline'.

Found this on an RV website -

While many caravanners believe that you must have about 10 percent of a caravan’s ATM resting on the towball of the tow vehicle, this is a tradition like Christmas. Everyone has been doing it so long that they’ve forgotten what it’s about. The 10 percent TBM thing started in the 1970s when we all towed 1000-1400kg caravans with our 1200-1400kg Kingswoods or Falcons. Caravan weights and weight balance has changed a lot since then. Forgetting European caravans, with their 4-5 percent TBM for a moment, even a heavy Aussie van can be towing well with as little as seven percent TBM.


Everything you wanted to know about ball weight - RV Daily


Colin

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Originally Posted by Homestar

As an example of how far out the 10% rule can be - we just purchased 10 new trailers to put generators on. 8 of them 2,700Kg GTM and the other 2 are 3,500Kg GTM units. The manufacturer has stated a tow ball weight of between 4 and 5% for all of these and in big bold type ‘MUST NOT EXCEED 8%’

They are constantly battling the 10% myth and it drives their Rep mad.

We’ve ended up with around 5% on the 2,700Kg units (total weight is 2,380Kg in these) and 6% on the bigger units (that total 2,940Kg)

They all tow beautifully - mind you, I wouldn’t want to tow the big ones very far with any normal 4WD - 3,000Kg is a bit beyond them even if it is technically legal.

Weight distribution is far more important than tow ball weight.

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Now this in my opinion is right on the money for towing! They need some ball weight, but not enough to affect the tow vehicle when towing. 4% of 3500kg is still 140kg which I think is more than enough. 350kg ball weight is crazy talk.

In addition, when trailers fail, it always seems to be either the suspension rips out, wheel bearing failure or a snapped draw bar. The drawbars are so stressed already and they are normally the heaviest beam in a trailer.

I have towed boats from 6.4m to little 3.6m jobbies and I have always made sure that I can lift the trailer by hand at the tow coupling So maybe only 50kg to 70kg and I have never had any dramas even when towing 2t boat/trailer combos.
I cannot see any differance in towing a boat or van, This 10% rule is just an urban myth.

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Originally Posted by trout1105

I have towed boats from 6.4m to little 3.6m jobbies and I have always made sure that I can lift the trailer by hand at the tow coupling So maybe only 50kg to 70kg and I have never had any dramas even when towing 2t boat/trailer combos.
I cannot see any differance in towing a boat or van, This 10% rule is just an urban myth.

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I suspect it may be only in Australia as well, although I might be corrected there!

As long as there is enough weight on the towball to keep the trailer connected all is good.
I once towed a 1t boat 30k along a beach track with only about 50kg on the towball without coming adrift despite NOT remembering to lock the trailer hitch down[bigwhistle]
I much prefer to let the trailer axels/suspension carry the weight instead of overloading the drawbar and towing vehicle.

Road trains don't do the 10% rule on their trailers.

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Originally Posted by dirvine

Not opening a can of worms, but OP is not towing a van. Therefore little on no ability to transfer stuff inside vehicle to trailer to lighten rear axle load. Therein lies the problem. Maybe and just maybe they can tow a 3.5T Van but not a 3.5T trailer as has been noted.

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Actually they cannot

They did a 10% GVM upgrade, no mention of a GCM upgrade.

So the total towable is now 305kg less if vehicle at full weight.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by trout1105

As long as there is enough weight on the towball to keep the trailer connected all is good.
I once towed a 1t boat 30k along a beach track with only about 50kg on the towball without coming adrift despite NOT remembering to lock the trailer hitch down[bigwhistle]
I much prefer to let the trailer axels/suspension carry the weight instead of overloading the drawbar and towing vehicle.

Road trains don't do the 10% rule on their trailers.

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Road trains are a different kettle of fish [emoji12]

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Originally Posted by Tombie

Road trains are a different kettle of fish [emoji12]

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Yes I know, I just thought that I would put it in there[biggrin

Common sense will tell you if you have your trailer/van/boat trailer set up well.
Sadly Common sense is in short supply in Aus thats why we have the 10% rule[bigwhistle]