Before you head down to the dealership and find your perfect camper, the first step is to always ask, what kinds of camper can my vehicle tow? Buying a camper does not have to be a tedious process, but you always need to make sure that you can actually get it home afterward! If you buy an RV that is too large for your vehicle to tow, it will cause serious damage to both the camper and the vehicle. If you have a mini can, SUV, small truck, or large truck there are a few things you need to research before you attach a camper to it.

What Kind of Camper Can my Vehicle Tow?

What Is My Tow Rating

Do you know your vehicles weight and tow ratings? We recommend you going to get it weighed on a large scale. Stop by a weigh station, quarry, dump and pack your car up to the max! If you plan to go camping or on a long road trip, your vehicle will be much heavier, so pack accordingly for a proper weight. (Include your hitch as well.) This will allow you to figure out how much the vehicle can handle on its suspension. At weigh-in, you will get your total vehicle weight and the Gross vehicle weight rating. Subtract your truck weight from the gross vehicle weight and the number you have left is what you can carry.

Picking a Trailer Based On Tow Capacity

Two of the most popular types of RV’s are fifth wheels and travel trailers. They are great for the whole family, camping trips, and long-distance traveling. You should know that these trailers are also great to tow because they only transfer between 15%(travel trailer) to 25%(Fifth wheel) of its weight on your vehicle; this is call the Pin weight. From here you figure out the vehicle’s suspension. When you go to a dealership, things go much quicker if you already know what you are looking for and what you are capable of taking home.

What Kind of Camper Can my Vehicle Tow?

This will allow you to make sure what you are towing away is going to hold up on long trips and not cause any damage to your vehicle. If you plan to transfer this to another vehicle, we strongly urge you to get everything weighed and measures properly and not “wing it”. If you have any additional questions, give Crossroad Trailers a call and we would be happy to help!