jlucas

Got talking with a friend who is looking at buying new truck. Currently he has a 24ft enclosed trailer but is thinking that maybe in a year or 2 he would like to get a two car trailer. Is a 3/4 ton (F-250 or Chevy 2500) enough truck for a 2 car? Most of the trucks I've seen towing a 2 car are 1 ton duallies. What kind of weights are we talking about for a loaded (cars, tires, tools, etc...) 2 car trailer?

XPC5R

I would guess well over 10k, with 6k of cars, and at least 4-5k of trailer weight. That is before tools and spares, and right at the practical limit of 3/4 ton SRW trucks. Much safer and more stable with a 1 ton dually, and a 5th wheel or gooseneck trailer.

Falcon

Jeremy, I'd be leary of a 3/4 ton. We've towed 2 cars in a 48' with a Ford 350 dually hauling extra tires, tools and stuff and it was a struggle going up grades. I don't know if a 3/4 ton could have finished the trip.

Figuring 2 cars at 3,000# each, at least a 36' trailer at #4,500, tools & equip at 300#, 8 extra tires at 350#, that totals 11,150 #'s and that's with conservative guesses.

Bill Dearborn

Figure 3200 lbs each for the cars, at least 4000 lbs for a 32 ft aluminum trailer and another 1500 lbs for incidentals such as cabinets, tools and tires. Tires on rims are about 50 lbs each.

Bill

AU N EGL

Jeremy your friend will need a 1 ton.
as Falcon said 11,500# or 15,000# min tow capacity

jlucas

That's what I was thinking. Thanks for confirming guys.

Luckily for him it's a write off either way.

Janni

We've towed a 48' overall (40' on the floor) Featherlight 2 car gooseneck for years. You WANT the extra room - toolboxes, tire carts, golf cart, etc. the trailer weight is 6000 pounds and it's not lined / insulated so it's fairly on the low end of weight for an aluminum trailer. It has 3 7K pound axles. You want and NEED the stability and safety margin of a dually - even though they are usually rated to tow slightly less than a 3/4 ton. It's all about safety in the event of a blowout - and allowing the rear tires to not be overloaded due to tongue weight.

davidfarmer

I towed 2 cars with a 3/4ton duramax, BUT it was a Featherlite gooseneck, and both cars were under 3000lbs. Remember, gooseneck trailers are much easier on the tow vehicle than a tag trailer, but a steel trailer is going to add several thousand extra pounds.

Gotta do the math, check loads and capacities.....

wtknght1

I'm at 27.5K total gross weight with my 44' steel trailer...fully loaded...with just 1 Corvette, a golf cart and plenty of tools, tires, wheels, etc, etc, etc. Whether you get an aluminum one or not, get a dually. You will never regret it.

John Shiels

dooley diesel, the towing capacities are getting bigger every year.

C5Nate

I highlighted the problem. :

3/4 and 1 tons have the same exact powertrain so the hauling capacity has nothing to do with its ability to pull.

11,000 lbs is an easy task for my 3/4 ton.

I know a guy here in town who hauls cars for rental companys between KC, Omaha and Chicago. He hauls 3 cars on back of his 3/4 ton Chevy Duramax/Allison. He has over 230,000 miles on his truck the last time I talked to him.

His trailer looks like this one:




A dually will allow you to have more of the load on the truck. The main reason for Dual Wheels is to decrease the load capacity on the tires....period.

A 2000 lb load on the truck is 1000 lbs per tire on a single wheel but spreads out to 500 lbs per tire on a dually.

There is some increased stability but it can usually be linked to the lower profile tire (less sidewall flex) found on most duallys.

Duallys are a PITA as a daily driver, harder to park, cant fit through some drive throughs like McDonalds, the bank, etc.

Plastic fenders crack easy from the tires throwing rocks up in them.

They do sell 1-ton single tire models

Hope this helps