camper weight

If you’re looking for average trailer weights, you’ve come to the right place. These numbers will help if you are trying figure out how big of a trailer you can buy and successfully tow with your existing or future truck.  

Why Does Trailer Weight Matter?

There is a camper trailer for almost every type of vehicle.  Even a car can tow a little one-man teardrop trailer.  However, if you want a massive 26′ trailer, don’t stress your mini-SUV by pushing the limits of your tow capacity.

In general, a truck or other vehicle that advertises it can tow 7,200 pounds (3,250 kilos) is adequate for towing most trailers under 24 feet.

Be wary as you shop for trailers to make sure that you don’t get taken by the marketing.  Almost every trailer today, no matter how bloated and heavy, is marketed as “lightweight, superlight, featherlite, etc.”  Check the numbers.

If you want something that’s light enough to tow with a smaller vehicle, check out the article we wrote about 9 family camper trailers that you can safely tow with a minivan.

Average Trailer Weights of Popular Camper Models

In short, average trailer weights are around 5,200 pounds (2,350 kilos) dry weight.

This means the weight of the trailer when its tanks are not filled and it has no gear in it.  You can expect to add 1,500 pounds (680 kilos) of gear and water to that number to get a “real world” example.

Obviously, this depends dramatically on the length of your camper trailer and the construction type of your camper. As a general rule, you can expect your trailer, filled with water and gear, to weigh about 250 pounds per foot of trailer (the box length, not the total length including the hitch).  

• 3,715 pounds without gear and water – 2015 Jayco Jayflight 19RD (19 feet box length)
• 3,786 pounds without gear and water – 2017 R-Pod RP-176 (17 feet long)
• 3,974 pounds without gear and water – 2017 Coleman CTS192RDWE (23 feet box length)
• 4,800 pounds without gear and water – 2017 Rockwood Mini-Light 2504s (25 foot long box length, 29 foot total length)
• 5,118 pounds without gear and water – 2017 Salem Hemisphere 24BH (24 foot long box length)
• 5,605 pounds without gear and water – 2015 Jayco Jay Flight 26RKS (26 foot long box length)
• 6,030 pounds without gear and water – 2015 Jayco Jay Flight 27RLS (27 foot long box length)
• 7,690 pounds without gear and water – 2016 Jayco Jay Flight 38BHDS (38 foot long box)
• 7,705 pounds without gear and water – 2017 Cherokee West 274DBH (32 foot long box)

How to Read Trailer Weight Numbers

It can be confusing to see all of the different numbers listed for the trailers. When I was out on the lot, I was totally confused when some salespeople would give me the gross weight, and others would give me the dry weight.  

I learned that the best policy was to take the unloaded vehicle weight and add 1,500 pounds to it for gear and water.

• Unloaded vehicle weight – This is the weight of the camper itself with no water or gear.  Just the trailer.
• Gross vehicle weight – The total weight of the trailer, full tanks, and an average load of gear.  This is the maximum amount that the trailer could possibly weigh. But there’s a lot more to Gross Vehicle Weight (GVWR) so we wrote a complete guide on what exactly is GVWR.
• Dry hitch weight –  The dry hitch weight is the amount of weight put on the trailer ball of your towing vehicle when the trailer is unloaded of water and gear.  This number is usually quite low–about 10% of the total weight of the trailer. For my 25′ trailer, the dry hitch weight is under 500 pounds.
• Cargo carrying capacity – The maximum amount of gear and stuff that the trailer should be filled with.

Trailer and Truck Considerations When You’re RV Shopping

Open the door to your tow vehicle and look at the sticker on the inside of the driver door. It will tell you the amount it can tow. It’s important that you go by that number and NOT the number you see when you google your vehicle and the tow weight.

The amount of weight your tow vehicle can pull will depend dramatically on what options and packages were purchased with the vehicle when it was new. The only way to know for sure what your specific model can use, is to check the sticker.

This number is the absolute maximum amount of weight that the trailer can bear when it is empty OR fully loaded. Loaded includes all cargo, fluids, and passengers, plus the original weight of the trailer. Since you will likely trravel with a loaded trailer, this weight rating should not be exceeded.

Here’s how gear and even trailer manufacturing can affect average trailer weights.

Water and Gear Weight

Water weighs eight pounds per gallon, and an average trailer has a 48 gallon fresh water tank. Just your fresh water tank will add nearly 400 pounds to the weight of your trailer.

Then, we add in gear to the camper.  A generator capable of powering a travel trailer air conditioner weighs about 90 pounds.  As a side note, I wrote an article about the best generator out there for travel trailers which you can find here. You’re also likely to add another 400 pounds of camping gear, food, and kitchen supplies–even if you aren’t going crazy.

My tow vehicle is a 2012 Dodge Durango with the tow package.  It tows 7,100 pounds.  My trailer weighs 4,800 pounds dry weight (6,300 pounds total weight when full of gear and water).  Even though that’s nearly 1,000 pounds under what my tow vehicle can tow safely, I still can only go about 55 miles per hour when going up a steep hill.

Slides and Trailer Weight

Camper slide-outs increase the weight of the trailer.  A single slide-out often adds 800 pounds to RV weight.

If your camper has “pop outs” instead, which are the canvas tent material that pops out, it won’t really add any significant amount of weight. This is only the motorized slide outs that I’m discussing here.

Fiberglass Trailers Versus Aluminum Trailers

There are basically two ways to build a camper trailer.  The first way is with fiberglass construction. This is the type where your camper has smooth exterior side walls.  This type of camper has aluminum metal structuring which is significantly lighter weight than traditional “stick built” trailers with wooden 2×4’s.

Stick built trailers are the type with aluminum corrugated siding on the outside. They have the bumps along the entire exterior of the trailer. Since you’re adding the weight of a large load of lumber, these trailers are usually about 900 pounds heavier if all else is equal.

Airstream trailers are a whole other animal. We wrote about airstream weights, including a towing guide, that you should check out if you’re considering an airstream.

Conclusion: Don’t Max Out Your Towing Vehicle

It may surprise you that the “maximum towing capacity” for your vehicle could be more than the weight of your camper, but you still shouldn’t tow it.  Definitely check out our guide here on how to figure out how much your vehicle can safely tow.

My recommendation is that you take the dry weight of the camper you are wanting to buy and add 1,500 pounds.  Take that number and make sure that it isn’t more than 80% of the total weight your towing vehicle says it can tow.

There are lots of good reasons not to buy as much trailer as your vehicle can possibly tow.

• You’re likely to burn out your transmission over the long term.  
• It’s likely won’t be able to drive anywhere near the speed limit when going up hill.  
• You want to leave a little margin of error. Just in case either the trailer company or your towing vehicle are giving “overly hopeful” numbers to you in the advertising materials.

Sometimes, if you want the big fat RV, you gotta get a big fat truck to match.  I towed my trailer with a V8 Dodge Durango for a while, but eventually gave in and bought an F-150.