Can your truck tow a dump trailer?
Loaded trailers weigh a lot more than people expect, and the number on your truck's brochure usually isn't the number that applies to you. Run your vehicle through the check below and get a straight answer in about fifteen seconds.
Three things your vehicle needs
The right ball
Trailers don't all use the same coupler. Ours run 2 inch or 2-5/16 inch depending on the trailer, and the ball has to be rated for the weight, not just the size.
Enough tow rating
Your rating has to cover the trailer and everything in it. An empty trailer is only the starting point, and most people underestimate the load by more than the trailer weighs.
A brake controller, sometimes
Heavier trailers have electric brakes, which need a controller in the tow vehicle to work them. Lighter ones don't. The check above tells you what this one needs.
Finding your real tow rating
Check the door jamb
Open the driver's door and look at the sticker on the frame. It lists your vehicle's specific weight ratings (look for total GVWR).
Then the owner's manual
The towing section lists capacity by engine, axle ratio, and cab configuration. Find the row that matches your truck, not the biggest number on the page.
Subtract what's already in it
Passengers, tools, and anything in the bed count against what you can pull. A full cab and a loaded bed can take a surprising bite out of your margin.
Leave yourself room
Ratings assume flat roads and good weather. If your number and the loaded trailer are close together, treat that as a no and let us deliver.
Empty and loaded are different jobs
Big Bertha, our 6x10 dump trailer, weighs about 2,950 pounds sitting still. Fill her up and she can reach 9,900. That gap is bigger than most people expect, and it’s why a truck that moved the trailer around the driveway with no trouble can be over its rating on the way to the transfer station. Earl, our utility trailer, works the same way on a smaller scale, going from 2,200 pounds empty to about 7,000 loaded.
The other thing worth knowing is that tow rating usually isn't what stops people. Payload is. Tongue weight runs roughly 10 to 15 percent of whatever the trailer weighs loaded, and that lands on your rear axle alongside your passengers and your gear. Plenty of half-tons have the tow rating and run out of payload first.
If the answer is no
Plenty of people find out their truck isn't up to it, or they don't have a truck at all. That's not a problem. We deliver, which means you get the trailer without owning a thing that pulls it.
We drop it in your driveway, you load it on your own time, and we come get it when you're done. Drop-off only, pickup only, or both.