'85 20RG Minnie Towing Ratings

[btmacdou]

Hello all... I have owned a 1985 Minnie Winnie for about 10 years now.  It's in good overall shape.  I've put a lot of money into the drive chain to make it reliable.  The house is clean but has some dry-rot in the over cab area.  It's manageable.


My primary question is how much I can safely tow with this chassis.  It's a C30 1 ton Chevy chassis.  A previous owner installed a 2 foot frame extension on the back which is incredibly useful.  But I suspect this reduces the safe tongue weight due to the increased leverage on the rear axle.  I towed a 2400lb single axle trailer for most of the time I've owned it with only one scary moment.... I went through a dip in a road a little too fast and the front end got noticeably light.


Now I want to tow a different trailer... a double-axle deck-over "snowmobile" trailer hauling a sand rail.  The total weight of the trailer and sand rail is about 3500 pounds.  The trailer does not have brakes at this time, though it's possible to add them.  Note that I do have air bags in the rear suspension of the motorhome.


I cannot find GVWR or GCWR ratings for this 20RG chassis anywhere.  Does anyone know where I can find these?
And how do I take into consideration the frame extension on the back when it comes to maximum tongue weight?


Finally, if I were to add brakes, how do they impact tongue weight when braking?  I would think that trailer brakes would cause the trailer to dive more with hard braking which would create a temporary increase in tongue weight?


Any advice is appreciated!

[Rickf1985]

Nice buggy, I raced them for years. That trailer will be much easier on the rear of your vehicle since you will not have to be carrying as much tongue weight, The gross weight will be on the chassis tag which should be on the door or door post. Being a G30 it should be in the 9,000-9,500 lb. range if I remember correctly. That trailer has a really spread axle setup, strange to see that on a small trailer. Hard on tires but better for weight distribution. You will want to keep the tongue weight below 300 lbs. if you can, see if the trailer tracks good without wandering. You definitely need brakes on at least one axle on the trailer. It is mandatory in most states. It will not cause the nose of the trailer to dip unless you have the buggy way to far forward. with tandem axles brakes should be on both or you will be locking up the one axle all the time, if on both you can balance them out.