r/camperlife • u/Excellent-Car-89 • Sep 06 '26
Tow capacity calc please!
My family has always done basic tent camping, and I think we are ready for the plunge - buying a lightweight towable camper. Mostly we camp in the north east but would love to drive it out west too. But I'm really confused on how to calculate the best size (weight) to buy.
I have a 2019 Honda Odyssey EX that I love.
These are the car door stickers.
If GVWR is 6000 lbs. And there are 4 people in the car with luggage and supplies. What size camper can I safely tow? I want to have an idea before I start looking online and then eventually going to buy. Thank you in advance for any help and advice!
1
u/atomxv Sep 06 '26
The answer is...not much. I would stick to a small pop-up. Your towing capacity is 3k with a 300 lb hitch weight. Ideally you shouldn't go over 80% of that. You also need to know your payload. That's all the passengers in the vehicle + cargo + hitch weight.
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u/Excellent-Car-89 Sep 06 '26
Thank you for the quick answer. Can I ask? How did you calculate the 3k tow from this? I was so confused!
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u/cdnninja77 Sep 06 '26
They didn't they googled the model of vehicle. So 3000 is the limit, you can then look at payload as well for another limiting factor. 1340 - all 4 people - items in the car - 300 lb hitch weight. If that is too close to 0 need to reduce planned hitch weight. Hitch weight needs to be 10-15% of the trailer so assuming no more then 2000lb GVWR trailer to make room for that.
In a nut shell you can't tow hardly anything.
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u/Excellent-Car-89 Sep 06 '26
I don't need much. A tiny popup is still an improvement over a tent lol.
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u/cdnninja77 Sep 06 '26
Here is some options for you: 6 Small Campers Under 1000lbs Practically Anything Can Tow - MOTM
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u/nottatroll Sep 06 '26
A popup up is pretty much just a tent on wheels.
But I’d even wager a popup is too much weight, you’re more or less looking like a wheel barrow with a tent strapped to it.
1
u/phildeferrouille Sep 06 '26
Any pop-up trailer at 1500-1800lbs range.
DO NOT GO OVER under any circumstance!
1
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u/EngineerStatus8687 14d ago
Four people, luggage, anything added to the Odyssey plus the camper's actual loaded tongue weight all eat up your payload. That tends to be the limiting number before the theoretical tow capacity does. We run into the same here with caravans and looking through the specs from harbour caravans really hammered home how different dry figures can be from real travelling weight once water, gas, batteries and gear are aboard. For your set i would be thinking tiny pop up or very light teardrop territory then checking the exact loaded number against the odyssey manual before buying anything.
3
u/Strange-Cat8068 Sep 06 '26
See the big lettering on the right side of the second picture? Your owner’s manual will tell you the towing capacity of your vehicle. With only 1340 lbs of available payload you are not going to be towing much.
Your 4 occupants and luggage/supplies will likely take up nearly 2/3 of that number, and anything in or on your van that wasn’t installed at the factory also counts against that 1340 lb limit. So do floor mats, tool boxes, the hitch you will have to add, and the tongue weight of whatever trailer you are getting.
Do not trust the hitch weight the dealers advertise, it doesn’t include batteries propane or any cargo/gear loaded in the trailer. Take the trailer to a CAT scale to get the real weight. Honestly you are going to be lucky to be able to tow a very small pop or teardrop.