14 pages

Cargo Carrying Capacity by Trailer Dry Weight

GVWR minus dry weight minus water, propane and batteries. What is genuinely left to pack, and why the brochure dry weight is never the number you tow at.

Every page here is computed rather than written, so the figures match the calculator that produced them exactly. Published standards and rules of thumb are labelled separately on every table, because on this subject they are not equivalent. Every table is plain HTML you can quote.

Last updated 2026-09-17

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Picked on 14 pages

Sherline

Sherline Hydraulic Tongue Weight Scale Combo with 2,000 lb and 5,000 lb Gauges

$229.95

Two gauges on one scale body, so a 400 lb tongue weight can be read on the 2,000 lb gauge where the resolution is useful rather than squinted at on the 5,000 lb one.

Best for: Somebody weighing both a light trailer and a heavy one.

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Picked on 14 pages

Sherline

Sherline Hydraulic Tongue Weight Scale, 0 to 5,000 lb with dual scale gauge

$199.95

Reads in both pounds and kilograms on one gauge, at 5,000 lb capacity.

Best for: Pin weight, with a metric reading for anybody who wants it.

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Picked on 14 pages

Sherline

Sherline LM 1000 Trailer Tongue Weight Scale, 1,000 lb

$189.90

Sherline is the scale the towing community actually uses, and a 1,000 lb capacity covers most travel trailers. Hydraulic, with no batteries to be dead when you need it.

Best for: A trailer whose tongue weight is under 1,000 lb.

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Picked on 14 pages

Sherline

Sherline LM 2000 Trailer Tongue Weight Scale, 2,000 lb

$189.90

Double the capacity for the same money as the LM 1000, which makes it the sensible default unless you are certain your tongue weight is low.

Best for: Most travel trailers, with headroom for a heavier one later.

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Trailers with a 2,000 lb dry weight

How much can you actually load in a 2,000 lb dry weight trailer? Cargo carrying capacity is GVWR minus dry weight minus water, propane and batteries. On a 2,000 lb trailer the fluids alone take 341 lb of it.

Trailers with a 2,500 lb dry weight

How much can you actually load in a 2,500 lb dry weight trailer? Cargo carrying capacity is GVWR minus dry weight minus water, propane and batteries. On a 2,500 lb trailer the fluids alone take 341 lb of it.

Trailers with a 3,000 lb dry weight

How much can you actually load in a 3,000 lb dry weight trailer? Cargo carrying capacity is GVWR minus dry weight minus water, propane and batteries. On a 3,000 lb trailer the fluids alone take 391 lb of it.

Trailers with a 3,500 lb dry weight

How much can you actually load in a 3,500 lb dry weight trailer? Cargo carrying capacity is GVWR minus dry weight minus water, propane and batteries. On a 3,500 lb trailer the fluids alone take 424 lb of it.

Trailers with a 4,000 lb dry weight

How much can you actually load in a 4,000 lb dry weight trailer? Cargo carrying capacity is GVWR minus dry weight minus water, propane and batteries. On a 4,000 lb trailer the fluids alone take 474 lb of it.

Trailers with a 4,500 lb dry weight

How much can you actually load in a 4,500 lb dry weight trailer? Cargo carrying capacity is GVWR minus dry weight minus water, propane and batteries. On a 4,500 lb trailer the fluids alone take 474 lb of it.

Trailers with a 5,000 lb dry weight

How much can you actually load in a 5,000 lb dry weight trailer? Cargo carrying capacity is GVWR minus dry weight minus water, propane and batteries. On a 5,000 lb trailer the fluids alone take 508 lb of it.

Trailers with a 5,500 lb dry weight

How much can you actually load in a 5,500 lb dry weight trailer? Cargo carrying capacity is GVWR minus dry weight minus water, propane and batteries. On a 5,500 lb trailer the fluids alone take 541 lb of it.

Trailers with a 6,000 lb dry weight

How much can you actually load in a 6,000 lb dry weight trailer? Cargo carrying capacity is GVWR minus dry weight minus water, propane and batteries. On a 6,000 lb trailer the fluids alone take 591 lb of it.

Trailers with a 6,500 lb dry weight

How much can you actually load in a 6,500 lb dry weight trailer? Cargo carrying capacity is GVWR minus dry weight minus water, propane and batteries. On a 6,500 lb trailer the fluids alone take 591 lb of it.

Trailers with a 7,000 lb dry weight

How much can you actually load in a 7,000 lb dry weight trailer? Cargo carrying capacity is GVWR minus dry weight minus water, propane and batteries. On a 7,000 lb trailer the fluids alone take 674 lb of it.

Trailers with a 7,500 lb dry weight

How much can you actually load in a 7,500 lb dry weight trailer? Cargo carrying capacity is GVWR minus dry weight minus water, propane and batteries. On a 7,500 lb trailer the fluids alone take 674 lb of it.

Trailers with a 8,000 lb dry weight

How much can you actually load in a 8,000 lb dry weight trailer? Cargo carrying capacity is GVWR minus dry weight minus water, propane and batteries. On a 8,000 lb trailer the fluids alone take 724 lb of it.

Trailers with a 9,000 lb dry weight

How much can you actually load in a 9,000 lb dry weight trailer? Cargo carrying capacity is GVWR minus dry weight minus water, propane and batteries. On a 9,000 lb trailer the fluids alone take 841 lb of it.