Dry weight is a factory number
Also called unloaded vehicle weight or UVW, it is measured before water, propane, batteries, and often before dealer-installed options such as awnings, solar, or a second air conditioner.
Truck and Trailer Weight Calculator
Estimate loaded trailer weight from dry weight, water, propane, batteries, and cargo, then check trailer GVWR, truck payload, tongue weight, and GCWR.
Trip weight inputs
Dry weight is only the start
Water, propane, batteries, food, tools, bedding, dealer accessories, and camping gear can add hundreds or thousands of pounds.
Payload carries tongue weight
Tongue weight is part of trailer weight, but it presses down on the tow vehicle and consumes payload.
Scale weight wins
Use this estimate for planning. A CAT scale or other certified scale is better before a long trip.
Related checks
How loaded weight is built up
Almost every towing mistake starts with a dry weight. This tool builds a realistic loaded weight from the brochure figure upward, adding the fluids, equipment, and cargo that a trailer actually carries on a trip â then shows what that does to tongue weight and payload.
- Loaded trailer weight
- dry weight + water + propane + batteries + cargo + dealer options
- Fresh water
- gallons à 8.34 lb
- Tongue weight
- loaded trailer weight à 0.10 to 0.15
- Gross combination weight
- loaded tow vehicle + loaded trailer
Fluids are the biggest single addition
Fresh water is 8.34 lb per gallon, so a 40-gallon tank is 334 lb. Two filled 30 lb propane bottles are about 120 lb. A pair of lead-acid batteries is 100-130 lb. Grey and black tanks add weight on the way home.
Cargo carrying capacity is the ceiling
The trailer data plate gives GVWR and, usually, cargo carrying capacity â GVWR minus dry weight. Everything you add has to fit inside that figure, and the trailer's own axles and tires are rated against it.
Where the weight sits changes tongue weight
Cargo ahead of the trailer axles raises tongue weight; cargo behind them lowers it. A front-mounted water tank and a rear-mounted one produce noticeably different hitch loads from the same total weight.
The tow vehicle gets loaded too
Passengers, gear, and the hitch all add to the vehicle's weight before the trailer is coupled. That total is what you subtract from GCWR to find how much trailer the combination can carry.
Verify with a scale
A CAT scale reports the tow vehicle's front axle, rear axle, and the trailer axles separately. One visit turns every figure on this page from an estimate into a measurement.
Worked example: brochure weight to trip weight
A 26-foot travel trailer advertised at 5,600 lb dry with a 7,600 lb GVWR, loaded for a week away by a family of four.
| Line item | Weight | Where the number comes from |
|---|---|---|
| Advertised dry weight | 5,600 lb | Brochure figure, before dealer options |
| Dealer-installed options | +180 lb | Awning upgrade, second battery tray |
| Fresh water, 40 gallons | +334 lb | 8.34 lb per gallon |
| Two propane bottles, filled | +120 lb | 30 lb bottles |
| Two batteries | +120 lb | Lead-acid pair |
| Food, bedding, kitchen, tools | +450 lb | Family of four, one week |
| Chairs, mats, generator | +230 lb | Outdoor gear |
| Trip weight | 7,034 lb | 566 lb under the 7,600 lb GVWR |
| Tongue weight at 13% | 914 lb | Up from about 730 lb dry |
The trailer gained 1,434 lb â 26% over its advertised dry weight â and 184 lb of that landed on the hitch. Planning from the dry figure would have understated the payload demand by nearly 200 lb, which is enough to put a marginal setup over its limit.
When this result can mislead you
- Dry weight published by a manufacturer may exclude dealer-installed options that were fitted before you took delivery.
- Water weight changes during a trip. A trailer weighed with full tanks at the start is lighter on fresh water and heavier on waste at the end.
- Cargo carrying capacity on the data plate assumes the trailer's own axle and tire ratings â exceeding it overloads the trailer, not the truck.
- A percentage estimate of tongue weight cannot see how you loaded the trailer; two identical trailers can differ by hundreds of pounds at the coupler.
- The tool cannot know what is already in your tow vehicle. Weigh it loaded, or add up passengers, gear, and accessories by hand.
Frequently asked questions
How much does a travel trailer weigh when loaded?
Typically 1,000-1,800 lb more than the advertised dry weight once water, propane, batteries, and a family's gear are aboard. Toy haulers gain considerably more once the garage is loaded.
What is the difference between dry weight, UVW, and GVWR?
Dry weight and UVW are the factory empty weight. GVWR is the maximum the trailer may weigh loaded. The difference between them is the cargo carrying capacity.
How much does water weigh in an RV?
8.34 lb per gallon. A 40-gallon fresh tank is 334 lb, and a full 30-gallon grey tank adds another 250 lb on the way home.
Should I travel with full water tanks?
Only if you need to. Water is the easiest weight to leave behind, and 334 lb of it is often the difference between a tight setup and a comfortable one â carry what you need to reach a fill point.
Does trailer weight count against my truck's payload?
Only the tongue weight does, because that is the part the truck carries. The rest rides on the trailer's own axles and counts against GCWR instead.