Hi all,

We're newbies to the travel trailer community. After much research and deliberation, we purchased a Grand Design 17MKE and a 2010 Lexus GX 460. We wanted a trailer that we could safely tow a few times a year with a vehicle that is comfortable as a daily driver. Our options were minimal due to towing capacity of our SUV. Here's the breakdown for anyone who might be interested. The bottom line is that we are very pleased with our decision in terms of the trailer 17MKE and the tow vehicle, a Lexus GX460. We are well within the recommended weight limits and tolerances as determined by two stops at Cat Scales to determine the weight of our tow vehicle and trailer. On our first trip from Illinois to Florida, a 2500 mile journey, our towing experience was great in terms of sway control and gas mileage. Our average MPG was just over 11mpg. Here are the details....

Tow Vehicle: 2010 Lexus GX460
curb weight 5305 lbs
GVWR 6600 lbs
towing capacity 6500 (more with weight distribution hitch)
tongue weight max 650 (more with weight distribution hitch)

We have an Equalizer Sway Control / Weight Distribution Hitch. 1000lbs/10,000lbs

Travel Trailer: 2021 Grand Design 17MKE
Unloaded Vehicle Weight 4838 lbs according to Grand Design
(4480 as weighed)
GVWR 6395 (max loaded weight possible, but we did not need that much)
tongue weight 480 lbs

We stopped at a Cat Scale on the way after picking up our Grand Design from the dealer. Our first weighing of the unloaded trailer (2 batteries and full propane) was 4480 lbs (4838 lbs is what GD says)
Our Lexus GX460 with two people inside (150lbs) and130 lbs) plus fuel 120 lbs was 6080 lbs total (vs GVWR 6600)

The weight of both the tow vehicle and trailer was 10,560 lbs (max combined is 13,100 lbs)

During our trip, we stopped again at a Cat Scale to weigh our Grand Design fully stocked with our stuff including 3 bikes, 2 Kayaks, all our food, some fresh water in the tank. We weighed in at (5,120 lbs) vs a max of (6,395 lbs) so we had1275 lbs to spare.

We also weighed the Lexus with a full tank of gas plus my wife, son plus some tools and stuff in the back cargo area and two Kayaks on the roof rack. We weighed in at 6540 lbs (just under the Lexus 6600 max)

So, our actual gross combined weight of both vehicles fully loaded was 11,640 lbs leaving 1460 lbs to spare which could have been added to the Grand Design cargo capacity.

With our fully-loaded weight coming in at 11,540 lbs vs a max allowable of 13,100 lbs it seems that we were 1,460 lbs under. My calculations of all of this show that we were about 11% under the max allowable.

The trailer towed quite well with no sway issues while traveling at 61 mph (this seemed to be the sweet spot for the Lexus 4.7 liter V* engine in terms of RPM and thus gas mileage).

Our Miles Per Gallon ranged from 10.8 to 12.1 with an average of 11.1 mpg at our target speed of 61 mph.

I hope this information is helpful for anyone who might be considering this particular setup.