Know What To Tow
I have seen lots of photos of RVs overturned on Facebook and almost immediately there is some know-it-all on there saying the truck wasn’t big enough for the rig. Doesn’t matter if the rig was a teardrop trailer going through 30mph wind…just need a bigger truck (said with a grunt) is always the “answer”. Well, it is not. It is, however, important to know your towing capacity.Towing capacity is a series of calculations and a lot of safety margin, not a single number expressed in pounds. Whether you’re looking for a full-size truck to tow your boat or horse trailer, or one of the best towing SUVs to carry your family on vacation and pull the camper you’ll stay in, there are a series of terms and concepts you’ll need to understand to make the right decision. What is Towing Capacity?Your vehicle’s towing capacity is the maximum amount of weight it can safely pull, which changes based on how it’s configured, how much weight it’s already carrying, and how you distribute and control the load you need to tow.There is a single number that automakers use to best estimate towing capacity. Still, it doesn’t give you a hard rule that works in every situation. Calculating it requires knowing several things about both your tow vehicle and the trailer you plan to tow.While manufacturers will publish a towing capacity for each vehicle they build, it’s important to note that calculations assume that the tow vehicle is carrying only a driver. If you plan to tow a travel trailer and bring along your family and all the associated gear they’ll need for a weekend away, the manufacturer’s calculations will not be accurate for your load. How to Calculate Towing CapacityTo calculate your vehicle’s towing capacity, you’ll need to know the full GCVWR — Gross Combined Vehicle Weight Rating — of the vehicle you plan to tow with and the trailer you plan to tow, together with all the cargo each will carry, from people to wiper fluid.Then you’ll need to know your tow vehicle’s curb weight – the weight of the tow vehicle itself when filled with gas and all the other fluids it consumes while driving.Subtracting the curb weight from the GCVWR gives you the vehicle’s towing capacity. Manufacturers will stress that you should never exceed your vehicle’s towing capacity. We would add that, for safety reasons, it’s best to never come within 10% of that total.Loads shift. People miscalculate. Then, cars brake suddenly. For many reasons, driving a vehicle that strains at the absolute limits of its capability isn’t a good thing. All the Terms You Need for TowingTowing comes with its own lingo, which can be intimidating at first. But all the terms boil down to simple measurements, and there’s no need to memorize them — you can always look them up again here. Towing Capacity Your vehicle’s towing capacity is the maximum amount of weight it can safely pull.GVWRGross Vehicle Weight Rating is the maximum amount of weight a vehicle can hold while sitting still. It takes into account the strength of the frame, suspension, axles, and wheels.Your tow vehicle and the trailer you are using it to tow will each have their own GVWR. It’s possible to overload each one separately.Your tow vehicle’s GVWR and its towing capacity are different numbers. The reason: The total weight the vehicle’s frame can support pushing down on it and the total weight it can withstand pulling horizontally on the frame through the tow hitch are different.GTWGross Trailer Weight is the total weight of your trailer and its cargo. If you were to place the fully loaded trailer on a scale, the resulting measurement would be the GTW. If your GTW exceeds your vehicle’s towing capacity, you will not be able to move it safely. It is crucial that you never even attempt to tow a GTW higher than your towing capacity. While it might be technically possible to carry the load, you’re likely to damage the tow vehicle, the trailer, or both and be unable to control the vehicle properly.GCVWRGross Combined Vehicle Weight Rating is the maximum weight of your tow vehicle and trailer combined, both loaded with all cargo. The tow vehicle and trailer each have their own separate GVWR numbers, which, combined, make up the GCWR.GAWRGross Axle Weight Rating is the maximum amount of weight one axle can support. This number will almost always show differences between the front and rear axles. The two can be different materials or diameters, and few cars have a perfect 50-50 weight balance between the two axles.Tongue WeightTongue Weight — sometimes referred to as TW — is the force pushing down on the trailer hitch by the load being hauled. Tongue weight can change based on how the load gets distributed within the trailer. Curb WeightCurb Weight is the total weight of a vehicle and all the fluids it requires to function (including a full tank of gas), but with no people or cargo inside it. Curb weight differs from GVWR, which is a measurement of how much a vehicle can carry.Dry WeightDry weight is a measurement of how much a vehicle weighs with no cargo and none of the fluids it requires to function. Your tow vehicle’s dry weight is its weight when empty, without gasoline, oil, wiper fluid, or any other consumable. You don’t need to know your vehicle’s dry weight in most towing calculations.PayloadPayload capacity is the maximum amount of weight a tow vehicle can carry in its cabin and bed. Payload capacity is the weight limit for a truck’s bed and cabin. In contrast, towing capacity is the weight limit for any trailer it can pull. Braked vs. Unbraked Towing CapacitySome trailers come equipped with their own brakes, connected electrically to the tow vehicle so that stepping on the vehicle’s brake pedal activates the tow vehicle’s brakes and the trailer’s brakes at the same time. A vehicle can tow a much heavier load under control if the …