Towing / Hauling Numbers Explained
09-11-2010, 09:35 AM
#1
Senior Member
Thread Starter
Towing / Hauling Numbers Explained
So there's been a few guys who've been curious as to what their trucks can tow / haul. Here's a little info on how to figure that out according to Ford and their numbers. There will be two parts, hauling and towing.
All of this knowledge was learned from the experts at www.rv.net. So kudos go to them for helping me the first time.
** There are individuals who say the numbers Ford post on the trucks capacity are underrated. Many also say they carry past those numbers with no problems. It is your decision and comfort as to what you think the numbers are. My position is to use the numbers as is and this guide is based off that.
The first step to take care of is to know how much your truck weighs. I get this weight with basic cargo (jumper cables, tie downs, etc.), full tank of fuel, and me. Fill up the gas tank and head for a truck scale. At the CAT scales, you simply roll on the scale, make sure each axle is on a different scale, and push a button and tell them you need weighed. Then roll around, pay a fee ($9 is what I paid), and you get a piece of paper. This paper will give you a steer axle (front), drive axle (rear), and trailer axle weights. Just weighing the truck, you'll only have two numbers.
Now, look at your door tag. You find this on the drivers side door. It looks like this....
There is one number of concern here. GVWR (Gross Vehicle Weight Rating) is the max your truck can carry. This includes fuel, driver, passengers, or payload. GAWR (Gross Axle Weight Rating) is the same as GVWR except for the individual ratings for the axles.
Now that you have all these numbers, here's some simple math. It's all addition and subraction.
From your weight recipt, take the front axle and back axle and add them together. This is the total weight of your truck with you in it with all your daily "crap". Subtract this number from the GVWR you found on your door sticker. This is your max allowed payload. This is what you can toss in the bed or hook to the bumper.
**Note: Any accessories or people you add comes off your payload number. Which means you can't throw two cubic yards of dirt and five grown men in your truck.
EXAMPLE: My trucks GVWR is 7200. My weighin came in at 5920. That leaves my payload at 1280.
Now we know what our truck can haul. Next, we will figure out what we can tow.
Go here to find the towing guide for the F150's. Select your year and find the GCRW charts.
https://www.fleet.ford.com/showroom/rv_trailer_towing/default.asp
You need to know some details on your truck, but that information's around. Use the charts and get your GCW (Gross Combined Weight) or GCWR (Gross Combined Weight Rating). Same thing, different name. It's the max your vehicle and whatever your towing can weigh together.
Back to subtraction. Take your GCWR Ford gives you, and subtract your trucks weight. This is the max your trailer can weigh.
EXAMPLE: 2010 F150 4x XLT SCAB 5.4L 3.55 has a GCWR of 15400. Subtract 15400 and 5920 and my max is 9480.
If you already have a camper (or trailer), this is good information to have. Hook up your trailer, and take it back to the scales. Try to keep your truck in the same configuration (usual crap) as you did when you first weighed. Fill up again and pull on the scale like you did before, your truck axles on seperate scales, the trailer axle on a third scale. You'll get a receipt with three weights on it now. These are steer axle, drive axle, and trailer axles.
To get your GCWR, add all three numbers together. This is the total weight of your rig.
To get just the trailer weight, take the GCWR and subtract your trucks weight from the earlier weighing.
To get your new truck weight, add your drive and steer axles together.
To get your tongue weight, subtract your old vehicle weight from your new vehicle weight.
EXAMPLE:
My truck and trailer GCWR is 12,240. I can't find the receipt, but notes break it down to 5440 for the trailer axles. Truck was carrying 6800.
To get my trailer's weight, subtract 12240 and 5920. That gives me 6320.
To get my new trucks weight, for me that's 6800.
To get my tongue weight, subtract 6800 and 5920. That's 880.
If you have a weight distribution hitch, these numbers are nice to toy around with moving that weight around.
Now for some notes.
1) I like a safety factor. My recommendation is 75% or under on your max trailer weight. But that's my opinion.
2) From another forum, people tend to like 13-15% of the trailer weight to be on the tongue. You get that buy dividing your tongue weight by total trailer weight. EXAMPLE: 880 (tongue weight) divided by 6320 (total trailer weight) gives me .1392 or 13.92%.
3) If your tongue weight is close to the max payload, it will affect the handling of your truck significantly. This frequents itself with the headlights searching for owls. If using a WD hitch, it might not be able to correct it either.
4) Remember, ANYTHING you add to the truck or trailer is going to affect your numbers. Items placed in the front storage of your camper will have a bigger impact on your trucks payload than adding it to the rear storage, especially if it's a longer camper.
All of this knowledge was learned from the experts at www.rv.net. So kudos go to them for helping me the first time.
** There are individuals who say the numbers Ford post on the trucks capacity are underrated. Many also say they carry past those numbers with no problems. It is your decision and comfort as to what you think the numbers are. My position is to use the numbers as is and this guide is based off that.
The first step to take care of is to know how much your truck weighs. I get this weight with basic cargo (jumper cables, tie downs, etc.), full tank of fuel, and me. Fill up the gas tank and head for a truck scale. At the CAT scales, you simply roll on the scale, make sure each axle is on a different scale, and push a button and tell them you need weighed. Then roll around, pay a fee ($9 is what I paid), and you get a piece of paper. This paper will give you a steer axle (front), drive axle (rear), and trailer axle weights. Just weighing the truck, you'll only have two numbers.
Now, look at your door tag. You find this on the drivers side door. It looks like this....
There is one number of concern here. GVWR (Gross Vehicle Weight Rating) is the max your truck can carry. This includes fuel, driver, passengers, or payload. GAWR (Gross Axle Weight Rating) is the same as GVWR except for the individual ratings for the axles.
Now that you have all these numbers, here's some simple math. It's all addition and subraction.
From your weight recipt, take the front axle and back axle and add them together. This is the total weight of your truck with you in it with all your daily "crap". Subtract this number from the GVWR you found on your door sticker. This is your max allowed payload. This is what you can toss in the bed or hook to the bumper.
**Note: Any accessories or people you add comes off your payload number. Which means you can't throw two cubic yards of dirt and five grown men in your truck.
EXAMPLE: My trucks GVWR is 7200. My weighin came in at 5920. That leaves my payload at 1280.
Now we know what our truck can haul. Next, we will figure out what we can tow.
Go here to find the towing guide for the F150's. Select your year and find the GCRW charts.
https://www.fleet.ford.com/showroom/rv_trailer_towing/default.asp
You need to know some details on your truck, but that information's around. Use the charts and get your GCW (Gross Combined Weight) or GCWR (Gross Combined Weight Rating). Same thing, different name. It's the max your vehicle and whatever your towing can weigh together.
Back to subtraction. Take your GCWR Ford gives you, and subtract your trucks weight. This is the max your trailer can weigh.
EXAMPLE: 2010 F150 4x XLT SCAB 5.4L 3.55 has a GCWR of 15400. Subtract 15400 and 5920 and my max is 9480.
If you already have a camper (or trailer), this is good information to have. Hook up your trailer, and take it back to the scales. Try to keep your truck in the same configuration (usual crap) as you did when you first weighed. Fill up again and pull on the scale like you did before, your truck axles on seperate scales, the trailer axle on a third scale. You'll get a receipt with three weights on it now. These are steer axle, drive axle, and trailer axles.
To get your GCWR, add all three numbers together. This is the total weight of your rig.
To get just the trailer weight, take the GCWR and subtract your trucks weight from the earlier weighing.
To get your new truck weight, add your drive and steer axles together.
To get your tongue weight, subtract your old vehicle weight from your new vehicle weight.
EXAMPLE:
My truck and trailer GCWR is 12,240. I can't find the receipt, but notes break it down to 5440 for the trailer axles. Truck was carrying 6800.
To get my trailer's weight, subtract 12240 and 5920. That gives me 6320.
To get my new trucks weight, for me that's 6800.
To get my tongue weight, subtract 6800 and 5920. That's 880.
If you have a weight distribution hitch, these numbers are nice to toy around with moving that weight around.
Now for some notes.
1) I like a safety factor. My recommendation is 75% or under on your max trailer weight. But that's my opinion.
2) From another forum, people tend to like 13-15% of the trailer weight to be on the tongue. You get that buy dividing your tongue weight by total trailer weight. EXAMPLE: 880 (tongue weight) divided by 6320 (total trailer weight) gives me .1392 or 13.92%.
3) If your tongue weight is close to the max payload, it will affect the handling of your truck significantly. This frequents itself with the headlights searching for owls. If using a WD hitch, it might not be able to correct it either.
4) Remember, ANYTHING you add to the truck or trailer is going to affect your numbers. Items placed in the front storage of your camper will have a bigger impact on your trucks payload than adding it to the rear storage, especially if it's a longer camper.
Last edited by myowneq; 09-11-2010 at 09:40 AM.
09-11-2010, 10:30 PM
#3
Bye F150, hello F250
Sadly, although NOTHING changed between the 09 and 10 as far as axel, tire, gears, springs go, the 2010 received 700+ more GAWR than the 09s.
2 other things to consider, are tire weight ratings, and spring ratings. Typically these are much higher than the GAWR/GVWRs but worth looking at. E rated, or LT tires shuould also be considered if heavy weight towing.
Good post.
2 other things to consider, are tire weight ratings, and spring ratings. Typically these are much higher than the GAWR/GVWRs but worth looking at. E rated, or LT tires shuould also be considered if heavy weight towing.
Good post.
09-11-2010, 10:38 PM
#4
Sadly, although NOTHING changed between the 09 and 10 as far as axel, tire, gears, springs go, the 2010 received 700+ more GAWR than the 09s.
2 other things to consider, are tire weight ratings, and spring ratings. Typically these are much higher than the GAWR/GVWRs but worth looking at. E rated, or LT tires shuould also be considered if heavy weight towing.
Good post.
2 other things to consider, are tire weight ratings, and spring ratings. Typically these are much higher than the GAWR/GVWRs but worth looking at. E rated, or LT tires shuould also be considered if heavy weight towing.
Good post.