kjephoto

I come seeking help. I've looked around several places and can't seem to find a consistent/straight answer. I am simply looking to find the max weight of a trailer I can pull.

My truck is a 2001 F150 Lariat, 4x4 with the 5.4L Triton V8, automatic. The sticker on the inside of my door says the GVWR is 6,500LB. How does the GVWR relate to towing? From what I've read, you're supposed to subtract the actual weight of the truck from the GVWR, and that will be your limit. But is that for towing or payload?

I think the curb weigh of my truck is around 4,800 LBS. 6500-4800 is 1700. Does that mean I could only tow a trailer that weighs 1,700 lbs? That doesn't seem right at all to me...

Several of the travel trailers I'm looking to rent list dry weights as 4500-5800 pounds and say that 1/2 ton trucks and most SUV's would have no problem towing it.

HELP! What am I missing here?! So lost...

SixShooter14

the GVWR is the amount of weight that is supported by the truck tires. The GVWR minus the weight of the empty truck is your payload. That is the amount of people and stuff you can safely put in your truck.
This includes:
The truck
Driver and passengers
anything else that is in or on the truck
AND THE TRAILER TONGUE WEIGHT.

This last one is important. The tongue weight is approx. 13% of the trailer weight for an average travel trailer.

So, just for an example,
GVWR = 6500

Truck = 4800
People = 500 (2 x 250#)
Gear = 300
Weight distributing hitch (required for trailers over 5000#) = 100#
remaining payload to be used for tongue weight = 800#

So if the tongue can weigh 800# then your MAX LOADED trailer weight would be 6154#
This is just an example. You really need to get your truck weighed to have a more accurate guess as to the available payload.

SixShooter14

There are also other factors in choosing a trailer.

GCWR (should be in your owner's manual)
GAWR (FR & RR)
Total length (not sure if this is in the manual, but should be)
Trailer brakes (some states require brakes for anything over 3000#, some are 5000#, check local laws)

to safely and legally tow a trailer, you're not supposed to exceed any of these.

SquareHeadLights

GVWR of 6500lbs would be max your truck could weight w/o a trailer aka fuel, personnel, cargo. Depending on your axle ratio, and tow package 5.4L are rated 5,000-8,800 tow rating from NADA.

Dirttracker18

^^^ This is good info here from Sixshooter14

To add to this I would like to say that you are confusing GVWR (Gross Vehicle Weight Rating) which as noted above is the maximum your truck can weigh, with GCVW which is the gross combined vehicle weight which is the maximum weight your combined truck and trailer can weigh.

HOWEVER, and this is a big one, your limiting factor is your payload. As noted above you must take all that into consideration.

Realistically the only way to actually get to your GCVW is with a trailer that has a front supported axle and thus no tongue weight. Most truck hit their max payload before they get to their max GCVW.

humblerb

Six-Shooter did you a solid.
I'll add a couple of things, in case you are new to towing heavy trailers.
Those trailer dry weights get you in the neighborhood. They MAY have been accurate at some point while on the production line.
We added approximately 1200# to ours with just normal things we leave in the trailer - dishes, pots/pans, tools, chairs, popup shade, linens/towels, lamps, food, vacuum, sheets/blankets, television, satellite dish, cables, batteries, extension cords, sewer hoses, water hoses and filters, lanterns, etc etc etc. You can and will do it.


Second, if you are new, a trailer at your max is likely to be very uncomfortable for you.
In Six Shooter's example, you take the 6154# MAX that you have left and deduct 1200# for the added gear and you are below 4,000# dry. Even if you think you are a light camper and can control your add ons, in his scenario, you are going to be maxed out pretty quick.
Best way is to load your necessities in the trailer and go weigh it. Unfortunately, you won't load a trailer before you buy it so you can check weights.
In my opinion, the thing you should do is to calculate your max, drop it about 10%, subtract 1200# and that will be CLOSE to your sweet spot.


One thing you can do ahead of time is go weigh your truck. All assumptions are based on your truck weighing 4800#. If it weighs 4950#, you just lost 150# of your payload and need to start the calculations all over. Losing 150# of payload = 1,250# of lost trailer weight.

humblerb

As Dirrttracker said, don't confuse towing/hauling with pulling.
Someone recently posted a video of an Ecoboost "pulling" an 18-wheeler in the snow.
That tow strap added nothing to his payload (towing).

old_programmer

A bit of a corollary on trailer dry weights. I work from the trailer GVWR when deciding what to look at and buy. The reason is most folks who own trailers end up closer to the trailer GVWR once everything is loaded than the dry weight. It is amazing how all of those little trailer improvements you do over the years add up in extra weight.

Towing capacity is limited to the lowest weight rating of the GVWR, payload, hitch, GCVWR and GAWR.

Usually I have found folks tend to run out of payload first so I take the payload from the door sticker, subtract passengers, cargo and my add-ons. The result is what I have left available for payload that I can use for tongue weight. Using the rule of thumb 13% for tongue weight I divide the available payload by .13 which gives me the maximum trailer I can consider. This assumes that the tongue weight is less than the maximum hitch rating (11K lbs for my truck), the combined weights are less than GCVWR and less than GAWR. It should be under the GVWR as available payload is calculated from this number.

smokeywren

Let's change that statement to read "the max weight of a trailer I can pull without exceeding any of my truck's weight limits". Then the answer is relatively easy.

1] Load the truck with everything that will be in it when towing. Driver, passenger(s), pet(s), tools, jacks and jackstands, campfire wood, bedrug, cooler, everything.

2] Drive to a truck stop that has a CAT scale and fill up with gas.

3] Weigh the wet and loaded truck.

4] Subtract the weight of the wet and loaded truck from the GVWR of the truck and the answer is the payload capacity available for trailer hitch weight.

5] Divide the payload capacity available for trailer hitch weight by 0.13 and the answer is the heaviest tandem-axle travel trailer (TT) you can tow without exceeding the payload capacity of your truck. IOW, without being overloaded.


GVWR is almost always the limiter as to how heavy a trailer you can tow. GVWR minus the weight of your wet and loaded truck tells you the max hitch weight you can have. And that max hitch weight tells you the max trailer weight you can have, because TTs average 13% tongue weight. So divide the max hitch weight you can have by 13% and that tells you the max wet and loaded weight of the TT.


Neither, it's payload capacity available for hitch weight.


It's not right. That 1,700 pounds is the max payload your truck can haul without being overloaded. But that's a meaningless number because you always haul some weight in the truck. So what you need to know is the max payload available for hitch weight. Following the steps above will give you that.


They lie, or at least they stretch the truth. Yes your truck can probably PULL a trailer that weighs 5,800 pounds or more, but not without exceeding he GVWR (and payload capacity) of your truck


Basic understanding of engineered weight limits compared to the OEM's calculated weight limits.

Engineered weight limits include GVWR, GCWR, and GAWR.

GVWR is the max weight on the 4 tires when sitting on the scale.

GCWR is the max weight on all the tires of the truck and trailer when sitting on the scale.

GAWR is the max weight on the tires of one axle sitting on the scale.

Calculated weight limits include tow rating and payload capacity.

Manufacturer's tow rating is GCWR minus the shipping weight of a new tow vehicle. But it's way understated because nobody drives around in a truck with nobody and nothing in it.

The payload capacity on the door sticker of late-model trucks is GVWR minus the shipping weight of the new truck. But it's a useless rating because nobody drives around in a truck with nobody and nothing in it.

Use the engineered weight ratings as gospel, and ignore the calculated weight ratings. Instead of the manufacturer's calculated weight ratings, compute you own as:

GCWR minus the actual wet and loaded weight of the truck is the realistic max weight of a trailer you can tow without exceeding the GCWR. IOW, that's a realistic tow rating.

GVWR minus the actual wet and loaded weight of the truck is the realistic remaining payload capacity available for hitch weight.


Ford says you should NEVER exceed GVWR, GCWR or GAWRs of your truck. In the real world, you will almost always reach the GVWR before you reach the GAWRs, and way before you get close to the GCWR. So concentrate on the GVWR (and the resulting payload capacity available for hitch weight).

old_programmer

Its not useless. That available payload sticker includes the wet weight of the equipped truck. I know what I and my passengers weigh. I also know what the weight of my other cargo is, user installed options are and WDH. With this information I can calculate the payload available for the trailer's tongue weight. Will it be to the pound of a scale? Maybe, maybe not but it is more that close enough to determine a safe towing weight.