Weight Rating Spreadsheet

if you have not purchased the rig you can not get Cat Scale weights, and after you have purchased the rig, to qoute a famous person "What difference does it make now?"

I would say this is wrong information...

Before you buy anything to tow period you want to load your truck and fill the tank like you would camping.

Go to cat scale and get the two axle rates front and rear. Subtract that from your door sticker front and rear axle weights and you now have your true payload the truck can carry...period...

Example. My truck tag says 2700 lb axle rating. I weigh in at 1800 lbs. That gives me 900 lbs payload for my max tongue weight.

Also double check the tires to confirm.

Example my tires are 2240 lbs @ 50 psi. Thats 4480 lbs... way over my trucks axles.

Thanks for the replys, I prefer a spreadsheet so I can see the calculations as opposed to online black boxes.

As someone else mentioned, requiring actually taking the rig to a scale isn't going to help a new guy looking to buy.

I was debating setting one up.

Again you seem to be misinformed. Read my statements above.

All trucks are different period. One F250 is very different from another. You must weigh the truck to be sure and compare to door tag and tire rating..

If this is not done all on these forums can guess and assume all they want...

valhalla360 wrote:
Thanks for the replys, I prefer a spreadsheet so I can see the calculations as opposed to online black boxes.

As someone else mentioned, requiring actually taking the rig to a scale isn't going to help a new guy looking to buy.

I was debating setting one up.

Understandable, but from a portability perspective- it's a lot easier to load a web app from your phone (especially if the site is mobile friendly).

And since it's my site- if you have any questions about how I arrive at the numbers, I'm more than willing to share.

Coach-man wrote:

lawrosa wrote:
Best calculator/spreadsheet is from towingplanner... Go to top to tools menu and pic out what you like. 5th wheel, travel trailer....etc...

Remember you need catscale weights, or individual axle weights....

Towingplanner.com

That is the problem as far as I am concerned. Most of the people posting questions on what can I tow are in the process of buying a new rig and want to know before hand what their limits would be! Most of the responses are, Cat Scale weights ..., if you have not purchased the rig you can not get Cat Scale weights, and after you have purchased the rig, to qoute a famous person "What difference does it make now?"

Actually, there is also a calculator for "What Can I Tow?" and another for realistically estimating tongue/pin weights on that site. (It's mine. :))

Can't get the link to work

valhalla360 wrote:
Thanks for the replys, I prefer a spreadsheet so I can see the calculations as opposed to online black boxes.

As someone else mentioned, requiring actually taking the rig to a scale isn't going to help a new guy looking to buy.

I was debating setting one up.

You are correct and I apologize for reading it wrong...It is a good idea...I also believe one should look at what 5er they want to tow, then purchase the truck for it...BUT, if one already has a truck and wants to know, as you stated, "how much can I tow", your idea would work for them ...

Thanks for the replys, I prefer a spreadsheet so I can see the calculations as opposed to online black boxes.

As someone else mentioned, requiring actually taking the rig to a scale isn't going to help a new guy looking to buy.

I was debating setting one up.

fla-gypsy wrote:

kaydeejay wrote:

edbehnke wrote:
I am a 5th wheeler and it seems to me that people are overthinking what they can tow.

take a look around you, 95% of the trucks pulling 5th wheels are 3/4 ton. my opinion is, unless you are pulling a 15K ton or larger (like a designer suite), just use a 3/4 ton or one ton.

I don't think folks are overthinking.
What I do believe is that there is a gradual realization out there that CARRYING capacity is just as important as (if not more important than) towing capacity for a fifth wheel.
Then there are the two camps...
1) Those that do not believe in manufacturer load ratings
and
2) Those that do.

I'm in the second category and am loaded to within 200# of my truck GVWR with a 27' 9600# fiver.
I don't believe a typical 3/4 ton is adequate for a 15000# fiver. Not many 3/4 tons have 3000# of payload left AFTER being loaded with people, "stuff", hitch and fuel.

IMHO a 15K fiver is verging on dually 1-ton territory.

YMMV

Put me in category 2. Those ratings are published in writing by the manufacturer as "not to exceed" for a reason. We can argue all day what that reason is (all of which will be conjecture since no maker is going to tell you everything) but it will not change the ratings or the wording and could be costly if not followed. To the best of my knowledge there are 10 ratings to be concerned with (9 on the truck+the hitch rating). GVWR, GCWR, FAWR, RAWR, Max Payload, Max tow capacity, wheel weight rating, tire weight rating, receiver rating and not part of the truck but just as important; Max Hitch capacity. My truck and trailer come under on all 10 with the closest to capacity being the tongue weight on the receiver. It is not impossible to figure out with a little work

X3...I'm easily under GVWR and way under my trucks RAWR, I believe Design and Manufacturing Engineers know more about their truck then we do.... Oh....Let's not be the "self righteous weight cops " that was alluded to above...just leads to ugly name calling by people that are old enough to know better:)

edbehnke wrote:
I am a 5th wheeler and it seems to me that people are overthinking what they can tow.

take a look around you, 95% of the trucks pulling 5th wheels are 3/4 ton. my opinion is, unless you are pulling a 15K ton or larger (like a designer suite), just use a 3/4 ton or one ton.

Not necessarily a good synopsis of what should be done, just because one "see's 95% of the 5er's being towed today, (and I think that is an exaggeration). I couldn't in good conscience, tell someone it would be ok to tow a 5er with a certain truck if I knew it would be pushing the trucks towing limits, just because some do it, doesn't make it right, nor does it make it safe.

.....I KNOW what my truck will tow. I know my trucks GCWR, it's GVWR and it's front and rear axle rating and what tires I have on my truck.... I don't need a calculator or anything to figure it out.. all it takes is some common sense, some basic math skills and weighing one's truck/combo...So easy a caveman could do it.



If one knows their trucks GCWR (pretty easy to find), their trucks Rear axle rate rating,(can be found on drivers side door or door jamb, and if you want to know GVWR, it too is listed in same area...Do the weights at a scale....

kaydeejay wrote:

edbehnke wrote:
I am a 5th wheeler and it seems to me that people are overthinking what they can tow.

take a look around you, 95% of the trucks pulling 5th wheels are 3/4 ton. my opinion is, unless you are pulling a 15K ton or larger (like a designer suite), just use a 3/4 ton or one ton.

I don't think folks are overthinking.
What I do believe is that there is a gradual realization out there that CARRYING capacity is just as important as (if not more important than) towing capacity for a fifth wheel.
Then there are the two camps...
1) Those that do not believe in manufacturer load ratings
and
2) Those that do.

I'm in the second category and am loaded to within 200# of my truck GVWR with a 27' 9600# fiver.
I don't believe a typical 3/4 ton is adequate for a 15000# fiver. Not many 3/4 tons have 3000# of payload left AFTER being loaded with people, "stuff", hitch and fuel.

IMHO a 15K fiver is verging on dually 1-ton territory.

YMMV

Put me in category 2. Those ratings are published in writing by the manufacturer as "not to exceed" for a reason. We can argue all day what that reason is (all of which will be conjecture since no maker is going to tell you everything) but it will not change the ratings or the wording and could be costly if not followed. To the best of my knowledge there are 10 ratings to be concerned with (9 on the truck+the hitch rating). GVWR, GCWR, FAWR, RAWR, Max Payload, Max tow capacity, wheel weight rating, tire weight rating, receiver rating and not part of the truck but just as important; Max Hitch capacity. My truck and trailer come under on all 10 with the closest to capacity being the tongue weight on the receiver. It is not impossible to figure out with a little work

lawrosa wrote:
Best calculator/spreadsheet is from towingplanner... Go to top to tools menu and pic out what you like. 5th wheel, travel trailer....etc...

Remember you need catscale weights, or individual axle weights....

Towingplanner.com

That is the problem as far as I am concerned. Most of the people posting questions on what can I tow are in the process of buying a new rig and want to know before hand what their limits would be! Most of the responses are, Cat Scale weights ..., if you have not purchased the rig you can not get Cat Scale weights, and after you have purchased the rig, to qoute a famous person "What difference does it make now?"