Determining GCWR for a used truck

Thanks, jrp, that makes total sense, I'm not sure why I didn't read it like that to begin with!

in that 2007 fifth wheel towing chart for the F250/350 6.0L turbo diesel, the 23,000 applies to SRW and the 23,500 applies to DRW models. So its not that the 23,500 has no fifth wheel rating, it just has none shown under SRW because that rating only applies to DRW.

But again, even though that chart says GCWR is 23000 and max tow weight is 16,500; you still have to comply with the GVWR of 10,000 which is usually the limiting factor on a SRW. That F250 diesel when full of fuel and loaded with people & gear, ready to travel is going to weight around 8000. meaning anything with a pin weight more than 2000 puts you over the GVWR, even though you're well under GCWR and max tow rating.

Thank you guys, this info is incredibly helpful for me! I think between the Trailer Life guides and the GVWR & GAWR values on the door stickers, I probably have enough info to figure out how much a used truck can tow and don't actually need the GCWR. Thanks again!

I do have one more question (trying to prevent myself from making a costly mistake here) - In the Ford towing guides I've noticed that there will often be 2 vehicles that are identical except for ~500lbs difference in the GCWR. The vehicle with 500 extra lbs of GCWR will not be 5th wheel rated, which makes me think that it's possible to purchase a vehicle that cannot tow 5th wheel that is identical to one that can, except for GCWR.

An example of this is in the 2007 Ford towing guide:
https://www.fleet.ford.com/resources/ford/general/pdf/towingguides/07RVTTguideApr08.pdf

The guide lists an F-250/350 Regular cab SRW 4x2 with a 6.0L V8 Turbo Diesel, 3.73 axle ratio, and 23,000lbs GCWR value as being able to 5th wheel tow. The same vehicle with 23,500lbs GCWR value has no rating for 5th wheel tow (to me this says that it can't, or at the very least, I would be in trouble if I got into a wreck or a ticket).

I feel like I should trust the manufacturer here (or at least, that's what the police or insurance company deciding my fate in a ticket/accident situation would do). To me it seems quite likely that there are 2 vehicles, identical in every way except for what the manufacturer thinks the GCWR is and one can't tow. Does anybody have any additional information on this apparent discrepancy?

stickdog wrote:
The GCVW is not on the door sticker at least not on my '09' F350 DRW. and I don't ever recall seeing it on any other. What the OP wants is: Trailer Life tow guide
It's a free download but they want your info.

From this link they don't ask for anything..scroll down and pick the year you're looking for and clicky.

The manual should have all the information you are looking for except payload. Most late model owners manuals are available online as free downloads.

The GCVW is not on the door sticker at least not on my '09' F350 DRW. and I don't ever recall seeing it on any other. What the OP wants is: Trailer Life tow guide
It's a free download but they want your info.

GCWR is usually found only in the Owners Manual. At least that is the way it has been for every truck I have ever owned.
It will not be found on any door jamb sticker, since it has no validity for anything except the new truck warranty. The only weights found on such stickers are GVWR, Front GAWR, and Rear GAWR. Those numbers are only valid for the tires shown, when inflated to the air pressure shown.
Usually, the only weights law enforcement cares about are the registered GVW and the weight the tires can safely carry.
the only time I paid any attention to GCWR was when I weighed my Ram 3500 fifth wheel combination many years ago. I found that the rig was UNDER all GVWR and GAWR, both trailer and truck, but a ton and a half OVER the GCWR shown in the truck manual.
Since I was on the last leg of the final return trip, I ignored it.
Nothing bent, nothing broke, nobody was injured or died. Success beats the numbers every time, IMO!
In other words, watch the GAWR and GVWR and don't worry about the GCWR!

This is the answer I expected, and seems the most logical (that the info should be on the door sticker). Nevertheless, I cannot find an example of that info being on a door sticker either on the used listings I've seen or in google image search. https://www.google.com/search?q=ford+f250+door+sticker&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj4kJW81NLNAhXjpYMKHfzkCd0Q_AUICSgC&biw=1236&bih=739 I looked through the first 30 or so stickers on these results, but did not ever see GCWR listed.

Is it possible that GCWR is listed as something else on these stickers, but I just don't recognize it? Perhaps someone who has a sticker with GCWR listed could tell me exactly what it's listed under? Or maybe there are multiple stickers and I've only seen the wrong one? I feel like there's an obvious answer here I'm missing because of my inexperience :)

The GCWR is usually on the same compliance label inside the drivers door jam where you found the GVWR and GAWR. if its missing, that rating is also in the owners manual spec's section or look it up online.
Although the GCWR is important for the overall weights, its usually the GVWR that becomes an issue, especially for single rear wheel pickups. The actual fully loaded truck weight + pin weight of 5th wheel must be less than GVWR. That's the one that forces many heavy 5th wheels into a dually truck; even though they're under the GCWR.

There should be a sticker on the driver's side door frame with all the weight information.