Determining GCWR for a used truck
Hi, I'm a total newbie when it comes to the RVing world, but have been reading up for a while and am just about ready to purchase a used truck for towing a 5th wheel RV. The problem I'm running into ...
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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?
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?
