GVWR

CALandLIN wrote:
Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS) are U.S. federal regulations specifying design, construction, performance, and durability requirements for motor vehicles and regulated Automobile safety-related components, systems, and design features.

Within those standards there is a vehicle certification process. It requires a federal certification label be attached to all vehicles manufactured under its purview. The certification label MUST display the vehicle’s GVWR, total weight a vehicle has been built to safely weigh, including passengers and cargo.

The only way the GVWR can be altered is by the vehicle manufacturer or a certified vehicle modifier.

Spot on. BUT, gvw can be whatever the operator of the vehicle wishes it to be. And it's not always what the vehicle can "safely" handle. Sometimes it's much less than that due to mass production and common components vs regulatory maximums for different vehicle classes.

Deleted...

Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS) are U.S. federal regulations specifying design, construction, performance, and durability requirements for motor vehicles and regulated Automobile safety-related components, systems, and design features.

Within those standards there is a vehicle certification process. It requires a federal certification label be attached to all vehicles manufactured under its purview. The certification label MUST display the vehicle’s GVWR, total weight a vehicle has been built to safely weigh, including passengers and cargo.

The only way the GVWR can be altered is by the vehicle manufacturer or a certified vehicle modifier.

Grit dog wrote:

BarneyS wrote:
The key word in all of these is rating,
This is not what the vehicle actually weighs, but the maximum that it can weigh.
Barney

Popcorn time!
The definitions are correct, however, it is not the max amount a vehicle "can" weigh. It is the rated max weight for a given class of vehicle. Some vehicles are much closer to being actually overloaded, when at their gvwr, than others.
.

Not sure about that. I have found that even in the same class. Each vehicle will have it's own personal GVWR. F150s for example have MANY different GVWR ratings. Depending on how they are equipped. some have a 6500lb GVWR, and some have a 7600lblb GVWR, with many in between. so I don't think it is just a class rating. My GVWR is over 7300lb.

I also don't believe there is any such animal as a 1/2 ton, or 3/4 ton, or 1 ton truck any more. Maybe once upon a time but no more. My current so called 1/2 ton, has a payload of over 1600lb. With 1500lb being 3/4 ton. It cannot be called a 1/2 ton truck, which would mean it should have a payload of 1000lbs. Same for a socalled 3/4. If it were a true 3/4 ton. it would only have a 1500lb payload, and we know they have much more, Well some of them do. Some, especially those with diesels have a lower payload, because of the weight of the diesel which take up a lot of the GVWR lowering the payload. but most have a payload well over 1 ton.

BarneyS wrote:
The key word in all of these is rating,
This is not what the vehicle actually weighs, but the maximum that it can weigh.
Barney

Popcorn time!
The definitions are correct, however, it is not the max amount a vehicle "can" weigh. It is the rated max weight for a given class of vehicle. Some vehicles are much closer to being actually overloaded, when at their gvwr, than others.
3/4 ton trucks are the classic example of this. They have relatively low gvwr for their apparent capabilities, being basically the same as their 1ton single wheel counterparts, they typically have minor rear suspension differences, but the gvwr is limited to that of a class 2 truck, mostly for regulatory purposes. Essentially 2 identical trucks save for factory rear suspension capability can be configured that have almost 2500lbs difference in gvwr. Some older models were actually the same truck literally with a lighter classification assigned by the mfg.
To keep the weight cops here in check, I'll add that caution should be taken in exceeding gvwr. One should know what they are dealing with before doing so.

All true answers. It is what the manufacturer warrants the vehicle to weigh. Going over the GVWR is NOT illegal, but "can" void the warranty.

Having said that. I do not advocate carrying more than the manufacturer rating. they spent lot of time, and money figuring the weights the vehicle can carry with out damaging it. But a 100lb here or there will not cause the vehicle to explode.

The key word in all of these is rating,
This is not what the vehicle actually weighs, but the maximum that it can weigh.
Barney

Here's a rundown of the weight ratings:

GAWR -- gross axle weight rating, the maximum weight that the axle and its suspension is designed to support. There would be a separate GAWR for each axle.

GVWR -- gross vehicle weight rating, the maximum weight on all the axles of the vehicle added together. This may be (and usually is) less than the sum of the GAWRs.

GCWR -- gross combined weight rating, the maximum total weight of the vehicle and and any towed trailers or cars or whatever.

If you have a trailer, the tongue weight would get included along with the weight of the vehicle and occupants and cargo against the GVWR. The total trailer weight is included against the GCWR.

A trailer hitch also has a weight rating (the maximum weight of a trailer that may be connected to it) and a tongue weight rating.

Moved from Forum Technical Support