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alcouch33's avatar
alcouch33
Explorer
Sep 20, 2013

Exceeding the GCWR

Hello, I have the 2014 Via 25Q. Fully loaded with water, fuel and 2 adults, my GVWR is 10,970 lbs. This leaves me with 4,280lbs for my tow, a 2008 Rubicon. If my math is correct, I am over 460 lbs or 3% of my GCWR which is 15,250 lbs.

My question is this: Do you go over your GCWR and if so by how much? I have heard that 10% is acceptable but have no experience doing that. Thanks, Alan
  • Good info everyone! My weights are correct! Looks like I will be towing a trailer with my Harley and saying goodbye to the Rubicon! Its all a trade off anyway! I down sized from a 36' Winnebago Voyage. Heck, with the Via, I can park it anywhere and do a 360 in a McDonalds parking lot when necessary! Happy RV'ing!
  • Just how did were get here, from there???

    And nobody has even discussed the capacity of the Mercedes-Benz 5-speed automatic transmission w/Tip Shift technology, or the 5,000-lb. drawbar/500-lb. maximum vertical tongue weight, or the towing specs of the Sprinter F50 Chassis, or even the axles. All this figures in when the engineers determine the GCWR. I would not push any of their figures. Figures don't lie, but liars do figure!
  • fla-gypsy wrote:
    I do not own a motorhome but I never exceed GVWR on anything


    There is a big difference between Gross VEHICLE Weight Rating (GVWR) and Gross COMBINED Weight rating (GCWR)!
    In my state, you won't get a ticket for exceeding either one of them. However, if you exceed the registered Gross Vehicle Weight (GVW), the ticket could be costly. That is why I licensed the old 1994 Dodge 3500 for 14,000 GVW.
  • A few years ago, I bought a 1994 Dodge Ram 3500 Dually to tow a 32 foot fifth wheel. At the time, I had not found these forums, and was not worried about weight. I pretty much went by the questions I had learned in the late 1950's/early 1960's, which were:
    1. Will it move?
    2. Will it stop?
    If the answer to both questions was yes, we were good to go.
    If the answer to either question was NO, fix it, then we were good to go.

    Anyway, a couple years later, after several trips over the Rockies, the Cascades, and the Sierras, I decided to weigh the rig, based on the doom and gloom predictions often posted on these forums.
    It turned out that the rig was UNDER the GAWR of the truck and trailer; UNDER the GVWR of the truck and trailer; WAY under the registered GVW of the truck; but 3,180 pounds OVER the GCWR of the truck, as shown in the Owners Manual. However, nothing bent; nothing broke; there were no accidents, incidents, or occurrences; nobody had been injured or had died; so I went happily on down the road.

    Now, to address your specific question. I towed my Rubicon Unlimited, with suspension lift, body lift, custom bumpers, 30 gallon gas tank, winch, and additional skid plates, behind my old Tioga Class C with 460 V8, with no trouble at all. That includes over the Continental Divide (Marias Pass, Homestake Pass, etc.). Again, nothing bent, nothing broke, nobody was injured or died.
    Now I tow the Rubicon behind the motorhome in my sig. Still, no troubles.
    IMO, there is a reason the GCWR is not on the data plate, but is only listed in the Owners Manual. It is primarily a "performance number", relating to acceptable acceleration and hill climbing ability. There may also be a limitation involving the hitch capacity, but that can be reinforced or changed (I did have a local welder reinforce the hitch on the Class C).
    The bottom line is, it depends on what YOU feel safe doing.
    If it worries you, don't do it!
    Good luck.
  • I take it you've actually weighed both vehicles? Given those numbers, I wouldn't be shy about doing it.
    BTW, what is your hitch rating? Irrespective of the remaining capacity of the tow vehicle, if the hitch is rated at 3500lbs, you'd be way over towing 4280.

    I have the same issue with mine - Our 2012 Canyon is 4200 lbs but the hitch is 3500/350, so we don't tow with this unit.

    If you have a 5000/500 hitch, you'll be fine in my opinion.
  • Oops Roy, better read my post again! I want to "tow" my Rubicon with my motorhome!
  • RoyB's avatar
    RoyB
    Explorer II
    The newer Jeeps sure must have done alot of changes from the 1999 Wrangler days.

    The best I could tow with my 99JEEP was a small utility trailer. The first thing that would go would be the rear-end.

    I have a 4200lbs OFF-ROAD POPUP here and there is no way my 99 JEEP would safely tow this trailer...

    Just saying...
    Roy Ken

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