GVWR, Payload, Towing Capacity or GCWR
What trumps what when making a TV decision. I'm not a pulling expert by any means but when looking at commercial trucks they always seem to display their GVWR and GCWR. Should I be using these rather ...
Forum Discussion
First of all, if you load the truck in such a way that the axle is overloaded, you risk immediate tire blow-out. Some towing a fifth wheel or with a slide on camper have more weight on the rear axle than they think, and overload the tires.
If you do not exceed the GVWR, then you likely are not overloading either of the axles, there is a lot of extra capacity built into them. In other words a truck might have a 6000 pound rear axle and 4,800 pound rated front axle with a 8,800 GVWR.
The GCVWR more has to do with how reliable the vehicle will be while towing, and how the transmission will hold up to that sort of load, radiator, and of course brakes.
A truck with a manual transmission might have a much lower GCVWR because the engineers think "They might need to start this whole 15,000 pound load on a hill someday, and can not slip the clutch to much, so 18,000 pounds is out of the question, but this amount of weight works in testing."
A truck with a higher curb weight will be better at towing and stopping a given load. So that if your trailer power cord falls out of the plug in, I would much rather be in a dually truck with engine braking, than in a 1/2 ton where the trailer is 75% of the total weight of truck/trailer combo. Or you could have that problem where the trailer brakes fail due to short circuit or tripped fuse. Still the winner is the larger truck with much larger brakes, and more gravity to help those axles hold to the road.
Commercial trucks have to go through weight stations. They display their GVWR and GCVWR because the law requires it, and if they exceed those ratings, while on the scale, they can get a ticket.
So you have to consider everything, and make sure you are not exceeding either the GCVWR or GVWR. It is very easy with a fifth wheel to exceed the truck's GVWR without getting close to it's GCVWR. So a 3/4 ton truck with a cargo rating of 1975# might tow a conventional trailer with a 12,000 pound GVWR and 1,200 hitch weight, but could only tow a 8,000 pound fifth wheel with a 1,500 pound hitch weight. Loaded the fifth wheel might be over 2,000 pounds hitch weight. ..
Many think that a 3/4 ton is 'fine' for towing anything. Ask the salesman at the GM or Dodge dealership! They will tell you 'it can tow anything'. Sure it can, but will exceed it's GVWR in the process. A much better truck would be the 3500 SRW or DRW, or the F-350 or dually version F-350.
The dually versions can carry around 5,000 pounds in most modern trucks, built after 2005. They also have GCVWR that are huge compared to their single rear wheel cousins, and much higher than the 1/2 ton look-a-likes. The higher GCVWR is not just the largest engine, it is also better transmission cooling, and especially more radiator, and larger brakes!
There is a new tow rating certified and rated by independent reviews, where they take a 'typical' truck and tow a large trailer up a 7% grade from Bullhead City to the top of the hill. If it can make it to the top at 80F outside air temps, and at a minimum speed, then they can 'pass' as being able to tow that much weight.
It really stresses the transmission, radiator, and engine to the max! I think you will see a lot lower weight claims as a result. Many 1/2 ton trucks do not have a large enough radiator to meet the demands of producing 200 HP for 15 minutes in a row. Sure the radiator will not overheat while making 300 HP for the time it takes to get the truck from 0 to 75MPH and onto the freeway, but that is 300 HP for 15 seconds, and will hardly warm up the engine. Run it at 200 HP while pulling a 7,500 pound trailer up a 7% grade for 10 minutes, it is a totally different story, and will overheat a truck with a radiator that is to small, or ones that have electric fans for cooling it.
Fred.
If you do not exceed the GVWR, then you likely are not overloading either of the axles, there is a lot of extra capacity built into them. In other words a truck might have a 6000 pound rear axle and 4,800 pound rated front axle with a 8,800 GVWR.
The GCVWR more has to do with how reliable the vehicle will be while towing, and how the transmission will hold up to that sort of load, radiator, and of course brakes.
A truck with a manual transmission might have a much lower GCVWR because the engineers think "They might need to start this whole 15,000 pound load on a hill someday, and can not slip the clutch to much, so 18,000 pounds is out of the question, but this amount of weight works in testing."
A truck with a higher curb weight will be better at towing and stopping a given load. So that if your trailer power cord falls out of the plug in, I would much rather be in a dually truck with engine braking, than in a 1/2 ton where the trailer is 75% of the total weight of truck/trailer combo. Or you could have that problem where the trailer brakes fail due to short circuit or tripped fuse. Still the winner is the larger truck with much larger brakes, and more gravity to help those axles hold to the road.
Commercial trucks have to go through weight stations. They display their GVWR and GCVWR because the law requires it, and if they exceed those ratings, while on the scale, they can get a ticket.
So you have to consider everything, and make sure you are not exceeding either the GCVWR or GVWR. It is very easy with a fifth wheel to exceed the truck's GVWR without getting close to it's GCVWR. So a 3/4 ton truck with a cargo rating of 1975# might tow a conventional trailer with a 12,000 pound GVWR and 1,200 hitch weight, but could only tow a 8,000 pound fifth wheel with a 1,500 pound hitch weight. Loaded the fifth wheel might be over 2,000 pounds hitch weight. ..
Many think that a 3/4 ton is 'fine' for towing anything. Ask the salesman at the GM or Dodge dealership! They will tell you 'it can tow anything'. Sure it can, but will exceed it's GVWR in the process. A much better truck would be the 3500 SRW or DRW, or the F-350 or dually version F-350.
The dually versions can carry around 5,000 pounds in most modern trucks, built after 2005. They also have GCVWR that are huge compared to their single rear wheel cousins, and much higher than the 1/2 ton look-a-likes. The higher GCVWR is not just the largest engine, it is also better transmission cooling, and especially more radiator, and larger brakes!
There is a new tow rating certified and rated by independent reviews, where they take a 'typical' truck and tow a large trailer up a 7% grade from Bullhead City to the top of the hill. If it can make it to the top at 80F outside air temps, and at a minimum speed, then they can 'pass' as being able to tow that much weight.
It really stresses the transmission, radiator, and engine to the max! I think you will see a lot lower weight claims as a result. Many 1/2 ton trucks do not have a large enough radiator to meet the demands of producing 200 HP for 15 minutes in a row. Sure the radiator will not overheat while making 300 HP for the time it takes to get the truck from 0 to 75MPH and onto the freeway, but that is 300 HP for 15 seconds, and will hardly warm up the engine. Run it at 200 HP while pulling a 7,500 pound trailer up a 7% grade for 10 minutes, it is a totally different story, and will overheat a truck with a radiator that is to small, or ones that have electric fans for cooling it.
Fred.
