Tow Ratings
Even manufactures towing guides can be suspect for what you can really tow! Real reality is, if you are loaded up with people etc, and you are at max gvw for the tow rig, your max trailer is ZERO, NADA, ZILCH! IE, where are you going to put the hitch wt of the trailer if the TV does not have the payload for the hitch.
I had two GM Astro vans, they had 1200-1300 lbs of payload, a 5000 lb tow capacity, but with my family of 6 that weighed in at 1200 lbs, we were still usually 100-200 lbs over the vans gvw between the humans, typical safety stuff, flares etc, add in a book or two for the kids back then.......Vans had the power to pull something, no ability due to lack of payload.
Even my 35 series crew cab sw and dually version did not have the full potential of what they were rated for with 4 teenagers etc in the seatbelts, add in a generator, rack and canoe, bikes in the bed.....THe SW version had just enough payload for a 6500 lb trailer with 700-750 lbs of hitch wt. Yet the DW had a max ability of 15000 or so lbs with it's DA drivetrain I could do 10K lbs and 1200-1400 lbs for the hitch! A 5w would have been 5000 lbs max with 20-25% hw.........
Tow guides are good, but not the end all be all for what you can tow in reality.Marty
