Newbee Fiver Seeking Advice on Tow Vehicle
New to forums, hope my inquiry isn't a pain. My head is spinning from trying to calculate GCWR, GVW, GVWR, etc. Have been researching for weeks. Hoping someone could just answer my question. Have not ...
Forum Discussion
Its a confusion of facts sometimes when trying to match a truck and a fifth wheel. Friends tell you this, salesmen tell you something else. Even here you can get info that, while the actual best source, from experienced folks, is sometimes not laid out or written in a manner one can readily understand.
But first off, please remember there are TWO parts to towing a fifth wheel.
1st, and all salesmen will say this, can you PULL it down the road. Well shoot, a Tundra pulled the space shuttle! I think you can already see that the PULL part, although part of the whole, is not the most important part.
2nd, and MOST IMPORTANT is can your vehicle CARRY the hitch weight of the fifth wheel. This part gives most the biggest problem.
So I do hope I have written this in an easily understood manner.
Here are some simple math formulas which will assist here.
First, symbols:
GVWR = Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (the pickup)
GCWR= Gross Combined Weight Rating (pickup AND the fifth wheel total weight together)
To find out how much hitch weight/cargo payload capacity your vehicle has:
GVWR - (minus) actual vehicle weight (full fuel, passengers, hitch) = available payload capacity. Hitch here is the actual hitch installed in your vehicle. You can estimate say 150 pounds or so here just for an idea.
This tells you the upper range of what hitch weight a fifth wheel can have (loaded) and still be within the specs of what your vehicle is designed to handle.
GCWR -(minus) actual vehicle weight = maximum weight of trailer you can pull. OK, here is the actual place for that PULL word I ridiculed earlier. There is actually an application for it, but the first formula above has priority. An example for you, using the truck I own now.
13,300 - 8,800 = 4,500 pounds cargo capacity (these new Ford dually's are HEAVY! )
30,000 - 8,800 = 21,200 pounds maximum trailer weight.
So this tells me I can handle a fifth wheel with a max hitch weight loaded of 4,500 pounds, and a maximum loaded trailer weight of 21,200 pounds.
Use that 20% formula others mentioned to estimate max hitch weight, it is usually pretty close.
Weighing your truck is the only way to know exactly what you can and cannot handle. Also, be aware these formulas put you within manufacturers ratings. Experience and reading have shown to me that these manufacturers ratings are based on what they (Chevy in this instance for you) consider limits where your vehicle will perform adequately with handling, acceleration and braking with such a load.
But first off, please remember there are TWO parts to towing a fifth wheel.
1st, and all salesmen will say this, can you PULL it down the road. Well shoot, a Tundra pulled the space shuttle! I think you can already see that the PULL part, although part of the whole, is not the most important part.
2nd, and MOST IMPORTANT is can your vehicle CARRY the hitch weight of the fifth wheel. This part gives most the biggest problem.
So I do hope I have written this in an easily understood manner.
Here are some simple math formulas which will assist here.
First, symbols:
GVWR = Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (the pickup)
GCWR= Gross Combined Weight Rating (pickup AND the fifth wheel total weight together)
To find out how much hitch weight/cargo payload capacity your vehicle has:
GVWR - (minus) actual vehicle weight (full fuel, passengers, hitch) = available payload capacity. Hitch here is the actual hitch installed in your vehicle. You can estimate say 150 pounds or so here just for an idea.
This tells you the upper range of what hitch weight a fifth wheel can have (loaded) and still be within the specs of what your vehicle is designed to handle.
GCWR -(minus) actual vehicle weight = maximum weight of trailer you can pull. OK, here is the actual place for that PULL word I ridiculed earlier. There is actually an application for it, but the first formula above has priority. An example for you, using the truck I own now.
13,300 - 8,800 = 4,500 pounds cargo capacity (these new Ford dually's are HEAVY! )
30,000 - 8,800 = 21,200 pounds maximum trailer weight.
So this tells me I can handle a fifth wheel with a max hitch weight loaded of 4,500 pounds, and a maximum loaded trailer weight of 21,200 pounds.
Use that 20% formula others mentioned to estimate max hitch weight, it is usually pretty close.
Weighing your truck is the only way to know exactly what you can and cannot handle. Also, be aware these formulas put you within manufacturers ratings. Experience and reading have shown to me that these manufacturers ratings are based on what they (Chevy in this instance for you) consider limits where your vehicle will perform adequately with handling, acceleration and braking with such a load.
