Tow Vehicle Suggestions
Thank you in advance for any advice you have to offer. I currently have a 2011 Navigator L with a GVWR of 7700 lbs and what I think is a payload capacity of 1522 lbs. The wheelbase is 131 inches. I wa...
Forum Discussion
Welcome to the forum!
as for parking structures...unfortunately...the fashion statem crowd has
the OEM marketing folks spec out ever taller pickups and SUVs...they
look bigger, but the real metrics are their ratings. I'll get to the ratings
in below
My 1996 Suburban is the 3/4 ton (8,600 lb GVWR) and can go into any
6'4 parking garage. 'Some' 6'2, but go slow and use the antenna as
my guide. If it hits...back outta there. A 'half ton' Suburban is
about 2.5" lower and that is because the 3/4 ton has bigger: frame,
suspension, drive train, tires, etc, etc...even though they both use
the exact same body and is where folks get mixed up
The new 3/4 ton (8.6K GVWR) pickups are taller than mine. Even the lower
class half ton's are taller by a couple inches.
Ask your husband to check the garages he wants to park in and that is
your height mark
All you need are a few pointers on what the various acronyms stand for
and how they play together. Specifications/ratings/limits/etc are all
specified by all the OEMs in their contract to you via their brochures,
specification sheets, manuals and the various labels on/in the vehiche
There is FINE PRINT that modifies those ratings and that is where most
folks get oblique in their figuring. Out of context and thinking any
one rating is an absolute (they are NOT, as there are interdependencies)
Out of context example: say a 'half ton' TV is rated to tow 9,000 lbs
(MTWR, Max Tow Weight Rating) and most folks think that any half ton
is so rated.
Not so. There are three sub classes within the 'half ton' class. A
low end 6.x K GVWR. Mid range 7.x K GVWR and a high end 8.x K GVWR
Then the fine print stating a 'curb' (AKA stripper), one 150 lb driver
and sometimes full fluids, other times partial tank fulls
So that 9,000 MTWR is out of context and bogus unless you have the
'stripper' model...weigh in at 150 lbs, no other people/pets/cargo/etc
'Curb' and 'Dry' are bogus weights based on the 'stripper' model that
most no one every orders, nor are they offered for sale in some cases
Best to use their actual scaled weights. Tough when you don't have
any one of or either of them, but there is a way and it provides the
most comfortable experience with lots of OEM dialed in safety margin
This is the diagram showing how the specifications/ratings/limits/etc
system looks like in graphical form. Same for a pickup, SUV, Van, etc
howmuchshoulditow howmuchcanitow
With that diagram along with the various TV's GVWR/FGAWR/RGAWR/GCWR
and the trailers GVWR...you can figure it out on paper with simple
math.
Since you don't have their actual weights (GVW, gross vehicle weight).
Use their GVWR (Gross Vehicle Weight R A T I N G S)
That is the most they are rated to carry or transfer to the pavement
then keep below their GVWR's and you will have OEM dialed in safety margin
Post back on how it goes!
as for parking structures...unfortunately...the fashion statem crowd has
the OEM marketing folks spec out ever taller pickups and SUVs...they
look bigger, but the real metrics are their ratings. I'll get to the ratings
in below
My 1996 Suburban is the 3/4 ton (8,600 lb GVWR) and can go into any
6'4 parking garage. 'Some' 6'2, but go slow and use the antenna as
my guide. If it hits...back outta there. A 'half ton' Suburban is
about 2.5" lower and that is because the 3/4 ton has bigger: frame,
suspension, drive train, tires, etc, etc...even though they both use
the exact same body and is where folks get mixed up
The new 3/4 ton (8.6K GVWR) pickups are taller than mine. Even the lower
class half ton's are taller by a couple inches.
Ask your husband to check the garages he wants to park in and that is
your height mark
All you need are a few pointers on what the various acronyms stand for
and how they play together. Specifications/ratings/limits/etc are all
specified by all the OEMs in their contract to you via their brochures,
specification sheets, manuals and the various labels on/in the vehiche
There is FINE PRINT that modifies those ratings and that is where most
folks get oblique in their figuring. Out of context and thinking any
one rating is an absolute (they are NOT, as there are interdependencies)
Out of context example: say a 'half ton' TV is rated to tow 9,000 lbs
(MTWR, Max Tow Weight Rating) and most folks think that any half ton
is so rated.
Not so. There are three sub classes within the 'half ton' class. A
low end 6.x K GVWR. Mid range 7.x K GVWR and a high end 8.x K GVWR
Then the fine print stating a 'curb' (AKA stripper), one 150 lb driver
and sometimes full fluids, other times partial tank fulls
So that 9,000 MTWR is out of context and bogus unless you have the
'stripper' model...weigh in at 150 lbs, no other people/pets/cargo/etc
'Curb' and 'Dry' are bogus weights based on the 'stripper' model that
most no one every orders, nor are they offered for sale in some cases
Best to use their actual scaled weights. Tough when you don't have
any one of or either of them, but there is a way and it provides the
most comfortable experience with lots of OEM dialed in safety margin
This is the diagram showing how the specifications/ratings/limits/etc
system looks like in graphical form. Same for a pickup, SUV, Van, etc
howmuchshoulditow howmuchcanitowWith that diagram along with the various TV's GVWR/FGAWR/RGAWR/GCWR
and the trailers GVWR...you can figure it out on paper with simple
math.
Since you don't have their actual weights (GVW, gross vehicle weight).
Use their GVWR (Gross Vehicle Weight R A T I N G S)
That is the most they are rated to carry or transfer to the pavement
then keep below their GVWR's and you will have OEM dialed in safety margin
Post back on how it goes!
