Trying to figure out what trailers I can tow

Gdetrailer wrote:

Boomerweps wrote:


You start out so well and then, in the words of the J. Gail’s Band, “must have got lost, somewhere down the line”.
First, all liquids, including a full gas tank, are part of the factory curb weight and not part of the Load Capacity.
Second, for clarity, the 150# driver (& now 150# single passenger in 2020+ for Ford) is only allowed for in the tow rating ONLY. SAE tow test standards also allow for a 100# Weight Distributing Hitch but that is not always referenced by truck makers.
Easiest no cost weigh (pun intended) to get the factory built curb weight is subtract the factory Load Capacity from the GVWR, looking at two door frame stickers.

No, I think you went right off the rails so to speak.

You live in PA, right?

You do realize PA does include the unladen weight of your vehicle right on the registration card, right?

OK, so I will take my newest truck for example..

GVWR listed on the door is 10,000
Unladen weight listed on PA registration card is 5,742
Yellow loading sticker states 3,800 lbs

10,000 - 5,742 = 4,258 (cargo)

But, wait.. there is a discrepancy between what your manual calculation is..

calculated cargo 4,258 - yellow sticker 3,800 = 458 difference..

Truck has 35 gallon fuel tank and at roughly 8 lbs per gallon that is 280 lbs..

458 - 280 lbs = 178 lbs..

The 178 lbs is pretty darn close to the 150 lbs specified as the DRIVER.. and the 28 lbs discrepancy is most likely due to rounding the fuel weight..

For the record, the truck I used IS a 2020 F250..

So, my math says that the yellow sticker does account for the full fuel tank and driver and using the CURB weight of the vehicle does not take into account full tank of fuel or driver..

This makes sense since the factory does not ship ANY vehicle with a full tank of fuel, they ship it with just enough fuel to load and unload and get it to the dealers lot. Dealer is responsible for filling the tank the first time when you buy it.

Pretty clear.

Not so clear.
Forgot PA lists an Unladen Weight on the registration. Don’t know how they determine that. Guesses don’t count.
Yes, vehicles are not shipped with a full tank. But it is easily calculated by them to figure out for the curb weight.
Yellow sticker states “The combined weight of occupants and cargo should never exceed:” That means driver is part of the load capacity. My truck 2019 F150 Owner’s Manual goes into detail on the yellow sticker in the Towing section and gives examples that include the driver.