What is the "real" GVWR?

Not sure I follow some of the previous answers. ALWAYS buy the MAX GVWR you can for a given size and weight of trailer. The bigger the better, the bigger the safer. I think what some may be confusing are the terms GVWR and GVW. GVWR is a rating (gross vehicle weight rating). GVW is the weight of the trailer after you have loaded it. Your GVW should never exceed what your truck is capable of and is rated to pull. This has nothing to do with the GVWR. EG, if your truck is capable of pulling safely a 6000 pound trailer then make sure your trailer GVW (not GVWR) doesn't exceed that number. Confirm the weight of your trailer after you load it at a scale. If the GVWR happens to be 7000 pounds, thats fine. If it is 8000 pounds that is even better. Rule of thumb, the bigger the number the better. If you have two X 6000 pound trailers side by side and one has a GVWR of 7000 ounds and the other has a GVWR of 10,000 pounds which one do you want. ALWAYS try and get the bigger number. It doesn't mean it weighs more, it will just have better axles, bigger brakes, stronger frame, better tires, all rated for 10,000 pounds, not 7000. Of course it will cost more as well. A good example is Arctic fox which puts hugely oversized axles on some of their 25 foot trailers.

Although you can use dry weight plus cargo to rouoghly calculate the GVW (not the GVWR) it is always better to weigh the trailer (and the tounge)

Good luck and Merry Christmas.

Good reading...

FastEagle wrote:
The trailer should never exceed GVWR so a tow vehicle capable of towing the trailer's GVWR minus the hitch weight would be a good selection.

FastEagle

Agreed. But ..... he is not buying a tow vehicle.

myredracer wrote:
As said, dry weight numbers are fictional. Manufacturers love to use them for marketing purposes to outdo the competition and lure you into buying something that you may not if you knew what the actual weight would be like. The actual weight always goes up. By the time you've ordered options, the dealer adds items (propane tanks, ex.), you installed fixed items (2nd TV, ex.), done some modifications and have it all loaded up for camping, the weight goes up a lot. Typically in the 1,000 - 1,500 lb range, or even more for larger units. The added weight comes right off the advertised cargo carrying capacity and in the end, you could have very little left over. In some cases, you can even end up being overloaded.

It might help to define which "dry weight" numbers you're talking about. For example, the 2012 KZ Spree brochure lists

UVW (Unloaded Vehicle Weight)*

and states,
"

*This weight reflects the rolling average unit weight for each model. Your trailer weight will vary according to optional equipment.

"

There is no way a manufacturer can print a brochure with actual weights for all possible configurations, and no buyer should be surprised that options and other additions are not included in the brochure "dry weight" -- especially when the brochure says they are not.

If you're placing an order for a trailer, the dealer can give you a realistic estimate of weight of options.
If you're buying a trailer off the lot, the weight sticker at the front of the left side is supposed to give the weight of the trailer as it left the factory -- including all factory-installed options plus weight of propane.
If a dealer installs equipment exceeding about 100# total, the sticker is supposed to be amended.

It's not that difficult to come up with a usable estimate of "dry weight" before you purchase a trailer.

The advertised 2735 lbs is bs. The actual won't even be close to that.---

Not necessarily. The 2013 Fun Finder Brochure lists a F-189FBS with Dry Weight = 3155# and GVWR = 5890.
Desert Coach RV lists a 2013 F-189FBS with Dry Weight = 2998# and the following options:
Fun Finder Camping Pack, Fun Finder Exterior and Interior PKG, Fantastic Vent, Convection Microwave Oven, Ultra-Lite Power Jack Pack.
Some dealer websites post values from the manufacturer's brochure, some post values from the trailer's yellow sticker.

Ron

FastEagle

FastEagle

Ron Gratz wrote:
Did you mean to say the following?

The real

rating

you should focus on at this time is what your truck can

carry

. If you have a 1/2 ton truck then take the

payload capacity

, subtract the weight of people, cargo and gasoline and what you are left with is

maximum allowable tongue weight

based on the truck. Now divide that by 0.12 and the number you get would be the max weight you should be thinking of towing. That is the 'real'

maximum TT GVW

based on the truck's capability.

Ron

Ron - thanks for the astute adjustments to my post. You have adjusted it correctly with the exception of the first sentence which should stay as I wrote it. I used 'real GVWR' to keep the connection to the original query.

Basically what I was saying is that the determination of what trailer (and hence GVWR) the OP should get should focus on what his truck could pull. I did also forget to mention that once the correct trailer is purchased, he needs to head for the scales to see how much the rig actually weighs.

FastEagle wrote:
Your TV needs to be able to safely tow the trailers certified GVWR while at the same time not exceeding the TVs GCWR.

The TV does not need to be able to tow the trailer's GVWR.

As far as GCWR is concerned --
it only is necessary that the sum of TV axle loads plus TT axle loads does not exceed GCWR.

It is more likely that the TT's GVW will be limited by tongue weight which, in turn, will be limited by
1) receiver's tongue weight rating, or
2) TV's GVWR (i.e. payload capacity).

None of these requirements has anything to do with the TT's GVWR.
They do depend on the TT's GVW (not to be confused with GVWR) and tongue weight.

Ron

wmoses wrote:
The real GVWR you should focus on at this time is what your truck can tow. If you have a 1/2 ton truck then take the truck's towing capacity, subtract the weight of people, cargo and gasoline and what you are left with is net towing capacity based on the truck. Now divide that by 0.12 and the number you get would be the max weight you should be thinking of towing. That is the 'real' GVWR based on the truck's capability.

Did you mean to say the following?

The real

rating

you should focus on at this time is what your truck can

carry

. If you have a 1/2 ton truck then take the

payload capacity

, subtract the weight of people, cargo and gasoline and what you are left with is

maximum allowable tongue weight

based on the truck. Now divide that by 0.12 and the number you get would be the max weight you should be thinking of towing. That is the 'real'

maximum TT GVW

based on the truck's capability.

Ron

Sparkndeb wrote:
So, after months of looking for a TT for my 2013 Tacoma to safely tow< I'm still confused about the GVWR. On some models the dry weight is say 3155 lbs with the gvwr at 5890lbs. So, I can put 2735lbs in the trailer? Who carries that kind of weight? What am I missing here? I need my gvwr to be around 4500lbs or so (I think). Help!

I think you're missing the fact that you can ignore the TT's GVWR unless you actually plan to load it to that value, and most people do not.
Your TV doesn't care how much the TT can weigh. It only cares how much the TT does weigh.

The TT's GVWR has nothing to do with your TV's towing or carrying capacity.
The numbers you need to be concerned about are the TT's loaded tongue weight and the TT's loaded GVW which is determined by the TT's dry weight plus the weight of any cargo that is added to the trailer.

As others have pointed out, a TT's loaded GVW typically is equal to somewhere around the dry weight plus 1000#.
However, some people add only about 500# of stuff and others might load 1500#.

The maximum allowable weight for your TT might be directly limited by your TV's GCWR (posted on a door pillar sticker), or it might be indirectly limited due to a tongue weight limit.
The tongue weight might be limited by either the receiver's tongue weight limit or the TV's Load Carrying Capacity.
The maximum amount of passenger and cargo weight your vehicle can carry is the Load Carrying Capacity indicated on the label(s) on the driver’s doorjamb.

The best basis for determining how much your TV can tow and carry is a measurement of the loaded-for-camping weight of your TV -- including occupants, cargo, and weight of the weight distribution hitch.
If you cannot take your loaded TV to a scales, you can get a reasonable estimate of maximum allowable tongue weight by subtracting the estimated weight of passengers, cargo (including items added after delivery), and WDH from the TV's Load Carrying Capacity.
If the remainder is less that the Maximum Tongue Weight listed on the receiver, use the remainder. Otherwise use the value listed on the receiver.
To get an estimate of maximum allowable trailer weight, multiply the maximum allowable tongue weight by 8.

If you know the loaded-for-camping weight of the TV, subtract that value from the TV's GCWR (listed in the Owner's Manual).
The remainder is the maximum allowable weight your loaded TV can tow.
If you don't know the TV's loaded weight, subtract the estimated weight of occupants, cargo, and WDH, from the Maximum Towing Weight listed in the manual. The remainder is an estimate of the maximum allowable towing weight your TV can tow.

As an example, let's assume:
TV's Load Carrying Capacity (payload) = 1400#
Weight of occupants, cargo, and WDH = 900#
Maximum Towing Weight = 6500#
Receiver's TW rating = 650#

Maximum allowable TW, based on payload, would be 1400-900 = 500#.
Corresponding maximum trailer weight would be about 4000#.

Maximum allowable TT weight, based on Max Tow Weight, would be 6500-900 = 5600#.
This value is greater than the estimated Max Tow Weight based on payload, so the 4000# value is the limit.

If the "dry weight" value for a prospective TT comes from the sticker on the outside of the TT, it should be a reasonably accurate value. If it comes from a brochure, you might need to add 200-300#.
Subtracting the proper value of "dry weight" from 4000# gives you the amount of stuff you could add to the TT for these example numbers.

Remember, the example maximum of 4000# is the TT's loaded GVW -- not to be confused with the TT's GVWR.
It makes no difference what the GVWR is, as long as you don't exceed it.

Ron