Tow Ratings

[MidwayJoey]

I was on the Keystone Site and say a link to a GoodSam towing guide. That link sent me to an error page. Is there a resource out there to get a reference on the towing capabilities of different vehicles? 

[cptqueeg]

Real world w scale weights to help understand the factors involved in tow vehicle and trailer select... 

[cptqueeg]

What you really need to research is tow vehicle payload, and the weights of both truck and trailer loaded for travel.  Payload is different for every model and option combo of truck and each trailer has it's on GVWR to consider.   I learned a  ton on geezer.net the past couple years 😥, but I found a lot of info on the subject from JB, on youtube JB .   He has hauled FW and TT w his trucks.

He has a weight watchers selection of videos that you should start off with and then on each of his specific truck reviews he generally always shows the stickers w payload and towing capacity for the vehicle he's reviewing.  He's a fan of big, fancy trucks but don't let that put you off, you can get what you need out of them.

I just bought a 3500 for a TC, I knew a 1500 wasn't enough truck and a 3500 was just a few $ more than a 2500 so I had a very easy decision.  The hardest part of the decision was gas or diesel.  I didn't need a dually for sure.  I kept my options reasonable, and ended up at 4121 lbs payload.  I have ample payload for passengers, the TC loaded w water and gear, and leftover payload for a substantial trailer.

[MNtundraRet]

Basically' the best tow vehicle is the single seat short bed pickup with one or two light weight people, and no gear in the truck. It also needs the largest engine option. They usually mean a 150 lb. person. You also need the lowest gear ratio if there is a choice. 

If you have more than the driver, weight of the passenger plus all gear needs to be deducted from tow rating. 

[Grit_dog]

Not sure the question…. Any complimentary towing guide will also likely just be generalities. 
look up whatever vehicles you are curious about. Not difficult. Find all that for any vehicle, in seconds. 

[MidwayJoey]

Yeah, well I think the Pandora's box here too of just the different resources, generalities vs specific needs for specific individuals. I just wasn't sure if there was a book, website or anything that had all of that information as a sort of encyclopedia for RVers. Which it sounds like really doesn't exist. But all of this discussion is good, gives me an idea of the things those who tow need to consider when calculating what they want/can have  

[mkirsch]

It sounds like you have neither a tow vehicle nor a trailer in mind. That makes things impossibly complicated.

If your question was, "I drive a 2017 Mumbletypeg Blunderbuss 5000. What can I tow with it?" or "I am looking at a 2021 Portahome McMansion 27LMNOP. What do I need to tow it with?" you would have a leaping-off point and a question that could be answered. The judges would also accept, "I am looking at a 2021 Portahome McMansion 27LMNOP. Will my 2017 Mumbletypeg Blunderbuss 5000 tow it?"

These are my own personal rules of thumb for comfortable, go-anywhere long-distance mountains-deserts-prairies-foothills-flatlands towing:

1500-series pickup: About 7000-7500lbs.
2500-series gasoline pickup: About 11,000lbs.
3500-series diesel dually: About 16,000lbs.

This assumes all trucks are equipped for "maximum towing." Trailer weights are either all-up, ready to camp weights, or if not available, the trailer's GVWR. Some are more comfortable with more, some with less, but frankly I dare you to be disappointed in performance with these recommendations.

I understand you're looking for a reference that shows the tow capacities of "every vehicle" but what would that accomplish for you? 

[MNtundraRet]

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@mkirsch wrote:

It sounds like you have neither a tow vehicle nor a trailer in mind. That makes things impossibly complicated.

If your question was, "I drive a 2017 Mumbletypeg Blunderbuss 5000. What can I tow with it?" or "I am looking at a 2021 Portahome McMansion 27LMNOP. What do I need to tow it with?" you would have a leaping-off point and a question that could be answered. The judges would also accept, "I am looking at a 2021 Portahome McMansion 27LMNOP. Will my 2017 Mumbletypeg Blunderbuss 5000 tow it?"

These are my own personal rules of thumb for comfortable, go-anywhere long-distance mountains-deserts-prairies-foothills-flatlands towing:

1500-series pickup: About 7000-7500lbs.
2500-series gasoline pickup: About 11,000lbs.
3500-series diesel dually: About 16,000lbs.

This assumes all trucks are equipped for "maximum towing." Trailer weights are either all-up, ready to camp weights, or if not available, the trailer's GVWR. Some are more comfortable with more, some with less, but frankly I dare you to be disappointed in performance with these recommendations.

I understand you're looking for a reference that shows the tow capacities of "every vehicle" but what would that accomplish for you? 

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From my experience in the past, most dealers in Minnesota would usually have on one or two trucks in stock that actually met the requirements for maximum towing. That likely has not changed over the years.

[blt2ski · Accepted solution]

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

[opnspaces]

I think trailer Life has a comprehensive towing guide. Also the manufacturers websites might provide a download copy of a users guide that lists the maximum tow capacity.
Do you already have a vehicle that you plan to tow with? Or is an adequate tow vehicle also in the plans?
If you have a vehicle already, open the drives door and see if there is a white and yellow sticker that lists your maximum cargo capacity. Depending on what you buy (travel trailer, 5th wheel, etc) it might make a difference.
As an aside since you sell RV's it would be good to know that sticker is there for customers wondering if their truck is adequate to tow a particular trailer.

[rjstractor]

Just my opinion, but the best resource for a particular vehicle regarding towing is the manufacturer.  Ford, in particular, has a very comprehensive towing guide that details the capabilities of all the different configurations of their tow vehicles.  Stellantis and GM also have good towing guides, but not as comprehensive.  Other manufacturers tend to have less detail, but still better than generic towing guides which often only list maximum capacities based on a particular configuration.