2003 Chevy Express 1500 Tow Capacity

Thanks Jeremiah, I hear yah, but I have pretty much done that already. Anything that went into the van would get weighed with our bathroom scale. That part is not my concern, my concern is how close to the 12,000 combined I should get using the van. We are leaning more and more towards switching to a 4 door truck that would have close to the same GCWR but would weigh less and have a slightly higher towing capacity. In addition, we feel we are sacrificing with the trailer we are selecting because of the limitations the van is presenting. Captains chairs and TV are nice during the trip but so is some slide outs and extra space once you arrive. Trying to finding our happy medium.

In other words, from what I have come to understand.

Take the GVWR minus actual weight of the loaded tow vehicle. This is how much tongue weight you can apply to the tow vehicle.

Then take the GCWR and subtract the weight of the loaded tow vehicle. This is how much loaded trailer you can pull.