O.K., my truck weighs in at 6,200 lbs, right? And has a towing capacity of 7,100 lbs, right? That's a combined total of 13,300 lbs. But the gross combined vehicle towing weight limit is 11,800 lbs! So what's the point of making the vehicle so that it can tow 7,100 lbs if you can't actually tow 7,100 lbs without exceeding the GCVW limit? I don't get it. How much can I tow?
O.K., my truck weighs in at 6,200 lbs, right? And has a towing capacity of 7,100 lbs, right? That's a combined total of 13,300 lbs. But the gross combined vehicle towing weight limit is 11,800 lbs! So what's the point of making the vehicle so that it can tow 7,100 lbs if you can't actually tow 7,100 lbs without exceeding the GCVW limit? I don't get it. How much can I tow?
Actually your truck weighs about 2000 lbs less than that depending on what model you have. That should help your tow limit some
Okay, this has been my guide for many years of towing and it has yet to fail me. Simply divide the max tow capacity in half and that is a "safe real world" weight to be towed with any rig. Okay guys go ahead and dis me and tell us stories about how you towed a gazzillion pounds. Seriously, talk to some one who tows almost daily and they will agree with my little equation.
O.K., my truck weighs in at 6,200 lbs, right? And has a towing capacity of 7,100 lbs, right? That's a combined total of 13,300 lbs. But the gross combined vehicle towing weight limit is 11,800 lbs! So what's the point of making the vehicle so that it can tow 7,100 lbs if you can't actually tow 7,100 lbs without exceeding the GCVW limit? I don't get it. How much can I tow?
I think you may need to try another scale to weight your vehicle, the stock weight on my 2k was 4900lbs. It grew to 5200lbs after my mods and a full tank of gas.
By the way, what are you planning to tow---many from the site have commented on the ease of towing trailers and such. I've loaded one of my trailers and the bed of the truck with 6000lbs total, that was moved easily.
No, your truck doesn't weigh in at 6200 lbs. Typically our trucks are a little under 5000 lbs. I believe 6200 lbs is the gvwr of the truck.... actually I think the gvwr is 6010 lbs.. but don't quote me. For this exercise, we'll use the 6100 lbs for the GVWR.
To tow that 7100 lbs, the truck has to be stripped down to about only 4700 lbs so that the two weights don't max out the GCVW rating of 11,800 lbs. Yeah, that's gonna happen.
Yes, the many different weight ratings are very confusing but I think the point is that each capactiy is determined by the factory to insure that the truck is not being overloaded at any given point. Each point has its own limit and is not governed by other limits; however, the limits of one can affect the limits of the others. Confused?
Ok, take my set up for instance. My truck weighs in at about 5200 lbs with a full tank of gas and all the extra goodies that I have installed over the past few years. My trailer weighs in at a little over 5600 lbs with a full tank of water, all our clothes, food, and supplies to last us several days of camping. The two of them add up to 10,800 which gives me a thousand pounds to play with.....right? Nope, don't forget that (in my case) my weight, my wife's and other stuff we might take along with us will probably be another 450 lbs; so add that and you'll come up with 11,250. That leaves me with about an extra 550 lbs lbs that I can stuff in the truck and/or trailer. So where can I put that extra weight?
If I put it on my truck, I have to take into consideration three limits: (1) the gvwr of the truck... in this case I'm only allowed 450 more pounds to reach that point (6100 lbs); (2) rear axle weight rating (including the tire's capacity); and (3) the truck's maximum load wieght (approx 1500 lbs). So, as I mentioned above, with my bulk, my wife, gas and other goodies I have already put in about 450 lbs and my trailer's tongue weight is around 700 lbs. However, this will put my "traveling weight" at around 5850 lbs, which means I can only put 250 lbs of that extra 550 (gcvw) or 450 (gvwr) that I can put on my truck and still not exceed either limits. Of course, I can shift some of the tongue weight to the front axle with my weight distribution bars, but will still not make any difference.
Therefore, in this case, the truck's gvwr is my limit that I have to work to, I can only add a maximum of 250 more pounds to my truck... no matter where I put it... tongue, bed, or cab.
Now with the trailer's weight at 5600 lbs and since my tow rating is 7100 lbs, that leaves me another 1500 lbs I can put on my trailer... right? But if I add 1500 lbs to the 5650 lbs (truck weight and occupants) and 5600 lbs of trailer... that's 950 lbs more than the GCVW rating. So I can only add 550 lbs to the trailer to max out the GCVW.
So what I've done is to make sure that NONE of my weight ratings are "exceeded". Some have a long way to go to reach that point, where others are just about maxed out. You have to take into consideration of each and every one of the ratings to insure that you are towing safe and not pushing your truck's capabilities to the point that you could break something and cause an accident.
Simple math, correct?
Hope this helps.
Ron
Quote:
Originally Posted by molex
O.K., my truck weighs in at 6,200 lbs, right? And has a towing capacity of 7,100 lbs, right? That's a combined total of 13,300 lbs. But the gross combined vehicle towing weight limit is 11,800 lbs! So what's the point of making the vehicle so that it can tow 7,100 lbs if you can't actually tow 7,100 lbs without exceeding the GCVW limit? I don't get it. How much can I tow?
That will help me alot once I read it a few times to fully understand.
This afternoon I went through this scenario: Went to the local gravel pit and weighed in at 7,200 lbs (truck and two axle trailer). Got 2.5 yards of drain rock, and was re-weighed at 13,180 lbs, for a net gain of 5,980 lbs (2.99 tons). I drove about 1/8th mile to my office (no problem there, plenty of power and the trailer brakes worked fine) and unhooked the trailer. Now tomorrow I am supposed to be towing this load to San Francisco, a 1 hour trip on the freeway, so I am worried about my tow weight. I read my manual and it says max combined weight is 11,800 lbs, meaning that I am about 3/4's of a ton over my max combined weight. Add to that that I have no idea what my max axle weight is, what the max weight my hitch can handle is and that I have never towed this large a load before, let alone on the freeway and you can see why I am 1) concerned, 2) confused and 3) aggravated about my towing weight. Maybe I should have bought the Ford afterall, the fact that I have a V8 that can't tow a trailer full of gravel really sours my opinion of this truck. Was this truck designed for work, or for driving around town to pick up girls?
If you were going to move rock around, you should have checked out these weight scenarios before you bought the truck. You are probably overloading the trailer as well as the whole rig. It's your responsibility to know what your doing before you hit the road!
Good luck on your ride.
PS go to the Ford site and look up an F150. Click on the towing info. There are very few engine, axle combinations that exceed the Tundra's rating and they would have cost you $$$. You're just not thinking this through correctly so don't blame the truck!
As a professional truck driver, I'm glad I'm not going to be in the SF area tomorrow! Maybe it is too late for this time but is there anywhere closer to the job site that you could have loaded the rock instead of hauling down the I-state? Maybe two smaller loads a shorter distance? It is only, after all, a half ton truck. Hopefully, it doesn't end up being a situation where you try to save a little money and end up spending a LOT.
Now that you have the trailer loaded, and if you must go....
1. Leave plenty early.
2. Leave as much following distance as you can, I know it can be tough the
way people drive.
3. Don't pull out in front of any semis!
4. If the weigh station is open, DON'T STOP! make them come and get
you, they most likely won't, it is for commercial vehicles anyway.
I have actually hauled 11.000 pounds of gravel and trailer with my Tundra, though I don't recommend it. On a trailer without brakes, but not on the Interstate and only for a short distance. If you are doing this on a regular basis you need a different truck. Good luck!
But the gross combined vehicle towing weight limit is 11,800 lbs! So what's the point of making the vehicle so that it can tow 7,100 lbs if you can't actually tow 7,100 lbs without exceeding the GCVW limit? I don't get it.
The GVWR, max axle GAWR, and GCWR maximum weight capacities are determined by engineers. The "Towing Rating" is set by the marketing department..."OK, guys, if the GCWR is 11,800#, and a stripped truck with no factory options, no personal stuff and a skinny driver weighs 4700#, we'll advertise the Towing Rating as 7100#. What's our next item to consider?"
Any more questions?
Ken
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I think I see the problem with your setup and very well explained weight situation. YOU NEED A SKINNIER WIFE! If you can find one like mine that walks on water, even better, then she actually applies very little additional ground pressure. Sometimes her head is so far in the clouds that if she is wearing her seatbelt to hold her down, she is actually taking weight OFF of the truck!
Sort of like helium in the tires, only different. That's how I can haul 11,000 lbs and still be under all of the weight limitations, but when I'm loaded she has to ride back on top of the gravel, which usually puts me in the dog house for a couple of days; but scores a lot of points with my buddies in the Mopar products. Guess I will have to keep her after all!
I hope he makes it to SF ok. I see that he said the trailer brakes were working fine. I doubted that he even had any until I reread his post. I think in that situation I might be inclined to crank the trailer brakes up a little as long as the roads were dry. But much better to NOT be in that situation in the first place.
I put over 100,000 miles a year on the road in a semi. Unreal some of the things you see. I saw a guy pulling a 6 place open snomo trailer with a Tacoma once. Gutsy!
As a professional truck driver, I'm glad I'm not going to be in the SF area tomorrow! Maybe it is too late for this time but is there anywhere closer to the job site that you could have loaded the rock instead of hauling down the I-state? Maybe two smaller loads a shorter distance? It is only, after all, a half ton truck. Hopefully, it doesn't end up being a situation where you try to save a little money and end up spending a LOT.
Now that you have the trailer loaded, and if you must go....
1. Leave plenty early.
2. Leave as much following distance as you can, I know it can be tough the
way people drive.
3. Don't pull out in front of any semis!
4. If the weigh station is open, DON'T STOP! make them come and get
you, they most likely won't, it is for commercial vehicles anyway.
I have actually hauled 11.000 pounds of gravel and trailer with my Tundra, though I don't recommend it. On a trailer without brakes, but not on the Interstate and only for a short distance. If you are doing this on a regular basis you need a different truck. Good luck!
Luckily my boss ended up hauling the load with his Chevy HD, so no problems. The trailer is rated for up to 6k loaded, so it was right at the edge. BUT, the trailer hitch was rated for 6k, and the towed weight was over 8k, so it was still sketchy by any means. Next time, I just won't load more than 1.5 yards of anything, that should keep me under 5k with most materials. I hope. Thanks for the tips, though, I hope I never have to use them!
As for the "lIt's called LIABILITY" post, I don't get it: How does it reduce Toyota's liability to tell customers that they can tow more safely than they actually can? Seems to me that that increases their liability. Just wondering.....
Luckily my boss ended up hauling the load with his Chevy HD, so no problems. The trailer is rated for up to 6k loaded, so it was right at the edge. BUT, the trailer hitch was rated for 6k, and the towed weight was over 8k, so it was still sketchy by any means. Next time, I just won't load more than 1.5 yards of anything, that should keep me under 5k with most materials. I hope. Thanks for the tips, though, I hope I never have to use them!
As for the "lIt's called LIABILITY" post, I don't get it: How does it reduce Toyota's liability to tell customers that they can tow more safely than they actually can? Seems to me that that increases their liability. Just wondering.....
I would recommend you going to your local refuse plant orl landfill. They have some of the most accurate scales because they charge based on weight. Take you truck with a full tank of gas and whatever you would have in it on a trip of this sort and yourself included. I would fair a guess that you are closer to the 5000 - 5200 weight range not 5900 - 6000 range.
I have a 00 4x4 SR5 with cornfeds, stainless steel bedrail covers stainless steel step bars and 33" tires and audio equipment and my weight was only 5200 - 5250 depending on the amount of fuel in the tank.
I think you are overshooting your trucks weight just based on the math.
I would fair a guess that you are closer to the 5000 - 5200 weight range not 5900 - 6000 range.
I think you are overshooting your trucks weight just based on the math.
Yeah, my original statement about the weight of my truck was based on the GVWR rating that's printed on the sticker inside the door. I didn't realize that that rating isn't the vehicles weight, but rather its maximum weight with load.
And I still don't have the faintest clue as to what the designations 1/2, 3/4 and 1 ton refer to. As far as I can tell, what it means is: Hauls lots (1/2 ton), lots more (3/4 ton), and most (1 ton).
Tudra's listed payload is 1,475 lbs which is almost exactly 3/4's of a ton.
Towing capacity is listed as 7,200 lbs, which is basically 3.5 tons.
Weight is around 5,000 lbs, which is 2.5 tons.
GCWR is 11,800 lbs, which is 5.9 tons.
So where does the 1/2 ton designation come from? And to add to the confusion, I was behind an early 80's pizza-getter that was labled on the tail gate as "1-ton". So here's a truck that's essentially 3/4's the physical size of my Tundra, but is designated at twice the tonnage! My head hurts, I think I need a drink.
Towing capacity mumbo jumbo: This makes no sense!
Guess I will have to keep her after all!
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