Tow Vehicle Sizing & Weight Calculators

[Rhagfo]

Originally Posted by Gordon Dewald

At issue is the trailer sales are not required to inform you of the limitations. They should be.

If one dealer looks at your truck and says "Too Small" the buyer will likely move on where they will buy when the dealer says "No Problem".

While this is likely unfortunately very true, that is the salesperson I would give my business to.

I have two friends that tow large with 2500's, not sure if they understand the issues. I am NOT referring to actually being over GVWR, I did that for the last six years, but the other numbers, being axle and TIRE ratings.
I decided I had gambled long enough being over GVWR, but good on tires and axle with a 12,500# fiver and older 2500 Ram.
We will now be towing with a 2016 Ram 3500 DRW.

[boydn1]

Originally Posted by Cyclone Dave

Yes, there is an easy way to figure it out. There is an app called RV Tow Check that can assist you in discovering the realistic vehicle towing capacity.

However, I can tell you up front that no Ram 1500 can safely tow without exceeding the weight safety rating of most any 5th wheel trailer. That is the reason it is best for towing conventional trailers. There is only one 1/2 ton truck that can safely tow a small number of the very lightest 5th wheel trailers and that one is a very explicitly equipped Ford F150

The App wants GCWR,GVWR,GVW and TWR. The plate inside the drives door has GVWR 6,900 and two GAWR at 3,900 apiece. Where do I get GCWR and GVW? Thanks

[boydn1]

Originally Posted by boydn1

The App wants GCWR,GVWR,GVW and TWR. The plate inside the drives door has GVWR 6,900 and two GAWR at 3,900 apiece. Where do I get GCWR and GVW? Thanks

Are there no answers to these questions?

[Mich F]

Originally Posted by boydn1

Are there no answers to these questions?

Just find your vehicle on this website, it should answer a lot of your questions.
https://www.ramtrucks.com/assets/tow...ing_charts.pdf

Your owner's manual should have something similar.

[h20ski]

Originally Posted by boydn1

The App wants GCWR,GVWR,GVW and TWR. The plate inside the drives door has GVWR 6,900 and two GAWR at 3,900 apiece. Where do I get GCWR and GVW? Thanks

GVWR is the same as GVW. GCWR should be in the vehicle owners manual.

[boydn1]

Thanks much! The chart with the truck spec sheet answered almost all.
I assume that TWR is Max Trailer Weight Rating?

Thanks again

[Mich F]

Originally Posted by boydn1

Thanks much! The chart with the truck spec sheet answered almost all.
I assume that TWR is Max Trailer Weight Rating?

Thanks again

That Max trailer rating would only apply if the moon, sun and stars are perfectly aligned. I'd be surprised if after you loaded the RV and the tow vehicle, you were anywhere near that max TWR.

GVWR is not the same as GVW. The R stands for rating. The GVW I assume is what they consider the vehicle weighs when totally loaded with people and gear and whatnot. The difference between the two numbers is what you can carry without being overloaded. You also have to take into account how much weight is on each axle. You can be under your GVWR, but be overloaded on an axle.

[boydn1]

Even more confused. Igot the info and put it into the app,
GCWR 15.950
GVWR 6,900
GVW 6100
TWR 10,150
Payload 1,570
And it came up
5er 25% 3,040
TT 12% 6,333

Are these suppose to be the weights in lbs that the truck could/should pull?
I find it pretty hard to beleive that the TT would be 63% of what RAM has as the TWR. Seems like a lot of law suits waiting to happen.
Am I doing something wrong?

[shane_the_ee]

Originally Posted by boydn1

Even more confused. Igot the info and put it into the app,
GCWR 15.950
GVWR 6,900
GVW 6100
TWR 10,150
Payload 1,570
And it came up
5er 25% 3,040
TT 12% 6,333

Are these suppose to be the weights in lbs that the truck could/should pull?
I find it pretty hard to beleive that the TT would be 63% of what RAM has as the TWR. Seems like a lot of law suits waiting to happen.
Am I doing something wrong?

That's because GVWR (Gross Weight Rating) - GVW (Actual Vehicle Weight) = 6900 - 6100 = 800lbs. 800lbs is 12% of what trailer weight gives 800 = .12*TTweight or 800/.12 = TTweight = 6667lbs.



In order to get a trailer at the maximum towing capacity you need to 1) get a trailer designed for 10% tongue weight and 2) take a couple hundred pounds out of your truck. The careful reader will note that the trailers falling into category 1 are not travel trailers (I think some boat trailers are designed for 10% tongue weights...)

[Gordon Dewald]

Does anyone know if a weight distribution hitch will remove any weight from the hitch.

If there is a 1275 pin weight and the bars are 1200 lb would the weight on the hitch be more, less or the same as the original pin weight?

Anything I can find seems to indicate the weight on the pin is 1275 with or without bars.

[Mich F]

Originally Posted by boydn1

Even more confused. Igot the info and put it into the app,
GCWR 15.950
GVWR 6,900
GVW 6100
TWR 10,150
Payload 1,570
And it came up
5er 25% 3,040
TT 12% 6,333

Are these suppose to be the weights in lbs that the truck could/should pull?
I find it pretty hard to beleive that the TT would be 63% of what RAM has as the TWR. Seems like a lot of law suits waiting to happen.
Am I doing something wrong?

Some of these calculators can get really confusing, but it's not really that hard to figure out. By the numbers you've given I assume you have the 5.7L Hemi with a 3.92 rear axle . Is that right ? I do question where you got your 6,100# GVW ?

[boydn1]

Originally Posted by Mich F

Some of these calculators can get really confusing, but it's not really that hard to figure out. By the numbers you've given I assume you have the 5.7L Hemi with a 3.92 rear axle . Is that right ? I do question where you got your 6,100# GVW ?

Confusing yes, means we've got a really nice car, cause it's pretty useless.
Yes 5.7 with 3.92. The 6,100 came from a cAt scale last year.


Thanks to all

[Mich F]

Originally Posted by boydn1

Confusing yes, means we've got a really nice car, cause it's pretty useless.
Yes 5.7 with 3.92. The 6,100 came from a cAt scale last year.


Thanks to all

OK, with that 6,100# GVW you're left with 800# before you reach your 6,900# GVWR. Naturally if that weight wasn't with the truck fully loaded with all the passengers and gear ready to camp you'll have less than an 800# margin. You'll need a weight distribution hitch and that would probably add around close to 100# or so to your GVW. If you subtract the 6,200# GVW from your 15950# GCWR that would leave you to believe you can tow up to 9,350#. You're limiting factor now is tongue weight. If you're left with a max tongue weight of 700# and figure on that being about 12% of the trailer weight, you're looking at a trailer that is a maximum of 5,833#. A 5th wheel pin weight at a low of 20% would be a trailer weight of 3,500#, which probably doesn't exist, unless it's super small. Those max trailer weight numbers could be more with the proper setup of the weight distribution hitch. It will distribute weight to the front axle of your truck and to the trailer axles. I don't remember the percentages , but I believe they can be substantial.

Something else to consider is that fact that your 6,900# GVWR is 900# less than your combined axle ratings. My guess would be that the tires are what's keeping the GVWR down (it could be be suspension components or whatever). If you load up to your axle rating on either axle you've exceeded the rating on some other component.

I don't know if this has clarified anything or made it more confusing, but good lick anyway.

[Cyclone Dave]

Originally Posted by boydn1

Are there no answers to these questions?

Did you use the app in "Expert" mode or "Beginner" mode? Beginner mode explains what you need to know. And if that isn't clear as a bell, then there are lots of answers in the FAQ within the app.