Do you want to better understand how much you can tow and which new travel trailer for sale would be the best one to buy with the vehicle you have? Check out our tow guides! But before you do that, let’s take a look at some of the key things you’ll need to know about figuring this out.
Understanding your vehicle’s tow rating capacity is critical to choosing the right RV for you and your family!
Towing your new RV safely down the road will depend on having the right tow vehicle and RV combination.
You’ll want to know that your vehicle’s max towing capacity includes passenger weight, added accessories, any current liquids in tanks, and all of your cargo (this is things like food, clothes, chairs, grills, games, tools, etc.).
Use the tow guides to find RVs that you can tow with the make and model of your vehicle. Just plug in this information, and you’ll know exactly what kind of RV you can buy!
You should always confirm your specific tow vehicles towing capacity directly from your vehicle’s manufacturer before purchasing or towing an RV. This is just an extra safety precaution that will ensure that you and your family are comfortably and safely making it down the road!
If you are confused or are not sure about what certain terms mean, read below to find what you’re looking for!
- Dry Weight/Shipped Weight: The weight of the RV as shipped from the manufacturer without any passengers, cargo, liquids, or additional accessories or dealer installed options.
- Gross Vehicle Weight (GVW): The current combined weight of the RV (dry weight) plus passengers, cargo, and liquids.
- Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR): The maximum allowed weight of an Vehicle/RV, including passengers, cargo, fluids, etc.
- Cargo Weight: The total weight of all passengers, food, clothing, liquids, accessories, etc.. that you might put into your RV.
- Tongue/Hitch Weight: The weight/pressure applied from the trailer tongue/coupler to the conventional/bumper hitch on your vehicle.
- Pin Weight: This is often referred to as the weight/pressure applied from fifth wheel king pin to the hitch in the bed of your truck.
- Payload Capacity: For Trucks the amount of weight you can safely add to the bed of the truck. Your Fifth Wheels Hitch Weight or Pin Weight plus the actual weight of hitch plus any other accessories you have in the bed of the truck must not exceed the Payload Capacity amount. Confirm Payload Capacity with your vehicle’s manufacturer.
- Max Towing Capacity: The maximum weight limit that can safely be towed by your specific vehicle. This weight is calculated by adding the RV’s GVW with weight of all passengers, cargo, and liquids in your tow vehicle.
If you have questions or need advice on anything concerning your RV or your towing capacity from the tow guides, please contact us today. We love connecting with customers, and our staff is extremely helpful!
We wish you safe towing!
