Filter
Top Products
If the vehicle has many options and
there is a front seat passenger and
two rear seat passengers with some
luggage and gear in the vehicle as
well. 300 lbs (136 kg) could be
added to the front axle weight and
400 lbs (181 kg) to the rear axle
weight. The vehicle now weighs:
Weight is still below 7,200 lbs
(3 266 kg) and you might think
700 additional pounds (318 kg)
should be subtracted from the
trailering capacity to stay within
GCWR limits. The maximum trailer
would only be 7,800 lbs (3 538 kg).
You may go further and think the
tongue weight should be limited to
less than 1,000 lbs (454 kg) to
avoid exceeding GVWR. But the
effect on the rear axle must still
be considered. Because the
rear axle now weighs 3,100 lbs
(1 406 kg), 900 lbs (408 kg) can
be put on the rear axle without
exceeding RGAWR. The effect of
tongue weight is about 1.5 times
the actual weight. Dividing the
900 lbs (408 kg) by 1.5 leaves only
600 lbs (272 kg) of tongue weight
that can be handled. Since tongue
weight is usually at least 10 percent
of total loaded trailer weight, expect
that the largest trailer the vehicle
can properly handle is 6,000 lbs
(2 721 kg).
It is important that the vehicle
does not exceed any of its
ratings — GCWR, GVWR, RGAWR,
Maximum Trailer Rating or Tongue
Weight. The only way to be sure it is
not exceeding any of these ratings is
to weigh the vehicle and trailer.
Total Weight on the
Vehicle’s Tires
Be sure the vehicle’s tires are
inflated to the upper limit for cold
tires. These numbers can be found
on the Certification/Tire label.
See Loading the Vehicle on
page 4-16. Make sure not to go
over the GVW limit for the vehicle,
including the weight of the trailer
tongue.
Hitches
It is important to have the correct
hitch equipment. Crosswinds,
large trucks going by and rough
roads are a few reasons why
the right hitch is needed. Here are
some rules to follow:
• The rear bumper on the vehicle
is not intended for hitches.
Do not attach rental hitches or
other bumper-type hitches
to it. Use only a frame-mounted
hitch that does not attach to
the bumper.
4-28 Driving Your Vehicle