Towing Rates

I know that this might stir the pot a little on towing your trailers. I currently own a 2005 chevy cc swd duramax. Right now my wife and i are currently looking at the Cyclone trailer. But as a lot of you already know these trailers are heavy when fully loaded. So my biggest question that i have been reading, researching on the web is can i pull this trailer legally. So i finally broke down and drove to the Alberta weigh station (D.O.T) and asked them what are my options on trailers are. Now these quotes are just from the 1 station that i went to and very well can be different anywhere else. First thing he asked me was do i still have warrarnty on the truck. Why i asked? Because that sticker on the door is how the manufature deems there warranty work. You go over it no warranty, stay under your covered. I then took my owner's manual and sheets i had recieved from the local dealer and showed him some numbers. 2500HD diesel = 22000 GCVW, 3500 SRW diesel = 22000 GCVW and the 3500 diesel DRW = 23500 GCVW. Now my truck weighs in at 3600kg (7900 lbs)when loaded. That only leaves me with 14100 lbs GVW for a trailer with my truck or 15600 lbs GVW with the 1 ton dually which is heavier than mine but for here i'll call it the same weight as mine. The Cyclone is 18000 GVW so to me that is over weight right. Wrong according to the guy i am talking to. His next question was the hitch weight. Gave him the number 3000 lbs. (In between the 3850 and 3950 Cylclones we are looking at) His next question was my tires ratings. Mine are rated at 3415 lbs combined 6830 lbs. Thats the number i can not be over at the rear axles with the trailer on the truck. A dually would be doubled at 13660 lbs . This is what they are looking for when the travel trailers are coming in their station. Like i said that is just 1 location others may differ. Now i know why i see all these big trailers being pulled down the highways. I love my truck, done a lot of mods to it. I know the 1 ton dually is safer but for now i know the 3/4 can get by until it calls it quits and i have to upgrade. Dually will be next, once the pocket book recovers from the trailer purchase. :angel: i hope this may help out some people, but the best solution is to go into your local D.O.T and ask them what their restrictions are.

Yes your truck will pull the trailer but you will be over the GVRW of the truck. Simple as that.

But at least here in Alberta i don't have to worry about getting tickets as long as my Rear axles do not go over the tire ratings until i can buy that dually which i'm hoping for the 450 if i get the OK from the wife.

I like Ray's answer. It is short, concise and to the point.

But worse than just being overloaded, if anyone pulling a trailer and is over their GVWR has an acident, the lawyers will have a feild day with your insurance company.

I cannot understand why we all (sometimes I do too) try to justify towing overloaded. No matter how you slice it when you exceed the GCWR, GVWR or any other rating you are overloaded. Plan and simple. You cannot justify it, make it right, change it, or anything else. You are overloaded period. And it is even worse when you write it down and let the world know you tow overweight. Then you give the ammunition to the other person if or when the lawsuit happens. If you have a 3/4 ton pickup and buy an 18000 pound unit you know you will have to ungrade to tow vehicle or roll the dice. The choice is yours. But please don't put it in writing (I am not critizing anyone). MHO

SouthernNights said:

I like Ray's answer. It is short, concise and to the point.

But worse than just being overloaded, if anyone pulling a trailer and is over their GVWR has an acident, the lawyers will have a feild day with your insurance company.

Click to expand...

Hear this all the time but never have seen an article or anything to back this up.....would be nice to see....Kenny

I agree with Kenny, have never seen or heard of a problem, And I hope we never do. JON

I think it is called something like "acting outside the scope of ______" Like if your company requires you to wear a seatbelt while operating their vehicle. If you do not and are involved in an accident and need medical assistance or at fault they can legally deny your medical assistance or you could be held personally liable. At least that what the lawyers taught us in a liability class in Texas. Other states may vary. Bottom line is why chance it. Like one of my instructors used to say "Don't get caught short now"

As reported by smday, in Alberta the scales do base whether you are legal or not by the tires on the axle. I don't agree with it because you will almost always exceed the GAWR for your truck never mind the GVWR. It is what it is in Alberta until they change it.

I believe some of the blame for confusion should fall onto the truck manufacturers as well. While I don't know all the 3/4 ton or 1 ton ratings, I can tell you I am told that for the F-150 I drive I can pull a 9500 lb trailer. My buddy has a 2009 F-150 and he was told he can pull a 11,500 lb trailer. These numbers are not real world and I think they apply if the driver weighs 90 lbs and you are carrying 2 gallons of gas. The small print that no one selling trucks wants you to read says that regardless of the trailer weight or cargo loads you cant exceed the GVWR for the vehicle. I have weighed my rig and know that my 6500 lb is what I can "legally" pull basing it on my GVWR. A far cry from 9500 lbs. My point here is the truck salesman and RV salesman aren't telling the whole story and most people don't take the time to find out what is really happening because the guy said they could pull it.

There are a lot of scary rigs seen on the roads in Alberta. If they ever change the rules like they did in BC there will be a lot of "unhappy" campers.

David

"I don't agree with it because you will almost always exceed the GAWR for your truck never mind the GVWR."

And this is why we went with the Kodiak...RAWR is 13,500, even with the trailer on it, which has a 4,000lb pin weight, we still have OVER 4,000lbs of capacity left on the truck's rear axle. With the 1-ton we had prior to this, we would have been right at, or over the RAWR.

The GVWR is another issue all together, we exceed that a little, simply because the truck weighs 12,000lbs all by itself...but believe me, it can stop this entire rig with just the brakes on the truck....can't ever have too much truck!

Like i said earlier the wife and i haven't bought the Cyclone yet. I have all intentions of buying a bigger truck of atleast a 450 (4500) or more. The thing is that probably 75-80% of us run our trucks overweight if we have fully loaded the trailers. Like i wrote in the begining, a 2005 1 ton dually is not big enough to carry alot of trailers if we were to go to the extreme's here. Most Heartland trailers range from 14000 -18000 GVW and if your truck is a 1 ton dually the most you can tow legally is 15600 lbs if your weight of the truck is 7900 lbs like mine is. Which we all know there not because there a bigger truck. So that would cut out half of Heartland's inventory for most campers. If you go to a dealership how many 450 (4500) and bigger trucks are on the lots for sale. Where i live with a 60000 population there is not one truck on a lot that big for sale (wife and i went looking yesterday), but yet we have some large RV dealers with big trailers and a lot of Snowbirds that buy them and go south during the winter. So that makes me think that the dealers say a 1 ton dually is big enough to carry an 18000 lb trailer legally even though they would probably be overweight according to the sticker on the door and yet they still sell them. To me if i am going to a dealer to buy a truck and i ask the question how big of a trailer can i tow legally. They should have an the answer. The trucks should have a dry weight sticker on them as well so we can calculate capacities before buying. The same thing with the RV guys. They should tell you if your truck you have is going to be legal or not. (They never do because they just want you to buy and get off there lot most time)

I did a lot of research on the GVCWR of the 3/4 ton diesel pickups before I bought my 3055 RL. I went with it because it does not exceed the GCVWR of my F250 CC SB FWD PSD truck. It also does not exceed any individual axle gvwr's. I still have 700 pounds of pin weight on my rear axle available. In the example of the Ford trucks, research revealed the following interesting facts. A F250 like mine with the factory installed "Camper Package" is identical to a F350 except for the factory installed tires and the badges. The running gear, brakes wheels, spring pack part numbers and axles are identical to the F350. I have the 3460# rated tires so my difference is the badges. The point: The manufacturers cause this nonsense in their attempts to keep registration fees in check where loaded weight ratings dictate the fee amount. You can not change the weight ratings supplied by the manufacturer of thr truck but it sure explains why so many people tow rigs over GVWR with a 3/4 ton truck. Opinion worth exactly what was paid for it.

Ricatic