The question has come up many times on CharlestonFishing.Com in regards to different vehicles towing capabilities. The conversation usually revolves around someone who is looking to either purchase a new vehicle or a new boat and they are looking for advice from owners of the same or similar combinations on compatibility. Inevitably someone will offer up something along the lines that XYZ brand will pull that 100K pound rig because it is a XYZ brand and that brand is better than any other in the world. I thought that perhaps it may help all of us understand the true science of understanding how towing capacity is calculated by manufacturers. Below is an online article that I found from the popular site, ?How Stuff Works.? I found this to be one of the clearest and to the point references on GCWR so I thought I would pass it on. See Below
?Even though all of these costs, statistics, weights and measures are published, or somehow available to consumers, there are still a few numbers that cause some confusion among new car and truck buyers. Truthfully, most people don’t even know what some of these numbers really mean, or the consequences of ignoring them. One example is a vehicle’s gross combination weight rating, or GCWR.
If you’re ever planning to tow a trailer with your vehicle – whether it’s a car, truck or SUV – you should be aware of your gross combination weight rating, so you should probably start by learning the definition of a GCWR. A vehicle’s GCWR is a specific weight determined by the manufacturer to be the maximum weight of a loaded tow vehicle and its attached loaded trailer. The total weight of the tow vehicle and trailer should never exceed the manufacturer’s listed GCWR [source: Ford Motor Company].
Similar to a vehicle’s gross vehicle weight rating, or GVWR, the gross combination weight rating is a specific maximum weight limit determined by the manufacturer. The major difference is that the GCWR takes into account two individual (yet attached) vehicles – the tow vehicle and the tra