GVWR Question

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longhorn1

Ouch, that stings!
Joined
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Carmel, Indiana
Can someone give a better explanation about what GVWR means.

My 2013 Ford F-250 + 2014 FWC Grandby, long bed with tow package:

GVWR 10,000 lbs.

GAWR Front Axle 4,800 lbs
GAWR Rear Axle 6,100 lbs
TOTAL GAWR 10,900 lbs

Truck Fully Loaded 10,020 lbs.
(camper, 2 adults,
dog, & all supplies)

What number should I be comparing the fully loaded truck/camper to?
  • If to the GVWR of 10,000 lbs. I would be 20 lbs over.
  • If to the total of the GAWR of 10,900 lbs I would be 880 lbs under
To me this is confusing and I don't know the difference between the GVWR & GAWR. I don't know whether I'm over weight or well under weight.

Thanks, jd
 
GVWR is the manufacturer's Gross Vehicle Weight Rating of the truck
GAWR is the maximum Gross Axle Rating (capacity) of the axle.

Axles will always have a equal or higher combined capacity than the GVWR.

Since you mentioned tow package, tongue weight of a trailer is part of the truck's payload, and decreases the actual payload of the vehicle ( which is the total of all occupants and items in the truck).

As much as a lot of trucks have large trailering capacities, when the tongue weight is factored in, it sometimes leaves only the weight of the driver for the payload (especially in 1/2 ton trucks). This is legal/legal in speaking as people will load a truck to maximum and still tow a heavy trailer. Tongue weight of a trailer is between 10% and 15% of the gross trailer weight.

And to round this off. there is CGWR which is Combined Gross Weigh Rating for total weight of towing vehicle and trailer.
 
DSD277 & Paul

Thanks. I'm still confussed. I don't tow anything and the tow is turned off. I still need an answer whether I'm over weight or under weight based on the weights noted in my original post. Thanks. jd



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It is a confusing topic. The total weight your vehicle can carry, including tongue weight of a trailer is 10,000lbs. That 10,000lbs must be distributed such that the front axle carries no more than 4800lbs and the rear axle no more than 6100lbs.

You can't add the GAWR to get the GVWR. So, you are 20lbs overweight in the scenario you describe.

Does that help?
 
Basically, the GVWR is the number to be concerned with. Only in conditions where you're carrying a dense heavy load over an axle ( like dirt ) you'll have to be worried about GAWR. Towing doesn't mean a thing unless you are towing, just another variable to add on when you do.

You never worry about being "under weight". For the most part it would mean you bought more capacity than you need/use ( not a bad thing). Better safe than sorry. You'll never get a ticket for being under loaded.... LEOs can make you park your truck and make you unload to GVW .
The only negative to having a heavier truck than you need is a little more cost, lower fuel mileage and a harsher ride when way below GVW ( and added fees by the state for license)

If you are worried, just take your loaded truck ( everything you'd take with you on a trip) to a public scale and weigh it.

I've had/have literally a dozen+ trucks.. from Chevy Colorados, 1/2T, 3/4t,1T and up to 2 1/2 and 5T service trucks. One thing I am anal on is not to be stopped for equipment violations.

If you want to post what model and cab of truck and what you're carrying, I should be able guess how you're doing.

One last thing, Ford F250 have been some of the heaviest pickups and with a compatible GVW to Chevy, the lowest payload.
 
PJorgen said:
It is a confusing topic. The total weight your vehicle can carry, including tongue weight of a trailer is 10,000lbs. That 10,000lbs must be distributed such that the front axle carries no more than 4800lbs and the rear axle no more than 6100lbs.

You can't add the GAWR to get the GVWR. So, you are 20lbs overweight in the scenario you describe.

Does that help?
Click to expand...
Sorry that's wrong. Gross vehicle weight rating is the TOTAL weight of vehicle and everything in or on it. This includes people, fuel, engine oil, camper, coffee in the cup holder, tongue weight of a trailer.

It's not the weight the vehicle can carry. That's load capacity. You get that by subtracting the total wet unloaded vehicle weight from the GVWR. What's left is the load capacity.

Gross axle weight rating is just that. The weight capacity at each end of the vehicle sitting on that axle.

Some scales weigh each axle. Front, rear, trailer.

Take the truck to a Certified scale. Weigh the whole package as packed for camping. If it weighs more than 10,000 you are over weight. If you weigh the vehicle at each axle and either one is over the GAWR than that axle is overloaded.

That said weight ratings and tow capacity are often pretty arbitrary numbers. For many manufacturers the lawyers have more say in this than the engineers. Same vehicle in different markets can have different weight ratings depending on country sold in. Sometimes the springs are different sometimes just gear ratios in the axles. Some times no difference.

There was no Industry standard in the US until a couple of years ago. When the manufacturers agreed to Towing capacity standards several trucks lost a good bit of capacity some gained a little. Many factors including stopping distance loaded are considered.
 
The truck is a crew cab, long bed and the camper is a Grandby. I stopped at a CAT Scale before leaving and minus my wife and dog, with full tank, camper and supplies and the weight was 9,800 lbs. Stopped at another CAT Scale in Arkansas, full tank and wife, dog, and fully loaded camper with a weight of 10,020 lbs. The GVWR on the truck sticker is 10,000. That means we were 20 lbs over.

I can cut back on stuff we are taking, including cloths, not filling up the cooler and taking cases of water, and other drinks. We can pick up when we get to our destination. I can remove the legs, which are 100 lbs. I can also remove water from Porta potty reservoir. There are other items that can further lower the weight. My Engle Cooler is extremely heavy when loaded.

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Safety-wise, 20 pounds won't make enough difference to go through that hassle. And if you're only 20 pounds over, you're not gonna get stopped for your weight. You might read stories about insurance claims being denied and such, but I've yet to see anyone say it happened to them or someone they know personally...always that it "can" happen. And yet it doesn't. But you're one paying the bills, so do what makes you feel comfortable.

I'm not saying to be flippant about weights...I got a 3/4t because I didn't feel comfortable putting a camper on a 1/2t, even if others do it just fine. But 20lbs isn't worth worrying about, IMO.

Also, you may want to use tow mode when you're hauling the camper, even if you don't have a trailer. All it really does is changes when the transmission shifts so you won't be hunting for gears when you're going uphill, it'll keep you from accelerating or riding the brakes too much on the downhills, etc...but it'll be a smoother ride and probably easier on your truck.
 
Squatch said:
Sorry that's wrong. Gross vehicle weight rating is the TOTAL weight of vehicle and everything in or on it. This includes people, fuel, engine oil, camper, coffee in the cup holder, tongue weight of a trailer.

It's not the weight the vehicle can carry. That's load capacity. You get that by subtracting the total wet unloaded vehicle weight from the GVWR. What's left is the load capacity.

Gross axle weight rating is just that. The weight capacity at each end of the vehicle sitting on that axle.

Some scales weigh each axle. Front, rear, trailer.

Take the truck to a Certified scale. Weigh the whole package as packed for camping. If it weighs more than 10,000 you are over weight. If you weigh the vehicle at each axle and either one is over the GAWR than that axle is overloaded.

That said weight ratings and tow capacity are often pretty arbitrary numbers. For many manufacturers the lawyers have more say in this than the engineers. Same vehicle in different markets can have different weight ratings depending on country sold in. Sometimes the springs are different sometimes just gear ratios in the axles. Some times no difference.

There was no Industry standard in the US until a couple of years ago. When the manufacturers agreed to Towing capacity standards several trucks lost a good bit of capacity some gained a little. Many factors including stopping distance loaded are considered.
Click to expand...
You're right, I was not careful in my wording. I shouldn't have said total weight the vehicle can carry. I meant total weight of the vehicle, including coffee. Thanks for catching that.

Conclusion still stands, you're 20lbs overweight.
 
20 lbs is 0.2% of 10,000 if I've done the math right. I doubt the scale's accuracy is that good. In other words, 20 lbs. could be lost in the noise.
 
longhorn1 said:
The truck is a crew cab, long bed and the camper is a Grandby. I stopped at a CAT Scale before leaving and minus my wife and dog, with full tank, camper and supplies and the weight was 9,800 lbs. Stopped at another CAT Scale in Arkansas, full tank and wife, dog, and fully loaded camper with a weight of 10,020 lbs. The GVWR on the truck sticker is 10,000. That means we were 20 lbs over.
I can cut back on stuff we are taking, including cloths, not filling up the cooler and taking cases of water, and other drinks. We can pick up when we get to our destination. I can remove the legs, which are 100 lbs. I can also remove water from Porta potty reservoir. There are other items that can further lower the weight. My Engle Cooler is extremely heavy when loaded.
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Click to expand...
Don't worry about 20 lbs. No one will even think of the truck even close to GVW with a FWC camper.
It would have to be grossly overloaded or appear so before even a second look.
Maybe if you had a big Lance camper, and bounced down the road. LOL.
 
ntsqd said:
20 lbs is 0.2% of 10,000 if I've done the math right. I doubt the scale's accuracy is that good. In other words, 20 lbs. could be lost in the noise.
Click to expand...
Thanks, I forgot to address the scales, they tend to be off at the lower end,if designed for larger trucks that weigh up to 80,000 lbs.
also think what the scale would look like if you spilled a 90lb bag of concrete on it. Probably look like a thin layer of dust. ;)
 
What is interesting (to me anyway), is the axle rating is 6,000. It's different than the GAWR, but if you were to look only at the front axle, out of the truck, it would be a 6,000 lbs rating axle (assuming you have a 4x4, with the Dana 60/Super60).
 
I didn'the look to see where you found these numbers, but a given rating number will the lowest of the components. .. be it axle, springs, wheels or tires.
 
In a past life I was a commercial truck driver. If you don't upset the scale master he (she) can give you up 1000 pounds over your gvw. I am 300 pounds over when fully loaded but as the fuel and water get used it reduces your gvw and in your case it would put you legal very quick so go have fun and don't worry.
The scales are checking more RVs here in B.C especially the larger fifth wheels, anything over 33-34 feet, just over 10,000 gvw require a upgraded license and they do watch for them. We have a set of scales not far from our home and mid summer it is not unusual to see the "All RVs report to scales" sign a couple times a year. Its a revenue generator now as most of the commercial trucks have on board weight systems and of course the auto log books so they are not getting near the revenue they have been used to. They think we have money and being government they want an extra cut.
 
Thanks for the response. The GVWR & GAWR numbers are from the Ford sticker on the door post drivers side. I have a number of things I can remove which will get me under. jd

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