Towing,

[Gary RV_Wizard]

I think you are trying to make the "tow rating" more rigid than it actually is, especially on a vehicle built & spec'ed in stages, i.e. first a bare chassis, perhaps with a hitch receiver already installed, then a completed vehicle with a motorhome body. The stripped chassis builder can put on a "tow rating", but it is subject to modification once the body is added. As the old saw goes, "it ain't over till the fat lady sings".

The only unchanging number is the GCWR, and even that is limited by the actual hitch installed.

 

[Onyrlef]

I think you are trying to make the "tow rating" more rigid than it actually is, especially on a vehicle built & spec'ed in stages, i.e. first a bare chassis, perhaps with a hitch receiver already installed, then a completed vehicle with a motorhome body. The stripped chassis builder can put on a "tow rating", but it is subject to modification once the body is added. As the old saw goes, "it ain't over till the fat lady sings".

The only unchanging number is the GCWR, and even that is limited by the actual hitch installed.

The gcvwr has nothing to do with the type hitch installed. The gcvwr rating is determined by a number of fixed factors, including engine, transmission and suspension and after 2011 for Lt. Trucks by J2807 performance standards. Hitches are variables, installing a class IV 10,000 lb rated hitch on a vehicle rated to tow 5k will no more effect the vehicles gcvwr than installing a class II 3,500 lb would. A hitch rated lower than the vehicles rated towing capacity simply limits the amount of weight the vehicle may tow, not the amount of weight it can (is rated) to tow.

 

[Ex-Calif]

The only unchanging number is the GCWR, and even that is limited by the actual hitch installed.

A hitch rated lower than the vehicles rated towing capacity simply limits the amount of weight the vehicle may tow, not the amount of weight it can (is rated) to tow.

I think you guys are saying the same thing.

 

[Onyrlef]

I think you guys are saying the same thing.

No we're not, gcvwr is a fixed value which has nothing to do with the hitch rating. Apples and oranges.

 

[Ray-IN]

No we're not, gcvwr is a fixed value which has nothing to do with the hitch rating. Apples and oranges.

Well, at first I thought like Gary; after some time of thought, you are right. A vehicle can have a GCVWR of say 50,000# and a hitch rated to tow 50,000#.
Ridiculous? Sure, but demonstrates the issue.

 

[Ex-Calif]

I think you guys are saying the same thing.

Well as I read it you both say the GCVWR is the fixed value.

Then you both say that regardless of that the Hitch limits (or not) how much of that value you can use.

If my RV weighs 13,000lbs and the GCVWR is 19,000 "and" I have a 2,000# hitch then I can only tow 2,000#.

I'll rest now because this has gone completely circular.

 

[Onyrlef]

Well as I read it you both say the GCVWR is the fixed value.

Then you both say that regardless of that the Hitch limits (or not) how much of that value you can use.

If my RV weighs 13,000lbs and the GCVWR is 19,000 "and" I have a 2,000# hitch then I can only tow 2,000#.

I'll rest now because this has gone completely circular.

Non sequitur

 

[Ex-Calif]

Non sequitur

Well the only other possibility is that either you or Gary don't understand towing and I am not willing to accept that conclusion...

 

[Onyrlef]

Well the only other possibility is that either you or Gary don't understand towing and I am not willing to accept that conclusion...

Nonetheless

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

No we're not, gcvwr is a fixed value which has nothing to do with the hitch rating. Apples and oranges.

Agreed, and I didn't mean to suggest otherwise. Theoretically the vehicle can tow anything as long as the combination does not exceed the GCWR. However, the hitch and its attachment places a further limit on what can be towed, so that the tow capability may be less than what the GCWR indicates.

So all I'm saying is that the towing capability is limited by either the GCWR or the hitch rating, whichever is less.

 

[Ray-IN]

One spells it Tomato, the other spells it Tomatoe. Comes off the tongue sounding the same.
Whatcha say we call a draw between two great members?

 

[Ex-Calif]

One spells it Tomato, the other spells it Tomatoe. Comes off the tongue sounding the same.
Whatcha say we call a draw between two great members?

Agree!

So all I'm saying is that the towing capability is limited by either the GCWR or the hitch rating, whichever is less.

I'm afraid to further mention payload limit and rear axle ratings - LOL...

 

[Adventurous Traveler]

To add to Gary's post "It ain' (over the hill) till the fat lady sings".