NFB: Vehicle Gross Weights

[01Y87]

As I was moving recently with a U-Haul & trailer for the Camaro and had a couple days on the road to think about this and I just cant seem to figure out these numbers. Maybe someone here has a trailer or truck & trailer.

The U-Haul truck's empty (unladen) weight is listed as 8,000. Now it says on the said "UNDER 11,000 GROSS". So that would mean you could only put 3,000 lbs of stuff in the back, right? That doesn't seem like a lot. Now the fun part: a trailer & Camaro on the back. I don't know how much the trailer weights but the booklet says you can load it up to 6,000 with a car that weighs maximum 3,900 (so i guess the trailer is 2,000???)

Well just for kicks I had myself weighed on the highway at one of those legal-certified truck scales. It said my trailer weighed 4,850. Ok, I can see that if the Camaro is 3,300 then the trailer might be 1,500 or so - makes sense to me. BUT: isn't it true that when pulling a trailer you add the gross of the trailer to the towing vehicle? The scale said my total vehicle weight was 17,000!!! Just the two axles of the truck alone were a little over 12,000! So am i doing the math right? That would make me overweight.....

THe reason I say do you add the gross of the trailer to the truck is because using those numbers you wouldn't be able to put anything else in the truck because the empty truck + trailer/car would already be over 11,000.

I didn't get a ticket or anything but i was just wondering. I did blow out one of the trailer tires. At one stop I noticed the tires seemed a little too warm then later when i hit moderate braking one of the tires blew and shredded up. I think that may have been due to it being heavy. Or who knows, could be that i was driving 65 when they say to go 45 w/trailer. Of course the U-Haul representitive didn't tell me anything about weights when i rented the truck. Heck, he couldn't even tell me the truck height clearance when i asked what it was. I think a lot of people who rent those trucks don't know jack about weights and just load it to the top... but probably what they should be telling people is to rent a bigger truck than you need if you are towing to allow for the extra trailer weight, right?

[emersonfable]

The main point is that GVWR and GCWR are two different ratings. The 11,000 lbs label on the truck refers to the maximum weight the truck itself can carry, including cargo, passengers, fuel, and the trailer's tongue weight. It does not include the full weight of the trailer, since most of that load stays on the trailer's own axle.

The 17,000 lbs reading you saw was most likely the gross combined weight, which includes both the truck and trailer. That number is only an issue if it exceeds the truck's GCWR. Checking individual axle weights gives a much better picture of whether everything is within safe limits.

The trailer tire failure could have been caused by a combination of speed, tire condition, inflation, and heat buildup rather than weight alone. Reading the weighing guides from Scales4U helped me better understand how axle loads affect towing safety. Rental companies should spend more time explaining these weight ratings because many first-time renters don't realize how different towing calculations are from simply loading a truck.

[ruhipatel]

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