Brief Discussion About Tow Rating and Other Related Quantities

Are you planning to start a towing business of your own, or work as a full time hauler for a firm? If you are thinking that it is going to be as easy as hooking the trailer to the tow vehicle, you are wrong. There are plenty of details which you will have to bear in mind, the most important element out of which is perhaps the one related to weight. Before starting out, you must make sure your vehicle is capable of towing your trailer while it is loaded, be it a 4 or 5 car hauler. And that is where tow capacities and ratings come into play.

The tow capacity or rating can be defined as the maximum weight a vehicle can pull without any problem. You can find it inside the owner’s manual of your tow van or truck. Not only does this measure will represent the weight of your trailer, but also the load that it can carry efficiently. The tow rating of any vehicle usually takes multiple factors into account:

• Structure of vehicle
• Design of suspension and chassis
• Axle ratios, engine type and other variables of drive train
• Class and design of hitch
• Load capacities and tire ratings

These numbers are never arbitrary, rather the result of comprehensive real-world testing performed by engineers for pushing vehicles to their extreme limits to determine accurate physical abilities of the trucks or vans.

Though it is very important to not exceed the tow rating of your vehicle, there are several other limits which should also be never crossed while towing. They include:

• GVWR - GVWR (gross vehicle weight rating) is the maximum load your vehicle can possibly carry, including fuel, cargo, passengers and the truck or van itself.
  
• GCWR - GCWR (gross combined weight rating) is the combined weight of your trailer and tow vehicle when fully loaded.
  
• GAWR - GAWR (gross axle weight ratings) represents the most load a certain axle is capable of carrying, including tire and wheel
  
• HWR - Hitch weight rating indicates the amount of load a hitch has been designed for carrying safely
  
• Tongue Weight - it must be between 15-30 percent for fifth wheel or gooseneck trailers and 10-15 percent for conventional ones, of the gross load.

Exceeding just one of the above mentioned can not only cause significant damage to both your trailer and tow vehicle, but also create a dangerous situation for you as well as other people on the road.