Reference
Towing weights explained
Written by Hemant RawatLast reviewed July 2026How we verify
The acronyms on your door label, in plain English — and how tongue weight fits into all of them.
Gross Vehicle Weight RatingGVWR
The manufacturer’s maximum loaded weight of the tow vehicle itself — vehicle, fuel, all occupants, cargo, and the trailer’s tongue weight.
Gross Combination Weight RatingGCWR
The maximum total weight of the fully loaded tow vehicle and fully loaded trailer together. The advertised tow rating is derived from this.
Gross Axle Weight RatingGAWR
The maximum load one axle can carry, measured at the tires. There are separate front (FAWR) and rear (RAWR) ratings on the door label.
Curb weight
The weight of the vehicle ready to drive — standard equipment, full fluids — but with no passengers or cargo.
Payload
What the tow vehicle can carry: GVWR minus curb weight. It covers passengers, cargo, accessories, AND the trailer’s tongue weight.
Gross Trailer WeightGTW / GVW
The actual measured total weight of the fully loaded trailer — the trailer plus all cargo, water, propane and gear on it.
Tongue weightTW
The static downward force the trailer coupler exerts on the hitch ball. Target ~10–15% of GTW for a conventional bumper-pull trailer.
SAE J2807
The SAE International standard that defines a uniform test for setting a vehicle’s tow rating and GCWR, so ratings can be compared across manufacturers.
Tongue weight counts against your payload
This is the point that trips up the most people. Tongue weight rests on the tow vehicle through the hitch, so it is part of your payload — it comes straight out of the weight you have left for passengers and cargo:
available payload for people + cargo = payload capacity − tongue weight
And because the hitch ball sits behind the rear axle, tongue weight acts as a lever that piles disproportionate load on the rear axle — so you can blow past the rear GAWR long before you reach the truck's advertised maximum tow rating.
Stay under every limit, not just the tow rating
A tow setup is safe only when it stays under every rating at once — GCWR, GVWR, front and rear GAWR, payload, and the hitch, ball and tire ratings — not just the advertised maximum tow rating. Because tongue weight rests behind the rear axle, the binding limit is usually payload or rear GAWR, reached well before the tow rating.
Where the tow rating comes from
SAE J2807 is the standardized tow-rating test procedure manufacturers use to publish comparable tow ratings and GCWR.
Ready to size your setup? Start with your tongue weight, then confirm your hitch class and, if the trailer is heavy, whether you need a weight distribution hitch.
Sources
- CURT Manufacturing — Towing capacity & payload
- Blue Ox — Towing guide — chapter 5: towing capacity
- U.S. eCFR (Cornell LII) — 49 CFR 571.3 — definitions (GVWR, GAWR)
Values are summarized from public references and were last verified July 2026. See ourmethodologyfor how we source and verify; manufacturer rating labels and your owner's manual always take precedence.