How Heavy of a Trailer Can a Vehicle with an 8,600 lb Weight Capacity Tow

Published 07/06/2023

Question:

Tow vehicle details: GAWR front 3900 lbs GAWR rear 3900 lbs GVWR 6650 lbs Towing capacity 8600 lbs GCVWR 14000 lbs Trailer details: GTWR 10180 lbs As a private / non-commercial passenger vehicle engaged in towing a bumper pull flat deck trailer, if the GTWR of the trailer exceeds the rated towing capacity of my truck, and/or the GTWR of the trailer plus the GVWR of the truck exceeds the GCVWR, can I still tow this trailer if I ensure that for any given load, the GTW remains within the rated towing capacity of the tow vehicle, and the GCVWR is respected? Or do I need to match my tow vehicle to the maximum possible rating of the trailer to be towed?

asked by: Sean S

Expert Reply:

Great question, but the simple answer is that as long as the trailer always ends up weighing less than the towing capacity for the vehicle you can safely tow it. So just make sure that the trailer always weighs 8,600 lb or less.

expert reply by: Jameson C