I have a few questions to clear up exactly what I'm looking at and trying to calculate. I'm going to spell out 3 methods of calculating how much I can tow. 2013 Ford FX4 supercrew, 145" wb, 5.0L V8, normal receiver hitch. I went to a CAT scale already to get a baseline 'curb weight' (my truck, me, half tank of fuel, 2 car seats, and a tonneau cover)
Method 1;
GCWR is 13,500lbs according to ford website. Curb weight is 6240 lbs, so GCWR is curb weight plus other people/cargo + weight of trailer; 13500 = 6240+250 + x; x is 7010lbs. The 250 pounds accounts for my wife...
and two kids and say a few small bags/food for the car. This 7010lbs. sets the absolute upper limit of loaded weight of my trailer with my family in the cab. (7010 less anything I have in the bed of course)
Method 2;
My door jamb sticker says max payload is 1342lbs. Now, I've already eaten into payload some with me, the car seats and bed cover, so I'll change 250lbs to 500lbs for cargo, which is now family of 4, bed cover, car seats, etc.
So max payload = cargo + max trailer tongue weight; 1342 = 500 + x.
X (max tongue weight) = 842lbs. Meaning trailer can range say from 8420 (10% tongue weight) to 5613 (15% tongue weight).
Method 3;
Using GVWR on door jamb (max weight of vehicle plus people/cargo/tongue weight) is 7350 = 6240 + 250 + x (max tongue weight), putting max tongue weight at 860lbs, which is, using 15% tongue weight, a 5733lb trailer.
Method 1 and 2 are close enough for comfort, but both are quite a bit less than method 1. Does payload/GVWR calculation basically give you a max trailer weight, UP TO the GCWR calculation? Or do people just throw payload out the window and use GCWR and GVWR?
Now the discrepancies;
*My door jamb sticker GAWR is front/rear 3750/4050, for a total of 7800lbs. Different than the 7350 GVWR stamp right above it. Using 7800 GAWR, I'd have 450 more pounds of payload/tongue weight to work with, which is a whole lot of trailer. Which is correct? Is it GAWR UP TO the 7350?
*The ford brochure Link lists my towing cap at 7700lbs, and max payload at 1764 lbs. Both different than my sticker and my calculations. I assume this to be differences of options, and my door jamb sticker supercedes? Using those numbers gives you a curb weight of 5800.. is that likely the lightest a ford truck would weight at the factory? So they use that towing cap number since it's the max?
On the topic of payload, 100lbs of stuff in bed of truck is 100lbs of direct payload, but that same stuff in/on the trailer only adds 10-20% of 100lbs to your payload, correct? So while any cargo anywhere adds pound for pound to your GCWR, putting cargo in your trailer works to your advantage for reducing payload? I want to make sure I'm thinking about that correctly.
My door jamb sticker
Method 1;
GCWR is 13,500lbs according to ford website. Curb weight is 6240 lbs, so GCWR is curb weight plus other people/cargo + weight of trailer; 13500 = 6240+250 + x; x is 7010lbs. The 250 pounds accounts for my wife...
and two kids and say a few small bags/food for the car. This 7010lbs. sets the absolute upper limit of loaded weight of my trailer with my family in the cab. (7010 less anything I have in the bed of course)
Method 2;
My door jamb sticker says max payload is 1342lbs. Now, I've already eaten into payload some with me, the car seats and bed cover, so I'll change 250lbs to 500lbs for cargo, which is now family of 4, bed cover, car seats, etc.
So max payload = cargo + max trailer tongue weight; 1342 = 500 + x.
X (max tongue weight) = 842lbs. Meaning trailer can range say from 8420 (10% tongue weight) to 5613 (15% tongue weight).
Method 3;
Using GVWR on door jamb (max weight of vehicle plus people/cargo/tongue weight) is 7350 = 6240 + 250 + x (max tongue weight), putting max tongue weight at 860lbs, which is, using 15% tongue weight, a 5733lb trailer.
Method 1 and 2 are close enough for comfort, but both are quite a bit less than method 1. Does payload/GVWR calculation basically give you a max trailer weight, UP TO the GCWR calculation? Or do people just throw payload out the window and use GCWR and GVWR?
Now the discrepancies;
*My door jamb sticker GAWR is front/rear 3750/4050, for a total of 7800lbs. Different than the 7350 GVWR stamp right above it. Using 7800 GAWR, I'd have 450 more pounds of payload/tongue weight to work with, which is a whole lot of trailer. Which is correct? Is it GAWR UP TO the 7350?
*The ford brochure Link lists my towing cap at 7700lbs, and max payload at 1764 lbs. Both different than my sticker and my calculations. I assume this to be differences of options, and my door jamb sticker supercedes? Using those numbers gives you a curb weight of 5800.. is that likely the lightest a ford truck would weight at the factory? So they use that towing cap number since it's the max?
On the topic of payload, 100lbs of stuff in bed of truck is 100lbs of direct payload, but that same stuff in/on the trailer only adds 10-20% of 100lbs to your payload, correct? So while any cargo anywhere adds pound for pound to your GCWR, putting cargo in your trailer works to your advantage for reducing payload? I want to make sure I'm thinking about that correctly.
My door jamb sticker