Like many people, you’ve probably dreamed of RVing for years, and maybe you’re just about to make that first step into RV shopping and comparison. But buying the right new or used RV isn’t only about making sure you have plenty of space-increasing slide outs, an outdoor kitchen, or enough sleeping space to bring along the grandkids. Understanding your vehicle’s towing capacity is a critical piece of choosing the right RV for your life.
Having the right towing vehicle and RV combination is the key to towing your RV safely. So how do you know if your vehicle is capable of towing your RV? We’ve taken the guesswork out with our handy towing guide. By simply entering in your vehicle’s year, make, and model, you can get an estimate of its towing capacity. Start here with our towing guide.
You’ll want to understand the terms and definitions, too. These will include:
- Dry Weight/Shipped Weight – The weight of the RV as shipped from the manufacturer without any passengers, cargo, liquids, or additional accessories or dealer installed options.
- Gross Vehicle Weight (GVW) – The current combined weight of the RV (dry weight) plus passengers, cargo, and liquids.
- Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR) – The maximum allowed weight of an Vehicle/RV, including passengers, cargo, fluids, etc..
- Cargo Weight – The total weight of all passengers, food, clothing, liquids, accessories, etc.. that you might put into your RV.
- Tongue/Hitch Weight – The weight/pressure applied from the trailer tongue/coupler to the conventional/bumper hitch on your vehicle.
- Pin Weight – This is often referred to as the weight/pressure applied from fifth wheel king pin to the hitch in the bed of your truck.
- Payload Capacity – For Trucks the amount of weight you can safely add to the bed of the truck. Your Fifth Wheels Hitch Weight or Pin Weight plus the actual weight of hitch plus any other accessories you have in the bed of the truck must not exceed the Payload Capacity amount. Confirm Payload Capacity with your vehicle’s manufacturer.
- Max Towing Capacity – The maximum weight limit that can safely be towed by your specific vehicle. This weight is calculated by adding the RV’s GVW with weight of all passengers, cargo, and liquids in your tow vehicle.
It’s a good idea to know your vehicle’s towing capacity before you shop for a new or used RV. If you still find yourself uncertain, contact us today! We can help you figure out which RVs your vehicle can safely tow so that you can confidently and safely get on the road!
