Can Your Vehicle Tow That Trailer?
Tow ratings on brochures assume an empty truck and a professional driver. This calculator runs the numbers that actually matter: payload left after passengers, tongue weight at the real 10 to 15 percent rule, and your combined-weight margin.
How the math works
Payload is GVWR minus curb weight, and everything rides against it: passengers, cargo, and the trailer's tongue weight. Tongue weight should be 10 to 15 percent of loaded trailer weight for bumper-pull trailers (15 to 25 percent pin weight for gooseneck and fifth-wheel). GCWR caps the whole rolling package: truck, people, cargo, and trailer together. Blow any one of the three and the setup is unsafe regardless of what the hitch sticker says. The capacity guide and tongue weight guide explain each number, and the trailer buying guide helps you pick the right trailer weight in the first place.