I just read in Motortrend that the new Ram 3500s will have a 24,000 GCWR. Yay, only 500 pounds short of Fords! Haven't found the article online yet but when i get a chance i'll scan it.

 

here the picture... hope it works

 

hrmm thats interesting stuff. I wonder if there were actually any physical changes that were made to the truck, or if they just woke up and realized that it was much more capable

 

GCWR helps the trailer pullers....What about camper haulers? I'd like more than 11500 GVWR! Any reports?

Doesn't mean I'm going to rush out & buy a new truck....I've still got ~8 years left on this one!

But I'd still like to see more GVWR out there!

TIA

Tony

 

Alright, couldn't just bounce by this one. I read it as Dodge has upped their GCWR to 24,000 lbs. My '06 is rated at 23,000 lbs. Were you thinking that meant towing capacity by chance? That would be understandable however I need to throw out a question to some much smarter people than me on our forum here. If, for example, my truck has a GVWR rating of 12,200 lbs. as it does, and my GCWR is 23,000 lbs., then does that mean my towing capacity is 10,800 lbs? On Dodge's own web site with my specs it lists the towing capacity at 15,300 lbs. By their definition, wouldn't the GCWR be 27,500 lbs? I know I'm not right some where. Just for fun I checked on an '08 5500 4x2 reg cab and it's rated at GVWR of 19,500 lbs. and GCWR of 26,000 lbs. This is supposed to be a MUCH more capable truck than a standard one-ton. Ford's ratings on their F-450 is 33,000 lbs. as their max GVWR with a tow capacity of 24,500 lbs. Is Dodge adding something wrong or is Ford? Even their F-350 has a GVWR of 23,000 lbs. I know I'm getting all out of shape over a possible magazine misprint, but doesn't it make you curious? Any opinions or better answers are welcome.

Just thought about something and this may be the answer. Dodge lists their towing capacity as MAXIMUM towing capacity. If you subtract that from GCWR (23,000 - 15,300 = 7700) Then that would be the curb weight plus the driver. A small driver nonetheless. (7,545 curb & 155 drvr) So by their numbers, A person who owns a 38' 5er shouldn't have anything in the truck but him/her self when pulling it. Does this make sense to you?

 

GCWR is the weight of the trailer and the tow vehicle combined.

GVWR is what JUST the truck is rated to weigh at "max". FOr instance you could load the truck with rocks in the bed to the point that the vechicle's weight matches the GVWR. OR for instance , if you weigh the truck full of fuel and driver and passengers, take that number and subtract it from GVWR, whatever you have leftover from GVWR is what the max allowable pin weight would be.

did you understand? it took me a while to figure it all out

after re reading your post some more , i would like to add that GCWR and GVWR are not really related, its kind of an EITHER OR deal and they expect you to stop whenever you exceed either weight rating.

also you said your GVWR was 12,200lbs, well you can make your truck weigh that much but you also must not exceed 23,000 (GCWR) while doing it.

Likewise you can add a huge ole honkin trailer that makes your GCWR 23,000lbs but you may not exceed 12,200 vehicle weight (GVWR) while doing that.

 

So, had I wanted a real heavy-duty truck, I should have gone with a Ford? They list their minimum GVWR on their F-350 at 23,000. Over 10,800 lbs. more!? I really think they messed up and listed the GCWR instead of the actual GVWR. That would make more sense. Then again they list the maxed F-450 with a GVWR of 33,000. Take away their 24,500 advertisement for towing capacity and that leaves 8500, which would be in line for their curb weight. See where this is getting fuzzy to me?

 

No matter what they change they still never going to bring the GCWR over to or over 26,000 in the F-350 becasue then they get into DOT territory. They will keep adding numbers until they get to that point.

 

None of those numbers really even matter to me anyways, as I gross 30-36k on a fairly regular basis.

 

23,000 is the GCVWR for a F-350 DRW with Tow Boss (PSD and 4.30 gears)
33,000 is the GCVWR for a F-450 with 4.3 gears

 

My brothers F-350 weighs 8500 lbs. That F-450 is probably closer to 10,000 lbs full of fuel.

 

that had to have been a Misprint, there is noway that the GVWR is 23,000.

I can say without a doubt that is their GCWR.

My f-in-law has a 07 F350 with the tow boss package, i looked at the door sticker a long time ago and if i remember correctly the GVWR was a little over 14,000 and the GCWR was 26,000. I could be wrong on both accounts, but i think those numbers are correct.

On thing to remember about the Fords rating's being higher... the fords weigh in about 1,000lbs heavier then the other big two, so it ends up being pretty close as far as the advertised limits.

 

I thought it had to be a misprint on their website. Just wanted another set of eyes on my problem. Thanks for the responses.

Chris

 

That brings me to my next question. How do you get away with it? I see three car haulers being pulled by one-tons all of the time. Some even list 32,000 Gross on the side. Isn't that a wee bit over what is deemed safe?

 

Deemed by who? That's the problem with so called tow ratings. They only hold "weight" with the manufacturer. DOT could care less about GVWR and GCVWR. These are limits set by the manufacturer as a way to limit warranty coverage and avoid litigation. DOT is concerned with axle and tire ratings and registered weights (I'm probably forgetting something). The system is very confusing to the point people at the DMV have no clue what to do.