How we source towing capacity data

Tow Ratings is a free reference for U.S. towing capacity, GVWR, curb weight, and payload across 69,678 vehicles from 57 manufacturers and 36 model years (1991–2026). Every figure on the site is derived from manufacturer documentation. This page explains exactly how we compile, verify, and present the data.

Primary data source

All towing-capacity figures on Tow Ratings originate with the manufacturer of the vehicle. The OEMs (Ford, General Motors, Stellantis, Toyota, Nissan, and the rest) publish per-model towing guides each model year alongside the vehicle's homologation paperwork. These guides are the authoritative source for the towing rating of a given trim and hitch configuration, and they are what dealerships, finance companies, and insurers rely on when a tow rating is in dispute.

For very old vehicles where the manufacturer no longer hosts a current towing guide, we work from the manufacturer's original window-sticker spec, the relevant model-year sales literature, and the owner's manual issued with the vehicle. We do not invent figures, and we do not infer a tow rating from engine size or curb weight when the manufacturer has not published one.

How the figures are derived

Manufacturers commonly publish more than one towing capacity figure per pickup or large SUV:

• A conventional bumper-pull rating, used with a Class I, II, or III receiver hitch.
• A weight-distributing rating, used with a weight-distributing hitch that transfers tongue weight to the trailer axle and front of the tow vehicle.
• A gooseneck or fifth-wheel rating, which requires a hitch installed in the bed of the truck (or under the bed in the case of a gooseneck ball). This is the highest figure most heavy-duty pickups publish.

When you see a tow capacity figure on a vehicle page on Tow Ratings, that number is the maximum across every hitch class the manufacturer publishes for that trim — typically the gooseneck or fifth-wheel rating on heavy-duty pickups, and the bumper-pull rating on light-duty vehicles. The actual figure you can tow on the road is constrained by the lowest of: the hitch class installed on your vehicle, the trailer's GVWR, the manufacturer's specific tow-package option list, and any state-specific permitting limits.

Accuracy and limits

Towing capacity is configuration-dependent. A truck's headline number typically assumes a single 150 lb occupant, no cargo, the tow-package option installed, the correct hitch class, the right rear-axle ratio, and (in some cases) a specific engine and transmission combination. Adding passengers, cargo, or a different hitch reduces the effective tow rating below the published maximum.

Some early-1990s trims have a published towing capacity but no further specification data. We list the tow number on the vehicle's page header but suppress empty per-trim tables to keep the data presentation honest. If you spot a page with a tow rating shown in the headline but no table beneath, that is why — we'd rather show one accurate number than a row of dashes.

Heavy-duty pickups (3/4-ton and 1-ton) sometimes publish a single "max trailer weight" figure that pre-dates SAE J2807 standardised testing. Where the manufacturer has not republished that vehicle's rating under J2807, we carry the original figure as-is and date it to the model year.

Update cadence

The dataset is refreshed manually after each major model year ships. There is no automatic monthly refresh — the figures here are not a live mirror of any external source. For any vehicle you intend to actually tow with, confirm the rating on your vehicle's door-jamb sticker and in the owner's manual before hooking up a trailer. The door-jamb sticker is the legally binding rating for that specific vehicle.

Industry standards

Where manufacturers report towing capacity, they should adhere to SAE J2807 , a standardised towing-capacity test introduced in 2013 and adopted industry-wide by 2015. The test specifies a payload, a standard trailer profile, climbing tests (the famous Davis Dam grade in Arizona), launch and braking distances, and minimum cooling-system performance under load. Pre-2015 ratings — and some heavy-duty pickups that test under a separate procedure — may use earlier or manufacturer-specific test conditions, so direct comparisons across older and newer trucks should be made with that caveat in mind.

Corrections

Spot a figure that doesn't match the manufacturer's published rating? Email the year, make, model, trim, and the manufacturer source you're comparing against to hello@towratings.net and we will review and republish if needed. Every correction is recorded with the manufacturer source and the reason for the change, so corrections are auditable rather than silent.