Towing calculator: can I tow this?

Enter your tow vehicle's specs from its door-jamb sticker and the trailer's specs from its tag, and the calculator works out whether the combination is legal under the manufacturer's published limits. The calculation enforces all four real-world constraints — tow rating, GCWR, payload, and tongue weight — not just the headline tow figure.

Run the numbers

All weights in pounds. Leave a field blank if you don't know it — the calculator will skip the check that needs it and tell you which limit it couldn't verify. To save typing, you can prefill the tow-vehicle fields from the database below.

Prefill from a vehicle on this site

Pick a year, make, model, and trim and the matching curb weight, GVWR, and max tow rating drop into the form below. GCWR isn't published in the public manufacturer towing guides — you'll find it in your vehicle's owner's manual under "Towing".

Year Loading… Make Select year first Model Select make first Trim / configuration Select model first

Tow vehicle (truck or SUV)

Curb weight (lb) GVWR (lb) GCWR (lb) Max tow rating (lb) Passenger weight (lb) Cargo weight (lb)

Trailer

Trailer GVWR (lb) Trailer empty weight / UVW (lb) Trailer cargo weight (lb) Tongue weight (lb)

Can I tow this? Reset

What the calculator actually checks

1. Tow rating: trailer total weight must not exceed your vehicle's published max tow rating. Use the loaded trailer weight (UVW + cargo), not the empty trailer weight.
2. GCWR: vehicle curb weight + passengers + cargo + tongue weight + trailer total weight must not exceed your vehicle's Gross Combined Weight Rating. This is the constraint people miss most often, because GCWR is rarely advertised on dealer marketing pages.
3. Payload: passengers + cargo + tongue weight must not exceed (GVWR − curb weight). A loaded fifth-wheel can put 2,000+ lb on the bed; that comes out of payload first.
4. Tongue weight: should sit between 10% and 15% of total trailer weight for a conventional bumper-pull (closer to 20% for fifth-wheel and gooseneck). Outside that band, the trailer either sways or overloads the rear axle.

Where to find your vehicle's numbers

Open your driver's door and look at the white sticker on the door jamb or the inside of the door itself. Curb weight and payload are usually on that sticker. GVWR and GCWR are listed in the owner's manual under "Towing" or "Specifications". Max tow rating is the headline number on your model's model page on Tow Ratings — that figure is the manufacturer's stated maximum across every hitch class. Always cross-check against the door-jamb sticker on your specific vehicle, since options like a tow package or different rear-axle ratio change the actual rating.

Worked example

A 2024 Ford F-150 SuperCrew with the 3.5L EcoBoost and the Max Trailer Tow package: curb 5,200 lb, GVWR 7,050 lb, GCWR 18,400 lb, max tow 14,000 lb. The owner wants to tow a 9,500 lb GVWR travel trailer (loaded weight 8,200 lb, tongue weight 820 lb), with two adults (380 lb) and a cooler in the bed (60 lb).

• Tow rating: 8,200 trailer ≤ 14,000 max → ok.
• GCWR: 5,200 + 380 + 60 + 820 + 8,200 = 14,660 ≤ 18,400 → ok.
• Payload: 380 + 60 + 820 = 1,260 ≤ (7,050 − 5,200) = 1,850 → ok.
• Tongue weight ratio: 820 / 8,200 = 10% → ok (lower bound of conventional range).

All four checks pass. If the same setup carried four adults instead of two, payload would be the binding constraint, not tow rating — which is exactly why the calculator runs all four checks.

Calculator logic enforces SAE J2807 vehicle definitions and standard industry tongue-weight ratios. Always confirm against your vehicle's door-jamb sticker and owner's manual before towing.