How Large of an RV Can Your Vehicle Tow?

Aug 16, 2024 - 3 minute read

How large of an RV can your New GMC Sierra tow?

A good getaway is much needed these days. Dealing with the typical 9-5 grind, traffic, taking and picking up the kids from school, grocery shopping, errands, and so much more can really take a toll on your mental health over time. That’s why so many people love to get in their GMC or Chevy, tow their RV to a campsite or park, and relax for a weekend or more. But, what is the most RV you can safely tow?

To Know Is To Safely Tow

Towing safety is key to having a good time. It may take a little longer to get set up, but it is absolutely vital that drivers know their vehicle's limits while also understanding how to tow for the safety of themselves and others on the road around them. Depending on the trim and options, a Sierra or Silverado 1500 can tow over 13,000 lbs, but does that mean you should? 

Terms to Know

Some extra terms you should be familiar with before you start towing are Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR), Gross Combined Weight Rating (GCWR), hitch weight, tongue weight, Gross Axle Weight Rating (GAWR) or axle weight, and payload capacity. 

What Do These Terms Mean?

GVWR is the maximum weight your truck can carry, which includes people and luggage in the cab and the bed. GCWR is the maximum weight you can carry and tow at the same time. The hitch weight is the amount of weight that is pushing down on your hitch from the trailer. Tongue weight is the downward pressure from your trailer onto your hitch ball. The axle weight is the maximum amount of weight that can be placed over each axle on your truck. There are legal limits to this, too, so it’s super important that you know what you are doing here. Finally, payload capacity is the maximum weight your vehicle can carry. 

Let’s Break It Down

This is a lot of information to take in at once. A travel RV that you tow can vary in weight, but let’s say you are going to tow one that is 5,000 lbs, and your truck is able to tow 9,200 lbs. Seems simple enough. However, you still need to think about your GCWR. The easiest way to put this is to take the maximum weight of everything in your vehicle - people, luggage, fuel, everything, which, let’s say, is 6,300 lbs, including the truck (truck weight of 5,300 lbs for the 5.3-liter V8 plus 1,000 lbs of people, luggage, and gas, etc.). 

So What Can I Tow?

Once you have your total vehicle weight, you subtract that number from your GCWR, which is the combined weight of your gross vehicle weight and your towing capacity, and then you will get the true weight that you can tow. In the case of a 5.3-liter Crew Cab Silverado with a standard-sized bed, the GCWR is 15,000 lbs. If you take away 6,300 lbs of payload, you get 8,700, which is the most weight you can safely tow. This means that your 5,000 lb RV will be just fine to tow. 

Now You Have The Basics Covered

There are still plenty of things to consider, such as weight distribution when towing, but it is critical to understand the basics first. Once you get farther along, there are great resources and companies that offer weight distribution hitches to help keep weight properly centered over the axles for safe driving. You can also check out this website from Chevrolet, which helps break down the various weight ratings for different models. 

At Krusen Chevrolet GMC, we offer our customers some of the best prices and services around. With dozens of new and used vehicles to choose from, our excellent sales team and finance department will work hard to make sure you drive away happy. And our fantastic service department will take care of your new-to-you vehicle as if it were their own.

We look forward to serving you soon.

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