Can I Tow This?

US & Canada

Enter your vehicle's ratings and the trailer you want to pull. Every limit is checked together, and the tightest one is the answer.

Your rig

1. The vehicle, from its own labels

lb

Driver's door sticker.

lb

Empty, with a full tank. Better still, weigh it.

lb

Owner's manual, towing section.

lb

For your exact trim, engine and axle ratio.

These four numbers are the whole answer, and three of them are not in your VIN. If you only have the door sticker, fill in GVWR and curb weight and leave the rest: the payload check alone catches most problems.

2. What is aboard the vehicle

aboard
lb

Gear, tools, roof rack, bed cover, firewood.

People are counted at 150 lb each, which is not an average adult: it is the figure the regulation builds GVWR from. Add the difference to cargo if your passengers are heavier.

3. The trailer

lb

As you will actually tow it, not the brochure dry weight.

% of trailer
lb

On the receiver itself. Leave at 0 if you do not know it.

The receiver is often the lowest limit on the whole rig, and it is the one nobody checks.

Result

0

Every limit, checked

Tongue weight counts fully against payload, because it really is extra weight on that vehicle. It cancels out of the GCWR line, because it moves weight from the trailer's axles to the vehicle's rather than adding any.

The four checks, and why one tool runs them together

A trailer is towable only if it clears every one of these. Checking the tow rating alone, which is what most calculators do, answers the least binding of the four.

  • Tow rating. Loaded trailer weight must not exceed the manufacturer's published maximum.
  • Payload. Occupants plus cargo plus tongue weight must not exceed GVWR minus curb weight.
  • GCWR. Curb plus occupants plus cargo plus the whole trailer must not exceed the combined rating.
  • The receiver. Tongue weight must not exceed the limit stamped on the hitch, which is frequently the lowest number on the rig.

A worked example

A half-ton pickup rated to tow 9,000 lb (4,082 kg), with a 7,000 lb (3,175 kg) GVWR and a 5,500 lb (2,495 kg) curb weight. Four people aboard, 300 lb (136 kg) of gear, pulling a 6,500 lb (2,948 kg) travel trailer at 13% tongue. Every figure below is computed by the same code as the calculator above.

Example rig, every limit checked
Check Limit Actual Spare
Trailer against the tow rating 9,000 lb (4,082 kg) 6,500 lb (2,948 kg) 2,500 lb
Payload against GVWR 1,500 lb (680 kg) 1,745 lb (792 kg) 245 lb over
Everything against GCWR 13,000 lb (5,897 kg) 12,900 lb (5,851 kg) 100 lb

The truck is 2,500 lb inside its tow rating and still cannot legally pull this trailer, because payload runs out 245 lb earlier. Dropping to a 4,615 lb (2,094 kg) trailer is the most this rig can take: at that weight it lands exactly on the payload ceiling, with the tow rating still 4,385 lb away and unused.

This is the ordinary case, not a contrived one. Payload binds first on most half-ton pickups and mid-size SUVs as soon as the family gets in.

Tongue weight, and the double-counting error

Tongue weight is the part of the trailer that rests on the ball. It counts fully against payload, because it genuinely is extra weight on that vehicle. It does not count again in the combined-weight check:

  • combined = (curb + occupants + cargo + tongue) + (trailer − tongue)
  • combined = curb + occupants + cargo + trailer

The tongue cancels, because it moves weight from the trailer's axles to the vehicle's rather than adding any. Subtracting it in both places, which some calculators do, understates what you can tow by hundreds of pounds.

What tongue weight percentage to use

Chevrolet, 2026 Trailering Guide, p. 8 publishes 10 to 15% of loaded trailer weight for a conventional ball hitch, and 15 to 25% for a gooseneck or fifth wheel. Treat those as guidance: no federal regulation in either country sets a tongue weight percentage. Your trailer's own manual wins, and a scale beats both.

Where each number comes from

Sources for the figures this tool relies on
Figure Source Status
150 lb per seating position 49 CFR 567.4(g)(3) Regulation
68 kg per seat, Canada Motor Vehicle Safety Regulations (C.R.C., c. 1038), s. 5.2 Regulation
GVWR is a manufacturer value 49 CFR 571.3, Definitions Regulation
Tongue weight percentages Chevrolet, 2026 Trailering Guide, p. 8 Manufacturer guidance, not law
How tow ratings are tested SAE J2807, Performance Requirements for Determining Tow-Vehicle Gross Combination Weight Rating and Trailer Weight Rating Paywalled standard, cited not quoted

This tool checks your configuration against the ratings your manufacturer set. It is not a legal opinion, and it cannot know about a modification, a worn component or a local rule. Weigh your rig loaded before a long trip.

Related

Common questions

Does towing capacity include passengers?
Not in the published figure, no, and this is the mistake that strands people at the scale. A tow rating is measured with a driver and little else aboard. Every passenger, every bag and the trailer's tongue weight all come out of payload, which is a separate and usually much smaller limit. In the example on this page, four people and 300 lb (136 kg) of gear leave only 600 lb (272 kg) of payload before the tongue is counted at all, and the tongue alone is 845 lb (383 kg).
Does payload include the trailer tongue weight?
Yes. The tongue rests on the tow vehicle, so it is payload like any other load. At 13% of a 6,500 lb (2,948 kg) trailer that is 845 lb (383 kg), which is more than most families weigh.
Which limit runs out first, payload or the tow rating?
Payload, on nearly every half-ton pickup and mid-size SUV. In the worked example below the truck is rated to tow 9,000 lb (4,082 kg) and is 2,500 lb under that rating, yet it is 245 lb over on payload. The tow rating was never the binding number.
Why does tongue weight not count twice in the GCWR check?
Because the tongue does not add weight to the rig, it moves weight from the trailer's axles onto the vehicle's. Combined weight is curb plus occupants plus cargo plus the whole trailer; the tongue cancels. It still counts fully against payload, where it really is extra weight on that vehicle. Calculators that subtract it twice give answers that are pessimistic by hundreds of pounds.
Why 150 lb per person?
Because that is the figure the regulation builds GVWR from, not an estimate of an average adult. 49 CFR 567.4(g)(3) requires a GVWR of at least "which shall not be less than the sum of the unloaded vehicle weight, rated cargo load, and 150 pounds times the number of the vehicle's designated seating positions." Canada sets the same floor in metric at 68 kg per seat, which is 150 lb. If the people in your vehicle are heavier, and most adults are, put the difference in the cargo box.
Where do I find GVWR, curb weight, GCWR and the tow rating?
GVWR is on the driver's door sticker. Curb weight is in the manual, though a weigh scale is better because options add up. GCWR and the tow rating are in the towing section of the owner's manual or the manufacturer's towing guide for your exact trim, engine and axle ratio. None of the four is in your VIN.
Is this legal advice?
No. This works out whether your configuration fits the ratings the manufacturer set. Separate rules on licensing, trailer brakes, speed limits and double towing vary by province and state, and those are covered on their own pages.