Max tow weight confusion

[Jeepnford]

I'm thinking of purchasing a Kubota L6060 which I figure with loader and loaded tires comes to around 6000 lbs. I sold my old trailer as it was only an 18 ft. 7K. What's puzzling me is with all of the reading I've done is what I can haul. My truck is a 2014 F250 4x4 CC with a 6.2, 4:30 gears. According to my truck stickers and Ford towing guide numbers as follows. Max gross, 10K pounds. GCWR 22,500 lbs. 2700 lb. payload according to door sticker. It also rates gooseneck max as 15K lbs. How does that figure with a 10k truck with 22.5k combination? I was considering a 10K trailer but would rather go with the 14k if possible. It's not likely I'll max out the trailer but want to avoid trouble with the DOT if I ever have to weigh.

 

[stumblinhorse]

A dual 7k axle trailer is fine behind your F250. Your truck probably weighs ~7500 empty. If you put your tractor on a 14k you will be under all of the ratings.

 

[gengine]

Most, and I emphasize most, trailers are rated per axle combination. With 2-7k axles they call it 14k trailer, but that takes out the weight of the trailer itself. So, a "14k" trailer minus the #2500 ish weight of the trailer itself makes it ~11.5k capacity. Some of that is put on the truck, maybe 10% I'm guessing, so that adds to what load you can put on the trailer. Problem is, what you can put on the trailer could be way different to how you can balance the load. A 6k tractor is usually too much for a 7k trailer because you need to add the weight of the trailer structure to the load (tractor in this case). I don't think you could go wrong with a 14k trailer, especially if there ever comes the need to rent a skid steer or mini excavator in the future. You won't have to rent a trailer to go with the equipment, saving you some money. The other thing to figure, is I have 4 tractors under 10k, I should be fine on a 14k tailer, however, the stance is so wide on them, they won't fit between the fenders. This causes the trailer to become tail heavy. This is where you have the trailer sway that has left many people in the ditch, let alone injured. Being in the rental world and seeing what folks haul/try to haul with my trailers, I recommend a 22' tilt deck trailer, of the 14k to 16k flavor. Take it with a grain of salt, but it leaves you with opportunity, and not left wanting.

 

[Hay Dude]

I'm thinking of purchasing a Kubota L6060 which I figure with loader and loaded tires comes to around 6000 lbs. I sold my old trailer as it was only an 18 ft. 7K. What's puzzling me is with all of the reading I've done is what I can haul. My truck is a 2014 F250 4x4 CC with a 6.2, 4:30 gears. According to my truck stickers and Ford towing guide numbers as follows. Max gross, 10K pounds. GCWR 22,500 lbs. 2700 lb. payload according to door sticker. It also rates gooseneck max as 15K lbs. How does that figure with a 10k truck with 22.5k combination?

The GVWR is 10K. Think of that as the load capacity of your truck, like how much weight you can put in the cab or the bed plus your trucks empty weight.

I was considering a 10K trailer but would rather go with the 14k if possible.

You can, but IMO, a 10K trailer is enough. A 10K trailer should weigh about 3K, so a 6,000lb tractor should be legal & safe. Best thing to do is request the empty weight of the 10K trailer, subtract that number from 10k, and that will give you the trailer’s payload.
A 14K trailer would be better built and probably last longer. However, once you get your combination over 17K, many states require a medical card-especially if you are using the combination to do business or work interstate. Check your state’s med card regulations to be sure. I’m well into a CDL and med card territory and am subjected to random drug testing and a complete physical exam every 2 years and it sucks.

It's not likely I'll max out the trailer but want to avoid trouble with the DOT if I ever have to weigh.

What could happen on a 10K trailer is the possibility of overloading one of the 2 trailer axles. Like if you have a backhoe on the tractor and load it towards the back, it could overload the aft axle.
Probably best to buy a 12K if you feel unsure of loading. When you buy, look at the trailer axle ratings. Look for trailers with 6 or 7k axles. Avoid the 5K axles. Easy to overload one.

 

[RjCorazza]

My L4060 cab weighs in at 6450lbs with fel, bucket, and loaded rears. Up to 7300lbs with front and rear plows.
I upgraded from a 7k landscape trailer to a 12k trailer to tow the tractor with some capacity to spare. Trailer weight is 2695lbs, which leaves me with 9305lbs of trailer capacity.
I tow with a 2011 F250 CC (3.73) with towing package. Towing over 6000 lbs requires a weight distribution hitch according to my particular setup and I suspect yours may also.
Happy shopping!

 

[LDR812]

Was the question “how much can I tow”? This is my understanding of all those numbers/ weight ratings:
GCWR - the weight of the truck loaded with whatever might be in it (passengers, tools etc) and loaded trailer. The max gross is the max weight the truck can be loaded and should mean that it can haul 2700 lbs in the bed. 10k - the 2700 means your truck weighs around 7.3k. 7.3 + 15k puts it at 22.3 or just under the GCWR of 22.5. How you load the trailer is important. More than 2700 “pin weight” and you could be overloaded even though you don’t exceed 22.5…
I don’t truck for a living or even haul much - but that is what I have figured those numbers mean. Hopefully if I’m wrong someone will explain it correctly.

 

[BlueKnife]

Was the question “how much can I tow”? This is my understanding of all those numbers/ weight ratings:
GCWR - the weight of the truck loaded with whatever might be in it (passengers, tools etc) and loaded trailer. The max gross is the max weight the truck can be loaded and should mean that it can haul 2700 lbs in the bed. 10k - the 2700 means your truck weighs around 7.3k. 7.3 + 15k puts it at 22.3 or just under the GCWR of 22.5. How you load the trailer is important. More than 2700 “pin weight” and you could be overloaded even though you don’t exceed 22.5…
I don’t truck for a living or even haul much - but that is what I have figured those numbers mean. Hopefully if I’m wrong someone will explain it correctly.

I do tow a lot and you are correct. Only thing that may be off is the weight of the truck itself. They're often heavier than what the manual would indicate. What you refer to as "pin" weight is normally referred to as "tongue" weight, as in the "tongue" of the trailer. In actual practice, you would not want to put anywhere close to the full payload as just tongue weight. The payload is meant to be at least somewhat evenly distributed, not concentrated at the hitch.

 

[WM75Guy]

Check the trailer specs and VIN plate before you buy to see what gross weight the trailer will be registered. When I registered both of my Big Tex "14,000 pound" trailers, a 14GN and 14GX, and our Sundowner horse trailer, all with dual 7,000 pound axles, they show a gross weight of 15,900 pounds. It keeps it under 26,000 pounds with the 2500HD but the 3500HD is another story. Fortunately, Texas allows you to pull a 20,000 pound farm trailer with a Class C license, so I can avoid a Class A CDL or non-CDL license.

 

[Jeepnford]

Was the question “how much can I tow”? This is my understanding of all those numbers/ weight ratings:
GCWR - the weight of the truck loaded with whatever might be in it (passengers, tools etc) and loaded trailer. The max gross is the max weight the truck can be loaded and should mean that it can haul 2700 lbs in the bed. 10k - the 2700 means your truck weighs around 7.3k. 7.3 + 15k puts it at 22.3 or just under the GCWR of 22.5. How you load the trailer is important. More than 2700 “pin weight” and you could be overloaded even though you don’t exceed 22.5…
I don’t truck for a living or even haul much - but that is what I have figured those numbers mean. Hopefully if I’m wrong someone will explain it correctly.

I guess that's what I was getting at. I was trying to figure how you can actually tow a 14K trailer without being overloaded. If the numbers on the truck are close to correct I'm thinking I would be overweight if I was maxed out with a gooseneck tongue weight of 2400 lbs. or more. I think I'll go with a 10K TT since 12K is non existent anywhere near me.

 

[stumblinhorse]

I guess that's what I was getting at. I was trying to figure how you can actually tow a 14K trailer without being overloaded. If the numbers on the truck are close to correct I'm thinking I would be overweight if I was maxed out with a gooseneck tongue weight of 2400 lbs. or more. I think I'll go with a 10K TT since 12K is non existent anywhere near me.

You will not be overloaded with a dual 7k. It is the silly thing with ratings. You’re fine towing something rated higher than your GCWR. That is up to 26k, where a CDL comes in. My trailer is rated higher than my truck can handle. But it is an insurance policy against overloading and damaging the trailer.

Based on your truck, you would be fine with a full 14k on the trailer as long as you don’t have stuff in the bed.

example:

14k total trailer weight 15% tongue and 85% trailer. That is 2100# onto the truck and 11,900# on the trailer. So 7500# plus 2100# tongue is 9600#, under the 10k and 11,900 behind total is 21,500# which is under your GCWR.

Hope this helps.

 

[BlueKnife]

I guess that's what I was getting at. I was trying to figure how you can actually tow a 14K trailer without being overloaded. If the numbers on the truck are close to correct I'm thinking I would be overweight if I was maxed out with a gooseneck tongue weight of 2400 lbs. or more. I think I'll go with a 10K TT since 12K is non existent anywhere near me.

If the GVW of the truck is 10,000 and the GVW of the trailer is 14,000, that's 24,000....... under CDL. Or is that not what you meant by "overweight"?

 

[Jeepnford]

If the GVW of the truck is 10,000 and the GVW of the trailer is 14,000, that's 24,000....... under CDL. Or is that not what you meant by "overweight"?

I was thinking more of being over the 10k gvwr and 2700 lb payload. Even everything loaded I should be 24000 lbs max total.

 

[BlueKnife]

I was thinking more of being over the 10k gvwr and 2700 lb payload. Even everything loaded I should be 24000 lbs max total.

Are you concerned about this from the perspective of a ticket from the DOT, or from the capabilities of your truck? I assure you that what you're describing is well within what your pickup can handle. The safe payload rating of most 3/4 ton pickups is extremely conservative. The diesel Ford Excursion, for example, has a GVW of 9200 lbs. A friend of mine has one and with no cargo other than him in it it weighs close to 9000. My Dodge 2500 has a GVW of 8800 lbs and it weighs just a bit under 8000. I can comfortably haul 3500, and with care have hauled close to 6K (this is in the bed, not towed). It's not in factory configuration, but you get the idea.

 

[Jeepnford]

Are you concerned about this from the perspective of a ticket from the DOT, or from the capabilities of your truck? I assure you that what you're describing is well within what your pickup can handle. The safe payload rating of most 3/4 ton pickups is extremely conservative. The diesel Ford Excursion, for example, has a GVW of 9200 lbs. A friend of mine has one and with no cargo other than him in it it weighs close to 9000. My Dodge 2500 has a GVW of 8800 lbs and it weighs just a bit under 8000. I can comfortably haul 3500, and with care have hauled close to 6K (this is in the bed, not towed). It's not in factory configuration, but you get the idea.

I’m not too concerned with being weighed since I don’t really haul past a scale often. A mobile inspector would have to stop me, not too likely, although when big trucks are thin, I have seen them stop pickups. I just don’t want to get carried away being overloaded. I’m sure I’m overthinking this, I excel at that. I could buy a 10k trailer but also thinking I would like a 14k gooseneck. It would be nice to try one first, not sure how to make that happen.

 

[3 Horse Ranch]

I’m not too concerned with being weighed since I don’t really haul past a scale often. A mobile inspector would have to stop me, not too likely, although when big trucks are thin, I have seen them stop pickups. I just don’t want to get carried away being overloaded. I’m sure I’m overthinking this, I excel at that. I could buy a 10k trailer but also thinking I would like a 14k gooseneck. It would be nice to try one first, not sure how to make that happen.

We had a commercial vehicle enforcement officer that seemed to focus on farmers and contractors hauling equipment on trailers. Most people have the "if it fits, it ships" mentality with trailers and pickups and only worry about weight when it becomes painfully obvious it's over loaded. Although load securement might have been his prime focus. I never asked him to find out.

 

[RandyT]

Around here they tend to check landscaper trailers for proper securement when they get bored. Also a few years back the state police got a wild hair and set up portable scales across the street from the grain elevator and were weighing vehicles as the farmers came in to dump their grain at the elevator. Got one farmer towing a loaded grain cart. 72K on a single axle limit of 36K.

 

[D&D]

I could buy a 10k trailer but also thinking I would like a 14k gooseneck. It would be nice to try one first, not sure how to make that happen.

one other thing I would consider buying a gooseneck vs bumper pull, do you know anyone else with a goose hitch? If your truck were broke down and you had to get the trailer from point a to b, could you? Granted most towing companies can figure it out, they are getting very pricey also.

 

[stumblinhorse]

I’m not too concerned with being weighed since I don’t really haul past a scale often. A mobile inspector would have to stop me, not too likely, although when big trucks are thin, I have seen them stop pickups. I just don’t want to get carried away being overloaded. I’m sure I’m overthinking this, I excel at that. I could buy a 10k trailer but also thinking I would like a 14k gooseneck. It would be nice to try one first, not sure how to make that happen.

Gooseneck all the way. They handle the load better, they are not as picky about tongue with the load forward or back, you can be close not perfect like a bumperpull. I see 14k bumper pulls and cringe at the loads being too far forward or back. If you are gonna haul 10k, get a gooseneck.

 

[Jeepnford]

My L4060 cab weighs in at 6450lbs with fel, bucket, and loaded rears. Up to 7300lbs with front and rear plows.
I upgraded from a 7k landscape trailer to a 12k trailer to tow the tractor with some capacity to spare. Trailer weight is 2695lbs, which leaves me with 9305lbs of trailer capacity.
I tow with a 2011 F250 CC (3.73) with towing package. Towing over 6000 lbs requires a weight distribution hitch according to my particular setup and I suspect yours may also.
Happy shopping!

My hitch is the same. I would go 12k if I could find one. Something else I was wondering. Ford rates their hitch at 12.5 k max WD. Does that hold true even with a higher rated hitch due to the leverage, etc.?

 

[Jeepnford]

If I can find a decent used gooseneck that’s probably the route I’ll take. I’m trying to stay under $7,000.00 which would buy a new 10k 24ft TT or hopefully a good used 14k gooseneck. I towed my DX35 on an 18ft trailer without any sway issues but there wasn’t room for adjustment.