Where would one find GCWR for a 1997 C3500 Silverado Ext Cab 7.4 Ltr 5 Speed DRW, I know it is rated at 10,000 lbs towing but, can't seem to find a GCWR number, Thanks. Or do I simply subtract the passengers and payload and tongue weight from the 10,000 lbs ?

 

The Gross Combined Weight Rating is the maximum allowable weight of the tow vehicle and trailer. So the max tow rating is usually the GCWR minus the GVWR (Gross Vehicle Weight Rating). The GVWR should be listed on the door sticker. The question I would have is where is the 10,000 lb rating coming from. I've noticed that most manufacturers do not figure the tow rating by CGWR - GVWR, but take the CGWR - dry weight + 150 lb driver = tow rating.

My 2006 Dodge Ram 1500 has a tow rating of 7,750 lbs according to Dodge, but that only assumes a 150 lb driver and no other cargo (people or stuff). So for my truck it's 13,000 lbs (CGWR) minus the 6,700 lbs (GVWR) which leaves a tow rating of 6,300 lbs. Dodge figured it by 13,000 lbs - 5,250 lbs (dry weight of vehicle + 150 lb driver) = 7,750 lbs.

So I think you can take the dry weight (not sure if this is listed on the door sticker - I don't think it is) plus driver plus the trailer tow rating (10,000 lbs) to get the CGWR.

 

My GVWR is 10,000 lbs on door sticker, My Cargo rating on sticker inside glove box is 3192 lbs, my max trailer tow is listed as 10,000 lbs and nowhere can i find a GCWR for this vehicle. Maybe I've missed something here but, I even purchased a 1997 trailer tow guide from trailer life and cannot find a GCWR rating for this truck. My 1993 Ford F150 lists a max trailer tow as 3300 lbs and a GCWR of 7800, truck with cap, myself, wife and 2 full tanks of gas is 5300 lbs, that leaves me an actual 2500 lbs of available trailer weight before I add anything and then decreases lb for lb as I add cargo. So after I saw how this factored out I became curious about the C3500. If I could get a GCWR figure I'd be fine but, can't seem to find it, thanks.

 

Maximum trailer weight is calculated assuming driver and 1 passenger are in the tow vehicle and it has all the required trailering equipment. The weight of additional optional equipment, passengers and cargo in the tow vehicle must be subtracted from the maximum trailer weight, this is from page 4-47 of the owner's manual. So at 10,000 lbs max trailer weight I subtract the 3192 max cargo capacity from the sticker in the glove box and get 6808 available lbs for the trailer. I realize that my cargo capacity is calculated at the max and more likely than not it will be less than that but, I am surprised that a 1 ton dual wheel drive truck with a 454 in it is only capable of legally towing a 6,808 lb trailer. My travel trailer sits dry at 4774 lbs and GVWR of 6900 lbs. I'm good all the way around but, it does not have the capacity that most folks in the campgrounds believe it does. I wonder how many campers are hooked up based on a brochure or manual to max towing and are quite a bit over. If you read this and it seems I've calculated this correctly I'd appreciate the feedback and if you are knowledgeable and I'm wrong or off a bit letting me know would be appreciated as well. Thanks.

 

Normally you don't take the tow rating and subtract the maximum payload. I don't think that is quite right.

If you could find out the dry weight of your truck, you could then take the tow rating (10,000) lbs and add the dry weight. That should give you the GCWR. That assumes the tow rating is based on 150 lb driver and no cargo (people and stuff) in the truck. Any chance the dry weight is listed on the registration? I live in Virginia and the registration lists the Empty Weight (5,101 lbs), Gross Weight (6,875) and the GVWR (10,000 lbs). It has a space for CGWR, but no number is listed. And I don't think the GVWR listed on the registration is correct for my truck.

Based on a 10,000 lb GVR (max load the truck can legally weigh) and a max payload of 3,192 lbs puts your truck's dry weight around 6,800 lbs. So dry weight (6,800 lbs) plus tow rating (10,000 lbs) = 16,800 lb CGWR. I'd think that would be accurate within 5%.

I do agree that manufacturers stretch the tow rating by assuming only a 150 lb driver in the cab. Most towing calculators I've run across take the CGWR and subtract the GVR to get the actual "safe" tow rating. When I bought my Dodge 1500 new, the salesman stated the tow rating was 8,900 lbs (that was a lot for a 1500 in '06), but after buying the truck I did more research and found that was for a reg cab short bed truck. Mine was a quad cab short bed. Made a significant difference. Then I found my truck's tow rating (according to Dodge) was 7,750 lbs, but that assumed only 150 lb driver in the cab and absolutely no cargo. By the time I calculated the safe towing rating (CGWR - GVW) my truck could only tow about 6,126 lbs - far cry from 8900 lbs and over a 1,500 lbs less than 7,750.

 

My registration says 7500 Wt/Seats, so 7500 plus 10000 equals 17500. I fully agree with you on your first sentence but, that info came directly from the owner's manual (not disagreeing here). If I take the 7500 and add the Max Cargo 3192 (from sticker in glove box) I get 10692 which is 692 lbs over my GVWR from the door sticker. So, if I can only go by the information in the owner's manual am I close ? Seems one thing consistently contradicts another. Would be so much easier if Chevrolet listed a GCWR. Side note, have tried using GCWR calculators and they all request the GCWR as provided by the manufacturer. I can't find the GCWR for a 1997 Chevrolet C3500 Silverado 7.4 DRW 2WD manual trans anywhere and am confused as to why.

 

I think the if you take the dry or empty weight of 7500 lbs and add the 10,000 lb tow rating for a total of 17,500 lbs puts you in the ball park. For safety reasons I would go with a GCWR of 17,000 lbs for any online calculators that ask for the GCWR. When I googled your truck I found CGWR's from 15,000 to 17,000 lbs but it was never clear on which one applied to which truck configuration (reg cab or extended cab).

Also need to consider the max ratings for the front and rear axles. It is possible to be under the max tow rating and still be overweight on an axle. It's rare, but it can happen. One of the towing calculators I came across asked for those ratings if you knew them. It also factored in the tongue weight (10% of the max trailer rating) and it 10-15% safety margin. Sadly, I never bookmarked the site and can't seem to find it.

I don't think I ever found a CGWR for my Dodge anywhere online. I had to figure it out by adding the empty weight of my truck + Dodge's tow rating + 150 lb driver. Then once I knew the CGWR I could subtract the GVW to get a more realistic tow rating. It may not be accurate to the pound, but it gave me something to work with. FWIW - I did tow close to the tow rating Dodge has one time. I pulled a 1500 lb trailer loaded with 6,000 lbs of mulch. 7500 lbs is just under the 7,750 lb tow rating from Dodge for my truck. Only had my 100 lb son as additional weight. It was borderline. Fortunately, I didn't have to go that far - maybe 30 miles.

I just wonder where GM got the 3192 payload/cargo figure. Usually this is by subtracting the empty weight from the gross vehicle weight. Maybe I'm missing something.

 

I think I was on that site that you mentioned that had the various GCWR's. I as well could not figure which configuration applied, nor could I on that and the many other sites I've looked at (and I've been on many) nail down the 7.4 liter engine, an abundance of 5.7's though, even tried a couple with Vin Numbers, they request the Manufacturers GCWR (seems as though this should be easy ). I started with the trailer sticker for dry weight once this summer (emptied everything) added water at 8.345 lbs per gallon and with a bathroom scale measured everything I loaded in it for a week of camping. I have a total which I can't seem to find. With a tongue gauge and the provided manual I set it at approximately 12% and after moving a couple items was right there. The cargo rating from the glove box confuses me as well. I think we are in agreement on the 17,000 figure and am going to hit up a couple of calculator sites and compare. My GVWR is 10,000, GAWR Front is 3800 and GAWR Rear is 7500, I always thought I was well within specs and still believe I am. There's more to this than the average Joe thinks about, Thanks.