With so many different types of trucks available today from numerous brands, your “truck of choice” can become quite the personal quest.
That’s why we’ve written this blog (including the Truck Tech 101 video series below) to help you decide which type of truck is the right choice for you. It all has to do with how you plan on using your truck, daily transportation, weekend recreation, family hauler, workday companion, or all of the above?
Read our blog now, and watch each short video along the way, in our “Truck Tech” series to better understand the big-wide-world…of trucks.
Curb Weight, GVW, GVWR, GCWR: What Do They All Mean?
There are lots of different terms used to describe the capabilities of today’s pickup truck. We’ll start with the basics first as sort of a foundation to build your truck knowledge on.
The Curb Weight of your truck is the weight of the truck sitting still with all standard equipment and options but without any passengers or cargo. Basically, it’s the weight of the truck when it’s resting on the “curb” and not in use. The Curb Weight is a standard weight assigned to the truck by the manufacturer.
Here are a few examples of curb weight based on the trucks in our Truck Tech 101 video series:
Jeep Gladiator: 4,650 – 5,072 lbs.
Ford F-150: 4,069 – 5,697 lbs.
RAM 2500: 6,805 lbs.
GMC Sierra 3500: 5,985 – 8,070 lbs.
Gross Vehicle Weight or “GVW” is the combined weight of your truck (curb weight) with all passengers and cargo in gross (total) weight. Knowing your truck’s GVW is really important if you’re about to cross a bridge while carrying heavy cargo like a load of bricks. Yes, that’s what those signs on the side of bridges are for, so know before you go. Keep in mind, the Gross Vehicle Weight is different for every occasion depending on how many passengers are riding with you and if you’re carrying a load of cargo or not, and if you are, how much does the cargo weigh? Just make sure that your GVW is less or equal to your truck’s GVWR, we’ll explain that next.
In the United States, we have a vehicle weight classification system that is based on the Gross Vehicle Weight Rating or “GVWR.” The GVWR is the maximum allowable weight of your truck, passengers, and cargo. There are nine different weight classes ranging from light-duty trucks (like the ones in our videos) up to the big rigs you see on the byways and highways. For our purposes here, we’re just going to discuss the light-duty class since those are the types of pickup trucks available for you to buy. They include half-ton, three-quarter-ton, and one-tone trucks in what is called the 1 – 3 light-duty class.
Knowing both your vehicle’s gross vehicle weight and gross vehicle weight rating allows you to calculate how much weight you can safely carry. For example, take a 1500 series Crew Cab Short Box 4WD truck with a diesel engine that has a gross vehicle weight rating of 7,200 pounds, the curb weight of this particular truck (unloaded and without occupants) is 5,350 pounds. By subtracting the curb weight from the GVWR, you can determine that this particular truck can carry about 1,850 pounds without exceeding its maximum weight rating.
However, it doesn’t necessarily mean you can simply carry 1,850 pounds of cargo in its pickup box – the weight of passengers within the cab also needs to be factored into the GVWR. If you have two, 200-pound passengers climb into that same truck, it now has an available capacity of 1,450 pounds.
The final combination of letters that help determine the type of truck you may want to own is known as the “GCWR” or Gross Combined Weight Rating. This weight rating is important if you plan on adding a trailer to your truck to tow a pair of jet skis, a boat, camper, or heavy work equipment. The GCWR will help determine how much you can haul, tow, or both. Now, take your truck’s GVWR (see above) and combine that amount with the weight of a trailer and its cargo and you will have your truck’s GCWR.
Payload and Towing: How the Rubber Meets the Road.
Now that you’ve got all the different weight ratings for trucks figured out, let’s dive into the three main light-duty truck classes you’ll find at Leith Autopark Wendell and how each class (size) will determine how much your truck will be able to haul or tow.
For most truck owners (or potential truck buyers), the “Half-ton” or 1500 series truck is all that’s ever needed. The 1500 class truck is the most common truck you will see on the road. They are good daily drivers, have the most comfortable ride, and can be optioned to be either as sparse (like a work truck) or loaded (like a palace on wheels) as you want them to be. They can haul 1,000 pounds of cargo or slightly more and are capable of towing smaller loads like a trailer and a couple of jet skis, a small boat, or a small camper.
Next up is the “Three-quarter-ton” or 2500 series truck. This is a heavier duty version of the lighter 1500 series and is capable of hauling 2,500 pounds or slightly more and tow larger boats and campers than a half-ton truck. There is a bit of a trade-off in ride quality, however, as you increase the hauling and towing capability of your truck, more on that in a bit.
Finally, for most heavier hauling and towing needs, the “One-ton” or 3500 series HD truck is built to haul 3,500 pounds or slightly more cargo in the bed and tow large boats, campers, and heavy-duty work equipment. These “big rigs” of the light-duty truck category often use what’s called a “fifth-wheel trailer hitch” that’s actually mounted in the middle of the truck bed instead of to the rear of the truck’s frame or rear bumper. Some 3500 series trucks are even available with dual-rear wheels to make them even more stable from side-to-side when towing a large camper or similar object. These trucks are often referred to as a “dually” and also have big, wide fender flares extending outward from each side of the truck bed in order to accommodate the larger, wider dual tires on either side of the rear axle.
Depending on what you want to haul in the truck bed, tow behind you with a trailer, or both, will determine the best truck for you, but you’ll need to keep the ride quality of your truck in mind.
The heavier the classification, the better your truck will be at towing and hauling, but as you go up in ratings, the truck’s driving behavior and ride quality might suffer a bit due to the truck’s need to have stiffer springs and suspension components.
Cab Size & Bed Length: Who or What Do You Plan to Haul?
The next “Truck Tech” point to consider when choosing the best truck for your lifestyle is the size of the pickup truck cab (or passenger compartment) and the length of the truck bed (where you’ll load your cargo).
Truck cabs generally come in three main sizes. The most basic cab size, often seen in work trucks used in commercial fleets, is called the “regular cab” or (single cab) truck. This type of truck cab has two doors and can usually fit up to three people across a bench-style seat. The Ford F-150 XL 2 Wheel-Drive Regular Cab in our accompanying video, is a great example of a regular cab pickup.
The next cab size up from a regular cab is the “extended cab” truck. Extended cab trucks have small, rear doors that open for entry to a backseat. The backseat area in some extended cab trucks can be a little tight, so this “extra” space behind the driver and front-seat passenger is often used to carry a few extra cargo items like toolboxes and smaller work gear. In a pinch though, an extended cab truck is capable of carrying five adults.
Finally, the “crew cab” truck has the largest passenger space of any light-duty truck, with four full doors and extra-large seating surfaces, especially the rear seat. This extra interior space allows the crew cab truck to carry up to five adults comfortably or even six if the truck has a front bench seat configuration. An example of a crew cab is the GMC Sierra 3500 HD 4WD Crew Cab in the video above.
Once you’ve chosen the right cab size for your truck, you’ll want to consider the truck’s bed size next. Keep in mind though, that based on the size of the truck cab, some truck models may be limited in the variety of bed lengths available.
The new Jeep Gladiator, for example, only has one, bed size, as it comes in a crew cab configuration with a five-foot short bed. It’s great for hauling bikes, a motorcycle, or bags of mulch from the garden store. However, the Ford F-150 has multiple bed combinations depending on the cab size chosen. These bed lengths include the short or (standard) bed, which usually measures around five to six-and-a-half feet, and the long bed, which measures eight feet in length. With the long bed, you can fit a 4′ x 8′ sheet of plywood in the back.
Powertrains: How to Choose the Right Amount of Grunt for Your Truck.
In this Truck Tech series, we’re featuring full-size, light-duty pickup trucks. Full-size trucks usually have the widest variety of engine and transmission choices available, also known as the “powertrain.” Of course, just like all the other truck categories we’ve talked about so far, the powertrain combination you choose will affect the fuel economy, hauling, and towing capability, as well as the overall driveability and comfort of your truck.
If you don’t plan on hauling cargo or hooking a trailer to your truck, a smaller, less powerful V6 engine will give you better fuel economy for your daily driving. There are even 4-cylinder engines in some light-duty trucks that provide plenty of power for average daily driving and are fuel efficient due to their smaller size. For example, the 2.7 Liter I-4 in the GMC Sierra 1500 puts out 310 horsepower and 348 pound-feet of torque while achieving 21.5 mpg city/highway combined. However, if you do want or need to load some cargo like a trip to the big box store for a load of construction material, the smaller engine will probably need to work harder thereby making it less efficient to use.
If you will be towing with your truck, especially larger loads like boats and campers, it’s wise to choose a more powerful gas engine or see if a diesel-powered engine is available in the truck you choose. A diesel engine can be a more expensive option but diesel-powered trucks tend to be more fuel-efficient while at the same time, offering more torque, at a lower engine rpm (revolutions per minute) which makes towing heavier loads, easier. Again, we’ll use one of the engine options available in the GMC Sierra line as an example. The GMC diesel option is a 3.0 Liter Duramax Turbo- Diesel I-6 that has far more torque (460 pound-feet) than the I-4 engine and at the same 1500 RPM which makes it better for towing or hauling heavy payloads. As for fuel efficiency, the I-6 Turbo-Diesel in the GMC averages a whopping 26.5 miles per gallon, city/highway combined.
Another important consideration is whether you want or need a four-wheel-drive truck. Four-wheel drive systems make a truck heavier than a two-wheel-drive truck which can reduce your vehicle’s towing ability, so if you don’t really need to go off-road, choose a rear-wheel-drive truck for maximum towing ability.
Finally, the axle ratio of your truck also helps determine how much weight you can haul and how efficiently. A higher axle ratio means better pulling power but tends to be less fuel-efficient. A lower axle ratio will pull less weight but will offer you better mileage.
Truck Hitches: Understanding How to Select the Right Hitch for the Job.
Now we’re going to get down to the business of towing and a truck’s hitch. Most truck hitches are specific to the vehicle, which will allow you to use the year, make, model, and style of your truck to find the exact hitch you will need. Then, it’s just a matter of choosing the right receiver size and look that will compliment your truck. Most of today’s trucks offer a unique trailer hitch designed especially for it and featuring a factory fit which means easier installation, maximum towing capacity, and the best look and integration with the spare tire and other vehicle design features.
Pay special attention to the class of trailer hitch you’ll need as receiver hitches are divided into five classes, depending on their towing capacity and receiver tube size. The higher the class number, the higher the capacity, and the larger the receiver tube is. Remember though, that not all five classes will be available for every series (or size) truck. The class 3 trailer hitch is the most common receiver hitch class installed on full-size pickup trucks. Class 3 hitches are usually equipped with a two-inch by two-inch receiver tube opening and typically have a weight carrying capacity of up to 8,000 pounds gross trailer weight. This class of hitch is very versatile and able to tow a variety of trailer types and load sizes.
Keep in mind too, that when you choose a trailer hitch, be sure that it matches your truck’s towing capacity. You may not need the full capacity now, but if you ever want to pull a larger trailer, it will benefit you to have a hitch that is already equipped to handle the weight. We’ll use the Ford F-150 as an example. The 250-hp 3.0-liter turbocharged V-6 in the F-150 cranks out 440 lb-ft of torque and is mated to a 10-speed automatic transmission. With this powertrain combination, the rear-wheel-drive model with the 145-inch wheelbase can tow up to 11,400 pounds. For the 4×4 5.0-liter V-8 model F-150 with a 156.8-inch wheelbase, that number increases to 11,600 pounds. The F-150 can tow even more when powered by its high-output twin-turbo 3.5-liter V-6 which is rated at 450 horsepower with 510 lb-ft of torque. With all that torque, the F-150 can pull 13,200 pounds.
Your next move should be to make sure you get a factory tow package on your truck. If you choose a truck that already has a towing prep package, it most likely has a class 3 hitch which is the most common for a full-size, light-duty truck like the ones in our series. A factory tow package will offer you a vehicle that is designed from the ground up for heavy-duty towing. The manufacturers, Ford, GMC, RAM, and Jeep in our example, have considered every component and made sure that they are more than adequate for the extra load that a trailer places on them.
With a factory tow package, you can be confident that every part – the engine, frame, transmission, suspension, and cooling system are up to the task for heavy-duty towing. Plus, since you also get a hitch platform with a factory tow package, you’ll have a measure of assurance from the manufacturer that every piece of gear is perfectly matched to the rest of the set.
Towing packages will usually come with more than just the hitch components – a complete tow package will usually include several upgrades to the tow vehicle itself.
The first thing you look for in a towing package is the tow hitch itself, and this is the core of the whole deal. The tow hitch hardware is an important part that directly contributes to the overall towing capacity of your setup, plus the type of mounting hardware you have also determine the kind of trailer couplers you can use.
The tow hitch is usually installed directly to the vehicle frame, and depending on the tow mount that comes with your package, you can either have a simple ball, or you can have a receiver hitch that can take all kinds of mounts. Receiver hitches provide you with a heavy-duty square tube, the receiver part, which can accept tow ball mounts, hooks, weight distribution hitches, and all sorts of receiver attachments you can use with your hitch setup.
If you’re planning to pull a trailer, then it’s likely you already know that you need to have a way to link its lighting system to that of the towing vehicle. A complete, factory towing package needs to have the necessary electrical connections to allow you to set up all the wiring your truck and trailer needs. You will usually find these electrical components ending in a standard connector, near the hitch receiver, that you can then connect to your trailer wiring. Plugging in your trailer wiring to these connectors allows you to power up the brake lights, turn signals, reverse lights, and license plate lights of your trailer. All these components are usually required by law to be powered appropriately. Again, with a factory tow package, all of this should be included from the manufacturer. In addition, some of the higher-end tow kits may also have heavy-duty wiring provided to power the braking system of a trailer, and these additional braking systems can go a long way towards reducing the stress that a towing setup endures during deceleration.
Trailers: How to Load Your Trailer Safely.
There’s quite a bit involved when towing a trailer behind your truck. The drivetrain, wheelbase, hitch, and gear ratios of your truck, all have to work together to allow for safe trailering.
Another point to consider when choosing your truck is the wheelbase or the distance between each axle. Longer wheelbase trucks can tow more than short-wheelbase trucks and overall, offer better control when a trailer is attached. Once you’re ready to attach a trailer to your truck, you’ll want to make sure your trailer sits level, front to back. Ball mounts can be purchased that raise or lower the ball as needed to help you accomplish this.
Ball sizes are determined by the weight of the trailer. Many manufacturers label the ball size directly on the coupler. Be sure to always use a ball with a weight capacity that exceeds the weight of your loaded trailer. Once you have the hitch, ball, and trailer for your truck, you’ll want to understand how to safely load your trailer.
One of the most important things to remember when loading a trailer is weight distribution. Too much weight at the rear of a trailer can cause it to fishtail. Too much weight up-front can cause the truck to sag, which will result in poor handling and reduced braking power. Generally, the “tongue weight” (the weight at the front of the trailer), should be roughly 9 to 15% of the total weight. You can use a tongue-weight scale to determine this, and some ball mounts even have a built-in scale so you’ll know if you’re loaded up correctly.
Finally, remember to adjust your truck’s mirrors, especially if you’re towing a wide trailer and you can’t see around it. You may even need to install telescoping mirrors to your truck.
We hope you’ve enjoyed our Truck Tech 101 series as an introduction to understanding the wide variety of today’s full-size, light-duty trucks, including a brief overview of towing and trailer safety. If you’d like to know more, go see our friends at Leith Autopark Wendell (as seen in our video series) where you’ll find both new and used trucks by Ford, RAM, GMC, Jeep, and more.
Written by Mark Arsen for LeithCars.com.
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