Towing Capacity
Towing capacity is an important figure to know if you're planning on towing. Every vehicle is not capable of towing but even the ones that are capable have limits. Learn all about towing capacity to make sure that you're using your vehicle safely.
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One can easily understand why car enthusiasts spend so much time debating the advantages of torque versus horsepower. The debate boils down to one question: Would you rather simply have the work done or done quickly?
The laws of physics explain how easily a truck can successfully tow a load twice its size. All you need to do is provide the force needed to overcome your vehicle's state of rest.
By Josh Clark
When the Eagles sang "Take It to the Limit," they weren't referring to your car's towing capacity. There's a rating that defines how much weight your car can handle. Heed this magic number, and you'll be taking it easy on the highway.
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You must make sure that your cargo is light enough to tow it safely. You risk transmission damage and traffic accidents when you exceed your vehicle's towing capacity.
By Josh Clark
Heavy-duty items that get towed along roads in your community are limited to huge trucks, right? If you're not aware of your vehicle's towing capacity or of how heavy your innocuous load is, you might heaving a load better left to a semi.
Have you ever followed a tractor-trailer over a bridge and worried the bridge would break? What you're tailing is an overweight load, and you're right to be concerned about the damage it's doing.
We've all got dreams. Yours is to move your double-wide trailer to a plot of land in the desert. How will you truck your oversize load from the trailer park to the Mojave?
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Fall brings a bite to the air, some crunch to the leaves -- and a new crop of college kids to the dorms. When it comes to lugging that futon, should you pay for a truck or some manpower?
There's no scarier feeling than getting stuck behind a massive boat being towed by a puny truck. So what happens if the weight is too much for the truck to bear?
Just like you need extra energy to carry a backpack loaded with textbooks, your car requires extra fuel to tow heavy cargo. So how will this weight affect you at the pumps?
If road tripping were an Olympic sport, you'd be a gold medalist. You've got your CDs, your maps and an iron stomach to withstand diner food. The only kink in your plan? You're pulling a trailer.
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The curb weight of your car is simply how much your car weighs. Read more about curb weight and what it means for your car.
Payload is simple; it's anything you're carrying or towing. Knowing how much weight your vehicle can tow isn't so simple. Pay attention -- towing too much weight invites disaster.
By John Fuller
This towing capacity chart displays vehicles' towing capacities by make, model and year. Knowing your vehicle's towing capacity is essential to towing safety, plus it can keep you from damaging your vehicle with the burden an overweight load.
Pickup trucks come in all sorts of sizes and options -- big ones, small ones, short ones and tall ones. Understanding all the choices and lingo can be confusing. So what does half-ton truck really mean?
By Jane McGrath
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Some weights associated with towing are fairly complex, but not every weight connected with towing is hard to calculate. In fact, some are remarkably straightforward -- gross trailer weight (GTW) is a good example.
If you've never had the experience of towing a trailer, then you probably don't know what tongue weight is. Sure, it may sound funny -- but to someone hitching up a heavy load, it's very serious.
Do you know your vehicle's gross axle weight rating? That's all right -- not many people do. But if you're planning to tow a trailer, it's a good idea to learn your vehicle's GAWR.
If you ever plan to tow a trailer, it's a good idea to know the tow vehicle's gross combination weight rating. If you don't learn it, you could be in for some serious repair bills.
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It's relatively simple to determine when you've added a little too much weight to your car, truck or SUV. But what if you were loading something much bigger -- perhaps a massive recreational vehicle?
Most people can tell you the fuel economy numbers for their vehicle. Some even know the horsepower and torque in their car or truck. But what about the gross vehicle weight rating? Who knows that?
Cars with an automatic transmission use a device called a torque converter instead of a clutch. So what does a torque converter do?
By Karim Nice & Talon Homer
You find references to force, power, torque and energy all over the HowStuffWorks site. Learn what these terms really mean and how they relate to one another.
By Karim Nice