The Complete Trailer Towing Guide
Towing a trailer starts with finding the right trailer for your vehicle, load, hitch, and intended use. This guide explains how to tow a trailer safely for beginners, shows you how to check your towing capacity, and walks you through the steps for towing a trailer safely. Beard’s Trailer Sales helps trailer owners, first-time buyers, and rental customers choose trailers that fit their hauling needs. Our team can help you understand trailer specifications, compare options, and find the equipment you need before you leave the lot.
What is Towing Capacity?
Towing capacity is the maximum trailer weight that a vehicle can tow when it has the proper equipment. Your vehicle manufacturer determines this rating based on the engine, transmission, axle ratio, drivetrain, body style, and towing package. The highest advertised towing capacity may not apply to your exact truck or SUV model. Two vehicles from the same model year can have different limits because of their different configurations.
Luckily, you can usually find information about your vehicle’s towing capacity in these places:
- The vehicle owner’s manual
- The manufacturer’s towing guide
- The certification label inside the driver’s door
- The vehicle manufacturer or an authorized dealer
Always use the rating for your exact vehicle make, model, year, engine, drivetrain, cab style, and axles.
How to Calculate Your Towing Capacity
Your vehicle manufacturer sets the maximum towing capacity for your truck or SUV. Check your owner’s manual or the manufacturer’s towing guide for the rating that matches your vehicle’s exact configuration.
Next, you can use this equation to estimate how much towing capacity remains after loading your trailer.
Estimated loaded trailer weight:
Trailer dry weight cargo accessories = estimated loaded trailer weight
Remaining towing capacity:
Vehicle towing capacity − estimated loaded trailer weight = remaining towing capacity
Vehicle towing capacity: 10,000 lbs.
Trailer dry weight: 3,000 lbs.
Cargo and accessories: 4,500 lbs.
3,000 4,500 = 7,500 lbs. estimated loaded trailer weight
10,000 − 7,500 = 2,500 lbs. remaining towing capacity
Your estimated loaded trailer weight must stay below your vehicle’s towing capacity and your trailer’s GVWR. You must also check your vehicle’s payload capacity, GCWR, axle ratings, hitch rating, and other manufacturer requirements. Passengers in your vehicle and cargo also affect your towing limits.
How to Tow a Trailer Safely for Beginners
Learning how to tow a trailer safely starts with knowing your limits, using the right equipment, and then adjusting your driving.
1. Confirm Your Towing Capacity
Before towing a trailer, compare its loaded weight with your vehicle’s towing capacity and the trailer’s GVWR. You must also check the payload capacity, GCWR, axle ratings, hitch capacity, and tire ratings. Your trailer towing setup cannot exceed its lowest rating.
2. Connect the Trailer Properly
For a secure trailer towing connection, you need to have the correct ball hitch and compatible coupler. Make sure the coupler sits completely on the hitch ball before locking it and installing the latch pin. Then you need to connect the safety chains, breakaway cable, and electrical plug to their correct points. Afterward, raise and secure the trailer jack before moving.
3. Test the Lights and Trailer Brakes
Check the running lights, brake lights, turn signals, and hazard lights. If the trailer has brakes, test the brake controller at a low speed before entering traffic.
4. Inspect the Tires and Secure the Cargo
Check your vehicle and trailer tires for damage and proper tire pressure. Then, you’ll want to make sure you balance your cargo side to side to secure items without overloading a single axle.
5. Practice Before Entering Traffic
People learning how to tow a trailer should practice turning, stopping, and backing up in a large area away from traffic. Use small steering movements while backing and stop if you lose sight of your spotter.
6. Adjust Your Driving
Towing a trailer increases stopping distance and requires more room for turns. Leave extra space between vehicles, brake earlier, accelerate gradually, and make wider turns. Avoid sudden steering corrections and sharp lane changes.
Every trailer towing combination has different requirements. Review your vehicle, trailer, and hitch manufacturer instructions before towing a trailer.
7. How often should I inspect my trailer towing setup?
You should inspect your trailer towing setup before every trip and check it again after driving a short distance. Make sure your hitch, coupler, safety chains, breakaway cable, electrical plug, lights, brakes, tires, lug nuts, and cargo restraints all remain secure. During longer trips, you should inspect your setup regularly and have your routine trailer maintenance service.
Important Trailer Towing Terms
Towing a trailer involves several weight ratings and equipment terms. Understanding these terms can help you compare trailer models and stay within your towing limits. Always confirm the specifications for your exact vehicle, trailer, hitch, and equipment.
Trailer Dry Weight
The trailer’s dry weight is its weight when empty before you add cargo, tools, equipment, and other items. Upgrades and other installed accessories from the dealer may not appear in the listed dry weight.
Gross Vehicle Weight
Gross Vehicle Weight, or GVW, is the trailer’s actual weight when loaded. It includes the trailer, cargo, accessories, tools, and any other items stored on it.
Gross Vehicle Weight Rating
Gross Vehicle Weight Rating, or GVWR, is the maximum permitted weight of the fully loaded trailer. The trailer manufacturer sets this rating. The trailer’s actual loaded weight should never exceed its GVWR.
Gross Axle Weight Rating
Gross Axle Weight Rating, or GAWR, is the maximum weight that an individual axle can support. Cargo placement helps distribute the weight in your trailer without overloading one axle or another on trailers with multiple axles.
Gross Combined Weight Rating
Gross Combined Weight Rating, or GCWR, is the maximum permitted weight of the loaded tow vehicle and loaded trailer combined. This total includes passengers, cargo, accessories, and the trailer.
Trailer Cargo Capacity
Trailer cargo capacity is the amount of weight the trailer can carry. You can estimate it with this calculation:
Trailer GVWR − trailer dry weight = estimated trailer cargo capacity
Accessories, tools, fuel, batteries, and other added items reduce the amount of cargo you can carry.
Maximum Towing Capacity
Maximum towing capacity is the greatest trailer weight a vehicle can tow when properly equipped. Engine size, drivetrain, axle ratio, cab configuration, towing package, and other vehicle specifications can affect this rating.
Payload Capacity
Payload capacity is the amount of weight your tow vehicle can carry. It includes the driver, passengers, cargo, accessories, and the trailer’s tongue or pin weight.
Tongue Weight
Tongue weight is the downward force that a bumper pull trailer places on the hitch. Proper tongue weight helps the trailer remain stable. Too little or too much tongue weight can affect steering and braking.
Pin Weight
Pin weight is the downward force that a gooseneck trailer places on the hitch in the truck bed. Pin weight counts against the tow vehicle’s available payload capacity.
Hitch Capacity
Hitch capacity is the maximum weight that a trailer hitch can support or tow. Check the ratings for the receiver, ball mount, hitch ball, coupler, and gooseneck hitch. The component with the lowest rating limits your entire towing setup. Trailer Brake Controller A trailer brake controller sends braking power from the tow vehicle to a trailer equipped with electric brakes. The driver must adjust the controller for the trailer load, all based on the manufacturer's instructions.
Breakaway System
A trailer breakaway system activates the trailer brakes if the trailer ever separates from the tow vehicle. You’ll connect the breakaway cable to a secure point that remains separate from the safety chains.
Weight Distribution
Hitch A weight distribution hitch helps distribute part of the trailer’s tongue weight across the tow vehicle and trailer axles. Only use this equipment if it's approved by your manufacturer.
Trailer Sway
Trailer sway is an uncontrolled side-to-side trailer movement that's caused by improper loading, insufficient tongue weight, speeding, wind, or tire problems. If your tongue weight is too heavy or too light, it can cause dangerous trailer sway.
Get Help With Your Trailer Towing Setup
Accurate weight ratings and properly matching your trailer, towing equipment, and vehicle play an important role in safe towing. Start by telling our team what vehicle you drive, which trailer you’re thinking about buying, and what you need to haul. We can help you find your manufacturer ratings for your vehicle and trailer and explain how towing capacity, payload capacity, and other limits affect your setup.
Our team can also walk you through the basic trailer setup process. We can show you how the hitch and coupler connect, where to attach the safety chains and breakaway cable, how to check the electrical components, and what to inspect before driving off. Plus, you can shop for trailer parts for sale at our dealership and find the right parts you need.
Frequently Asked Questions About Trailer Towing
A trailer weighing 20,000 pounds does not automatically determine which license you need. In Texas, a Class A license applies when the combination has a GCWR of at least 26,001 pounds and the trailer has a GVWR of more than 10,000 pounds. Commercial use generally requires a Class A CDL. Drivers who qualify for certain CDL exemptions may still need a noncommercial Class A license. Check your vehicle and trailer ratings and confirm the requirements with Texas DPS before towing.
Learning how to tow a trailer safely includes knowing what to avoid. Do not exceed your towing capacity, payload capacity, or other weight ratings. Never use mismatched trailer hitch parts or tow unsecured items. Also, try not to follow other cars too closely or brake suddenly.
The 80/20 towing rule is an informal guideline that suggests keeping your loaded trailer weight at or below 80% of your vehicle’s maximum towing capacity.
Vehicle towing capacity × 0.80 = 80% towing guideline
For example, 80% of a 10,000-pound towing capacity is 8,000 pounds. Following this approach gives you additional room below the maximum rating, but it is not a law or manufacturer requirement. Meeting the 80% guideline gives you wiggle room but doesn’t confirm that your complete towing setup falls within your weight limit. You must still check payload capacity, GCWR, axle ratings, hitch capacity, tongue weight, and the weight of passengers and cargo.
Towing a trailer increases the workload and heat placed on your transmission, but towing does not automatically damage your vehicle’s transmission. You can reduce unnecessary wear on your transmission by staying within your towing capacity and getting regular vehicle maintenance.