Towing guides
The calculators give you numbers; these guides explain what the numbers mean and what to do with them. Each one is written to stay useful for years: no prices, no model lists, just how towing works.
Towing Weight Ratings Explained: GVWR, GCWR, GAWR and Payload
What GVWR, GCWR, GAWR, payload, tow rating and tongue weight mean, where to find each one on your vehicle and trailer, and which limit wins.
How to Match a Trailer to Your Truck: A Step-by-Step Weight Check
A step-by-step method to check whether a trailer or RV is a safe match for your truck or SUV: payload, tow rating, GCWR, axles, hitch and tires.
How to Weigh Your Truck and Trailer at a Truck Scale
Weigh your rig at a certified truck scale in three passes and work out tongue weight, trailer weight, axle loads and weight distribution restoration.
Trailer Sway: Causes, Prevention and What to Do
Why trailers sway, how tongue weight, loading, speed and tires affect stability, how sway control works and what to do if your trailer starts to sway.
Trailer Brakes and Brake Controllers Explained
Electric, electric-over-hydraulic and surge trailer brakes, proportional versus time-delay brake controllers, how to set controller gain and breakaway systems.
Trailer Tires Explained: ST vs LT, Load Range, Pressure and Age
How to read trailer tire sidewalls: ST and LT tires, load range and load index, cold inflation pressure, speed ratings, the date code and when to replace.
Pre-Trip Towing Checklist: Hitch, Chains, Lights, Tires and Load
A practical pre-trip towing checklist: coupler and ball, safety chains, breakaway cable, lights, brakes, tires, wheels, load and a final walk-around.
Towing in the Mountains: Climbing, Descending and Heat
How to tow up and down long grades: gear choice, engine and transmission temperatures, engine braking, avoiding brake fade and planning fuel at altitude.
Where to start
New to towing? Start with towing weight ratings explained to learn the handful of numbers that decide what you can tow, then follow the step-by-step weight check with your own vehicle and trailer. Once you have a rig, a trip to a truck scale (how to weigh your truck and trailer) replaces every estimate with real numbers.
Before each trip, run through the pre-trip towing checklist. If your trailer ever feels loose on the highway, read trailer sway: causes and prevention.