Driving your vehicle
665
Vehicle weight
Vehicle weight
This chapter will guide you in the
proper loading of your vehicle
and/or trailer, to keep your
loaded vehicle weight within its
design rating capability, with or
without a trailer.
Properly loading your vehicle will
provide maximum return of the
vehicle design performance.
Before loading your vehicle,
familiarize yourself with the fol
-
lowing terms for determining
your vehicle's weight ratings,
with or without a trailer, from the
vehicle's specifications and the
compliance label:
Base curb weight
This is the weight of the vehicle
including a full tank of fuel and
all standard equipment. It does
not include passengers, cargo, or
optional equipment.
Vehicle curb weight
This is the weight of your new
vehicle when you picked it up
from your dealer plus any after
-
market equipment.
Cargo weight
This figure includes all weight
added to the Base Curb Weight,
including cargo and optional
equipment.
GAW (Gross Axle Weight)
This is the total weight placed on
each axle (front and rear) -
including vehicle curb weight
and all payload.
GAWR (Gross Axle Weight Rat
-
ing)
This is the maximum allow
-
able weight that can be carried
by a single axle (front or rear).
These numbers are shown on the
compliance label. The total load
on each axle must never exceed
its GAWR.
GVW (Gross Vehicle Weight)
This is the Base Curb Weight plus
actual Cargo Weight plus pas
-
sengers.
GVWR (Gross Vehicle Weight
Rating)
This is the maximum
allowable weight of the fully
loaded vehicle (including all
options, equipment, passengers
and cargo). The GVWR is shown
on the certification label located
on the driver's door sill.
Do not use replacement tires
with lower load carrying capaci
-
ties than the original tires
because they may lower your
vehicle's GVWR and GAWR lim
-
itations. Replacement tires with a
higher limit than the original tires
do not increase the GVWR and
GAWR limitations.
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