Ignoramus21956 wrote:
I have a Ford LNT9000 Semi tractor.

I uploaded some pictures he

http://igor.chudov.com/tmp/Ford-LNT9000/

The nameplate is pictured he

http://igor.chudov.com/tmp/Ford-LNT9...T9000-0007.jpg

Its name plate on the door says, GVWR 44,800 lbs.

What exactly does it mean?

Someone told me that this means that the total weight of truck plus
trailer (combined) cannot exceed 44,800 lbs. That person is wrong to a point.

GVWR = Gross Vehicle Weight Rating - This means that the total weight of
the tractor itself cannot exceed 44,800 pounds.


This makes no sense to me, as GVWR is not the same as GCWR, and if
they wanted to put GCWR on the truck, they would say so.

GCWR - Gross Combined Weight Rating - The total weight of tractor and
whatever the load behind you is.


So... How big of a trailer can this truck tow?

How big have you got? Seriously.

Here is a simplified version.

You have a trailer rated for 40,000 pounds GVWR. Then you have your
tractor with a 44,800 pound GVWR.
Let's say that your empty trailer weighs in at 8,000 pounds. And your
tractor weighs in at 10,000 pounds.

You have a GCWR of 84,800 pounds.

You have the capacity to load up to 66,000 pounds of cargo. (Subtract
out the actual weight of the trailer and the tractor from the GCWR +
drop the 800 pounds off the tractor for a reason that I'll explain in a
bit.)

When you load the trailer you need to make sure that once loaded the
TOTAL weight on the trailers two axles do not exceed the 40,000 pound
number and the total weight on the tractors three axles doesn't exceed
44,000 pounds.

Under the above scenario with the 66,000 pound load and with the numbers
you would be running with a GCWR of 84,800 pounds. Your actual scaled
weight would be 84,000 pounds though. 800 pounds under the legal limit
for your rig. (that is why you toss the 800 pounds out, it gives you a
buffer of 800 pounds)



Sorry for being so confused, guys, I would hate to realize that I
cannot tow a trailer that would be as big as I would hope to be able
to. The trailer I have is the low boy behind the truck, you can see it
on pictures.

My own reasoning is that GVWR is the max loaded weight of the front
and back axles of the truck, and it does not include the weight of the
rear axles of the semi trailer. So the GCWR capacity is limited by
44,800 plus 34,000 for the rear axles of the semi trailer, or 78,800
lbs GCWR.

Who is right?

Your math is correct. But drop the 800 pounds for the reason I gave.
Have it on the registration and insurance paperwork but when figuring
your loads leave it out. That buffer could save you BIG fines if you
needed it.


Please, help!


--
Steve W.