Before you can confidently tow anything, from trailers, to passenger vehicles, motorcycles, or RVs, it’s important to understand how much your truck can handle. Towing more than your vehicle is rated for will put stress on your engine, transmission, tires, and brakes — and could put your safety at risk. On the other hand, you don’t want to spend a ton of money on a towing vehicle that’s way more than you need.
In this post, we’re going to get into towing capacity, what factors allow your vehicle to tow heavier loads, and some helpful terms to help you calculate the towing power you need.
Before you can calculate how much your truck can tow, these four terms are essential for understanding towing capacity.
While vehicle size can influence its towing capacity, it’s not the only factor. Towing capacity is determined by a combination of vehicle horsepower, weight, engine type and more. Let’s explore the factors that give vehicles their towing capacity:
There are three basic categories of towing capacity. Different types of tow trucks may be required for each type of towing.
Light duty towing vehicles include large, sturdy pickup trucks with towing equipment installed on the back. These vehicles have a minimum gross vehicle weight rating of 5 tons, with a towing capacity of 7,000 to 11,000 lbs.
They are commonly used to tow most small vehicles and trucks for repossession, municipal towing or roadside assistance. Light duty equipment should include a powered winch and cable and a wheel lift.
Medium duty towing vehicles include flatbed tow trucks and hook and chain tow trucks. They have a gross vehicle weight rating of 11 tons at minimum, with a towing capacity up to 17,000 lbs.
Medium duty towing for towing heavier passenger vehicles, trucks, and off-road recoveries. Towing equipment, including a 12-ton capacity boom lift, 5-ton winches and wheel lifts, are used to hold the entire vehicle off the road, either in a bed or suspended.
Heavy duty towing vehicles are the largest and heaviest in the towing fleet. With a gross weight vehicle rating of 23 tons, they can recover and carry vehicles from 17,000 lbs and up, including loaded tractor-trailers.
Heavy duty towing vehicles typically use a 25-ton single or double boom lift, one or more 25-ton winches, and a 6 ton wheel-lift.
The ideal towing capacity for you depends on what you’ll be regularly towing. For example, if you intend on starting your own towing company and recovering large, heavy equipment, you’ll need to invest in a sizable wrecker with the right equipment permanently installed.
However, if you plan to do more light duty towing of small passenger vehicles, motorcycles, watercraft or lighter-weight items, then light duty towing equipment like a slide-in wheel lift will not only do the job, but save you a significant amount of money.
The Minute Man Wheel Lift Tow Truck provides sturdy and reliable light duty towing and can be installed easily onto your own vehicle. It’s ideal for applications in repossession, municipal towing, and roadside assistance.
If your pickup or cab-chassis meets the minimum GVWR of 10,000 lbs, the Minute Man XD Slide can offer a lift capacity of 3,500 lbs and a towing capacity of 7,500 lbs.
This labor and cost-saving tool conveniently attaches and stows for powerful towing capability wherever you are. If you’re ready to try an affordable, light-to-medium duty towing solution, contact us today.
Legal Disclaimer: The material and information contained on this website is for general information purposes only. You should not rely upon the material or information on the website as a basis for making business, legal or other decisions.
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