How towing capacity is calculated
GCWR, GVWR, payload, tongue weight, and SAE J2807, in the order that actually limits a pickup.
The rating is a leftover
A published trailer weight is what remains after the truck, a driver, a passenger, fuel, and required equipment are subtracted from the gross combination weight rating. Ford's 2026 guides say the calculation uses SAE J2807 and includes a 150-pound driver and a 150-pound passenger.
Add a third person, options, or cargo in the bed and the legal leftover shrinks. The brochure maximum assumed those seats were empty.
Four limits, not one
The trailer cannot push the combination over GCWR. The tongue or pin weight, plus people and cargo, cannot push the truck over GVWR or the rear axle rating. The hitch itself has a rating. And the truck needs the cooling, axle, and brake equipment the chart required for that cell.
Tongue or pin load must follow the vehicle, hitch and trailer instructions. A percentage estimate is only a planning assumption; measured load may be higher. A truck can be under its trailer rating and still be overweight on the rear axle.
J2807 is why old brochures do not compare
SAE J2807 gave manufacturers a shared test so a 2015 half-ton and a 2026 half-ton can be discussed in the same units. Charts from before a brand adopted that standard, including the early years in this catalog, are real figures from their era. They are not drop-in comparisons with a J2807 number.
Questions
- Does the door sticker match the website?
- The door-jamb label is the rating for that VIN. A website, including this one, publishes the maximum for a configuration. If the truck in the driveway does not have that axle and package, the sticker wins.
- What does 'properly equipped' mean?
- It means the tow package, axle ratio, cooling, hitch, and sometimes the wheels named in the chart. Without them, the same engine can be rated thousands of pounds lower. The 2026 Colorado is 3,500 pounds without the Advanced Trailering Package and 7,700 with it.