Of the makers covered here, only Ford turns a VIN into a towing figure, and only for 2020 and newer F-Series pickups. For every other truck the numbers are split in two: the labels on the driver's door jamb carry this exact truck's weight ratings, and the maker's towing guide carries its trailer rating.
How to Find Your Truck's Real Towing Capacity
At a glance
- The certification label on the driver's door jamb gives the most the loaded truck may weigh and what each axle may carry. It does not give a trailer rating.
- The Tire and Loading Information placard, on the pillar behind the driver's door, gives the combined weight of people and cargo your truck can carry as built.
- The trailer rating comes from the maker's towing guide, in the row that matches your cab, bed, drivetrain, engine and axle ratio.
- What a VIN does: it shows how the truck was built, which is what picks that row.
- Chevrolet trucks: several models carry a Trailering Information Label with that truck's own payload, tongue weight and combined truck-and-trailer limit.
On this page (8)
Start at the driver's door jamb
Federal rule 49 CFR 567.4 requires a certification label on the hinge pillar, the door-latch post, or the door edge that meets the door-latch post next to the driver's seating position. The label must state, with the weights expressed in pounds:
- The manufacturer
- The month and year of manufacture
- The vehicle identification number
- The vehicle type
- The Gross Vehicle Weight Rating
- The Gross Axle Weight Rating for each axle
Ford calls this one the Safety Compliance Certification Label and places it "on the left front door lock facing or the door latch post pillar," where it also shows tire, rim size and inflation pressure data.
What this label does not carry is a trailer weight rating. It tells you how heavy the loaded truck may be, and how much load each axle may carry, not how much you may pull. Ford's definition of GVWR is the maximum allowable weight of the fully loaded vehicle including passengers and cargo; GAWR is the maximum weight to be carried by a single axle, front or rear.
Tip: GAWR is a per-axle limit, and Ford states that the total load on each axle must never exceed it. A truck can sit under its GVWR and still be over the rear GAWR once a loaded bed and a trailer tongue are both pressing down behind the cab, which is why axle weights are worth checking separately from the gross number.
The second jamb sticker: Tire and Loading Information
Federal standard 49 CFR 571.110 requires vehicles rated at 10,000 lb GVWR or less to carry a separate placard headed "Tire and Loading Information," permanently affixed to the driver's side B-pillar, carrying the vehicle capacity weight in a fixed form of words: "The combined weight of occupants and cargo should never exceed XXX kilograms or XXX pounds." The same placard shows seating capacity, tire sizes and cold inflation pressures.
That combined figure is the payload of the truck as built, with the options it left the factory with. Ford says as much in plain terms in its own guide: maximum payload varies by accessories and configuration, so "see label on doorjamb for carrying capacity of a specific vehicle." It is the one number on the truck that is genuinely yours rather than a product-line average, and it is the reason two pickups wearing the same badge can have different carrying capacities depending on how each was optioned.
| What you need | Where it is published |
|---|---|
| GVWR | Certification label on the driver's door jamb |
| GAWR, front and rear | Certification label on the driver's door jamb |
| Combined weight of occupants and cargo | Tire and Loading Information placard, driver's side B-pillar |
| GCWR | Towing guide selector charts for the vehicle, or the Owner's Manual (Ford's instruction) |
| Maximum loaded trailer weight | Towing guide row for that cab, bed, drivetrain, engine and axle ratio |
| GCWR, payload, tongue weight and curb weight on listed Chevrolet models | Trailering Information Label on the driver-side door jamb |
Locations and contents as specified in 49 CFR 567.4 and FMVSS No. 110, and as described in the 2026 Ford RV & Trailer Towing Guide and the 2026 Chevrolet Trailering Guide.
Chevrolet prints a towing label on some models
The 2026 Chevrolet Trailering Guide describes a Trailering Information Label on the driver-side door jamb that "provides information that's specific to your vehicle and vital to towing, including GVWR, GCWR, GAWR for the rear axle, maximum payload, maximum tongue weight and curb weight." Chevrolet lists the label as included on the Silverado 1500, Silverado EV, Silverado HD, Suburban and Tahoe for that model year, so do not assume every GM vehicle carries one.
Where it exists, this label does more of the work than a guide table can, because the payload, curb weight and tongue-weight figures on it belong to the truck in your driveway. If you are cross-checking it against published tables for a Silverado 1500, use the label's figures, because they are the ones that describe your truck.
Reading the right row in a towing guide
Towing guides are tables of configurations, not of trucks. To land on the correct row you need:
- Cab style
- Bed length
- Drivetrain
- Engine
- Rear axle ratio
- Any tow package the row depends on
The 2026 Ford RV & Trailer Towing Guide organizes its Trailer Towing Selector exactly that way, with the footnotes under each table carrying the conditions, and the same structure is behind the model-year tables for a Ford F-150.
Read the footnotes before you trust the number. Ford's say its maximum towing figures are "for properly equipped vehicles with required equipment and a 150-lb. driver and passenger and vary based on cargo, vehicle configuration, accessories, option content and number of passengers," and that the tables are calculated with the SAE J2807 method.
Ford describes J2807 as the standard that "defines procedures and requirements to determine gross combined weight ratings (GCWR) and to calculate the trailer weight rating (TWR) for any tow vehicle," establishing minimum performance conditions so similar vehicles can be compared consistently.
Chevrolet is blunter still about what the headline figure is for. Its maximum trailer weight rating is GCWR minus curb weight, using the base vehicle plus 150 lb each for the driver and front passenger, "so additional passengers, equipment and cargo weight reduce this rating," and the rating "is not specific to an individual vehicle and is most useful for comparing product lines to one another." Treat a guide row as a ceiling for an idealized version of your configuration, not as a promise about your truck.
Tip: The 150-lb driver and passenger in those footnotes are not decoration. Every pound of family, dog, generator, tools and bed topper beyond that baseline comes out of what the truck is rated to carry, and when you are towing, Ford counts trailer tongue load or king pin weight as cargo weight too.
Finding your axle ratio
Axle ratio is the build detail most owners cannot name, and guide tables turn on it. Ford's instruction is specific: "If you do not know the axle ratio of your vehicle, check its Safety Compliance Certification Label... Below the bar code, you will see the word AXLE and a two-digit code." The matching Rear Axle Ratio Codes chart is printed in the towing guide for your model year and truck line, so pull the guide for that year rather than translating a code with a chart from a different one.
Why it matters is set out in Chevrolet's words: "In general, a higher axle ratio offers higher trailer weight ratings, quicker acceleration and less fuel efficiency. A lower axle ratio offers more fuel efficiency and quieter vehicle operation but will have slower acceleration and lower trailer weight ratings."
Tip: Two trucks with the same engine, cab and bed can sit in different rows of the same table on axle ratio alone. If you are shopping used and the seller cannot tell you the ratio, the two-digit code on the door label settles it in seconds without a dealer visit.
VIN tools and online lookups, as the makers describe them
Ford's Towing Calculator accepts a VIN, or a vehicle selected from a Ford account, and returns maximum trailer weight and maximum tongue load for conventional, gooseneck or fifth-wheel towing once you enter occupant and cargo weights. Ford limits it clearly: "Only 2020 model year and newer F-Series pickup trucks capable of towing can use the Ford Towing Calculator at this time."
Ford is equally clear about the printed guide, stating that "The RV & Trailer Towing Guide is not Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) specific," and pointing owners who want VIN-specific figures to a certified expert at a Ford dealer.
Other makes publish by model year. Ram's Towing Capacity Guide asks you to choose a model year, offering 2024, 2025 and 2026 as of October 2026, and then a vehicle from the Ram 1500, 2500, 3500, Chassis Cab and ProMaster, which is the same configuration-first logic behind published figures for a Ram 1500.
Toyota's instruction on its towing page is to never tow beyond a vehicle's published towing capacities, and notes that what you can tow "depends on base curb weight plus the total weight of any cargo, occupants, and added vehicle equipment," with the Owner's Manual as the authority for your model.
The NHTSA VIN decoder is worth knowing for what it is, and what it is not. It "allows you to query a particular vehicle's VIN to identify specific information encoded in the number," reported by the manufacturer, for model year 1981 and later. That means make, model, model year, body and plant data, which is exactly the build information you need to find your guide row. NHTSA does not present it as a towing-rating tool.
Tip: Use a VIN decoder to confirm the build, then take that build into the maker's own guide. Ford's calculator for 2020 and newer F-Series is the one tool described here that turns a VIN into a trailer figure directly.
The order to work in
Working through the documents in sequence keeps you from anchoring on a brochure figure that was never about your truck:
- Read both door-jamb labels and write down GVWR, both GAWRs, and the combined occupant-and-cargo figure. On a listed Chevrolet model, add the Trailering Information Label figures.
- Establish the build: cab, bed, drivetrain, engine, tow package, and the axle ratio from the AXLE code or the equivalent build record.
- Find the matching row in the towing guide for that model year, and read every footnote attached to it. Ford directs owners to the Trailer Towing Selector charts or the Owner's Manual for GCWR.
- Take the lowest of the limits that apply: the trailer weight rating for your configuration, GVWR, each axle rating, GCWR, and the rating of the hitch receiver and ball mount you are actually using. One of these runs out before the others, and that one is your real ceiling.
- Confirm it on a scale. Ford describes gross vehicle weight as "the actual weight that is obtained when the fully-loaded vehicle is driven onto a scale," and tells owners to take the loaded vehicle and trailer to a scale together to get the axle weights.
That last step is the one that turns a published rating into a fact about your rig. If the broader framework behind these limits is new to you, the background on how towing capacity is defined and calculated is worth reading alongside the labels.
Common questions
Can I look up my towing capacity by VIN?
Sometimes. Ford's Towing Calculator accepts a VIN and returns maximum trailer weight and maximum tongue load, but Ford states that only 2020 model year and newer F-Series pickup trucks capable of towing can use it. Ford also states that its printed RV & Trailer Towing Guide is not VIN specific. NHTSA's free VIN decoder returns manufacturer-reported build information for model year 1981 and later, which helps you find the right guide row, but NHTSA does not present it as a towing-rating tool.
Where is the towing capacity sticker on a truck?
On most trucks there is no sticker that prints a trailer rating. The driver's door jamb carries the federally required certification label with GVWR and the Gross Axle Weight Rating for each axle, and, on trucks rated at 10,000 lb GVWR or less, the driver's side B-pillar carries the Tire and Loading Information placard with the combined weight of occupants and cargo. Chevrolet is the exception among the makes covered here: its 2026 Trailering Guide describes a Trailering Information Label on the driver-side door jamb of the Silverado 1500, Silverado EV, Silverado HD, Suburban and Tahoe that lists GCWR, maximum payload, maximum tongue weight and curb weight.
How do I find my axle ratio?
On a Ford, check the Safety Compliance Certification Label on the left front door lock facing or the door latch post pillar. Below the bar code you will see the word AXLE followed by a two-digit code, and the Rear Axle Ratio Codes chart in the Ford RV & Trailer Towing Guide for your model year and truck line translates that code into a ratio. Use the chart from the guide that matches your model year rather than a chart from another year.
Is the towing capacity in the brochure the towing capacity of my truck?
No, it is the maximum for a configuration under stated assumptions. Ford's 2026 guide footnotes its figures as applying to properly equipped vehicles with required equipment and a 150-lb driver and passenger, varying with cargo, configuration, accessories, option content and number of passengers. Chevrolet goes further, stating that its maximum trailer weight rating "is not specific to an individual vehicle and is most useful for comparing product lines to one another," because it is GCWR minus a base curb weight plus 150 lb each for the driver and front passenger.
What is the difference between the certification label and the tire and loading placard?
They answer different questions and are required by different rules. The certification label, required by 49 CFR 567.4, carries the manufacturer, build month and year, VIN, vehicle type, GVWR and the GAWR for each axle. The Tire and Loading Information placard, required by FMVSS No. 110, carries the sentence "The combined weight of occupants and cargo should never exceed XXX kilograms or XXX pounds," along with seating capacity and tire sizes and pressures. The first gives the weight limits of the vehicle; the second gives what it may carry as built.