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hot rod · 09-22-2011, 10:30 AM

That CCC sticker is a bunch of legalese that the government makes the coach mfg. calculate based on the gvw of the coach by itself (36580 based on adding axle ratings together) minus what the government THINKS it will weigh when fully loaded with normal things like water and people, hence the silly formulas like "5 persons @ 154# per person" (apparently the d.o.t. does not read the papers about how fat Americans are these days. lol.). So by their fantasy land calculations, after you have your tanks full and 4 of your best friends loaded in, you can load an additional 5799# in the COACH. Where you'd put it I have no idea, but the govt. says you can!

That 5799# is just a made up number for the coach and has nothing to do with the weight of the trailer you can pull. That is a little more real world discussion. The coach builder (not Freightliner) has assigned your truck a GCWR (max truck and trailer combined) of 40,000#. This means that the TOTAL of both cannot exceed 40,000. So using Uncle Sam's numbers from your CCC tag, your coach should weigh 30781# with full tanks and 4 of your best friends, leaving a difference of 9219# for your trailer towing capacity in theory. Of course if you also bring your dog, then the trailer weight goes down, so Fido may have to stay home. You get the idea. Oh yeah, and keep in mind that you still cannot exceed the max rating of EACH axle, even if your total is under 40000. But that should not be a problem, most of trailer weight should be on it's own axles and only a small amount on the hitch.

So you are correct based on your actual scale weight that you can pull almost a 10000# trailer. And Bobz is sort of correct, your drivetrain should be able to handle 80000#, but being single screw it would never have that high of a GVWR anyway, regardless of what rating the coach builder slaps on there. It would have to be a twin screw to have a GCWR that high.

To be honest at this point my knowledge runs out. I am not really sure where they dream up the GCWR number from. I do not know if it is an arbitrary number created by the coach builder (as opposed to Freightliner). Am I correct that there is no GCWR on the Freightliner tag on the door? Just a GVWR? If not apparently the coach builder can create the GCWR at a number above the GVWR (for just the truck) figure. I wish I knew how they calculate that. Maybe based on the max rating of the hitch they install? Or some other arcane government math? Input from other posters would be appreciated on that detail.

I have a similar dilemma on my own project. I am building a toter project to pull my 5th wheel / gooseneck trailer to replace my dually. Like yours, it has only GVWR ratings on the door tag, and no GCWR at all. My GMC 5500 Topkick chassis was a box truck originally, and rated at 25950#. It never had a hitch before I got it, so apparently no GCWR rating. Now, at 25990#, and using the math above, it would actually be able to pull less trailer in theory than my dually, which is just crazy. So I am guessing that the coach builder (me) can rate the GCWR higher like on your unit? I am going to have to or I am toast at the first scalehouse that bothers me. Once again, any input out there on how that GCWR is arrived at would be appreciated.

09-22-2011, 10:30 AM	#2
hot rod Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2011 Posts: 527	That CCC sticker is a bunch of legalese that the government makes the coach mfg. calculate based on the gvw of the coach by itself (36580 based on adding axle ratings together) minus what the government THINKS it will weigh when fully loaded with normal things like water and people, hence the silly formulas like "5 persons @ 154# per person" (apparently the d.o.t. does not read the papers about how fat Americans are these days. lol.). So by their fantasy land calculations, after you have your tanks full and 4 of your best friends loaded in, you can load an additional 5799# in the COACH. Where you'd put it I have no idea, but the govt. says you can! That 5799# is just a made up number for the coach and has nothing to do with the weight of the trailer you can pull. That is a little more real world discussion. The coach builder (not Freightliner) has assigned your truck a GCWR (max truck and trailer combined) of 40,000#. This means that the TOTAL of both cannot exceed 40,000. So using Uncle Sam's numbers from your CCC tag, your coach should weigh 30781# with full tanks and 4 of your best friends, leaving a difference of 9219# for your trailer towing capacity in theory. Of course if you also bring your dog, then the trailer weight goes down, so Fido may have to stay home. You get the idea. Oh yeah, and keep in mind that you still cannot exceed the max rating of EACH axle, even if your total is under 40000. But that should not be a problem, most of trailer weight should be on it's own axles and only a small amount on the hitch. So you are correct based on your actual scale weight that you can pull almost a 10000# trailer. And Bobz is sort of correct, your drivetrain should be able to handle 80000#, but being single screw it would never have that high of a GVWR anyway, regardless of what rating the coach builder slaps on there. It would have to be a twin screw to have a GCWR that high. To be honest at this point my knowledge runs out. I am not really sure where they dream up the GCWR number from. I do not know if it is an arbitrary number created by the coach builder (as opposed to Freightliner). Am I correct that there is no GCWR on the Freightliner tag on the door? Just a GVWR? If not apparently the coach builder can create the GCWR at a number above the GVWR (for just the truck) figure. I wish I knew how they calculate that. Maybe based on the max rating of the hitch they install? Or some other arcane government math? Input from other posters would be appreciated on that detail. I have a similar dilemma on my own project. I am building a toter project to pull my 5th wheel / gooseneck trailer to replace my dually. Like yours, it has only GVWR ratings on the door tag, and no GCWR at all. My GMC 5500 Topkick chassis was a box truck originally, and rated at 25950#. It never had a hitch before I got it, so apparently no GCWR rating. Now, at 25990#, and using the math above, it would actually be able to pull less trailer in theory than my dually, which is just crazy. So I am guessing that the coach builder (me) can rate the GCWR higher like on your unit? I am going to have to or I am toast at the first scalehouse that bothers me. Once again, any input out there on how that GCWR is arrived at would be appreciated.