Payload = Trailer GVWR - Trailer Weight
Your trailer's GVWR is the amount of weight that the axles can carry, to determine payload all you have to do is subtract how much it weighs.
The GVWR on all NATM compliant trailer will have a sticker near the front with the VIN, GVWR, manufacturer, manufacture date and GAWR.
Reading the VIN sticker
Manufactured by: This is the brand that built your trailer.
GVWR : the total amount of weight the axles can carry
GAWR: the weight that can be placed on each axle
Date: the day which this trailer was built
View the sample VIN sticker from a Lamar trailer below.
Truck Tow Capacity
Your truck will determine what kind of trailer you can get and how much you can load on it.
Tow capacity = weight you can pull.
GVWR = weight that can be loaded on your axles.
That means your trailer GVWR generally shouldn't be more than your truck's tow capacity. You can still pull trailers with a higher GVWR than your truck, as long as the trailer weight is still under your tow capacity, but you will not be able to legally load the trailer's full payload.
License Requirements
License Requirements are different across states, but generally, as long as your truck and trailer's combined GVWR is less than 26,000 pounds you don't need a special class of license or CDL.
Check out Lamar's other blog posts on buying a trailer!
information sourced from
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