Towing confidence, calculated
Get a clear 0–100 towing safety score—and see exactly which limit is tightest before you hitch up.
Excellent Match
Your setup is within the entered limits.
Scoring Engine v1
Use the ratings on your vehicle door label, owner’s manual, hitch, trailer tag, and—when possible—certified scale tickets.
Transparent by design
The 100 points reward safety margin and preparation. They never average away a manufacturer-limit violation.
Loaded trailer versus maximum tow rating.
People, cargo, hitch hardware, and tongue weight.
Hitch rating plus trailer-type tongue ratio.
Estimated combined vehicle and trailer weight.
Brakes, controller, ratings, chains, and tires.
Terrain and weather reduce the available margin.
Verify before you hitch
The Defender + Chaparral demo begins with an 8,200 lb tow rating and the Chaparral’s published 3,500 lb dry boat weight, then adds illustrative trailer, fuel, gear, and passenger weight. Those assumptions are not a substitute for your exact vehicle label, trailer tag, equipment ratings, or scale weights.
Tow Genius is a planning and education tool, not a certification that a combination is legal or safe. Follow the most restrictive applicable vehicle, hitch, trailer, tire, and local-law limit.
Tow smarter
Plain-English guides for the towing limits that are most often misunderstood.
Why payload is often the real limit—even when the trailer is below the advertised tow rating.
Read the guide →StabilityLearn the target ranges, what counts against payload, and why measuring beats guessing.
Read the guide →Combined weightSee how the tow vehicle, people, cargo, hitch hardware, and loaded trailer fit together.
Read the guide →Popular towing questions
Explore practical examples, then run the exact vehicle and loaded trailer through the calculator.
Match loaded trailer weight, tongue weight, payload, GCWR, and practical margin before choosing a vehicle.
Find your weight class →Tow by weightCompare compact pickups, SUVs, vans, payload, tongue weight, and the exact-rating trap.
Compare options →Tow by weightSee why a vehicle rated for exactly 5,000 pounds may not be the right 5,000-pound tow vehicle.
Compare options →Tow by weightCompare high-capacity SUVs, half-ton trucks, heavy-duty trucks, and realistic payload needs.
Compare options →Heavy trailersUnderstand when a maximum-tow half-ton works—and when a heavier-duty pickup is the better start.
Compare options →Popular matchMatch the exact truck, Airstream GVWR, loaded tongue weight, payload label, and towing package.
Read the match guide →Popular matchSee how two- versus four-door ratings, loaded camper weight, payload, and wheelbase change the answer.
Read the match guide →Critical safety guideLearn why a receiver’s label cannot create a towing capacity the vehicle manufacturer never approved.
Read before installing a hitch →