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Equipment Trailer Capacity Calculator: Payload, Towing, CDL and Tiedowns

Pick a machine or type its weight, then enter your trailer and truck ratings from their VIN plates. The calculator checks every limit and tells you how to tie it down.

Enter the machine and trailer details.
Load on trailer–
Trailer gross weight–
Tongue weight–Add this to the truck’s payload
Tiedown WLL needed–

    Federal rules: a combination with a GCWR of 26,001 lb or more, towing over 10,000 lb GVWR, needs a Class A CDL for commercial driving (49 CFR 383.91). Equipment of 10,000 lb or more needs at least four tiedowns (49 CFR 393.130), with a combined working load limit of at least half the cargo weight (49 CFR 393.106). States can add rules.

    How it works

    Trailer gross = machine + attachments + empty trailer. It must not exceed the trailer GVWR or the truck’s towing capacity.

    Tongue weight is 10–15% of trailer gross for bumper-pull hitches and 15–25% for goosenecks; it counts against the truck’s payload.

    Class A CDL (commercial driving): combined GVWR of 26,001 lb or more with a trailer rated over 10,000 lb (49 CFR 383.91). Equipment of 10,000 lb or more needs at least four tiedowns (49 CFR 393.130) with a combined working load limit of half the cargo weight (49 CFR 393.106).

    Common questions

    What size trailer do I need for a mini excavator?

    Payload must exceed the machine plus attachments. A 3.5 t machine (about 8,000 lb) usually needs a 10,000–14,000 lb GVWR equipment trailer.

    What is the difference between GVWR and payload?

    GVWR is the maximum total weight of the trailer and its load; payload is GVWR minus the empty trailer weight.