Vehicle weight classes and GVWR classes
Here are some common questions we get on GVWR classifications and definitions. We hope you find this useful to decipher GVWR classes, weight classifications and all the definitions of a light, medium or heavy duty truck. Hedges & Company has been working with GVWR data for two decades and this is right in our wheelhouse. Scroll down for a complete Gross Vehicle Weight chart showing classes.
Q: What is GVWR?
A: GVWR stands for Gross Vehicle Weight Rating. It’s the total operating weight of a vehicle as specified by the original equipment manufacturer (OEM). It includes the weight of the vehicle, all accessories, passengers and fluids. It does not include trailers.
Q: What’s the difference between GVW classes and GVWR classes? What does GVWR stand for?
A: GVW is Gross Vehicle Weight and is the total weight of a vehicle and its payload at a specific point in time. Technically, there aren’t any GVW classes, just GVWR classes.
If someone refers to GVW classes they probably mean GVWR weight classes. We’ve been dealing with vehicle data for a couple of decades and this often confusing for people.
Think of GVWR as the maximum allowable weight and GVR as the current actual weight.
Q: What’s the difference between gross vehicle weight and curb weight?
A: “Curb weight” is the weight of a vehicle, including fluids, but without passengers or cargo. Think of GVW as the current actual weight with people and cargo, and curb weight with people and cargo removed. Both curb weight and GVW include fluids necessary for operating the vehicle.
Q: What is GAWR?
A: GAWR is Gross Axle Weight Rating. This is defined by the OEM. It’s the load-carrying capacity of a single-axle system and is determined by the weakest component like the suspension system, axle, tire, wheel or brakes.
Q: What is GCWR?
A: GCWR is Gross Combination Weight Rating. It’s defined by the OEM and is the maximum weight of a combined vehicle and attached trailer, including all cargo.
Q: What are GVWR Classes?
A: Below is a gross vehicle weight chart showing GVWR classes in the US which includes descriptions and weights. GVWR classes are determined by the OEMs. The Federal government doesn’t legislate these classes, but does regulate driver’s licenses based on GVWR.
Viewing this on a phone? Scroll to the right.
| GVWR Classes 1-8 | GVWR Description | GVWR Class Description | Vehicle Examples |
|---|---|---|---|
blank or null  | Light-duty vehicle | Passenger cars | Common passenger cars; no SUVs or CUVs |
GVWR Class 1   | Light-duty vehicle | Medium-size pickup trucks, mini vans, SUVs and CUVs under 6,000 lbs. (2,722 kg) | Common “quarter ton” pickups, SUVs and crossover CUVs; GMC Canyon, Chevy Colorado, Ford Maverick |
| GVWR Class 2 | Light-duty vehicle | Mini vans, full-size pickups, step vans or cargo vans 6,001 lbs. to 10,000 lbs. (2,722–4,536 kg) | Common “half ton” pickups including Ram 1500, Ford F-150, Chevy Silverado |
| GVWR Class 3 | Light-duty or medium-duty vehicle* | Heavy-duty pickups, box trucks, walk-in commercial vans 10,001 lbs. to 14,000 lbs. (4,536–6,350 kg) | “3/4 ton” pickups including Ram 3500, Ford F-250, Ford F-350, GMC Sierra 3500 |
GVWR Class 4  | Medium-duty vehicle | Walk-in commercial vans, larger box trucks, city delivery trucks 14,001 lbs. to 16,000 lbs. (6,351–7,257 kg) | Ford E-450 van, Ford F-450 and Ram 4500 |
GVWR Class 5 | Medium-duty vehicle | Largest city delivery trucks, largest walk-in commercial vans with double rear axles, bucket utility “cherry picker” trucks 16,000 lbs. to 19,500 lbs. (7,258–8,845 kg) | Ford F-550, GMC 5500, Ram 5500 and box trucks |
GVWR Class 6 | Medium-duty vehicle | School buses, single-axle straight trucks, stake bed trucks, beverage trucks 19,501 lbs. to 26,000 lbs. (8,846–11,793 kg) | Thomas Built bus, Blue Bird Vision bus |
GVWR Class 7 | Heavy-duty vehicle | City transit busses, smaller semi truck cabs, moving vans, garbage trucks 26,001 lbs. to 33,000 lbs. (11,794–14,969 kg) | GMC C7500, Freightliner M2 box truck |
GVWR Class 8 | Heavy-duty vehicle | Largest dump trucks, largest semi cabs, semi truck sleeper cabs, cement trucks 33,001 lbs. (14,969 kg) and heavier | Freightliner Cascadia, International LT Series, Mack Anthem |
You’ll often see online references to “cars and light trucks,” which is different than medium- and heavy-duty trucks.
Cars do not have a GVWR class but do have a GVWR rating. The class is simply excluded or blank. Light trucks are GVWR classes 1 through 2 or 3*, which includes SUVs, some CUVs, and all the quarter-ton, half-ton and three-quarter ton pickup trucks that you see every day. Medium-duty trucks are GVWR classes 3* or 4 through 6 which includes large commercial delivery trucks, large vans, walk-in trucks like UPS or FedEx vans, up to large beverage trucks and school buses. Heavy-duty trucks are GVWR classes 7 and 8, which includes the largest trucks including the largest tow trucks, fire engines, cement trucks and semi trucks.
Here’s something that adds confusion: The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) Office of Operations has a Field Operations Guide to help with traffic incident reporting. That guide includes a silhouette of a car in GVWR Class 1, even though GVWR classes are generally used to classify trucks (SUVs and larger CUVs are technically light trucks).
Now, here’s something that is really confusing: The FHWA Office of Highway Policy Information has 13 vehicle classes covering motorcycles up to multitrailer vehicles. These are part of their Traffic Monitoring Guide, and not GVWR classes.
*See “What’s the definition of a ‘medium-duty vehicle?’ below.
Q: *What’s the definition of a “medium-duty vehicle?”
A: This can be confusing! Believe it or not, there is no consistent classification of “medium-duty.” At times the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and other government agencies classified light-duty as 10,000 lbs. and under, which includes GVWR class 2 and below. At other times, FHWA and other agencies have classified light-duty at 14,000 lbs. and under, which includes GVWR class 3 and below.
For just two examples of this inconsistency within the US government, see this page from AFDC categorizing class 3 as medium-duty and this page from FHWA categorizing class 4 and 5 as “light-heavy” and class 6 as “medium-heavy.”
Freightliner, who knows a thing or two about trucks, defines medium-duty as GVWR Classes 6 and 7. FUSO, who also knows a thing or two about trucks, defines medium-duty trucks as GVWR Classes 3 to 5. FUSO also defines Class 3 to Class 5 medium-duty as “about 13,200 pounds” up to 17,995 pounds, instead of the 10,000 pounds to 19,500 pounds as shown in the table above.
Most of the time GVWR Classes 1, 2 and 3 are considered light-duty vehicles, while Classes 4, 5 and 6 are considered medium-duty vehicles. Classes 7 and 8 are almost always considered to be heavy-duty (sorry, Freightliner).
Q: How are electric vehicles classified? They’re heavy!
A: Electric passenger cars tend to be heavy. The heaviest Tesla, a Model X Plaid, has a curb weight of 5390 pounds. A Ford Mustang Mach-E GT Performance Edition has a curb weight at almost 5,000 pounds. The Audi e-tron line are really heavy! A 2024 Audi Q8 e-tron has a GVWR of just over 7,000 pounds so it is GVWR class 2.
