GAWR
Also called gross axle weight rating, axle weight rating, rear axle weight rating, front axle weight rating
GAWR is the maximum weight the manufacturer rates one axle to carry, measured where its tires meet the ground, and a truck loaded tail-heavy can be over its rear GAWR while still under its overall GVWR.
What is GAWR?
The federal definition, at 49 CFR 571.3: gross axle weight rating or GAWR means the value specified by the vehicle manufacturer as the load-carrying capacity of a single axle system, as measured at the tire-ground interfaces. Measured at the tire-ground interfaces is the operative phrase. It is the number a scale reads under that axle's tires, with everything the axle happens to be carrying pressing down through them.
It is printed on the same certification label as the GVWR, in the driver's door jamb, one rating per axle. On light trucks, FMVSS 110 requires the tire size, rim and inflation pressure the rating was set against to follow each GAWR on that label. The rating belongs to the axle system as a whole, springs, wheels and tires included, which is why the tires and their pressure appear in the same line of print.
Under the total and over one axle
On most trucks the two axle ratings add up to more than the GVWR. That looks like slack and is really a warning about distribution: the certifiers never expected a load to split evenly, and the total rating does not vouch for either end. The rear axle is the one that gets caught, and the mechanism is a lever.
Weight placed between the axles is shared between them. Weight hung behind the rear axle is not: the rear axle becomes a pivot, and a load past it presses the rear tires down with more than its own weight while lifting weight off the front. The further back it hangs, the worse the exchange. The total barely moves; the rear axle figure climbs.
This is the camper trap, on flatbeds and factory beds alike. A camper's mass sits over and behind the rear axle, so a truck can weigh in under its GVWR and stand over its rear GAWR at the same time, and the label in the door listed both numbers all along. An axle overload is carried by one pair of tires, one set of springs and one pair of wheel bearings, not by the truck in general, which is why the axle rating is the one that governs.
See also
Seen in
Sources
- 49 CFR 571.3, Definitions, Electronic Code of Federal Regulations · read 2026-08-27
- 49 CFR 567.4, Requirements for manufacturers of motor vehicles, Electronic Code of Federal Regulations · read 2026-08-27Sets what the certification label must carry: the GVWR, a GAWR for each axle, and the floor under the GVWR figure. The tire, rim and inflation pressure printed beside each GAWR on a light truck are FMVSS 110's requirement, not this section's.
- 49 CFR 571.110, Tire selection and rims, and the Tire and Loading Information label, Electronic Code of Federal Regulations · read 2026-08-27The standard that requires the placard stating the combined weight of occupants and cargo a vehicle may carry. S4.3 sets its content, location and format; S4.3.2 covers altered vehicles; S10 covers weight added before first sale.