SUV towing capacity, and the limit without load-leveling bars
Choose an SUV and a model year in the tool to see its best and weakest rating; below, the hitch limits that cut those figures for most owners.
2026 Chevrolet Tahoe maximum towing capacity
8,400 lb
| Reached by | 5.3L EcoTec3 V8 · 4x2 · 3.23 axle · Max Trailering Package |
| Lowest rating printed | 7,600 lb (6.2L EcoTec3 V8 · 4x4 · 3.23 axle) |
| Configurations in the table | 12 |
| Source | 2026 Chevrolet Trailering Guide, p. 41 |
Compiled by Radif Partners · Sources and method · makers’ towing documents read October 20 to 21, 2026
Among the SUVs covered, the Ford Expedition leads at 9,600 lb, followed by the Chevrolet Tahoe at 8,400 lb; the Jeep Grand Cherokee prints 6,200 lb and the Toyota 4Runner 6,000 lb, the three-row Kia Telluride, Ford Explorer and Toyota Highlander stop at 5,500 lb, 5,000 lb and 5,000 lb, and the compact Toyota RAV4 at 3,500 lb. For the two big SUVs, the full rating holds only with a weight-distributing hitch. Chevrolet limits a Tahoe on a plain weight-carrying hitch to 5,000 lb and 600 lb of tongue weight, and Ford limits the Expedition to 7,000 lb without bars. The second limit is the one families meet: Ford and Chevrolet compute their ratings with a driver and a front passenger only, while a three-row SUV is bought to carry more people, and each extra passenger comes out of the payload the tongue also needs. An SUV towing near its rating with every seat full is often over its payload.
SUV ratings and the bar-free limit
The table gives the best and weakest conventional ratings for the latest model year read, and, where the maker states it, the most you may tow on a weight-carrying hitch, meaning a receiver and ball mount with no spring bars. Above that figure the maker requires a weight-distributing hitch, and on the Tahoe a sway control as well.
| SUV | Year | Best | Weakest | Weight-carrying hitch limit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ford Expedition | 2026 | 9,600 lb | 6,000 lb | 7,000 lb / 700 lb tongue |
| Chevrolet Tahoe | 2026 | 8,400 lb | 7,600 lb | 5,000 lb / 600 lb tongue |
| Jeep Grand Cherokee | 2027 | 6,200 lb | 6,200 lb | not stated in the maker's sheet |
| Toyota 4Runner | 2026 | 6,000 lb | 6,000 lb | not stated in the maker's sheet |
| Kia Telluride | 2025 | 5,500 lb | 5,000 lb | not stated in the maker's sheet |
| Ford Explorer | 2026 | 5,000 lb | 5,000 lb | 5,000 lb / 500 lb tongue |
| Toyota Highlander | 2026 | 5,000 lb | 3,500 lb | not stated in the maker's sheet |
| Toyota RAV4 | 2026 | 3,500 lb | 1,750 lb | not stated in the maker's sheet |
Tahoe and Expedition: the bars are part of the rating
Chevrolet's trailering guide is explicit on page 41: with a weight-carrying hitch the Tahoe may tow 5,000 lb with a 600 lb tongue, and above that tongue weight it needs a weight-distributing hitch and sway control, with the tongue allowed up to 1,250 lb. The 8,400 lb headline, reached by the 5.3L EcoTec3 V8 with the Max Trailering Package, belongs to the second set-up only.
Ford says the same for the Expedition on page 38 of its towing guide: ratings over 7,000 lb require a weight-distributing hitch. The receiver itself is rated 9,600 lb with bars on the standard wheelbase and 9,000 lb on the long Expedition MAX. The spread inside the Expedition is wide for another reason: the 4x4 with the 3.73 axle reaches 9,600 lb, the 4x2 with the 3.31 axle only 6,000 lb. The weight distribution page explains what the bars do and do not change.
Midsize and compact SUVs
The Ford Explorer is rated 5,000 lb for every 2026 configuration, with the receiver rated 5,000 lb and 500 lb of tongue as a weight-carrying hitch. The Jeep Grand Cherokee sheet gives 6,200 lb for two- and four-wheel drive, with the 3.45 axle, and states a payload of up to 1,280 lb; it does not set a separate weight-carrying limit. Kia's newsroom lists the Telluride at 5,000 lb, or 5,500 lb for the X-Pro trims, and states no hitch or brake condition at all, so the owner's manual is the place to look before hitching anything heavy.
Toyota's newsroom sheets are simpler still. The Toyota 4Runner gets one figure per generation, 6,000 lb for every 2026 grade and drive, against 5,000 lb for the 2023 and 2024 V6 (2026 sheet). The Toyota Highlander is rated by engine alone: 5,000 lb with the 2.4-liter turbo, 3,500 lb for the Highlander Hybrid. The compact Toyota RAV4 reaches 3,500 lb only in the all-wheel-drive grades Toyota names, and 1,750 lb otherwise, so the drive line of the window sticker decides. None of the three sheets sets a separate limit for a weight-carrying hitch or prints a GCWR, which leaves the curb weight to GVWR room as the figure to watch; the 4Runner, Highlander and RAV4 pages give it grade by grade.
A full cabin uses up the payload
Chevrolet computes its SUV ratings with a driver and a front passenger at 150 lb each (guide, p. 7), and Ford's notes assume a 150 lb driver and passenger. A three-row SUV with 650 lb of people aboard, an example of four or five passengers, already carries more than those ratings assume. Kia prints no payload, but the GVWR minus the curb weight of the Telluride X-Pro gives 1,395 lb, and that is what the people, the luggage, the hitch and the tongue share. With a 5,500 lb trailer at 10%, the tongue alone takes 550 lb.
Grand Cherokee: payload left with the family aboard
Payload left for the trailer tongue
705 lb
| Payload | 1,280 lb |
| People, cargo and hitch | 575 lb |
| Heaviest trailer at 10% tongue | 7,050 lb |
| At 12% tongue | 5,875 lb |
Before hitching the camper
Weigh the loaded trailer, then the loaded SUV, and compare both with the door label rather than the brochure. Check whether your tow set-up crosses the bar-free limit in the table, and whether the maker asks for its tow package for the rating you are relying on. The trailer checker runs the full test for your configuration, and the travel trailer weight page turns a dry weight into a loaded one.