Concept of Commercial Vehicle Weight

Have you ever been through words like ULW, Payload, GVW, GCW, and not been able to understand the actual indication of these words? Let’s have a thorough overview of some commercial vehicle weight concept which will help you to choose you commercial vehicle accordingly.

  1. What is ULW – Unladen Weight?


ULW represents Unladen weight , that means the weight of vehicle when it is not carrying any goods or passengers in it .

ULW includes

  • Chassis weight
  • Cabin weight and load body / Trailer weight
  • Weight of 90 % capacity of tank filled with diesel and all the consumable oils such as gear oil , engine oil etc.
  • It includes the weight of crew members.

ULW can also be called as Kerb weight .

Mathematically,

ULW = GVW(Gross Vehicle Weight ) – Payload

Importance of ULW – Unladen Weight

  • If ULW  is higher , payload of the vehicle will be lower which will cause in less revenue generation.
  • If the ULW is lesser , Payload will automatically increase and return will increase the revenue

Have a look at high payload vehicle having lesser ULW

  1. What is Payload?

Payload is the load which can be carried by a vehicle (legally ), In simple words it tells us the weight of goods which can be transported by that specific vehicle. It is also known as Rated Load.


Mathematically ,

 

Payload of a truck = GVW(Gross Vehicle Weight ) - ULW(Unladen weight )

Payload of a tractor trailer = GCW(Gross Combination Weight ) – (ULW of the tractor  + ULW of Trailer)

Importance of Payload

  • Everyone wants higher revenue generation , greater Payload will increase the one-time transportation capacity , which will in return increase the revenue.

  1. What is GVW – Gross Vehicle Weight ?

Gross Vehicle Weight is the total weight of vehicle including ULW and Payload , it includes the combined weight of every axle placed under the chassis.


 

Mathematically ,

GVW = ULW + Payload

Importance of GVW

  • Higher GVW will increase the possibility of higher payload which will benefit the transporter  in revenue generation .
  • 49 ton is the highest possible GVW of Truck , currently in India.

  1. What is GCW – Gross Combination Weight ?

It is the weight of tractor and trailer with the axle placed under it .

Mathematically ,

GCW = GVW of tractor + GVW of trailer

Importance of GCW

  • Increased GCW with result in higher payload and which may result in higher revenue generating opportunities .
  •  55 ton is the highest possible GCW of tractor trailer, currently in our country.

  1. What is an Axle?

 


Axle is the part on which the wheels are mounted , each set of axle is predefined as per CMVR tonnage rating.

Have a look on the wide range of new Trucks and Tractor – Trailer on our website.