The precise measurement of payload capacity has been part of the American automotive landscape for decades. In 1913, states saw the vital importance of laws to regulate payload capacities due to overloaded trucks damaging fragile roadways. Originally a seafaring term, payload described a ship’s revenue-producing cargo.
There are several critical ways the application of payload capacity plays a significant role in our daily lives.
- Transport vehicles, such as 18-wheelers, need extreme payload capacities to deliver goods from ports and warehouses around the world to our front doors.
- Any number of truck manufacturer’s 1500 series frames and suspensions can safely transport a 10,000-pound trailer. Truck manufacturers build frames and suspensions in their 350 series with maximum payload capacities of up to 8,000 pounds in the bed and towing capacities of up to 32,000 pounds.
- Refrigerated trucks are now technologically engineered to deliver precise critical payloads of medicines and other life-saving products to outlying provinces in third-world countries.
- Massive dump trucks have enormous capacities to safely and quickly move vast amounts of earth so foundations can be built quickly.
As one example, a Belarusian company built the BelAZ 75710, the world’s largest dump truck with a payload capacity of 450 metric tons (992,080 pounds)
What Does Payload Capacity Mean?
Payload capacity refers to the gross load weight of a vehicle capable of safe and sustaining operation. This weight includes cargo, passengers, and additional equipment added to the bed and the truck’s interior.
Among the many ratings, ratios, and abbreviations on modern trucks is the Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR). Also, “curb weight” is another essential number to know, which refers to the weight of the vehicle with standard equipment and without passengers or cargo, essentially the vehicle and a full tank of gas.
Payload capacity is the maximum load a vehicle can safely carry and is calculated by subtracting the vehicle’s curb weight from the GVWR. A Dodge Ram’s door sticker will list the GVWR in the upper right corner, along with GAWR representing the weight each axle can support.
For example, if a truck has a GVWR of 6,000 pounds and a curb weight of 3,000 pounds, the truck has a safe maximum payload capacity of 3,000 pounds.
Curb weights and gross vehicle weights are essentially the same side of the coin. Curb weight is a foundational and constant figure influencing fuel efficiency, performance metrics, and overall vehicle capabilities. GVWR is a variable number dictating payload capacity. GVWR influences factors such as tire pressure and wear, along with suspension and braking performance.
Fleet managers use these two metrics, curb weight and GVWR, to make strategic decisions on vehicle deployment and meeting safety regulations.
Differences Between Payload and Towing Capacity
American and International truck manufacturers are building sophisticated machines that go far beyond the capabilities most owners will ever use. However, some residential owners and business users live by the capabilities of their trucks. Savvy commercial users pay close attention to a truck’s vital ratios and capacities, which matter most to be efficient on the road.
- Payload capacity is expressly referred to as the maximum amount of weight a truck frame can safely support. The payload capacity represents a vehicle's total weight beyond its structure (passengers, cargo, add-on equipment).
- Towing capacity refers to the total amount of weight a vehicle can tow when pulling a trailer. In simple terms, it is how heavy a trailer can be. Exceeding the stated towing capacity can be dangerous to the safe operation of your vehicle.
Towing capacity is often higher than payload capacity. Here are a couple of pertinent examples: “A truck can pull more weight in a trailer than it can carry on its own.” However, payloads are still a factor when calculating towing capacities. “If a four-door truck is full of people while towing a boat, the capacities are similar to pulling a trailer with the same equal weight.”
Does Payload Include Passengers?
Yes, payloads are calculated as total capacity, including occupants, cargo, and equipment, not just the cargo in the bed. Including passengers in weight capacity calculations is crucial because it relates directly to the total pounds a vehicle can tow or haul safely and efficiently. Consistently overloading any vehicle places extreme stress on the vehicle, frame, drivetrain, axles, wheels, and tires.
Remember to always calculate the weight of passengers, as that figure will reduce the overall cargo amount or payload capacity. A few terms every driver needs to know when towing or hauling; every term is not used in every calculation:
- GVWR – the maximum amount of weight a vehicle can hold
- GCWR – gross combined weight of the trailer and tow vehicle
- Curb weight – total weight of a vehicle, including topped-off fluids
- GAWR – maximum weight one axle can support
- GTW – gross trailer weight a vehicle can handle
- TW – pressure pushing down on the trailer hitch from the load
Impact of passenger weight:
For example, a 2023 Chevrolet Silverado 1500, four-wheel drive, with its base engine of 5.3L, has a GVWR of 7,000 lbs. and a curb weight of 5,010 lbs., leaving a payload capacity of 1990 lbs. Assume four male adults are weighing 190 lbs. each, at a total of 760 lbs. Subtracting total passenger weight from payload capacity gives you an additional 1230 pounds of cargo and equipment that can be safely loaded into the truck.
How To Calculate Payload Capacity
Every driver can use a few simple steps to calculate their vehicle's payload capacity. If you cannot find the actual curb weight of your specific vehicle, take it to a truck stop and place it on one of the many scales available. Either weigh the vehicle with all the passengers and equipment or dry weigh the vehicle with just the fluids.
- Locate your vehicle's gross weight rating. The GVWR is located on a sticker or plaque permanently attached to the driver’s side door jamb about halfway down the post. The GVWR can also be found in the owner’s manual.
- There are a few other places where all the information you need can be found. Head to automotive sites such as Edmunds.com or Kelly Blue Book and simply input the vehicle.
Calculate Payload Capacity
- Step One: Once you have the gross vehicle weight ratio, subtract the curb weight, and you will have the payload capacity of a specific vehicle.
- Step Two: Make certain you have the added weight of any passengers and any add-on equipment, such as a trailer hitch, bed liners, bed covers, truck bed storage boxes, front winch, and attachments. Anything that adds extra weight to the truck frame must be accounted for. Add the weights together and subtract that number from the payload capacity of your specific vehicle.
- Step Three: The resulting number of GVWR – curb weight – passengers and add-on equipment = the amount of cargo that can safely be added to your vehicle without taxing the frame, axles, tires, and wheels.
Why Is Knowing Payload Capacity Important
Without calculating the total weight, including all passengers, can lead to safety hazards, compromised braking and tire damage, reduced handling, and the potential for accidents. Exceeding payload and towing capacities in some states can be considered a legal violation of safety standards.
Overloading a vehicle, even a few times, can cause damage. The excessive stress placed on the suspension systems can lead to long-term damage to springs, shock absorbers, tie rods, and other suspension components. Wheels and tires can take an extraordinary amount of damage, such as excessive tire wear, uneven tread wear, and the added risk of a blowout.
Extra weight in the vehicle can dramatically increase stopping distances, and braking efficiency is reduced, especially during emergencies. Brakes begin to overheat as more weight is added to the vehicle, resulting in” brake fade” and loss of efficiency.
Overloaded vehicles quickly become compromised, making it hard to drive and stop. Steering is less responsive, and drivers find the vehicle tricky to control, resulting in the chance of crashes. Among the other issues mentioned above, vehicle owners can void warranties as well as incur legal fees for overloading.
Fleet managers are painfully aware of the effects of overloading one of their fleet vehicles. There are dramatic increases in maintenance and operating costs. Failure rates on every system component begin to rise due to the added stress of overloading. Maneuverability issues and failing systems cause severe problems to other parts of the truck, as well as shifting cargo loads.
Overloaded trucks, SUVs, cars, and trailers are dangerous to the drivers and others on the road.
