eye opener about gvwr

[Wildcat]

i have a ram 1500 with ram boxes. they are nearly full of basic tools, recovery gear, air compressor and fishing equipment. i went to a certified scale yesterday and with me (175#) and a full tank of gas (33 gal), my truck weighs 6140 pounds. my door sticker says 6800 gvwr. that means when i add my winch, bumpers and sliders im probably going to be right under gvwr. that doesn’t even include adding camping gear, wife, kayaks, etc.

is this normal? is every “expedition” vehicle i see on the road over gvwr?

 

[Gravelette]

Pretty much normal, IME. My lightly optioned F150 cc had only 1300# payload. My current Frontier has only 1160#. I think you are correct that many people ignore payload or have arrived at some justification for going over. People don't like to be told they can't do stuff. Bubba, hold my beer and watch this....

 

[carterd]

Lots of trucks are driving down the road over GVWR. It would be helpful if you provided more details about the exact year/model of truck, whether it is 4x4, whether it is fully loaded etc. Those things can have a significant impact on payload. Does your door sticker have any payload info or do you know the curb weight empty?

 

[Kingsize24]

Very normal. Most jeeps are over GVWR just putting 4 standard Americans in them and an overnight bag.

 

[NevadaLover]

Don't overlook the sway that the insurance companies have on the manufacturers and the NHTSA.

Some of the GVWR numbers listed on door stickers on new trucks are pretty low compared to what a lot of these vehicles accomplish every day with no damage, danger or drama.

 

[rruff]

is this normal? is every “expedition” vehicle i see on the road over gvwr?

If they are 1/2 tons, then yes.

It's a US artifact... because half tons are used as cars extensively, and driving over GVWR isn't illegal unless it's commercial. In other countries the midsize trucks have payloads of >2,000 lbs.

 

[Wildcat]

my truck is a 2016 double cab 4x4 hemi 5,7” bed with ram boxes outdoorsman trim. not sure what level options it has but its got electric windows and seats. no sunroof. it does have the annoying impact sensors in the bumpers.

i don’t see where it says the curb weight.

 

[Gravelette]

Ouch, your payload is only 1072#. That's consistent with your actual scale weight, you don't have much to work with. You might consider a more capable truck or a very small trailer for your gear.

 

[Wildcat]

i may have to go through the ram boxes and remove some redundant gear too. not able to replace the truck for a few more years. small trailer is an option as i was planning on a diy square drop soon.

 

[SimplyAnAdventure]

i have a ram 1500 with ram boxes. they are nearly full of basic tools, recovery gear, air compressor and fishing equipment. i went to a certified scale yesterday and with me (175#) and a full tank of gas (33 gal), my truck weighs 6140 pounds. my door sticker says 6800 gvwr. that means when i add my winch, bumpers and sliders im probably going to be right under gvwr. that doesn’t even include adding camping gear, wife, kayaks, etc.

is this normal? is every “expedition” vehicle i see on the road over gvwr?

Every expedition vehicle??? No, every Jeep and Tacoma? More than likely!

I think anyone who runs a vehicle like this owes it to themselves to run over a CAT scale and get real life weights.

This is my truck with a truck camper, full fuel tank, 37’s, 2 people and some camping gear, water tank was empty and there wasn’t much food or provisions since I was just picking it up.

GVWR on my truck is 11,499 so I have lots of room to play with. That said even with a 4200lbs payload my truck requires airbags to level back out.

Long story short if you’re going to run a Tacoma, Jeep or most 1/2T’s pack like you’re a backpacker. If you want to build an expedition rig build it on a proper platform to hold the weight safely. In my case F350 Tremor.

 

[LRNAD90]

Poor Load capacity is an ever ongoing discussion in the Overland world. There are plenty of articles here if you look. Jeep finally made an effort an increased the load capacity of the more recent JL Unlimited, but still far below what some classic overland platforms like the Defender provide.

When you start looking at the numbers of popular platforms (even 1/2 ton pick-ups), you see the margin is thin at best..

The modern Defender and the Ineos Grenadier seem to be the only 'SUV" platforms that offer any real payload capacity, until you get into 3/4 and 1 ton trucks..

When you start looking at numbers, it can become quite comical. For example, my wife's BMW X5 has a higher payload capacity (1,290 lbs) that the OP's Big Ram truck..

Another fun fact, my little NAS D90 has a Load Capacity of nearly 2,500 lbs...

 

[HUMMER/Expeditions]

The area where I am, some property’s have no wells or dry wells, there is local fire hydrant with a meter on it where people can fill up their water containers including large water trucks.

Almost 100% of the time I see a pickup trucks with 275 and 330 gallon water tank in the back full of water driving away.

That’s probably 4 times it’s GVWR
I am shocked to see frame not bending in half.

few hundred pounds over the GVWR on the dodge is no problem.

buy a Humvee pickup with 15.500 lb GVWR.
curb weight without an armor is 6100LB. GVWR is 15.500 LB

 

[ExpoMike]

Yeah, I have never understood people who buy 1/2 ton trucks to do 1 ton truck jobs.

 

[HUMMER/Expeditions]

Yeah, I have never understood people who buy 1/2 ton trucks to do 1 ton truck jobs.

I am not sure people even know what GVW is
I think they believe if it fits it’s good to go.

That being said a lot of automakers put low GVW for tax or insurance purposes.

For example HUMMER H1 Has exactly identical frame and suspension as M1152 humvee, however for insurance and category reasons it’s GVW is 10.300, on the humvee it’s 15.500 and get pushed all the way to 17.000 at combat zones.

So why is there 4200 lb difference in identical vehicles rating 🤷‍♂️

newer trucks have very high strength frames and design, I bet you any new pickup truck can handle a lot more than it’s rated GVW.

 

[406to417]

"I am not sure people even know what GVW is
I think they believe if it fits it’s good to go."

I believe you're 100 percent correct. It also seems the smaller the vehicle the more people try to cram into it or tow with it.