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Payload Capacity Limitations?

12K views 10 replies 7 participants last post by  henry42 
#1 ·
I was reading about slide-in campers for my 2014 2500HD long bed and it said to refer to the camper info label in the glove box. I was surprised that the max load for a camper was only 1470 pounds! Yet, I can tow up to 13,000 pounds. I wonder if this glove box info is wrong, or is the 2500HD able to pull more than carry? Thanks!
 
#2 ·
What pickup truck on the road can’t pull more than carry? Your payload capacity sticker in your driver’s door jamb will tell you your rated payload, and the actual exact number is pretty simple to calculate anyway. The camper loading weight is less than the payload for mine as well; I believe it’s taking into account stability lost in the higher center of gravity.
 
#3 ·
My Lance 835 slide-in is 12 years old. It was the 2nd to the smallest/lightest camper they made and the sticker says it weighs about 2500 lbs. with water and propane. The total rated weight of my 1 ton SRW is 9900 lbs. That leaves 7400 lbs. for the truck, me, my wife, and all the stuff we load up. I have never weighed it, but I think I'm right at the limit. That's with one of the smallest/lightest campers on a 1 ton!!

There are a LOT of overloaded trucks with campers out there!! Still, 1470 lbs. doesn't sound right. It's a 3/4 ton truck and the HD competition among manufacturers usually meant the carrying capacity was quite a bit higher. But I haven't checked...
 
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#4 ·
The number in your glovebox is right. Look at your door jamb and you'll see a payload max of 2100 lb give or take a few pounds.

Leaving something for passengers and gear in the cab puts you in that ballpark.

The 2500 series seems to be built for people who want to drive a big truck but with a softer ride than one that can actually be used for hauling [3500]. The diesel eats up a lot of payload on this truck.

The 2020's though will be getting a significant payload increase.
 
#5 ·
The 2500 series seems to be built for people who want to drive a big truck but with a softer ride than one that can actually be used for hauling [3500]. The diesel eats up a lot of payload on this truck.
It sure does; the rated payload on my 2018 All Terrain HD is 1,984lbs. The truck camper loading tag is in the 1,4xx pound range. I think that having a well-optioned truck really cuts into payload more than some people think, too. My truck has the factory gooseneck prep kit in the bed; it’s something I’ll likely never use, and hard to use to it’s full potential anyway due to payload limitations.
 
#6 ·
when your pulling 13,000 pounds the majority of that weight is on the trailers axles, not your trucks axle. Your rear axle only has so much capacity, were you to put 13,000 pounds ON the rear axle, you would have a really bad day.... thats pretty close to balancing 2 whole trucks on the rear axle, in addition to the weight your truck is putting on it.
 
#7 ·
The payload in the bed of the truck has 80% of its weight supported by the rear wheels. A 4000 lb load in the bed adds 3200 lbs of load that the rear suspension and tires need to support. On the other hand if you have a 4000 lb. trailer it is increasing the load on the rear wheels of the truck by 10-15 percent or at most 600 lbs as compared to 3200 lbs.

The payload sticker is based on the weakest link for the truck as it left the factory. The greater the number of seats the lower the payload as the manufacturers use a 150 lb passenger weight for each available seat. That is why the trucks with the regular cab will have the highest factory payload rating. The axles and wheel bearings on the Duramax SRW trucks are rated at 11,000 lbs and so the limiting factors are the leaf springs and tires.

When I looked at 2500HD and 3500HD trucks on dealers' lots I would see 3500HD trucks with lower payload capacity than 2500HD trucks and the difference was in the wheels and tires on the trucks. Dealers will often order the trucks with fancier and more expensive wheels that also have a lower load rating. Even with my 2500HD truck with its payload rating of 3222 lbs., the tires were rated for 3195@80PSI and I replaced them with tires rated for 3750@80 PSI to gain 1100 lbs of payload capacity. The next step up would have been 19.5 wheels and tires to provide 4800@100 PSI load capacity but that is quite expensive and usually not necessary.

I also added SuperSprings to add another 1400 lbs. of load capacity. With a 3700 lbs slide-in camper in the bed, the truck bed was level with no sag whatsoever. The truck definitely needed the double leaf SuperSprings to handle that load with its high center of gravity safely.

What is important is to properly support the load at the rear axle and at the tires. If this is not done then there is a lot of sway and poorer control of the vehicle along with shorter life for the overworked shock absorbers.
 
#8 ·
...The payload sticker is based on the weakest link for the truck as it left the factory. The greater the number of seats the lower the payload as the manufacturers use a 150 lb passenger weight for each available seat. That is why the trucks with the regular cab will have the highest factory payload rating. The axles and wheel bearings on the Duramax SRW trucks are rated at 11,000 lbs and so the limiting factors are the leaf springs and tires.
That's not true. Payload is defined as weight of everything in the truck: passengers, fuel and whatever is in the cab or bed.

CC trucks have lower payload because of the additional seats, longer frame, additional windows and sheetmetal.

Also, there is nothing you can do to legally increase your GVWR. Otherwise everyone with a 2500 would just add the 3500 springs and tires since that's the only difference between the two.

Would be nice if you could though.
 
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