When it comes right down to it, the pickup truck is built to really do one thing—haul cargo. It’s the raison d’etre. Yes, some people use them to tow, but hauling cargo is what pickup trucks were built primarily to do. The ability to haul cargo is measured by a truck’s payload rating, which tells you how much weight you can safely haul without damaging your pickup truck or making you unsafe. The problem is that the payload rating for some trucks is limited. You can never have enough. One question we often get asked and see all the time on the forums is if there’s anyway to increase it? That’s a great question and one we’ll examine in this article. We’ll also take some time debunk the big myth about the subject.
First, let’s take a look at how a truck’s payload rating is determined. Truck manufacturers typically employ a simple formula by taking a truck’s Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR) and subtracting the truck’s curb weight from that figure. For example, let’s say the GVWR of a one-ton truck is 12,000 pounds and the curb weight of the truck is 8,000 pounds. Subtracting the curb weight of the truck (8,000 pounds) from the GVWR (12,000 pounds) nets a figure of 4,000 pounds. This is the truck’s official payload rating. The payload rating for your truck can be found on a placard located on the driver side door jamb and on a payload certification form found in your truck’s glove box. The payload includes not only the amount of weight that can be put in the bed of your truck, but also includes the weight of the passengers and gear you may be carrying in the cab. It all counts.
If you need a large payload to haul something like a truck camper then you need to take a hard look at options before you buy a truck. Yes, having a shiny, new diesel engine underneath that hood is great for climbing mountains and raising your testosterone, but consider how much more weight that will place on your truck’s frame and how much having it will reduce your truck’s payload. For instance, the 6.7L Ford Power Stroke diesel weighs 990 pounds compared to Ford’s 6.2L V8 gas engine, which weighs nearly half that at 580 pounds. And if you’re considering getting 4WD, think again. That feature, while great for driving on rough roads, sand, and snow, isn’t so great for your payload rating—the typical 4WD drivetrain is 400 pounds heavier than a 2WD. The same applies to other nice-to-have options and aftermarket accessories. Things like a crew cab, a Buckstop bumper with a winch, a Bowen Customs truck bed, and Torklift Super Hitch add capability, but may also add weight and reduce payload. Research beforehand.
How to Raise the Payload Rating of a Truck
So how can you boost the payload rating of your truck? How can you increase it? The most obvious way is to remove items from your truck like the tailgate (these typically weigh around 60 pounds), the rear seat (that’s another 60 to 70 pounds), swapping out the OEM steel wheels for aluminum rims, etc. Removing items from your truck will increase payload, but you can only go so far in removing things before you’re left with a bare-bones truck. In spite of removing such items, however, the certified payload rating set by the manufacturer won’t change, at least not officially. The rating exists for safety because if you exceed it, components will eventually wear out and break. These components include things like the truck’s frame, the axles, the leaf springs, the brakes, and the wheels and tires. And while some shops claim they can increase your payload, only certified coach builders and truck manufacturers can certify or re-certify the payload rating of their trucks.
While we discourage exceeding the GVWR/payload rating of your truck, there is one little-known trick employed by more knowledgeable pickup truck owner’s to squeeze out even more cargo hauling capability out of their trucks. This involves the gross axle weight ratings (GAWRs) of each truck. The GAWRs listed on each truck’s payload sticker are greatly limited by the OEM wheel and tires. If you research the actual GAWRs with the axle manufacturer you’ll probably be surprised to learn that you have several hundreds, if not thousands, of additional pounds of cargo carrying capacity (this is especially true with the AAM 11.5 rear axle found on Ram 3500 trucks, which has a 10,000-pound GAWR rating, 3,000 pounds more than the GAWR given by FCA). You can tap into this additional cargo carrying capacity by simply buying better wheels and tires with higher load ratings. For example, some aftermarket 10 ply, load range E tires offer a 4,080-pound weight capacity, while others offer an acceptable 3,640-pound capacity.
In spite of the payload limitations of some trucks, there are some other things that you can do to make your truck ride and handle better. Better wheels and tires with higher load ranges, an additional leaf spring, Torklift Stableloads, Timbrens, air bags, better shock absorbers, and a Hellwig Big Wig rear sway-bar are all great improvements, depending on your situation. But there’s always a catch with suspension modifications like these. Adding them may improve the performance and ride of your truck, but they may also reduce the payload of your truck and may make the ride of your truck much harsher when unloaded. In life there’s always some give and take, this includes any suspension upgrades made to your truck.
In order to accurately assess where you stand when it comes to payload, you should take your fully loaded truck and camper to a local Certified Automated Truck (CAT) Scale. Three figures are provided each time you have your truck and camper weighed: the two axle weights plus the total weight of the rig. Owners should take their truck to the scale first without the camper, then have their truck and camper weighed together later to determine the actual weight of each. Be mindful to duplicate important fluid levels like fresh water and diesel/gas when obtaining these numbers. That way, you’ll get an accurate picture where you stand with respect to not only the GVWR, but also to the front and rear GAWRs for your truck. Like most truck camper owners, you’ll probably be surprised at the results. Most truck camper owners are overweight.
Final Thoughts
So what’s the bottom line? If you find that you still need more payload and you aren’t comfortable driving the truck you have, sell it and buy the truck you should have bought to begin with. For those who own hard-side truck campers, that usually means getting a one-ton pickup truck like a Ford F-350, a Chevy 3500, or a Ram 3500 (a Class 4 or Class 5 truck like a Ram 4500 or a Ford F-550 nets even more payload). Depending on cab configuration, engine type, bed length, and rear axle configuration (DRW or SRW), a 2024 one-ton truck can net you a payload anywhere between 4,000 and 7,800 pounds. Going this route may cost you a little more, but in the long run will save you money, anxiety, and regret.
You can not raise the payload capacity of your truck. You can add bigger tires, wheels, springs or any number of other things to make it handle the weight better but you’re still not raising the legal capacity of your truck.
If you get in an accident the attorneys are going to come after you.
Whatever you buy for a camper it will weight more than it’s supposed to.
It’s always better to have too much truck as to not have enough.
I had a Ford F350 Diesel for years, decided I wanted an F150 so I bought a new one in 2015. The 150 would haul my Northstar popup camper, it would pull my 37 ft travel trailer but wasn’t very stable with the trailer. I added 10 ply tires, air bags, and got it so it was more stable but still not great. I sold it after a couple of years and ordered an F250 gas engine. This handled things a lot better. I wanted a bigger truck camper so I bought one that was supposed to be a few hundred pounds lighter than my cargo capacity. Turns out by the time the camper weighed more than it should, full of water and, all that I carry it was about 1600 pounds more that it was supposed to be. I added Sumo Springs to the rear, it hauled it just fine but I was still over my legal GVWR.
I sold the F250 to my son and bought a new F350 Dually with the 7.3 gas engine. I now have 6210 pounds of cargo capacity, more than double what the F250 had. This combination works great for anything I’ve thrown at it. We travel a lot and either have a 5000 pound truck camper or a 10000 pound travel trailer behind it. We’ve been all over the USA including several times in the Rocky Mtns. If I drive 60 – 62 MPH I get about 16.5 MPG empty on the highway, 10 MPG with the slide in camper, and about 8.5 MPG with the travel trailer.
We just bought a new Arctic Fox 992 that we pick up next week. I have no doubt that my pickup truck is going to handle it with no problems. We’re planning on a trip to Alaska later this summer. We’ve been there 3 times with RVs in the past and are looking forward to this one.
Yep!
This article raised my eyebrows when it suggested passing on a diesel engine to increase payload. I can’t imagine the author has hauled heavy loads on steep mountain roads with both. Having been in granny with cars backed up behind me with a 454 one ton and easily diving the same route at maximum safe speed with a diesel, I’ll never go back. If you haul heavy and live out west I suggest you find your payload increases elsewhere and opt for that diesel engine.
Diesels are great, no doubt about. I have a 2003 Ford with the 7.3L and love it. But if your aim is to maximize payload, especially with a 3/4-ton, then I would pass on a diesel, especially if you live west of the Rockies.
Thanks for this explanation… 🙂
I’m desperatelly looking for a light hard side camper for my 2006 F 150 King Ranch which has 601 kg/1326 lbs on the placard only and this article made me sure the best way is to change my truck for bigger one…
I have a 2017 3500 Ram Laramie with a GVWR of 14000 lbs. with only 28000 and a Lance 1191 before they sold out. A bigger truck is by far the only way to go. I just joined the forum and am trying to figure out how to post my rig for sale. What they are asking for this days is criminal. I’m asking 70k for both! The truck alone is worth 50 and the camper is worth 20 easy. Just sayin, good luck.
Passing on 4X4 would be a mistake. 4 high on a less than ideal road is welcome.
Hi Folks, I appreciate the posts on payload ! Im about to purchase a 2006 Lance 1181max
at 4,000lbs dry and put it on my 2015 Ram 3500/4WD/CrewCab/Dual RearWheel truck
with a payload of 5,772lbs. The numbers work w 800lbs of gear, yet seeking comments on suspension upgrades: Shocks+ Leaf Springs+ BigWig Rear Sway Bar + Spacers (timbren Or Sumo, OrTorque lifts, Or…..Would appreciate the best combo of upgrades
for this rig. Headed to Alaska in summer 2025 ! Note: Im wearing 245-75-17 AT tires/10ply. Thanks ! JoeBear
I have a ram 2017 3500 Laramie carrying basically the same camper, Lance 1191. GVWR is 14000. I have air in the back to be level and that’s it. No issues all over the Sierras towing an Acadia. I would tell you along with several suspension folks I’ve had discussions with that your truck is more than capable to handle your load as is, without all the bells and whistles.
Bottom line… get enough truck for the load you are going to haul!
Too many people already have a truck when they decide to get a truck camper and instead of fitting a camper to the truck they already have, they buy the camper they want and try to make it fit the truck.
In my experience a lot of the dealers are culpable in allowing this to happen as they want to sell a camper and will gladly send it out the door fully aware the rig is overweight.
Spot on! thank goodness I was made aware of this from the beginning. Plus I researched TC’s while paying off the truck to afford the camper. Bought my last camper first.
What is the simplest way to get the weight ratings of your wheels, axles, and springs so that you can determine the weakest component and make smarter choice about making changes that might actually increase your GVWR/GAWR, (even if it does not change the numbers on your door jamb.) Thanks.
I’m glad that you Post and Re-Post this article every once in a while. I have had occasion to discuss payload with some of the truck campers I meet and they are sometimes surprised and dismayed that there are actual weight limitations for their trucks and campers. This Post does a lot to clarify the issue. Thank you.
I am late to the posting. I was surprised at this year’s TCA Rally in Quartzsite when talking to several owners. I purposely asked those owners of “standard OEM” campers on “standard HD OEM” trucks about their weights. Not the popups, custom rigs or overlanders, just the typical 250/2500/350/3500 trucks hauling the typical storefront Lance, Northern Lites, etc. kind of campers. Eighty percent either admitted they were over GVW or surmised they were overloaded. Twenty percent said outright that they weighed often enough under several conditions that they knew right where they were.
I’m window shopping for both, so have an idea of camper weights vs. truck payloads.
Seeing campers on the road, I’d wondered about overweight risk tolerance. 80%, huh?
Read on TCA or somewhere; another rule of thumb is avoid 3/4 tons, in favor of 1 tons for hauling truck campers. Truck cost is essentially same for significantly more 1 ton payload. Same article reminds if going 3/4 ton don’t go diesel bc it further reduces payload. Yet I see fair amount of 3/4 hauling the types you mentioned.
I was concerned about weight and liability as well. I feared responsibility if being over was responsible for an accident, so I was very cognizant of weight. Regarding diesels, yea they are heavier, but it will serve you well in the long run. You will never have an issue on any grade and my favorite they never overheat, at least in my experience. Also diesels will outlast any camper you by and then some. 2BZ is correct, avoid 3/4 ton like the plague. I would by a used diesel and a very large truck camper. And what a coincidence, I’m trying to
post mine rig right now as I am new to this forum. 2017 ram larimie dual RW 28000 miles!
2012 Lance 1191 all weather camper. Full list of items that need attention:
Slide out cover weathered. 70k for both OBO
Serious buyers only pls.
Did you manage to sell it?